Too Big to Fail: The OpenAI Edition | Mostly Growth
Run the Numbers
How AI affected headcount and productivity
Kyle and CJ discuss AI's role in reducing hiring plans, engineering headcount reductions, and increased ARR per employee.
In this episode of Mostly Growth, CJ Gustafson and Kyle Poyar dig into what it means to be useful rather than just right at work, exploring how communication, empathy, and impact matter more than technical precision as careers mature. They share candid lessons from their own paths—CJ’s focus on making others look good to earn promotions and Kyle’s evolution into a domain expert through public writing—before unpacking what separates good from great VPs of Sales with insights from Pavilion founder Sam Jacobs. The conversation then shifts to OpenAI’s “too big to fail” claims, the economic ripple effects of AI infrastructure spending, and how finance leaders can stay grounded in reality. Rounding out the episode, the hosts preview their latest research—CJ’s “Agentic Finance” report on AI in the finance stack and Kyle’s 2025 SaaS Benchmarks—and close with lighthearted banter about founder age stats, home maintenance mishaps, and the price of professional Christmas lights
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LINKS:
Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com
CJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/
Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/
Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/
Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/
Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/
https://sarahcharlton.substack.com/p/from-being-right-to-being-useful
https://www.highalpha.com/saas-benchmarks
https://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/presenting-the-state-of-the-agentic-financial-stack
https://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/finance-in-2030
https://worksinprogress.co/issue/the-algorithm-will-see-you-now/
https://www.growthunhinged.com/p/your-pricing-is-broken
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RELATED EPISODES:
When the marketing math doesn’t math | with Emily Kramer
Getting fired 4 times made me a founder | Sam Jacobs of Pavilion
How To Win at Early Stage Sales With the Guy Who Helped Take Snyk From $0 to $100M+
996 Culture, Exploding AI Bills & SaaS Chaos
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TIMESTAMPS:
00:00:00 Preview and Intro
00:02:18 Sponsors – Pulley and Metronome
00:05:09 Flight Cancellation and Airport Chaos
00:07:58 Being Right vs. Being Useful
00:11:17 Getting Promoted Early by Making Others Look Good
00:15:25 What Separates a Good VP of Sales from a Great One
00:18:24 Sales Leaders as Capital Allocators
00:21:14 The Organizational Tax of Sales Support
00:22:33 Is OpenAI Too Big to Fail?
00:25:31 AI Investments, Alternatives, and Market Impact
00:27:50 Bailouts and Economic Reality
00:28:20 Agentic Finance and the AI-Driven Finance Stack
00:31:43 SaaS Benchmarks Report 2025 Overview
00:33:59 Growth Rates by ARR Tier and Scale
00:35:40 AI’s Impact on Engineering Teams
00:37:45 Age and Startup Success
00:39:42 Building Durable Businesses Over Time
00:41:25 Something You Tried This Week – HVAC Cleaning
00:43:19 Outsourcing Holiday Cheer – Professional Light Installation
00:47:08 Credits – Mostly Growth Closing Remarks
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SPONSORS:
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#MostlyGrowthPodcast #StartupFinance #AIPodcast #SaaSLeadership #GoToMarket
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cjgustafson.substack.com
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