Over the last 12 years, Jason Hershman led financial planning & analysis at successful, hyper-growth companies in the sports arena.
But his career started as a ballboy at the Philadelphia Eagles. It was a job he spent months pursuing at 14 years old. This experience taught Jason a key lesson. He says: “things that seem out of touch, out of reach are not, it just takes a little hustle, a little effort.”
This attitude has stayed with him as he has led multiple finance teams and embarked on everything from redesigning the chart of accounts, owning the month-end close, building financial models from scratch, raising millions in equity, renegotiated debt, to IPOs.
Finance highlights included leading the $400 million sale of Appetize, a B2B SaaS business in the sports industry (Appetize is the software provider for all of the MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL stadiums as well as theme parks such as Six Flags, Disney, and SeaWorld). After this, Jason launched his own fractional CFO business, Point FP&A, providing FP&A to some of the most exciting companies in the sports industry. He has the luxury of turning down clients who are not in the sports world.
In this episode:
- The Philadelphia Eagles as a ballboy for 5 years – things that are out of touch are not
- Learning accounting and FP&A on the job in my first online retail startup in New York – which eventually became public
- Getting hired at sports startup Appetize (B2B SaaS)- combining my passions for sports and finance + getting to exits
- The power of rebuilding a financial model as central to my career
- Going to market as a sports FP&A fractional CFO at Point The ideal balance and differences between accountancy and FP&A
- Secrets to rebuilding the financial model
- Being honest on my journey with AI and FP&A
Connect with Jason on LinkedIn
Check out Point at www.pointfpa.com
