Challenging Expense Norms: The Blush and Wall Street Journal Tests

Michiel Boere, the CFO of Remote, joins CJ to talk about building multinational companies and the benefits of ditching traditional budgets for better business outcomes. Michiel introduces listeners to Remote's business model and discusses how it levels the global job market by enabling companies to hire talent from anywhere while absorbing complications regarding payroll, taxes, and legal entity status. The conversation also covers the complexities of managing a multinational company and the challenges of scaling finance operations globally. As a risk-on CFO, he breaks down how he looks at unit economics in order to underwrite certain risks necessary for in growth. He also shares insights from his experience at Uber before explaining how budgets can lead to suboptimal decisions, such as unnecessary spending or missing out on valuable investments.

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Preview and Intro

(02:32) Sponsor – Planful | Vanta

(04:43) How Remote Levels the Playing Field

(08:02) The Marketplace-Like Element of Remote

(09:52) Increasing Optionality Versus Decreasing Costs

(13:11) How Remote Built a Multinational Company in Five Years

(14:58) Sponsor – RightRev | Brex

(17:48) The Complexity of Building a Multinational Company

(20:53) Scaling Finance Globally with a Distributed Team

(21:51) Remote’s Revenue Lines

(23:06) Managing FX in Multiple Countries

(26:06) Embracing Investment and Risks

(29:37) The Biggest Challenge Michiel Tackled at Uber

(32:50) Lessons Michiel Learned About Complexity from Uber

(37:42) Why Your Budget May Be Counterproductive

(40:56) How to Get Your Board to Change Their Thinking About Budgeting

(44:04) Setting Ambitious Goals for Revenue Generators Without a Budget

(45:06) Changing Your North Star Metric as Your Company Grows

(46:21) Non-Standard Metrics That Michiel Looks At

(47:31) Long-Ass Lightning Round: HR Mistakes

(49:55) Michiel’s Biggest Career Risk

(56:21) Finance Software Stack

(57:40) The Wall Street Journal Test and the Blush Test for Expenses