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In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Dan Griggs, CFO of Intercom, to break down how finance leaders should think about pricing, forecasting, and resource allocation in the AI era. Dan explains why “it’s not zero” is his guiding forecasting principle, how Intercom landed on 99 cents per AI resolution for Fin, and what it means to build an AI product that could eventually cannibalize a successful SaaS core. A candid look at managing uncertainty while still making bold bets.

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LINKS:

Dan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-griggs-0970181/

Intercom: https://www.intercom.com/

CJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/

Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com

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TIMESTAMPS:

00:00:00 Cold Open

00:01:03 Intro to Dan Griggs and Intercom’s AI Pivot

00:02:45 From Ice Cream to SaaS: Early Finance Lessons

00:04:19 Learning the Business by Living the Operations

00:06:26 Why Operational Reality Shapes Better Forecasts

00:08:00 “It’s Not Zero”: Forecasting the Unknowable

00:10:09 Scenario Planning, Ambiguity, and Psychological Safety

00:11:23 Sponsors — Brex | Metronome | RightRev

00:14:43 Keeping a Mental Model of Key Business Metrics

00:16:15 Using Mental Math to Sanity-Check Forecasts

00:17:28 Core Ratios Every CFO Uses to Vet Decisions

00:19:13 The Burn-the-Boats Moment for Intercom’s AI Pivot

00:20:53 Why AI Was an Existential, Not Incremental, Bet

00:22:21 Which SaaS Categories AI Can Fully Replace Work

00:23:04 Why Finance Hasn’t Had Its AI Moment Yet

00:23:39 Sponsors — Rillet | Tabs | Abacum

00:27:05 Why Fin Needed Outcome-Based Pricing

00:28:59 The Tradeoff Behind $0.99 Per Resolution

00:30:46 Why Support Conversations Vary in Complexity

00:32:01 What Drives the Unit Economics of AI Resolutions

00:33:08 How Intercom Chooses Models as Costs Fall

00:35:19 Replacing Generic LLMs With Domain-Specific Models

00:36:08 Selling an AI Product That Could Cannibalize the Core

00:38:50 Founder CEOs Versus Professional CEOs

00:41:47 Hiring Mistakes and Acting on Instincts

00:44:28 Intercom’s Finance Software Stack

00:45:49 The Craziest Expense Request

#RunTheNumbersPodcast #Intercom #AICustomerSupport #OutcomeBasedPricing #CFOInsights

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