FP&A Today

From Philadelphia Eagles to Sports FP&A

Jan 28, 2025

Jason Hershman, a finance leader with over 15 years of experience, shares his unique journey from being a ballboy for the Philadelphia Eagles to mastering FP&A in sports startups. He discusses essential lessons learned about perseverance and adaptability. Jason highlights his achievements, including a $400 million sale at Appetize and launching a fractional CFO business. He emphasizes the synergy between passion and finance, the critical role of technology in financial modeling, and how AI is transforming financial planning while maintaining the human touch.

48:47

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Jason Hershman

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Quick takeaways

Jason Hirschman emphasizes the importance of pursuing opportunities with determination, as his early experience with the Philadelphia Eagles taught him that seemingly unreachable goals are attainable through effort.

He highlights the critical role of integrating finance with strategic decision-making in startups, showcasing tailored financial models as vital for aligning business objectives and enhancing communication.

Deep dives

Jason Hirschman's Career Path in Finance

Jason Hirschman discusses his extensive career in finance, which began at a young age when he secured a job with the Philadelphia Eagles. This experience instilled in him a tenacity and determination to pursue opportunities, leading to his successful trajectory in hyper-growth companies. After leading a significant sale for Appetize, he transitioned into the role of a fractional CFO, focusing on startups in the sports industry, and aims to inspire others in finance to pursue passion-driven careers. His journey highlights the importance of aligning one's work with personal interests, suggesting that finance professionals can find fulfilling roles in companies that resonate with their passions.

Intro

2min

Passion Meets Finance: A Journey

27min

The Art of Financial Modeling for Strategic Alignment

5min

Mastering FP&A Through Accounting and Technology

6min

AI Meets Financial Planning

6min

Running and Resilience: A Conversation on Endurance Sports and Excel Functions

3min

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

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FP&A Today

From Philadelphia Eagles to Sports FP&A

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Jason Hirschman's Career Path in Finance

The Value of FP&A and Strategic Mindset

Crafting Financial Models for Success

Navigating Technology in FP&A

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts