Automation Outside the Tech Bubble | Jason Kong

In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Jason Kong, General Partner at Base10 Ventures, to unpack the firm’s focus on “automation for the real economy” — software built for industries most tech investors overlook, but the world depends on. Jason breaks down what makes Series B investing uniquely hard, how he evaluates back-office and vertical SaaS opportunities, and where markets tip from niche to overcrowded. They also discuss Base10’s decision to donate 50% of profits to fund scholarships, plus a lightning round spanning fantasy football, shorting SaaS in 2022, and a venture take that might spark debate.

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SPONSORS:

Metronome is real-time billing built for modern software companies. Metronome turns raw usage events into accurate invoices, gives customers bills they actually understand, and keeps finance, product, and engineering perfectly in sync. That’s why category-defining companies like OpenAI and Anthropic trust Metronome to power usage-based pricing and enterprise contracts at scale. Focus on your product — not your billing. Learn more and get started at https://www.metronome.com

RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.com

Rillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to close faster without fighting legacy systems. Designed to support complex revenue recognition, multi-entity operations, and real-time reporting, Rillet helps teams achieve a true zero-day close—with some customers closing in hours, not days. If you’re scaling on an ERP that wasn’t built in the 90s, book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cj

Tabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at https://www.tabs.com/run

Abacum is a modern FP&A platform built by former CFOs to replace slow, consultant-heavy planning tools. With self-service integrations and AI-powered workflows for forecasting, variance analysis, and scenario modeling, Abacum helps finance teams scale without becoming software admins. Trusted by teams at Strava, Replit, and JG Wentworth—learn more at https://www.abacum.ai

Brex is an intelligent finance platform that combines corporate cards, built-in expense management, and AI agents to eliminate manual finance work. By automating expense reviews and reconciliations, Brex gives CFOs more time for the high-impact work that drives growth. Join 35,000+ companies like Anthropic, Coinbase, and DoorDash at https://www.brex.com/metrics

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LINKS:

Jason on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonykong/

Base10 Partners: https://base10.vc/

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

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

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RELATED EPISODES:

Scaling to $1B+ Revenue: From ServiceNow to Samsara | Dominic Phillips

https://youtu.be/vBY6WZBMljw

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TIMESTAMPS:

00:00:00 Preview and Intro

00:02:20 Sponsors — Metronome, RightRev, Rillet

00:06:02 Base10 Background

00:06:41 Automation for the Real Economy

00:09:27 Vertical vs. Horizontal Software

00:10:38 Cash Flow and Durability

00:11:19 Product-Market Fit and ROI

00:12:56 Growth Limits Selling to Tech

00:13:19 The Size of the Real Economy

00:14:16 Sponsors — Tabs, Abacum, Brex

00:18:50 Base10’s Giving Model

00:20:30 Access, Education, and Tech

00:21:53 Purpose and Founder Alignment

00:22:51 Radical Transparency

00:23:56 Portfolio Focus and Strategy

00:24:05 Investing Ahead of Consensus

00:26:29 ERP Adjacency as Alpha

00:28:58 Lessons From Hedge Funds

00:32:29 Public Markets Reality

00:34:05 Public vs. Private Investing

00:34:48 The Series B Sweet Spot

00:36:49 A Bifurcated Series B Market

00:38:56 Fast Series Bs and 2021 Vibes

00:42:16 What Series B Looks Like Now

00:44:36 Back Office Automation

00:46:02 ERP-Centric Workflows

00:48:33 Long-Ass Lightning Round

00:49:36 Shorting SaaS in 2022

00:50:16 Fantasy Football and Investing

00:52:57 Career Advice That Surprises

00:55:03 A Contrarian Venture Take

00:56:22 Credits

#RunTheNumbersPodcast #SeriesB #RealEconomy #VerticalSaaS #BackOfficeAutomation