Too Big to Fail: The OpenAI Edition | Mostly Growth

In this episode of Mostly Growth, CJ Gustafson and Kyle Poyar dig into what it means to be useful rather than just right at work, exploring how communication, empathy, and impact matter more than technical precision as careers mature. They share candid lessons from their own paths—CJ’s focus on making others look good to earn promotions and Kyle’s evolution into a domain expert through public writing—before unpacking what separates good from great VPs of Sales with insights from Pavilion founder Sam Jacobs. The conversation then shifts to OpenAI’s “too big to fail” claims, the economic ripple effects of AI infrastructure spending, and how finance leaders can stay grounded in reality. Rounding out the episode, the hosts preview their latest research—CJ’s “Agentic Finance” report on AI in the finance stack and Kyle’s 2025 SaaS Benchmarks—and close with lighthearted banter about founder age stats, home maintenance mishaps, and the price of professional Christmas lights

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LINKS:

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

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

Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/

Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/

Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/

Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/

https://sarahcharlton.substack.com/p/from-being-right-to-being-useful

https://www.highalpha.com/saas-benchmarks

https://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/presenting-the-state-of-the-agentic-financial-stack

https://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/finance-in-2030

https://worksinprogress.co/issue/the-algorithm-will-see-you-now/

https://www.theinformation.com/briefings/openai-ceo-sam-altman-forecasts-20-billion-annualized-revenue-year

https://www.growthunhinged.com/p/your-pricing-is-broken

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RELATED EPISODES:

When the marketing math doesn’t math | with Emily Kramer

https://youtu.be/sSuoV_YSrlw

Getting fired 4 times made me a founder | Sam Jacobs of Pavilion

https://youtu.be/8X-JVOF-1A0

How To Win at Early Stage Sales With the Guy Who Helped Take Snyk From $0 to $100M+

https://youtu.be/VKrZCte8fyM

996 Culture, Exploding AI Bills & SaaS Chaos

https://youtu.be/qhrxDL0gsRo

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TIMESTAMPS:

00:00:00 Preview and Intro

00:02:18 Sponsors – Pulley and Metronome

00:05:09 Flight Cancellation and Airport Chaos

00:07:58 Being Right vs. Being Useful

00:11:17 Getting Promoted Early by Making Others Look Good

00:15:25 What Separates a Good VP of Sales from a Great One

00:18:24 Sales Leaders as Capital Allocators

00:21:14 The Organizational Tax of Sales Support

00:22:33 Is OpenAI Too Big to Fail?

00:25:31 AI Investments, Alternatives, and Market Impact

00:27:50 Bailouts and Economic Reality

00:28:20 Agentic Finance and the AI-Driven Finance Stack

00:31:43 SaaS Benchmarks Report 2025 Overview

00:33:59 Growth Rates by ARR Tier and Scale

00:35:40 AI’s Impact on Engineering Teams

00:37:45 Age and Startup Success

00:39:42 Building Durable Businesses Over Time

00:41:25 Something You Tried This Week – HVAC Cleaning

00:43:19 Outsourcing Holiday Cheer – Professional Light Installation

00:47:08 Credits – Mostly Growth Closing Remarks

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SPONSORS:

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