Check out the Beyond the Budget Podcast here.

Hey Protect the Hustle fans, I hope you're loving the insights from this season. I have something special for you today which is the first episode of our new podcast Beyond the Budget. It's all here in in this email, and if you love it, reply to this email and I'll make sure you get new episodes every Friday. Protect the Hustle will be back next week!

Who is Hassaan Ahmad?

Hassaan Ahmad is a seasoned financial executive currently serving as the Chief Financial Officer of WTFast. Possessing a unique blend of experience and insight, Ahmad navigates the challenging landscapes of tech startups with a multi-faceted approach. He wears several hats, managing core accounting functions, forecasting future financial trends, managing cash flow, and addressing investor expectations. A risk-taker at heart, Ahmad believes in embracing change and maintaining balance in life's highs and lows. His dynamic career journey, which spans different economic cultures and market challenges, underpins his empathetic approach to understanding customer needs in various global regions.

Hassaan is an experienced CFO, specializing in early-stage and tech startups. He has served as the CFO of wtfast, where he implements internal control systems and KPI monitoring. His diverse experience spans strategic financial consulting, overseeing financial management for a nano-materials startup, advising startups at FasterCapital, and managing a significant credit portfolio in corporate banking at HBL - Habib Bank Limited. He began his career at PwC.

What to Expect

• Introduction and Background: Hassaan Ahmad's role as a CFO at an early-stage tech company and his approach to various responsibilities.
• The Dual Role of a CFO: Discussion on managing both current financial health and future financial planning, and the challenge of resource allocation in a startup.
• Investor Relations: Insights into managing investor expectations and the continuous fundraising process for early-stage tech companies.
• Life Lessons from an Unconventional Career: Ahmad shares his philosophy on choosing battles, embracing failure, and the importance of maintaining hope.
• Global Market Challenges: Ahmad's realization about disparities in customer challenges across different regions, inspired by his personal experience of trying to buy an album in the '90s.
• Balance in Life: Ahmad discusses his methods of decompressing and maintaining balance (we get pretty insightful here).
• Conclusion: Ahmad reflects on the importance of being ready to embrace opportunities and the thrill of navigating the ups and downs of life and career.

Where to Find Hassaan

Give Hassaan a follow on LinkedIn and Twitter.