VP of Finance @ Spellbook on succeeding as the first startup finance hire

Sep 5, 2024

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We talked to Aman Samra about his career as a finance operator at venture-backed startups. He's now been the first finance hire / leader at 4 different companies and learned a lot in the process. We discussed:

The journey from traditional accounting to startup finance
Being a 4x first finance hire in startups
What CEOs look for in their first finance hire
The evolving structure of finance teams in startups
When to bring finance in-house vs. using fractional CFOs
How to evaluate and hire for finance roles in startups
The impact of AI on software business models and gross margins
Unsexy but crucial finance tasks like data cleansing

Aman shared his take on transitioning from traditional accounting firms to early-stage startups, the importance of being a generalist in startup finance roles, and how AI is changing the financial margin profiles for software companies. Great episode for all the finance operators out there or if you're a founder figuring out your first full-time finance leader.

For real-time updates on Spellbook and to follow Aman's work more closely, check out the links below:

Spellbook: https://www.spellbook.legal/

Aman's Twitter : https://x.com/amansamraa
Aman's LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/amansamra/
Aman's Podcast - Generation Hustle : https://www.generationhustlepod.com/podcast

CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) Teaser
(00:01:03) About the Episode
(00:01:43) Introduction and Background
(00:03:41) First Finance Hire Expectations
(00:06:39) Finance Background Requirements
(00:09:38) Finance Team Structure
(00:13:33) Hiring for Finance Roles
(00:18:38) Balancing Ambition in Finance Teams
(00:38:15) AI Impact on Gross Margins
(00:44:27) Unsexy Tasks in Finance
(00:45:41) Outro

SOCIAL LINKS:

Website: https://www.operatorsonly.fm/

Twitter (Host): https://twitter.com/andrew__rea

Twitter (Co-Host): https://x.com/ramshe1000

LinkedIn (Host): https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewrea1996/

LinkedIn (Co-Host): https://www.linkedin.com/in/rameel-sheikh-051246a3/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Operators_Only

PRODUCED BY:

https://aipodcast.ing