Customer-First Finance: PagerDuty's Secret to “Small” Public Company Success

When PagerDuty went public in 2019, it was generating just $100 million in annual revenue which made it relatively small for a SaaS IPO. One of the main motivations for this was that visibility into the company’s financials would inspire customer trust. In this episode, CJ speaks with Howard Wilson, PagerDuty’s CFO, who shares the unique challenges of going public as a small company, how the landscape has changed since then, and how to approach an IPO when you don’t have the experts you need in-house. As a former chief commercial officer, Howard brings unique insights into the role of a CFO. He discusses the importance of building a finance team with customer awareness, how he uses customer usage patterns to challenge traditional SaaS metrics, and how to uncover the unexpected pathways that customers take to reach your business. He also talks about the complexities of the “beat and raise" forecast, how market volatility creates opportunity, and breaks down his framework for mapping out potential investment areas.

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LINKS:

Howard Wilson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/howardwilson01/

PagerDuty:

https://www.pagerduty.com/

CJ on X (@cjgustafson222): https://x.com/cjgustafson222

Mostly metrics:

http://mostlymetrics.com

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Preview and Intro

(02:08) Sponsor – Planful | Tabs | Rippling Spend

(06:01) Earnings Calls and Being a Public Company CFO

(11:14) How the Bar for Going Public Has Changed Since 2019

(14:04) How Going Public Affects Customer Trust

(15:50) Sponsor – Pulley | Navan | NetSuite

(19:34) Approaching the IPO Process Without the Necessary Experts In-House

(21:47) Using Advisors To Fill Functional Gaps in Small Companies

(24:38) The IPO Tech Stack for Small Companies

(25:44) The Complexities of the “Beat and Raise” Forecast

(28:33) How Market Volatility Creates Opportunity

(34:37) How Experience as a Chief Commercial Officer Makes a Better CFO

(38:16) A Framework for Mapping Out Potential Investment Areas

(44:08) Customer Awareness in Your Finance Organisation

(47:47) Customer Usage Patterns Versus Traditional SaaS Metrics

(52:16) The Unexpected Pathways Customers Take To Reach Your Business

(57:54) Long-Ass Lightning Round: A Learning Mindset

(59:22) Advice to Younger Self: Don’t Stay in Your Lane

(01:01:24) Finance Software Stack

(01:02:57) Craziest Expense Story

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SPONSORS:

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Navan is the all-in-one travel and expense solution that helps finance teams streamline reconciliation, enforce policies automatically, and gain real-time visibility. It connects to your existing cards and makes closing the books faster and smarter. Visit navan.com/Runthenumbers for your demo.

NetSuite is an AI-powered business management suite, encompassing ERP/Financials, CRM, and ecommerce for more than 41,000 customers. If you're looking for an ERP, head to https://netsuite.com/metrics and get the CFO’s Guide to AI and Machine Learning.

#goingpublic #SaaSIPO #CustomerTrust #CustomerAwareness #PagerDuty