The Chameleon CFO: Adapting for Growth with John Glasgow, CEO & CFO at Campfire

Dec 16, 2025

John Glasgow, CEO and CFO at Campfire, discusses his dynamic career spanning roles at Adobe and Bill.com. He shares insights on how CFOs can blend financial discipline with innovation in fast-paced startups. John emphasizes the importance of evolving priorities at different funding stages and integrating customer feedback into product development. He highlights the role of AI and automation in shifting finance teams from transactional work to strategic partners, ensuring they maintain a balance between growth and cost management.

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ANECDOTE

Early E‑commerce Lessons

John Glasgow started an iPod accessory e-commerce business with his brother and learned to win on customer experience rather than price.
That early experience taught him to pair premium pricing with intentional premium delivery or it fails.

ADVICE

Treat Big Bets As Fast Experiments

Test risky product or marketing bets with a clear thesis and fast measurements before committing more resources.
Iterate quickly on learnings and then decide whether to stop, adjust, or scale the idea.

INSIGHT

CFO Focus Changes With Funding Stage

A CFO's focus must shift across funding stages from survival to unit economics and then to capital efficiency.
Founders and finance leaders should be chameleons, evolving what they say yes or no to each round.

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In this episode of CFO Weekly, John Glasgow, CEO & CFO at Campfire, joins Megan Weis to explore how modern CFOs can balance financial discipline with product innovation while operating in dual leadership roles. John brings unique insights from his distinguished career holding finance leadership positions at prominent companies like Bill.com and Adobe, where he mastered the intersection of financial strategy and product development.

With his extensive background spanning corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, business development, and pricing strategy, John shares how finance leaders can evolve from transactional gatekeepers to strategic partners who drive cross-functional value. Currently serving as both CEO and CFO at Campfire, John oversees the development of an AI-native ERP platform that helps finance teams automate repetitive work and focus on strategic initiatives, having raised over $100 million primarily from Excel.

What You'll Learn:

Why CFOs must evolve their focus at each funding stage from seed to Series B and beyond
How to balance customer-driven product demands with cost discipline for scalable growth
The critical frameworks for evaluating product priorities through financial signals
Strategies for building financial infrastructure without overinvesting too early
How AI and automation enable finance teams to shift from transactional to strategic work
The importance of cross-functional collaboration in maximizing shareholder value

Learn more about John:

John Glasgow on LinkedIn
Campfire Website

Episode resources:

Personiv's Website
Personiv on LinkedIn
Personiv on Facebook
Personiv on Twitter

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Previous guests include: Tom McDermott, CFO at Career Certified, Claire Bramley, CFO at Teradata, Chris Miles, Founder of Money Ripples, Ranil DeSilva, CFO & COO at CARE, Jordan Grumet, Financial Independence Expert & Host of Earn & Invest & William Washington, Global CFO at Baker McKenzie

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