As a CFO, how should the way you navigate risk and return change from venture-backed companies to publicly-traded companies to private equity companies? To answer this question, CJ speaks with Mohit Daswani, a seasoned CFO with experience across multiple stages, including roles as CFO of Payments, Platform, and Risk at PayPal, and Head of Finance & Strategy at Square. Mohit shares the lessons learned from his time at Square, including when Jack Dorsey seeded a second billion-dollar business from within the company, and his experience at PayPal when they spun out from eBay under activist pressure. The conversation also covers the Rule of 40 in the different financial models, the dangers of using valuation as a scorecard, how founders should reset their mindset on what defines success, and the likelihood of a super app for the USA.
—
LINKS:
Mohit Daswani on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohitdaswani1/
SimplePractice:
https://www.simplepractice.com/
CJ on X (@cjgustafson222): https://x.com/cjgustafson222
Mostly metrics:
http://mostlymetrics.com
RELATED EPISODES:
From CF-No to CF-Go: Serial CFO Michael Bayer’s Guide to Hypergrowth:
Inside Grab: How a Super App Transformed Southeast Asia — with CFO Peter Oey:
—
Timestamps:
(00:00) Preview and Intro
(02:42) Sponsor – Planful | Tabs | Rippling Spend
(06:36) Mohit’s Office and a Tip From Churchill
(09:07) Risk and Return in Different Investment Models
(13:05) Financial Discipline Versus Room for Growth in Venture-Backed Companies
(16:30) Sponsor – Pulley | Tropic | NetSuite
(20:25) Balancing Short-Term Performance and Long-Term Bets in the PE Space
(24:00) The Rule of 40 in Different Financial Models
(30:19) What People Get Wrong About the Private Equity Model
(34:40) The Benefits of Using Leverage
(37:41) The Dangers of Using Valuation as a Scorecard
(41:41) How Founders Should Reset Their Mindset on What Constitutes Success
(44:00) Being at Square When Jack Dorsey Seeded a Second Billion-Dollar Business
(49:43) Being at PayPal When They Spun Out From eBay
(53:59) PayPal’s Acquisition of Braintree
(55:48) The Probability of a Super App for the USA
(58:38) Learnings From Launching PayPal’s Payments Dongle in Japan
(1:04:12) Long-Ass Lightning Round: A Flight Mistake
(1:06:20) Advice to Younger Self
(1:07:31) Finance Software Stack
(1:09:28) Craziest Expense Story
—
SPONSORS:
Planful’s financial planning software can transform your FP&A function. Built for speed, accuracy, and confidence, you’ll be planning your way to success and have time left over to actually put it to work. Find out more at www.planful.com/metrics.
Tabs is a platform that brings all of your revenue-facing data and workflows - billing, AR, payments, rev rec, and reporting - onto a single system so you can automate and be more flexible. Find out more at: tabs.inc/metrics.
Rippling Spend is a spend management software that gives you complete visibility and automated policy controls across every type of spend, saving you time and money. Get a demo to see how much time your org would save at rippling.com/metrics.
Pulley is the cap table management platform built for CFOs and finance leaders who need reliable, audit-ready data and intuitive workflows, without the hidden fees or unreliable support. Switch in as little as 5 days and get 25% off your first year: pulley.com/mostlymetrics.
Tropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. Take control of your spend with intelligent spend management at tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics.
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.
#VentureCapital #PrivateEquity #RiskManagement #RuleOf40 #PayPal
Get full access to Mostly metrics at
www.mostlymetrics.com/subscribe
Run the Numbers