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From Public Accounting to Tech Unicorn IPOs With Brandt Kucharski

Jan 26, 2024

Former chief accounting officer at GrubHub and current CAO at Ethos Life, Brandt Kucharski, shares his journey from public accounting to leading startups through IPOs. Topics include scaling accounting teams, nonprofit work, thoughts on increasing accounting talent, challenges of merging and going public, and the convenience and innovation of Ethos.

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Episode notes

Introduction

00:00 • 2min

From Public Accounting to Tech Unicorn

01:56 • 16min

Accounting Practices and Revenue Recognition

18:09 • 4min

GrubHub's Success and Growth as a Food Delivery App

22:15 • 4min

The Competition in the Delivery Industry

26:06 • 17min

Transitioning from Grubhub to a New Opportunity

43:14 • 2min

The Convenience and Innovation of Ethos

44:56 • 16min

Wrapping up the conversation with admiration and a plug for a new app

01:01:07 • 2min

Blake chats with Brandt Kucharski, former chief accounting officer at GrubHub and current CAO at Ethos Life, about his career journey from public accounting to leading startups through IPOs. They discuss Brandt's pivotal role in taking GrubHub public as one of the first "unicorn" startups, the process of scaling accounting teams and controls, nonprofit work with the Holiday Heroes Foundation, and thoughts on increasing accounting talent amid growing complexity.

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Chapters

(01:06) - Welcome Brandt Kurcharski to the show
(02:37) - Early Career and Joining GrubHub
(05:07) - What was the first thing you did at GrubHub?
(05:41) - The Journey to IPO
(09:51) - What advice would you give a young controller going through an IPO
(11:29) - Let's talk about GrubHub's tech stack at the time
(15:26) - Building the Accounting Team at GrubHub
(18:03) - The smartest thing you did at GrubHub
(23:56) - Reflection on GrubHub's Success
(25:21) - Biggest mistake you made at GrubHub
(26:47) - Size of Your Accounting Team
(29:03) - The Merger with Seamless and Going Public Again
(31:09) - Let's talk Sarbanes-Oxley
(34:47) - The Journey of Grubhub's Second Public Listing
(35:54) - The Challenges of Merging and Going Public Again
(37:53) - The Role of Charity in Personal Growth
(41:04) - Accounting Challenges For a Charity
(43:19) - The Journey from Grubhub to Ethos Life
(47:35) - Accounting at Ethos vs GrubHub
(49:14) - The Impact of Accounting Standards on Business
(55:13) - The Accounting Talent Crisis and Possible Solutions
(01:01:11) - Thanks for Listening and Remember to Subscribe

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Connect with Our Guest, Brandt Kucharski

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandtkucharski/

Connect with Blake Oliver, CPA

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blaketoliver
Twitter: https://twitter.com/blaketoliver/