Run the Numbers

Sruthi Lanka (CFO of Public.com) joins host CJ Gustafson to discuss the unexpected qualities of great CFOs. If you’re looking for an ERP platform, check out our sponsor, NetSuite: https://netsuite.com/metrics ---SPONSORS:NetSuite provides financial software for all your business needs. More than thirty-six thousand companies have already upgraded to NetSuite, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you're looking for an ERP platform ✅ NetSuite: https://netsuite.com/metrics and defer payments of a FULL NetSuite implementation for six months.Tropic is the next-generation Procurement Platform that’s helping modern CFOs take control of their budgets and bottom line. By combining approval workflows, supplier management, and pricing benchmarks all in one place, Tropic makes savings opportunities easy to find and act on. 🌴 Visit www.tropicapp.io/metrics to learn how. ---RECOMMENDED PODCAST:The HR industry is at a crossroads. What will it take to construct the next generation of incredible businesses – and where can people leaders have the most business impact? Hosts Nolan Church and Kelli Dragovich have been through it all, the highs and the lows – IPOs, layoffs, executive turnover, board meetings, culture changes, and more. With a lineup of industry vets and experts, Nolan and Kelli break down the nitty-gritty details, trade offs, and dynamics of constructing high performing companies. Through unfiltered conversations that can only happen between seasoned practitioners, Kelli and Nolan dive deep into the kind of leadership-level strategy that often happens behind closed doors. Check out the first episode with the architect of Netflix’s culture deck Patty McCord.https://link.chtbl.com/hrheretics---X / TWITTER:@sruthilanka (Sruthi)@cjgustafson222 (CJ)@TurpentineMedia (Turpentine)---TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Episode Preview: CJ’s learnings from Sruthi(03:40) SEGMENT: CJ's opening “Off the Books” monologue - listener mailbag: where to allocate engineers who maintain infrastructure(05:17) Start of interview: Sruthi on how a CFO and CEO partnership should look like(09:59) How do you define important metrics for your team?(13:03) Data ownership at Public.com(14:36) Sponsor: Netsuite(16:00) Sruthi's favorite frameworks for decision-making(20:57) What separates a great CFO from a good CFO?(24:25) Tactics on how to be more embedded in different departments within your company(29:24) The biggest differences between a traditional SaaS CFO and CFO at Public.com(31:33) On retention(34:45) How to deal with situations where you are wrong(38:15) Tactics on modeling(39:20) On mentorship, management, giving advice(45:31) Balancing being a mother with being CFO(47:52) Long-ass lightning round: an example of when Sruthi screwed up on the job, Public.com’s finance software stack, the craziest thing someone has tried to expense Get full access to Mostly metrics at www.mostlymetrics.com/subscribe

This week on Run The Numbers, host CJ Gustafson is joined by an all-time great: Jim Cook, one of the six original co-founders of Netflix. If you’re looking for an ERP platform, check out our sponsor, NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/metrics ---SPONSORS:NetSuite provides financial software for all your business needs. More than thirty-six thousand companies have already upgraded to NetSuite, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you're looking for an ERP platform ✅ NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/metrics and defer payments of a FULL NetSuite implementation for six months.Tropic is the next-generation Procurement Platform that’s helping modern CFOs take control of their budgets and bottom line. By combining approval workflows, supplier management, and pricing benchmarks all in one place, Tropic makes savings opportunities easy to find and act on. 🌴 Visit www.tropicapp.io/metrics to learn how. ---RECOMMENDED PODCAST:The HR industry is at a crossroads. What will it take to construct the next generation of incredible businesses – and where can people leaders have the most business impact? Hosts Nolan Church and Kelli Dragovich have been through it all, the highs and the lows – IPOs, layoffs, executive turnover, board meetings, culture changes, and more. With a lineup of industry vets and experts, Nolan and Kelli break down the nitty-gritty details, trade offs, and dynamics of constructing high performing companies. Through unfiltered conversations that can only happen between seasoned practitioners, Kelli and Nolan dive deep into the kind of leadership-level strategy that often happens behind closed doors. Check out the first episode with the architect of Netflix’s culture deck Patty McCord.https://link.chtbl.com/hrheretics---X / TWITTER:@cookflix (Jim)@cjgustafson222 (CJ)@TurpentineMedia (Turpentine)---TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Episode Preview: CJ’s learnings from Jim(03:40) SEGMENT: CJ's opening “Off the Books” monologue on Instacart’s S-1 and advertising business(07:18) Start of CJ and Jim’s interview(08:05) What qualities separate a great CFO from a good CFO?(10:15) How do CFOs develop accountability as a skill?(14:26) Sponsor: Netsuite(15:52) Why CFOs quit(17:25) The importance of storytelling as a CFO(22:15) Jim explains first principles(24:40) The fallacy of a right decision and perfection as a prison(28:25) What was it like having Reid Hoffman on Mozilla’s board?(29:39) Jim on what a good relationship between the CFO and their board looks like(33:30) Transparency requires trust, trust requires transparency(34:53) Being vulnerable as a CFO(37:36) A time where Jim had to tell the board the hard truth(38:57) Key frameworks Jim teaches in his coaching(44:24) A learning Jim took away from his career at Intuit, Netflix, and Mozilla(46:20) SEGMENT: Long-ass lightning round: an example of when Jim screwed up on the job, the ideal finance software stack, the craziest thing someone has tried to expense Get full access to Mostly metrics at www.mostlymetrics.com/subscribe

Webflow’s VP of Finance, Ivan Makarov, joins host CJ Gustafson on the second episode of Run The Numbers, where they go straight into the unfiltered. If you’re looking for an ERP platform, check out our sponsor, NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/metrics ---SPONSORS:NetSuite provides financial software for all your business needs. More than thirty-six thousand companies have already upgraded to NetSuite, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you're looking for an ERP platform ✅ NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/metrics and defer payments of a FULL NetSuite implementation for six months.Tropic is the next-generation Procurement Platform that’s helping modern CFOs take control of their budgets and bottom line. By combining approval workflows, supplier management, and pricing benchmarks all in one place, Tropic makes savings opportunities easy to find and act on. 🌴 Visit www.tropicapp.io/metrics to learn how. ---RECOMMENDED PODCAST:The HR industry is at a crossroads. What will it take to construct the next generation of incredible businesses – and where can people leaders have the most business impact? Hosts Nolan Church and Kelli Dragovich have been through it all, the highs and the lows – IPOs, layoffs, executive turnover, board meetings, culture changes, and more. With a lineup of industry vets and experts, Nolan and Kelli break down the nitty-gritty details, trade offs, and dynamics of constructing high performing companies. Through unfiltered conversations that can only happen between seasoned practitioners, Kelli and Nolan dive deep into the kind of leadership-level strategy that often happens behind closed doors. Check out the first episode with the architect of Netflix’s culture deck Patty McCord.https://link.chtbl.com/hrheretics---X / TWITTER:@cjgustafson222 (CJ)@TurpentineMedia (Turpentine)---TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Episode Preview(00:34) CJ's opening monologue: on startup equity(05:03) Start of CJ and Ivan's interview(06:00) How Ivan been able to evolve his role over time at Webflow(09:17) What kept Ivan up at night in the early days of Webflow?(11:01) On recruiting (13:23) The inflection point for Webflow(14:20) Setting culture at Webflow as a finance leader(15:45) Sponsor: Netsuite(17:00) On taking risks in your career(19:30) The most misunderstood elements of startup equity(23:01) How Ivan thinks about addressing equity questions from Webflow employees(25:22) How to think about equity(26:13) Ivan's philosophy on taking advantage of secondary opportunities(28:25) Ivan's take on Ramp's down round and if companies should allow employees to sell(30:13) How much should founders take off the table?(31:50) The first metric Ivan looks at in the morning(33:22) The top 3 metrics Ivan steers his exec team to look at(34:29) The last thing Ivan's asked his team to run the numbers on(37:52) ​​Ivan's approach to work-life balance(40:46) Long-ass lightning round: an example of when Ivan screwed up on the job, Webflow’s finance software stack, the craziest thing someone has tried to expense Get full access to Mostly metrics at www.mostlymetrics.com/subscribe

Michael Tannenbaum, COO/CFO of Brex, shares his journey through the high-stakes world of fintech. He discusses the importance of embracing personal and career risks, highlighting 'risk capital' learned from failures. The conversation dives into the nuances of liquidity and regulatory challenges in fintech versus traditional SaaS models. Tannenbaum also explores the impact of mergers on company culture and talent acquisition. He reflects on the unique dynamics of co-CEO structures and shares humorous insights about quirky corporate expenses.