Listen to hear key takeaways from finance leaders on selecting the right tools, hiring for scale, and how to prioritize strategic initiatives.Time Stamps:1:00: Patti Kangwankij of Stripe on hiring for diversity of experience1:49 Patti Kangwankij of Stripe on hiring leaders early3:14 Artem Mashkov of SwagUp’s approach of people over product5:16 Scott Orn of Kruze Consulting on prioritizing clients over systems6:57 Jonah Remz of Capchase on the transition from Quickbooks to Netsuite8:15 Jonah Remz on upscaling Capchase’s abilities in the FP&A space9:34 Aron Susman of Ro on creating a culture of trust11:19 Tom Egan of DivvyHomes on his career transition12:06 Tom Egan on the importance of hiring for complimentary skills13:46 Jeannie de Guzman of 1Password talks hiring for resilience

Joe Garafalo, co-founder of Mosaic and a finance tech expert, joins Alex Song, Head of Finance at Ramp. They discuss transitioning from outdated finance tools to innovative tech solutions. Joe highlights how financial models can transform business conversations and emphasizes the importance of hiring a controller. The duo explores the integration of software like Snowflake for automation and how understanding investor trends shapes company strategies. They also touch on why pricing accessibility is key to Mosaic's mission.

Aron Susman of Ro speaks with host Alex Song about the power of vulnerability and why he doesn't think an MBA is vital for advancing in finance. Time Stamps:1:17 The origins of Ro5:16 How healthcare has evolved from an in person to online/at home experience7:51 Aron on the real mandate of a CFO19:25 The power of simplified communication22:17 The benefits of remote work25:22 Aron on asking for help, especially in leadership roles26:17 Learning and growing from failure and mistakes30:20 Empathy in the workplace33:20 Implicit versus explicit costs35:46 Aron on the growing into the role of a CFO and why your MBA isn’t the only path38:58 How Aron is combating market volatility and current headwinds39:56 On growing smarter not faster43:36 How Covid grew Ro’s business and the acceptance on tele-medicine

Mary Liu speaks to Alex Song about why Applied Intuition believes in working from the office 5x/week and why you should fundraise when you're in a position of power. Time stamps:Mary’s journey from capital markets to Applied Intuition: 1:15About Applied Intuition: 3:04Applied Intuition’s milestones: 6:15What it was like to join as the first finance hire: 8:16How Mary’s team is successful with only two people: 10:36Which functions Mary thinks can be outsourced: 13:57Key hires she plans to make in the near future: 17:45What’s in Applied Intuition’s toolkit: 20:18Applied Intuition’s back to office policy: 24:40The real reason some companies fail: 29:31What’s currently top of mind for Mary: 34:24Why she believes everyone is a recruiter: 38:01

Josh Reeves speaks to Alex Song about supply chain snarls and how he's rethinking his inventory process. Show notesSimilarities between technology and business: 1:50Walther Farms’ typical customer: 5:06Doing finance/accounting for a farm vs other industries: 7:21Why agriculture has been hit especially hard by supply chain issues: 9:18How Josh protects his business against inflation: 11:39How his team has reconsidered inventory in the last few years: 12:12The advantage of diverse locations: 13:46How Josh’s finance team is organized: 15:49The systems that his team depends on: 19:15The average breakdown of his finance team’s responsibilities: 22:41Why Josh is excited about the future of regenerative ag: 25:44

Alex speaks with Patti Kangwankij about how she successfully transitioned from investment banking to a SaaS rocketship and how she manages to think long-term while working in such a fast-paced environment. Time stamps:Patti’s journey from corporate finance/M&A to Stripe: 0:51How her operational cadence changed moving from JP Morgan to Stripe: 7:37The early days of Stripe’s finance team: 10:33How a focus on diversity can benefit your team: 16:35Patti’s day-to-day responsibilities: 20:41Patti’s thoughts on product finance: 22:56How her team engages in long-term planning: 28:36Some of her favorite vendors and software: 33:20Stripe’s focus this year: 37:16

Alex speaks with Artem Mashkov about how he’s structured his finance team and why he places a high priority on FinOps. Time stamps:How SwagUp is funded: 4:58Artem’s background: 5:59How his first business survived two recessions and COVID-19: 7:27Why being fully remote puts all employees on equal footing: 13:02How SwagUp’s finance team is structured: 15:46Artem’s view of the FinOps landscape: 17:13 Why efficiency in FinOps is so important: 18:38How his team has been able to grow with Ramp: 28:05 The importance of financial education for employees: 31:01Why the employee is always right: 35:00

Alex speaks with Tom Egan, CFO and Head of Capital Markets at DivvyHomes, about how he built out his finance team and how he's managing their FinOps function. Time Stamps:Tom’s journey to Divvy: 1:22How DivvyHomes works, and the user journey: 6:02Where DivvyHomes operates: 9:58How Tom built out the finance function: 11:06How the finance team operates today: 16:11What Tom spends most of his time on today: 20:50How DivvyHomes manages its FinOps: 23:22How Tom’s team handles LLCs: 26:58Potential areas of improvement: 31:18The value of starting your audit early: 34:18Whether call options are accounted for on their balance sheets: 36:26

Alex speaks with Scott Orn about the importance of truly valuing your own systems and the most critical skill for a founder to have. Time Stamps:Scott’s journey to Kruze: 2:09Kruze’s product lines: 5:12Kruze’s typical client profile: 7:07When Scott and Vanessa finally brought in a CFO internally: 10:01The most important thing for a founder to do well: 13:11Why legacy cards aren’t the right fit for founders: 16:16Big 4 vs regional firm audits: 21:33Scope creep in audits: 26:16How Kruze handles a decentralized workforce: 28:42Scott’s thoughts on crypto accounting: 34:06Why you shouldn’t manage your company on a day to day basis: 38:37

Alex speaks with Patrick Corker about how he scaled his team during a pandemic and Circle's upcoming strategic initiatives. Time Stamps:4:30: How Circle’s finance team has evolved6:47: Patrick’s day to day responsibilities9:00: Circle’s major strategic initiatives13:08: How Circle adapted to challenges caused by the pandemic 17:53: The activity Patrick wishes he could spend more time on 23:14: The value of encouraging employees to ask questions 26:01: The importance of educating your auditors28:50: Crypto accounting pitfalls to avoid 31:00: How Patrick views internal hiring vs outsourcing