Run the Numbers
de CJ Gustafson
Cel mai nou episod
The Profit Whale: The Chart Every CFO Should Build | Jason Cohen
The Profit Whale: The Chart Every CFO Should Build | Jason Cohen
Despre acest podcast
Run the Numbers is a business podcast about financial metrics and business models for CFOs, aspiring CFOs, finance leaders, and ambitious people operating tech startups. Hosted by CJ Gustafson, CFO and writer of Mostly Metrics, the show shares lessons, frameworks, and operator insights from the trenches as a tech exec. Think of it as a playbook for the things CJ wishes he knew earlier in his career, covering SaaS metrics, annual budgeting, forecasting, headcount, equity, dilution, fundraising, and the decisions that drive performance and growth.
Episoade
Cele mai noi 50 din 339 episoade
- The Profit Whale: The Chart Every CFO Should Build | Jason Cohen · 1 h 2 minIn this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Jason Cohen, author of Hidden Multipliers and founder of WP Engine and SmartBear. They cover the profit whale, an exercise…
- QuantumScape’s CFO on Funding the Future of Batteries | Kevin Hettrich · 48 minIn this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Kevin Hettrich, CFO of QuantumScape and a Stanford-trained engineer who joined as the company’s first product manager. They…
- Greenhouse’s CFO on Breaking the AI Hiring Doom Loop | Paul Todgham · 51 minIn this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Paul Todgham, CFO of Greenhouse, to talk about the AI doom loop in hiring, where candidates and recruiters both use AI and…
- Token Series Part 3 | Who’s Footing the Bill for AI? · 18 minIn Part 3 of our Token Series with Tabs, CJ and Ali Hussain ask who’s actually paying for AI. They cover the venture-funded subsidy behind today’s AI prices, why more companies…
- The Hierarchy of Metrics BS: How Investors Spot Fake Numbers | Brian Neider · 56 minIn this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Brian Neider of Lead Edge Capital, author of the viral “Hierarchy of Metrics Bullshit.” They cover how to spot misleading…
- Anthropic's Historic IPO Has Arrived | S1 Breakdown · 47 minIn this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ breaks down Anthropic’s S-1: the revenue growth, 900% net revenue retention, compute costs, gross margin, and whether the company is…
- Why Databricks’ Sid Kumar is Always Planning · 51 minIn this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ welcomes back Sid Kumar, who has led go-to-market through perpetual, cloud, SaaS, and consumption models at CA, AWS, HubSpot, and now…
- Oklo CFO on Leading Through Deepwater Horizon | Craig Bealmear · 33 minIn this episode of Run the Numbers, recorded live at Brex Mode in Chicago, CJ sits down with Craig Bealmear, CFO of Oklo, who spent nearly 30 years at BP before moving into…
- Token Series Part 2 | Finance's ChatGPT moment: MCP, Harness, and Headless Explained (simply) · 19 minIn Part 2 of our Token Series with Tabs, CJ and Ali Hussain ask how much AI is too much in finance. They cover why finance may be the most AI-forward function after product and…
- Brex's CFO on the Weekend SVB Collapsed | Erica Dorfman · 50 minEpisode Description: In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Erica Dorfman, CFO of Brex, to trace her path from capital markets at SoFi to product to the CFO seat…
- Former Netflix CFO Breaks Down Return on Compute | Jim Cook · 38 minIn this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ welcomes back Jim Cook, a multi-time CFO (Intuit, Netflix, Mozilla) turned coach, author, and newsletter writer. They dig into “return on…
- Inside the Food52 Bankruptcy | Heidi Robinson · 48 minIn this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Heidi Robinson, former CFO and COO of Food52, for one of the wildest CFO stories the show has featured. Heidi joined…
- Robinhood's CFO on Refounding & the Art of Capital Allocation | Shiv Verma · 1 h 6 minIn this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Shiv Verma, CFO of Robinhood, to unpack the company's 2022 "refounding". They dig into why Shiv personally signs off on…
- Token Series Part 1 | How AI Created a New Budget · 15 minThis is Part 1 of our new Token Series with Tabs. CJ calls up Ali Hussain to dig into one of the fastest-growing, least-understood line items on the P&L: AI inference and token…
- Why Owning Your Data Is the New Moat | Primary Venture's Emily Man · 54 minIn this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Emily Man of Primary Ventures to map out where value actually accrues in the AI economy. They break down the 5 layers of the…
- Zuora’s COFO On Going Private and Pricing AI | Todd McElhatton · 48 minIn this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Todd McElhatton, CFO of Zuora, for a deep cut on pricing, packaging, and value in the age of AI. They dig into how companies…
- LiveRamp’s CFO Rebuilt Pricing From Scratch | Lauren Dillard · 50 minCJ sits down with Lauren Dillard, CFO of LiveRamp, whose path to the CFO seat ran through investor relations, communications, and even a year as interim CMO. They dig into why…
- The NScale IPO | A Neocloud S1 Breakdown · 34 minNscale just filed its S-1 to go public on the NYSE — and it might be the wildest IPO filing of the year. This UK-based "NeoCloud" is only 2 years old, is gross margin negative…
- How Media Actually Makes Money | Blake Saunders · 51 minIn today’s Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Blake Saunders, founder and managing director at Core Advisors (an investment bank focused on media) and founder of The Joint, to go…
- How to Sell Your Company: A Multi-Time CFO's Full Playbook | Rick Smith · 1 h 6 minCJ sits down with multi-time CFO Rick Smith, founder of Bonfire Advisory and author of Six Months to the Sale, to break down what actually happens when you sell a company. They…
- Masterwork’s CFO Runs 12 AI Agents at Once | Nigel Glenday · 46 minCJ Gustafson sits down with Nigel Glenday, CFO and COO of Masterworks, to talk about how AI is actually changing day-to-day finance work. They cover why context matters more than…
- How Oura Built a $1.4 Billion Business Around a Tiny Ring · 34 minHow did Oura turn a tiny piece of wearable hardware into a $1.4 billion business? CJ breaks down the numbers behind Oura’s IPO filing and the surprisingly powerful business model…
- What 20 Years of Software Investing Says About AI | Matt Hedberg · 52 minIn this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Matt Hedberg, a sell-side equity analyst at RBC who has covered software for more than 20 years. They break down how AI…
- Andy Ellis: How to Lead Without Becoming the Hero, the Villain, or the Bottleneck · 1 h 0 minIn this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with leadership coach and former Akamai executive Andy Ellis. They break down why being indispensable can actually hurt your…
- 40 Years of IPOs with Jay Ritter: What the Data Actually Says · 54 minIn this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Jay Ritter. They break down what Apple, Nvidia, the dot-com boom, and today’s AI giants can teach us about IPOs, why…
- How AI Is Rewriting Product-Market Fit, Pricing, and Go-to-Market · 45 minCJ sits down with Rebecca Schwartz of Tabs, Fred Havemeyer of Fleet AI, and Rahul Rekhi of Rogo for a live conversation about what it actually takes to build an AI-native…
- The Stripe Guide to Pricing, Billing, and Quote-to-Cash with Wisam Hirzalla · 55 minIn this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Wisam Hirzalla, Head of Product at Stripe Billing, to trace the full journey of a dollar—from product packaging and pricing…
- The CFO-COO Is Coming: Meredith Finn of Front on the Future of Finance · 54 minFront CFO & COO Meredith Finn joins CJ to explain why finance leaders are taking on more of the operator’s job. They break down the CFO-COO dual mandate, how Front funds new bets…
- Xero’s CFO: Why Finance Is Taking On More of the Business · 50 minIn this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ Gustafson sits down with Xero CFO Claire Bramley to discuss how the CFO role is expanding beyond finance into strategy, operations…
- A CFO Explains Private Jets · 35 minOn this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ and Ben trace corporate private jets from Sam Walton’s scrappy two-seater to Alex Karp’s $17 million jet bill. They break down when flying…
- The Business of Saving Lives: Inside RapidSOS · 50 minOn this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ Gustafson sits down with Richard Haram, VP of Finance at RapidSOS, to unpack how finance supports a public safety AI platform that helps…
- Building an AI-Native Finance Team with Plaid CFO Seun Sodipo · 53 minOn this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Plaid CFO Seun Sodipo. Seun explains how her team is using AI to improve speed, accuracy, and ambition; why finance leaders…
- How to Tell a Demanding Founder They’re Wrong · 39 minOn this special episode of Run the Numbers, CJ Gustafson revisits standout moments from past conversations with Alex Immerman, Curt Sigfstead, Daniel Kang, Adam Ante, and David…
- The Four Stages of World-Class FP&A with Datadog’s AJ Ljubich · 58 minOn this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Datadog SVP of FP&A AJ Ljubich to break down the four stages of a world-class finance team. — SPONSORS: Brex is an…
- Dave McClure and Aman Verjee on Angel Investing at Scale, 500 Startups, and Practical VC · 1 h 0 minOn this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Dave McClure and Aman Verjee of Practical VC to talk about the evolution of startup investing — from the PayPal mafia and…
- Cumberland Farms S-1 Breakdown: Fuel, Snacks, and Debt · 37 minOn this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ breaks down Cumberland Farms’ IPO filing and the surprising business behind it. — SPONSORS: RightRev is an automated revenue recognition…
- Token Economics, AI ROI, and the Future of Investment Banking with Rahul Rekhi · 60 minIn this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Rogo president Rahul Rekhi to unpack what AI actually changes in investment banking and finance. They dig into token…
- Jersey Mike’s S-1 Breakdown: How a $4.2B Sandwich Machine Works · 28 minOn this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ breaks down Jersey Mike’s S-1 and the franchise machine behind more than $4 billion in sandwich sales. He explains how an asset-light…
- The CFO Who Was “Ill Equipped” to Save Lehman Brothers · 46 minWhat actually prepares someone to become a CFO? CJ revisits Erin Callan’s short, brutal run as Lehman Brothers CFO and pulls lessons from past guests on operational reps, simple…
- How Finance Teams Are Actually Using AI | Opendoor, Datadog, PwC · 40 minIn this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ goes live from Rillet Recon with Dana Decker (VP of Finance at Opendoor), AJ Ljubich (SVP, FP&A at Datadog), and Micah Richard (Principal…
- Lime’s S-1 Breakdown: The $1.8B Scooter IPO · 43 minIn this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ breaks down Lime’s S-1 as the scooter company heads toward the public markets. He gets into the $1.8B valuation, Wayne Ting’s turnaround…
- How Confluent’s CFO Runs Planning, Pricing, and Prioritization · 44 minOn this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Confluent CFO Rohan Sivaram to talk goal setting, prioritization, consumption-based pricing, hybrid zero-based budgeting…
- Salesforce Paid $2.1 Billion for His Company: Meet the CFO Who Made it Happen · 39 minIn this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Jake Kornreich, CFO of CoLab and former CFO of Own, live from the New York Stock Exchange. Jake breaks down the six-part…
- SoundCloud CFO Dan Bettes on Marketplace Liquidity, Music, and Forecasting · 41 minIn this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Dan Bettes, CFO of SoundCloud, at the New York Stock Exchange. Dan breaks down how SoundCloud operates as a two-sided music…
- Bending Spoons S1: How Italy's Software Acquirer Built a $20B Empire From the Discount Rack · 36 minIn this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ breaks down Bending Spoons’ F-1 filing and the acquisition machine behind AOL, Evernote, Vimeo, Eventbrite, and more. He unpacks the…
- Vercel's CFO Marten Abrahamsen: Move Fast or Fall Behind · 54 minCJ Gustafson sits down with Marten Abrahamsen, CFO of Vercel, at the NYSE to talk about running finance inside a hypergrowth AI company. They cover AI use cases in finance, rev…
- A CFO Explains Stock Exchanges · 37 minIn this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ breaks down how stock exchanges became the operating system of modern capitalism. From ship captains raising voyage money, to the Dutch…
- Zapier's CFO on Closing the Books in 5 Days, AI Hiring Bars, and M&A Discipline · 50 minIn this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Ryan Roccon, CFO of Zapier, to cover AI hiring standards, automating month-end close, measuring ROI on AI spend, and why…
- Navan CFO Aurélien Nolf on Resource Allocation, IR, and AI in Finance · 50 minIn this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Aurélien Nolf, CFO of Navan, to unpack how to pre-align before budgeting, how to think about portfolio construction inside a…
- SpaceX Is Going Public: Here's Everything You Need to Know · 42 minIn this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ breaks down SpaceX’s S-1, unpacking what the filing reveals about Starlink, xAI, X, common control accounting, revenue, losses, CapEx, and…
