Model Selection and Custom Models Reduce Costs

In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Intercom CFO Dan Griggs to discuss pricing and forecasting in the AI era. Dan shares the “it’s not zero” rule, the logic behind Fin’s $0.99 pricing, and how to bet on AI without blowing up the core business.

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SPONSORS:

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Metronome is real-time billing built for modern software companies. Metronome turns raw usage events into accurate invoices, gives customers bills they actually understand, and keeps finance, product, and engineering perfectly in sync. That’s why category-defining companies like OpenAI and Anthropic trust Metronome to power usage-based pricing and enterprise contracts at scale. Focus on your product — not your billing. Learn more and get started at https://www.metronome.com

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Rillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to close faster without fighting legacy systems. Designed to support complex revenue recognition, multi-entity operations, and real-time reporting, Rillet helps teams achieve a true zero-day close—with some customers closing in hours, not days. If you’re scaling on an ERP that wasn’t built in the 90s, book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cj

Tabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at https://www.tabs.com/run

Abacum is a modern FP&A platform built by former CFOs to replace slow, consultant-heavy planning tools. With self-service integrations and AI-powered workflows for forecasting, variance analysis, and scenario modeling, Abacum helps finance teams scale without becoming software admins. Trusted by teams at Strava, Replit, and JG Wentworth—learn more at https://www.abacum.ai

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LINKS: 

Dan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-griggs-0970181/

Intercom: https://www.intercom.com/

CJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/

Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com

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TIMESTAMPS:

00:00:00 Cold Open

00:01:03 Dan Griggs and Intercom’s AI Pivot

00:02:45 Ice Cream to SaaS

00:04:19 Learning the Business

00:06:26 Operational Reality and Forecasts

00:08:00 “It’s Not Zero” Forecasting

00:10:09 Scenario Planning and Ambiguity

00:11:23 Sponsors — Brex | Metronome | RightRev

00:14:43 Mental Models for Metrics

00:16:15 Mental Math for Forecasts

00:17:28 Core CFO Ratios

00:19:13 Intercom’s Burn-the-Boats Moment

00:20:53 AI as an Existential Bet

00:22:21 SaaS Categories AI Can Replace

00:23:04 Why Finance Lags on AI

00:23:39 Sponsors — Rillet | Tabs | Abacum

00:27:05 Why Fin Uses Outcome Pricing

00:28:59 The $0.99 Resolution Tradeoff

00:30:46 Why Support Work Varies

00:32:01 AI Resolution Unit Economics

00:33:08 Model Choice as Costs Fall

00:35:19 Domain-Specific vs Generic LLMs

00:36:08 Selling Against the Core

00:38:50 Founder vs Professional CEOs

00:41:47 Hiring Mistakes and Instincts

00:44:28 Intercom’s Finance Stack

00:45:49 Craziest Expense Request