That's What I Call Marketing S5Ep7: What your CFO actually wants to hear from you
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Feb 24, 2026 
Michael Kaminsky, former analytics leader at Harry’s and founder & CEO of Recast, builds marketing- finance bridges. He dives into why forecasts miss, why finance distrusts marketing numbers, how to talk ROI and risk in finance terms, the pitfalls of last-click attribution, and the value of structured experiments and forecasting tools.
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Harry's Wild West Early Channel Wins
- Harry's growth often didn't require precise measurement because early returns were huge and obvious.
- Michael Kaminsky recalls early podcast and social channels delivering hundred-fold returns where the team simply poured more budget in.
Frame Brand As Capital Allocation
- Brand should be framed as a capital allocation problem with explicit timelines and trade-offs against short-term sales.
- Michael Kaminsky says finance accepts brand spend when marketers show expected profit timing and comparable industry evidence.
Use Discounted Cash Flow Language
- Learn finance basics and use discounted cash flow thinking to explain when profits materialize.
- Michael Kaminsky recommends marketers compute when revenue and profit will accrue so finance can compare present value of returns.