Run the Numbers

chevron_right

How Finance Becomes a GTM Partner, Not a Bottleneck | Chris Brubaker

whatshot 11 snips

Jan 19, 2026

Guest

Chris Brubaker

In this engaging discussion, Chris Brubaker, SVP of Finance at Postscript, shares his insights on transforming finance into a collaborative partner for go-to-market teams. He emphasizes the importance of establishing deal desks early and setting pricing guardrails based on data analysis. Chris showcases innovative automation strategies using AI, like a Slack bot streamlining deal processes. He touches on evolving metrics for forecasting and the critical balance between internal data and benchmarks. Plus, he shares a lighthearted private jet accounting story!

49:41

forum

Ask episode

web_stories

AI Snips

view_agenda

Chapters

auto_awesome

Transcript

info_circle

Episode notes

volunteer_activism

ADVICE

Get Technical Enough To Collaborate

Learn enough technical context to know what tooling can do and to communicate with engineers effectively.
You don't need to be an expert coder, but understanding capabilities accelerates finance-led automation.

volunteer_activism

ADVICE

Automate Processes Without Engineering

When engineering bandwidth is tight, automate user workflows with bots and agents instead of waiting for product changes.
Chris replaced a monthly seven-hour manual invoicing task with a bot that downloads PDFs and auto-emails them without engineering work.

insights

INSIGHT

AI Finds Missed Accruals

AI can surface bookkeeping oversights by scanning transaction history and flagging missing accruals.
Chris credits an accrual bot for catching items and improving close reliability, not replacing accrual schedules.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

First finance hire and priorities at Postscript

02:19 • 5min

chevron_right

Usage-based margins and Twilio parallels

07:36 • 3min

chevron_right

When to build a deal desk

10:19 • 57sec

chevron_right

Deal desk structure and commercial contracts

11:16 • 2min

chevron_right

Pricing guardrails: balancing margin and wins

13:17 • 7min

chevron_right

Making finance a partner, not a blocker

19:52 • 38sec

chevron_right

Automating deal intake with a Slack bot

20:30 • 3min

chevron_right

Technical skills for modern finance leaders

23:10 • 2min

chevron_right

Automation when engineering is constrained

25:14 • 3min

chevron_right

Tech stack overhaul and ERP migration

27:53 • 2min

chevron_right

Continuous close and accrual AI

29:43 • 2min

chevron_right

Experimenting with AI for forecasting

31:18 • 2min

chevron_right

Evolving metrics: message volume as a leading signal

33:36 • 2min

chevron_right

Core metrics vs. supporting KPIs

35:43 • 2min

chevron_right

Learning the product for usage-based forecasting

38:07 • 2min

chevron_right

Micro-seasonality and cohort forecasting

39:50 • 3min

chevron_right

Benchmarks are helpful but lagging

42:22 • 1min

chevron_right

Mistake: missing costs in strategic proposals

43:45 • 2min

chevron_right

Career advice: go beyond your job description

45:45 • 1min

chevron_right

Private jet accounting tale

In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Chris Brubaker, SVP of Finance at Postscript, who’s helped build the finance function from the ground up. Chris shares how he partners with sales through deal desks, sets pricing guardrails, and makes sure finance helps close deals instead of slowing them down. They dig into his hands-on approach to automation using AI with limited engineering resources, how Postscript’s metrics evolved as the company scaled, when to trust internal data over benchmarks, and where teams get tripped up. Plus, a private jet accounting story—because of course.

—

SPONSORS:

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

Brex is an intelligent finance platform that combines corporate cards, built-in expense management, and AI agents to eliminate manual finance work. By automating expense reviews and reconciliations, Brex gives CFOs more time for the high-impact work that drives growth. Join 35,000+ companies like Anthropic, Coinbase, and DoorDash at https://www.brex.com/metrics

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

RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.com

—

LINKS:

Chris on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wchrisbrubaker/

Postscript: https://postscript.io/

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

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

—

RELATED EPISODES:

So You’re Looking for a “Strategic” CFO? Bloomerang’s Steve Isom on What That Really Means

https://youtu.be/cgHOtvG1Ces

The IPO Playbook: Expert Advice from Lee Kirkpatrick, Twilio’s Former CFO

https://youtu.be/PTKAUD7PSWU