Run the Numbers
CJ Gustafson
Run the Numbers is a twice-weekly podcast about financial metrics and business models, designed for ambitious people operating tech startups. It's a collection of things host CJ Gustafson (CFO at Partstech and writer of Mostly Metrics) has learned and thought about in the trenches as a tech CFO.
This show is meant to serve as a playbook of sorts for the stuff CJ wishes he knew earlier in his career, both from experience and from copying people smarter than himself.
Topics frequently touch upon Startup SaaS Metrics, Annual Budgeting, Financial Forecasting, Headcount, Equity, Dilution, and Fundraising – and how all of these drive business performance and growth.
This show is meant to serve as a playbook of sorts for the stuff CJ wishes he knew earlier in his career, both from experience and from copying people smarter than himself.
Topics frequently touch upon Startup SaaS Metrics, Annual Budgeting, Financial Forecasting, Headcount, Equity, Dilution, and Fundraising – and how all of these drive business performance and growth.
Episodes
Mentioned books
4 snips
May 11, 2026 • 1h 1min
The Investor Behind Warby Parker, Harry’s, and the Psychology of Consumer Growth | David Bell
David Bell, investor and Idea Farm Ventures co-founder who backed Warby Parker and Harry’s, breaks down where consumer opportunities hide. He discusses mixing economics with psychology, why boring categories win, the power of distribution and stores-as-advertising, and the gravity framework for mapping demand. Short, smart takes on product, brand, and where durable consumer advantage actually lives.
May 7, 2026 • 53min
Inside Mostly Media: The Team Behind Run the Numbers
Matthew Mozzocchi, who leads sales and partnerships at Mostly Media, and Callie Spillane, director of talent with in-house tech recruiting experience, reveal the team behind the scenes. They discuss scaling sales and sponsorships, building recruiting processes from zero-to-one, packaging media as integrated marketing, and how operations, production, and calendar chaos keep everything running.
32 snips
May 4, 2026 • 27min
Diamonds, De Beers, and the Death of Artificial Scarcity | A CFO Explains Diamonds
A deep dive into how a company engineered scarcity and mastered pricing power. Traces the history from mining booms and consolidation to centralized distribution tactics. Explores the marketing campaign that turned gems into cultural must-haves. Looks at the rise of lab-grown alternatives and how technology and transparency unraveled an artificial supply squeeze.
36 snips
Apr 27, 2026 • 51min
The North Face Former CFO: How Finance Builds Iconic Brands
Angela Chen, former CFO of The North Face and Mars Veterinary Health, expert in scaling consumer brands and capital allocation. She talks about measuring brand equity, the CFO as an architect of growth, linking money with talent and ideas, protecting brand while expanding, seasonality and supply chains, and humanistic leadership in finance.
45 snips
Apr 23, 2026 • 55min
How Great Deals Are Found, Evaluated, and Won | PSG’s Chris Nesbitt
Chris Nesbitt, Managing Director at PSG with deep experience in sourcing and scaling software companies. He talks about how niche vertical SaaS wins are found, why relationships and narrative shape deal decisions, and how simple forecasting and focused board meetings drive clearer outcomes. He also shares real sourcing stories and contrasts brand vs. partner value.
20 snips
Apr 20, 2026 • 54min
Why Health Tech Doesn’t Operate Like SaaS | Manu Diwakar, CFO of Virta Health
Manu Diwakar, CFO of Virta Health, helps scale a tech-enabled remote clinic focused on reversing metabolic disease. He explains why health tech is not traditional SaaS. Short takes cover pricing tied to outcomes, a workforce made up largely of clinicians, billing and compliance complexity, and the tradeoff between reinvestment and durable, sustainable growth.
45 snips
Apr 16, 2026 • 46min
Inside Figma’s Financial Playbook with CFO Praveer Melwani
Praveer Melwani, Figma CFO who scaled the company from ~30 people to IPO, shares the company’s financial playbook. He explains forecasting from in-product signals, pricing choices including AI credits, margin tradeoffs for growth, and why free cash flow per share guides long-term decisions. Short, sharp takes on TAM expansion, cohort signals, and building finance systems for a viral, product-led company.
39 snips
Apr 13, 2026 • 54min
Wealthfront’s CFO on Automation, Compounding Growth, and Going Public
Alan Imberman, CFO of Wealthfront and leader through its IPO, talks automation, product-led growth, and profitable scaling. He describes automating referrals, using aggregated product data to guide bets, and how compounding retention drives long-term growth. He also explains the timing and nonfinancial benefits of going public and shares practical modeling and management habits that shaped their strategy.
23 snips
Apr 9, 2026 • 53min
How Strategic CFOs Get It Wrong
Steve Isom, COO and CFO at Bloomerang with a background in investing and operations. He challenges what strategic finance really means. He explains why customer operations drive SaaS value. He shares how running ops makes unit economics visible. He explores how AI is reshaping finance leadership and why teams should experiment now.
22 snips
Apr 6, 2026 • 38min
CFO Explains: The Rise of Secondaries and the Death of the IPO Path
The show traces how secondaries grew from niche trades to the dominant path for liquidity. It explains why companies delay IPOs and how employees, VCs, and finance teams use tenders, SPVs, and continuation vehicles. It highlights structural risks like preference stacks, tax and communication challenges, and cautionary tales from big-name deals.
