Run the Numbers

At scaling companies. parting ways with an executive requires finesse, strategic insights, and insider experience. CJ invited longtime people leaders - and hosts of the HR Heretics podcast - to break down every facet, lever, and little known facts behind successfully exiting execs. If you’re looking for an ERP platform, check out our sponsor, NetSuite: https://netsuite.com/metricsWhether its due to hypergrowth or part of an M&A process. CJ, Kelli, and Nolan describe what they've seen in Silicon Valley and what to watch out for. Kelli Dragovich has been a people leader at Pendo, Intuit, Github, Looker, Google, Hired.com and more. Nolan Church was head of talent at DoorDash and the former CPO at Carta. He is now the founder of Continuum Talent (www.joincontinuum.com)---SPONSORS:NetSuite provides financial software for all your business needs. More than thirty-six thousand companies have already upgraded to NetSuite, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you're looking for an ERP platform ✅ NetSuite: https://netsuite.com/metrics and defer payments of a FULL NetSuite implementation for six months.Tropic is the next-generation Procurement Platform that’s helping modern CFOs take control of their budgets and bottom line. By combining approval workflows, supplier management, and pricing benchmarks all in one place, Tropic makes savings opportunities easy to find and act on. 🌴 Visit www.tropicapp.io/metrics to learn how. Planful empowers teams just like yours to drive peak financial performance in every corner of your business. Think purpose-built applications for every department, from FP&A to accounting, marketing to HR, all with built-in financial intelligence. ✍️ Go to https://planful.com/metrics to see how you can tackle unwanted surprises in real-time.---RECOMMENDED PODCAST: HR HERETICS https://link.chtbl.com/hrhereticsHas HR gotten too soft? Nolan and Kelli have discussions with people leaders, founders and board members about important and underdiscussed business topics -- and firsthand stories from scaling companies. Highly recommend episodes with Molly Graham on early Facebook, Steve Cadigan on early LinkedIn, and Patty McCord on building Netflix's culture (and infamous culture deck).---LINKEDIN:CJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson/Kelli: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellidragovich/Nolan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nolan-church/---TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Intro(00:20) How to approach exiting a member of the C suite(02:11) How to frame and handle an executive's termination(04:19) The best way to terminate somebody(07:30) Handling compensation when terminating someone(08:49) The most likely way for an executive to leave a company is to get fired(17:20) Sponsor - Netsuite | Planful(19:40) Equity acceleration and executive exits(23:01) What is a garden leave?(24:28) Single trigger versus a double trigger clause(28:00) Sponsor - Tropic(31:52) On employment agreements(39:40) How does a board approach firing a CEO(42:10) Who is more successful at galvanizing a company: founder CEOs or professional CEOs?(46:00) What if I'm the one getting fired? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cjgustafson.substack.com

Earnings calls. If you’re at a pre-IPO company, the' before, during, and after' of an earnings call can be a black box. That's why we brought on Sonalee Parekh, the Chief Financial Officer at RingCentral, for a masterclass about the best ways to prepare for an earnings call -- down to the most granular details and pitfalls to avoid. Along the way she dispenses some excellent career advice to CFOs and those aspiring to the seat. If you’re looking for an ERP platform, check out our sponsor, NetSuite: https://netsuite.com/metrics---SPONSORS:NetSuite provides financial software for all your business needs. More than thirty-six thousand companies have already upgraded to NetSuite, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you're looking for an ERP platform ✅ NetSuite: https://netsuite.com/metrics and defer payments of a FULL NetSuite implementation for six months.Planful empowers teams just like yours to drive peak financial performance in every corner of your business. Think purpose-built applications for every department, from FP&A to accounting, marketing to HR, all with built-in financial intelligence. ✍️ Go to https://planful.com/metrics to see how you can tackle unwanted surprises in real-time.Tropic is the next-generation Procurement Platform that’s helping modern CFOs take control of their budgets and bottom line. By combining approval workflows, supplier management, and pricing benchmarks all in one place, Tropic makes savings opportunities easy to find and act on. 🌴 Visit www.tropicapp.io/metrics to learn how. ---X / TWITTER:@cjgustafson222 (CJ)@TurpentineMedia (Turpentine)---TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Episode Preview(01:55) Mailbag question(05:15) Sonalee's first earnings call as a public CFO(07:30) Handling curveball questions(09:06) The planning process for an earnings call(14:15) Messaging and metrics(15:50) Sponsor: NetSuite(17:00) Division of responsibilities(23:30) Sponsor: Planful(24:30) Disclosing ARR(26:40) Prepping for analysts(29:55) Who's actually in the room?(34:30) Making the jump to public company CFO(35:45) CEO - CFO relationship(40:30) What separates the great CFOs from the good CFOs(45:00) Rep Yo Stack sponsored by Tropic - Sonalee's tech stack This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cjgustafson.substack.com

Tomasz Tunguz, founder of Theory Ventures, shares insights on evolving CFO roles in venture-backed companies, building successful businesses, and what makes a great CFO. The discussion covers scaling with NetSuite, hiring strategies, and the transition of CFOs into strategic leaders. The podcast also explores economic recovery for professionals and the growth plans of a venture firm.

On this episode on Run the Numbers Ex-CMO turned founder, Jeff Yoshimura shares with us how high-performing marketing and finance teams should work together. Jeff is a seasoned enterprise technology operator, founder, investor, advisor, and executive leader. Most recently, over two and a half years, as CMO of Snyk, Jeff helped Snyk grow from a $2.2B to a $7.4B valuation and 500 to 2,500+ customers. Prior to that, Jeff led marketing at Elastic (NYSE: ESTC) for over five years from $20M to $500M revenues, was a founding team member at Zuora (NYSE: ZUO) and an early employee at Salesforce (NYSE: CRM). Jeff is currently a co-founder of a startup to be launched in early 2024.---SPONSORS:NetSuite provides financial software for all your business needs. More than thirty-six thousand companies have already upgraded to NetSuite, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you're looking for an ERP platform ✅ NetSuite: https://netsuite.com/metrics and defer payments of a FULL NetSuite implementation for six months.Tropic is the next-generation Procurement Platform that’s helping modern CFOs take control of their budgets and bottom line. By combining approval workflows, supplier management, and pricing benchmarks all in one place, Tropic makes savings opportunities easy to find and act on. 🌴 Visit www.tropicapp.io/metrics to learn how. Planful empowers teams just like yours to drive peak financial performance in every corner of your business. Think purpose-built applications for every department, from FP&A to accounting, marketing to HR, all with built-in financial intelligence. ✍️ Go to https://planful.com/metrics to see how you can tackle unwanted surprises in real-time.---X / TWITTER:@cjgustafson222 (CJ)@TurpentineMedia (Turpentine)---TIMESTAMPS: This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cjgustafson.substack.com

In this conversation, Razzak Jallow, the CFO of FloQast, emphasizes that finance teams should view themselves as data curators, enhancing decision-making through effective financial storytelling. He explores the crucial role of a CFO in aligning with the CEO's vision and draws valuable lessons from Apple's execution strategy. Jallow also discusses the unique challenges of finance in remote settings and the importance of communication during corporate transitions. His insights offer a fresh perspective on leveraging data to drive organizational success.

Kyle Poyar, Operating Partner at OpenView, discusses pricing strategies, exploring price elasticity, software companies, service sponsors for CFOs, auto industry evolution, and NetSuite benefits. They also cover pricing models, revenue growth implications, customer retention strategies, and embracing constructive criticism in venture capital.

Dave Kellogg, experienced board member and startup CEO, provides insights on executing great board meetings. He emphasizes the importance of clear presentation of information, templates for reporting metrics, and using NetSuite and Tropic procurement platform. Kellogg also discusses the significance of transparency, surprise, and independence in board meetings, as well as tips for leading a strategic board discussion.

This Thursday, Paul Barnhurst, the renowned "FPandA Guy" on LinkedIn, joins CJ to crack down on all things FP&A tools to create the ultimate FP&A guide. If you’re looking for an ERP platform, check out our sponsor, NetSuite: https://netsuite.com/metrics---SPONSORS:NetSuite provides financial software for all your business needs. More than thirty-six thousand companies have already upgraded to NetSuite, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you're looking for an ERP platform ✅ NetSuite: https://netsuite.com/metrics and defer payments of a FULL NetSuite implementation for six months.Tropic is the next-generation Procurement Platform that’s helping modern CFOs take control of their budgets and bottom line. By combining approval workflows, supplier management, and pricing benchmarks all in one place, Tropic makes savings opportunities easy to find and act on. 🌴 Visit www.tropicapp.io/metrics to learn how. ---X / TWITTER:@cjgustafson222 (CJ)@TurpentineMedia (Turpentine)---TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Episode Preview(01:24) Reflections on the FP&A function(02:12) On available tools for FP&A professionals(04:35) Paul on Gen 1 tools(06:31) How did we get to Gen 3 tools(10:35) New FP&A tools x BI(15:19) Are the current tools partially behind in terms of the shift on the CFO role?(17:02) Sponsor - NetSuite(19:04) The challenge of aligning on finance metric definitions(21:44) What tools should a CFO buy?(25:54) The finance tech stack in 10 years(27:58) Paul on the current AI revolution(33:09) SEGMENT: Long-ass lightning round This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cjgustafson.substack.com

Brandon Deer, Chief Strategy Officer of UiPath, joins CJ this week to talk through how UiPath scaled a lightning-fast pace, and the unforeseen sacrifices they had to make in order to move as fast as possible. If you’re looking for an ERP platform, check out our sponsor, NetSuite: https://netsuite.com/metrics---SPONSORS:NetSuite provides financial software for all your business needs. More than thirty-six thousand companies have already upgraded to NetSuite, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you're looking for an ERP platform ✅ NetSuite: https://netsuite.com/metrics and defer payments of a FULL NetSuite implementation for six months.Tropic is the next-generation Procurement Platform that’s helping modern CFOs take control of their budgets and bottom line. By combining approval workflows, supplier management, and pricing benchmarks all in one place, Tropic makes savings opportunities easy to find and act on. 🌴 Visit www.tropicapp.io/metrics to learn how. ---RECOMMENDED PODCAST:The HR industry is at a crossroads. What will it take to construct the next generation of incredible businesses – and where can people leaders have the most business impact? Hosts Nolan Church and Kelli Dragovich have been through it all, the highs and the lows – IPOs, layoffs, executive turnover, board meetings, culture changes, and more. With a lineup of industry vets and experts, Nolan and Kelli break down the nitty-gritty details, trade offs, and dynamics of constructing high performing companies. Through unfiltered conversations that can only happen between seasoned practitioners, Kelli and Nolan dive deep into the kind of leadership-level strategy that often happens behind closed doors. Check out the first episode with the architect of Netflix’s culture deck Patty McCord.https://link.chtbl.com/hrheretics---X / TWITTER:@cjgustafson222 (CJ)@TurpentineMedia (Turpentine)---TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Episode Preview(00:14) Mailbag Q and A: What is your #1 model for finance and strategy?(04:01) Mailbag Q and A: How do you convince early stage founders that having good financial and operational hygiene is super important?(08:32) Mailbag Q and A: How do you make resource allocation decisions?(14:29) The UiPath experience on going global(16:40) What UiPath could have done better(19:35) Sponsor: Netsuite(23:05) Making conscious trade-offs when going international(25:38) A guide for founders on the go to market aspects of a company(28:16) War stories leading up to the IPO(31:32) Brandon's foot faults and what he's done to avoid repeating mistakes(34:57) Run in with Jim Cramer This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cjgustafson.substack.com

We kick off our Thursday operator series with the VP of Sales at Snyk, Ethan Schechter. He and CJ get into how finance and sales can work together to set and achieve revenue goals, how to create a winning culture within your sales team, SPIFFs, PIPs, and much more. If you’re looking for an ERP platform, check out our sponsor, NetSuite: https://netsuite.com/metrics---SPONSORS:NetSuite provides financial software for all your business needs. More than thirty-six thousand companies have already upgraded to NetSuite, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you're looking for an ERP platform ✅ NetSuite: https://netsuite.com/metrics and defer payments of a FULL NetSuite implementation for six months.Tropic is the next-generation Procurement Platform that’s helping modern CFOs take control of their budgets and bottom line. By combining approval workflows, supplier management, and pricing benchmarks all in one place, Tropic makes savings opportunities easy to find and act on. 🌴 Visit www.tropicapp.io/metrics to learn how. ---RECOMMENDED PODCAST:The HR industry is at a crossroads. What will it take to construct the next generation of incredible businesses – and where can people leaders have the most business impact? Hosts Nolan Church and Kelli Dragovich have been through it all, the highs and the lows – IPOs, layoffs, executive turnover, board meetings, culture changes, and more. With a lineup of industry vets and experts, Nolan and Kelli break down the nitty-gritty details, trade offs, and dynamics of constructing high performing companies. Through unfiltered conversations that can only happen between seasoned practitioners, Kelli and Nolan dive deep into the kind of leadership-level strategy that often happens behind closed doors. Check out the first episode with the architect of Netflix’s culture deck Patty McCord.https://link.chtbl.com/hrheretics---X / TWITTER:@cjgustafson222 (CJ)@TurpentineMedia (Turpentine)---TIMESTAMPS:(00:00) Episode Preview(01:09) Start of interview(02:37) How finance and sales can work together to set and achieve revenue goals(05:36) How to create a winning culture within your sales team(11:06) On ramping up and lead times(13:29) Are sales people ever the victim of their own success?(14:55) Sponsor: NetSuite(17:21) On discounts and getting quick wins(21:58) On SPIFFs: when to use them, structure, etc.(27:23) Where should sales ops sit?(30:54) When should you bring in sales enablement?(31:42) How to think about PIPs(36:31) SEGMENT: Long-ass Lightning Round(39:06) SEGMENT: Rep Yo Stack - Sponsored by Tropic(40:58) Craziest things a salesperson has tried to expense This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cjgustafson.substack.com