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Run the Numbers: Daily Summaries Delivered
by CJ Gustafson
Run the Numbers is a business podcast about financial metrics and business models for CFOs, aspiring CFOs, finance leaders, and ambitious people operating tech startups. Hosted by CJ Gustafson, CFO and writer of Mostly Metrics, the show shares lessons, frameworks, and operator insights from the trenches as a tech exec. Think of it as a playbook for the things CJ wishes he knew earlier in his career, covering SaaS metrics, annual budgeting, forecasting, headcount, equity, dilution, fundraising, and the decisions that drive performance and growth.
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- 1 weeks ago47 min
Anthropic's Historic IPO Has Arrived | S1 Breakdown
In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ breaks down Anthropic’s S-1: the revenue growth, 900% net revenue retention, compute costs, gross margin, and whether the company is actually profitable. We also cover the risk factors, the five-class share structure, executive pay, and what a roughly $2 trillion valuation implies next to other recent IPOs.—SPONSORS:RightRev is a revenue recognition platform built for the AI economy, helping finance support usage-based pricing, credits, hybrid contracts, seats plus consumption, and whatever commercial model comes next. It gives product teams the freedom to keep innovating without outdated revenue systems slowing them down. Learn how RightRev can help at https://rightrev.com/cjFidelity Private Shares gives founders the structure and simplicity to focus on what actually matters - building your company. If your startup needs a little extra support (and let’s be honest, who doesn’t need a little help now and then), then you’re in for a pleasant surprise with Fidelity. If you stay investor ready, you don’t have to get investor ready. Check out www.fidelityprivateshares.comRillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to replace NetSuite and close faster. With revenue recognition, close management, multi-entity support, and native Stripe and Salesforce integrations, Rillet helps scaling companies run their finance stack in one place. Hundreds of teams, including Windsurf and Mercor, use Rillet to make the zero-day close real. Book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cjCloud Capital helps you say goodbye to on-demand rates for cloud. Committing more cuts the rate you pay for cloud infrastructure by 20–60%. Commit wrong and you pay for capacity you'll never use. Cloud Capital underwrites that risk, so you capture the savings of deeper commitments without locking in architecture or putting engineers on it. Go to www.cloudcapital.coBrex 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/metricsAbacum puts your actuals, forecasts, models, and business context in one place, so you can update the plan, run scenarios, and answer "why did this change?" without rebuilding the story from six spreadsheets and a Slack thread. Connect your source systems, keep models and assumptions aligned, and give leaders trusted answers while decisions are still being made. Go to abacum.ai/mostly-metrics.EY works with high-growth tech companies to navigate the messy realities of scaling—from regulatory requirements to IPO readiness. By helping teams get it right early and often, EY lets founders stay focused on building while reducing risk as they grow. Learn more at https://www.ey.com/techstartups—LINKS: Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsNCJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Cold Open1:08 Ticker, Raise, and Valuation2:02 Three Big Questions2:21 Key Stats at a Glance8:04 The Best Shareholder Letter Ever11:18 Where Anthropic Sits in the AI Stack15:20 How Anthropic Makes Money18:02 Run Rate vs. ARR20:56 Revenue Efficiency22:48 The Four Financial Drivers25:16 Are They Profitable?26:37 Gross Margin31:29 Cash Flow35:22 Wallet Share and Too Many Partners37:18 Red Flags40:49 The Cap Table42:08 Exec Pay and the Board43:33 Valuation44:50 IPO Comps45:12 Odds and Ends45:55 Bull Case and Final Take46:57 Wrap Up#RunTheNumbersPodcast #Anthropic #IPO #S1 #AI
- 1 weeks ago50 min
Why Databricks’ Sid Kumar is Always Planning
In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ welcomes back Sid Kumar, who has led go-to-market through perpetual, cloud, SaaS, and consumption models at CA, AWS, HubSpot, and now Databricks. They cover how consumption changes the sales org, why customer success has an identity crisis, how to build a commission stack, and what ARR actually means. Sid also shares how AI is reshaping capacity planning and why he thinks annual planning is giving way to continuous planning.—SPONSORS:Abacum puts your actuals, forecasts, models, and business context in one place, so you can update the plan, run scenarios, and answer "why did this change?" without rebuilding the story from six spreadsheets and a Slack thread. Connect your source systems, keep models and assumptions aligned, and give leaders trusted answers while decisions are still being made.Go to abacum.ai/mostly-metrics.RightRev is a revenue recognition platform built for the AI economy, helping finance support usage-based pricing, credits, hybrid contracts, seats plus consumption, and whatever commercial model comes next. It gives product teams the freedom to keep innovating without outdated revenue systems slowing them down. Learn how RightRev can help at https://rightrev.com/cjFidelity Private Shares gives founders the structure and simplicity to focus on what actually matters - building your company. If your startup needs a little extra support (and let’s be honest, who doesn’t need a little help now and then), then you’re in for a pleasant surprise with Fidelity. If you stay investor ready, you don’t have to get investor ready. Check out www.fidelityprivateshares.comRillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to replace NetSuite and close faster. With revenue recognition, close management, multi-entity support, and native Stripe and Salesforce integrations, Rillet helps scaling companies run their finance stack in one place. Hundreds of teams, including Windsurf and Mercor, use Rillet to make the zero-day close real. Book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cjCloud Capital helps you say goodbye to on-demand rates for cloud. Committing more cuts the rate you pay for cloud infrastructure by 20–60%. Commit wrong and you pay for capacity you'll never use. Cloud Capital underwrites that risk, so you capture the savings of deeper commitments without locking in architecture or putting engineers on it. Go to www.cloudcapital.coBrex 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/metricsEY works with high-growth tech companies to navigate the messy realities of scaling—from regulatory requirements to IPO readiness. By helping teams get it right early and often, EY lets founders stay focused on building while reducing risk as they grow. Learn more at https://www.ey.com/techstartups—LINKS: Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsNCraig on Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/craig-bealmear-a375573Oklo: https://oklo.com/CJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Cold Open2:52 Go-to-Market5:05 Perpetual, SaaS, Consumption7:01 The Contract Isn’t the Moment of Truth10:24 A Different Kind of AE17:41 Customer Success’s Identity Crisis20:23 Hunter vs. Farmer22:44 Motion Specialization23:50 Building the Commission Stack28:07 CAC and LTV29:54 What ARR Means33:44 Pat
- 2 weeks ago32 min
Oklo CFO on Leading Through Deepwater Horizon | Craig Bealmear
In this episode of Run the Numbers, recorded live at Brex Mode in Chicago, CJ sits down with Craig Bealmear, CFO of Oklo, who spent nearly 30 years at BP before moving into nuclear. They cover raising billions before meaningful revenue, why cash matters more than the P&L, and how he hires the finance team Oklo will need two years from now. Craig also looks back at leading through the Deepwater Horizon crisis.—SPONSORS: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/metricsAbacum puts your actuals, forecasts, models, and business context in one place, so you can update the plan, run scenarios, and answer "why did this change?" without rebuilding the story from six spreadsheets and a Slack thread. Connect your source systems, keep models and assumptions aligned, and give leaders trusted answers while decisions are still being made. Go to abacum.ai/mostly-metrics.RightRev is a revenue recognition platform built for the AI economy, helping finance support usage-based pricing, credits, hybrid contracts, seats plus consumption, and whatever commercial model comes next. It gives product teams the freedom to keep innovating without outdated revenue systems slowing them down. Learn how RightRev can help at https://rightrev.com/cjFidelity Private Shares gives founders the structure and simplicity to focus on what actually matters - building your company. If your startup needs a little extra support (and let’s be honest, who doesn’t need a little help now and then), then you’re in for a pleasant surprise with Fidelity. If you stay investor ready, you don’t have to get investor ready. Check out www.fidelityprivateshares.comRillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to replace NetSuite and close faster. With revenue recognition, close management, multi-entity support, and native Stripe and Salesforce integrations, Rillet helps scaling companies run their finance stack in one place. Hundreds of teams, including Windsurf and Mercor, use Rillet to make the zero-day close real. Book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cjCloud Capital helps you say goodbye to on-demand rates for cloud. Committing more cuts the rate you pay for cloud infrastructure by 20–60%. Commit wrong and you pay for capacity you'll never use. Cloud Capital underwrites that risk, so you capture the savings of deeper commitments without locking in architecture or putting engineers on it. Go to www.cloudcapital.coEY works with high-growth tech companies to navigate the messy realities of scaling—from regulatory requirements to IPO readiness. By helping teams get it right early and often, EY lets founders stay focused on building while reducing risk as they grow. Learn more at https://www.ey.com/techstartups—LINKS: Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsNCraig on Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/craig-bealmear-a375573Oklo: https://oklo.com/CJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Cold Open2:38 What Oklo Does3:38 From BP to Nuclear6:03 The Power Behind the AI Stack7:47 Unconstrained Demand12:38 Risks13:50 Running a Pre-Revenue Company14:57 The Say-Do Ratio17:41 Asking the Dumb Questions18:13 Raising Capital Before the Projects21:15 Cash Management Pillars<p
- 2 weeks ago18 min
Token Series Part 2 | How Much AI is Too Much?
In Part 2 of our Token Series with Tabs, CJ and Ali Hussain ask how much AI is too much in finance. They cover why finance may be the most AI-forward function after product and engineering, how MCP became its “ChatGPT moment,” and why headless agents need a leash. They also get into where to start with governance and why deterministic layers still matter. —SPONSORS: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—LINKS:Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsNGuest: linkedin.com/in/ali-hussain786Company: www.tabs.comCJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Cold Open1:05 Why CFOs Ask About Org Design2:25 Finance Is the Most AI-Forward Team3:43 MCP: Finance’s ChatGPT Moment5:08 Laying Tracks for Agents5:53 Vendors, Employees, Customers6:51 MCP, Harnesses, and Headless Agents8:34 The New Finance Operating System11:50 Governing AI in Finance12:12 Where to Start: Billing and Collections13:51 Will Deterministic Layers Survive?14:51 Build vs. Buy16:28 Why Revenue Work Is So Hard18:11 Next Up: Who Foots the Bill?#RunTheNumbersPodcast #Tabs #CFO #AI #AITokens
- 2 weeks ago49 min
Brex's CFO on the Weekend SVB Collapsed | Erica Dorfman
Episode Description: In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Erica Dorfman, CFO of Brex, to trace her path from capital markets at SoFi to product to the CFO seat. They cover why Brex moved away from lending, what happened behind the scenes during the SVB collapse, and how Erica keeps reinventing her role and her team as the company scales.—SPONSORS:Cloud Capital helps you say goodbye to on-demand rates for cloud. Committing more cuts the rate you pay for cloud infrastructure by 20–60%. Commit wrong and you pay for capacity you'll never use. Cloud Capital underwrites that risk, so you capture the savings of deeper commitments without locking in architecture or putting engineers on it. Go to www.cloudcapital.coBrex 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/metricsAbacum puts your actuals, forecasts, models, and business context in one place, so you can update the plan, run scenarios, and answer "why did this change?" without rebuilding the story from six spreadsheets and a Slack thread. Connect your source systems, keep models and assumptions aligned, and give leaders trusted answers while decisions are still being made.Go to abacum.ai/mostly-metrics.RightRev is a revenue recognition platform built for the AI economy, helping finance support usage-based pricing, credits, hybrid contracts, seats plus consumption, and whatever commercial model comes next. It gives product teams the freedom to keep innovating without outdated revenue systems slowing them down. Learn how RightRev can help at https://rightrev.com/cjFidelity Private Shares gives founders the structure and simplicity to focus on what actually matters - building your company. If your startup needs a little extra support (and let’s be honest, who doesn’t need a little help now and then), then you’re in for a pleasant surprise with Fidelity. If you stay investor ready, you don’t have to get investor ready. Check out www.fidelityprivateshares.comRillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to replace NetSuite and close faster. With revenue recognition, close management, multi-entity support, and native Stripe and Salesforce integrations, Rillet helps scaling companies run their finance stack in one place. Hundreds of teams, including Windsurf and Mercor, use Rillet to make the zero-day close real. Book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cjEY works with high-growth tech companies to navigate the messy realities of scaling—from regulatory requirements to IPO readiness. By helping teams get it right early and often, EY lets founders stay focused on building while reducing risk as they grow. Learn more at https://www.ey.com/techstartups—LINKS: Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsNErica on Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/erica-dorfman-4034b717Brex: www.brex.comCJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Cold Open2:24 Swimming and the CFO Mindset6:03 The Columbia Finance Mafia7:48 The Physics of a Business11:16 VP of Cash at Brex12:40 How Banking Partnerships Work17:58 Why Brex Moved Away From Lending19:23 Great Adjacency vs. Distraction21:31 AI Auditing Every Transaction23:00 Operating Through Chaos at SoFi25:45 The SVB Weekend29:00 Crisis Meets Opportunity37:31 Asking “Stupid” Questions39:44 Rebuilding the Team43:33 Killing Meetings46:05 Erica’s Biggest Mistake47:08 Advice to Her Younger Self47:36 Brex’s Finance Tech Stack48:37 Craziest Expense Ever#RunTheNumbersPodcast #Brex #CFO #Building #FinanceLeadership
- 3 weeks ago37 min
Former Netflix CFO Breaks Down Return on Compute | Jim Cook
In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ welcomes back Jim Cook, a multi-time CFO (Intuit, Netflix, Mozilla) turned coach, author, and newsletter writer. They dig into “return on compute,” the metric Jim believes every finance leader needs in their vocabulary, and why surprise AI bills echo the early days of the cloud. They cover how to budget for tokens, the “frontier convergence” idea for ramping compute spend by role, and why revenue per compute may join revenue per headcount on the CFO scorecard. —SPONSORS:Rillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to replace NetSuite and close faster. With revenue recognition, close management, multi-entity support, and native Stripe and Salesforce integrations, Rillet helps scaling companies run their finance stack in one place. Hundreds of teams, including Windsurf and Mercor, use Rillet to make the zero-day close real. Book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cjCloud Capital helps you say goodbye to on-demand rates for cloud. Committing more cuts the rate you pay for cloud infrastructure by 20–60%. Commit wrong and you pay for capacity you'll never use. Cloud Capital underwrites that risk, so you capture the savings of deeper commitments without locking in architecture or putting engineers on it. Go to www.cloudcapital.coBrex 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/metricsAbacum puts your actuals, forecasts, models, and business context in one place, so you can update the plan, run scenarios, and answer "why did this change?" without rebuilding the story from six spreadsheets and a Slack thread. Connect your source systems, keep models and assumptions aligned, and give leaders trusted answers while decisions are still being made.Go to abacum.ai/mostly-metrics.RightRev is a revenue recognition platform built for the AI economy, helping finance support usage-based pricing, credits, hybrid contracts, seats plus consumption, and whatever commercial model comes next. It gives product teams the freedom to keep innovating without outdated revenue systems slowing them down. Learn how RightRev can help at https://rightrev.com/cjEY works with high-growth tech companies to navigate the messy realities of scaling—from regulatory requirements to IPO readiness. By helping teams get it right early and often, EY lets founders stay focused on building while reducing risk as they grow. Learn more at https://www.ey.com/techstartupsFidelity Private Shares gives founders the structure and simplicity to focus on what actually matters - building your company. If your startup needs a little extra support (and let’s be honest, who doesn’t need a little help now and then), then you’re in for a pleasant surprise with Fidelity. If you stay investor ready, you don’t have to get investor ready. Check out www.fidelityprivateshares.com—LINKS: Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsNJim on Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/cookflixBenchboard: https://www.benchboard.com/CJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Welcome Back, Jim Cook2:56 Return on Compute5:51 The $500K Surprise Bill8:25 Do Execs Know Their Token Usage?10:05 Tagging Compute Like Cloud Costs12:03 Budgeting for Tokens13:19 Revenue per Compute14:45 The Modern CFO Framework15:50 What Strategy Really Means17:44 Communication and Influence22:27 Lead With a Thesis24:05 Speaking Up in the Boardroom26:04 Better Questions with EY28:11 Where to Find Jim#RunTheNumbersPodcast #ReturnOnCompute #CFO #AI #FinanceLeadership
- 3 weeks ago48 min
Inside the Food52 Bankruptcy | Heidi Robinson
In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Heidi Robinson, former CFO and COO of Food52, for one of the wildest CFO stories the show has featured. Heidi joined expecting to lead a modest turnaround and within weeks realized the company was in far deeper trouble than anyone understood. She walks through being the newest executive in the room and having to deliver that news and the Monday evening a lender swept the company's cash without warning.—SPONSORS:Fidelity Private Shares gives founders the structure and simplicity to focus on what actually matters - building your company. If your startup needs a little extra support (and let’s be honest, who doesn’t need a little help now and then), then you’re in for a pleasant surprise with Fidelity. If you stay investor ready, you don’t have to get investor ready. Check out www.fidelityprivateshares.comRillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to replace NetSuite and close faster. With revenue recognition, close management, multi-entity support, and native Stripe and Salesforce integrations, Rillet helps scaling companies run their finance stack in one place. Hundreds of teams, including Windsurf and Mercor, use Rillet to make the zero-day close real. Book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cjCloud Capital helps you say goodbye to on-demand rates for cloud. Committing more cuts the rate you pay for cloud infrastructure by 20–60%. Commit wrong and you pay for capacity you'll never use. Cloud Capital underwrites that risk, so you capture the savings of deeper commitments without locking in architecture or putting engineers on it. Go to www.cloudcapital.coBrex 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/metricsAbacum puts your actuals, forecasts, models, and business context in one place, so you can update the plan, run scenarios, and answer "why did this change?" without rebuilding the story from six spreadsheets and a Slack thread. Connect your source systems, keep models and assumptions aligned, and give leaders trusted answers while decisions are still being made. Go to abacum.ai/mostly-metrics.RightRev is a revenue recognition platform built for the AI economy, helping finance support usage-based pricing, credits, hybrid contracts, seats plus consumption, and whatever commercial model comes next. It gives product teams the freedom to keep innovating without outdated revenue systems slowing them down. Learn how RightRev can help at https://rightrev.com/cjEY works with high-growth tech companies to navigate the messy realities of scaling—from regulatory requirements to IPO readiness. By helping teams get it right early and often, EY lets founders stay focused on building while reducing risk as they grow. Learn more at https://www.ey.com/techstartups—LINKS:Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsNGuest: linkedin.com/in/heidilrobinsonCJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Cold Open2:29 Joining Food523:45 Food52's Three Brands6:14 Building a Cash Flow Model7:25 Delivering the Worst News8:09 A Path Without Bankruptcy?9:05 The Cash Sweep13:44 The Scramble18:30 Selling at 60% Off19:45 Working Through the Holidays20:10 Filing Chapter 1121:48 Chapter 7 vs. 1123:05 The Headline Objective23:33 The Stalking Horse Bidder26:17 Meet the Cast29:41 Testifying Under Oath30:50 The Independent Board Member35:27 The Live Auction39:06 Bidding Like Poker40:50 The Payout Waterfall44:24 Better Questions with EY44:41 Rethinking Risk46:00 CFO/COO Convergence#RunTheNumbersPodcast #CFOs #Food52 #Bankruptcy #FinancePodcast
- Oct 8, 20261h 6m
Robinhood's CFO on Refounding & the Art of Capital Allocation | Shiv Verma
In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Shiv Verma, CFO of Robinhood, to unpack the company's 2022 "refounding". They dig into why Shiv personally signs off on every headcount and marketing dollar at a $100B+ company, and how Robinhood's capital allocation philosophy — no loss leaders, minimal variable costs, and a hard $100 million ARR bar for new products — shapes everything from prediction markets to private-market investing.—SPONSORS:RightRev is a revenue recognition platform built for the AI economy, helping finance support usage-based pricing, credits, hybrid contracts, seats plus consumption, and whatever commercial model comes next. It gives product teams the freedom to keep innovating without outdated revenue systems slowing them down. Learn how RightRev can help at https://rightrev.com/cjFidelity Private Shares gives founders the structure and simplicity to focus on what actually matters - building your company. If your startup needs a little extra support (and let’s be honest, who doesn’t need a little help now and then), then you’re in for a pleasant surprise with Fidelity. If you stay investor ready, you don’t have to get investor ready. Check out www.fidelityprivateshares.comRillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to replace NetSuite and close faster. With revenue recognition, close management, multi-entity support, and native Stripe and Salesforce integrations, Rillet helps scaling companies run their finance stack in one place. Hundreds of teams, including Windsurf and Mercor, use Rillet to make the zero-day close real. Book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cjCloud Capital helps you say goodbye to on-demand rates for cloud. Committing more cuts the rate you pay for cloud infrastructure by 20–60%. Commit wrong and you pay for capacity you'll never use. Cloud Capital underwrites that risk, so you capture the savings of deeper commitments without locking in architecture or putting engineers on it. Go to www.cloudcapital.coBrex 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/metricsAbacum puts your actuals, forecasts, models, and business context in one place, so you can update the plan, run scenarios, and answer "why did this change?" without rebuilding the story from six spreadsheets and a Slack thread. Connect your source systems, keep models and assumptions aligned, and give leaders trusted answers while decisions are still being made.Go to abacum.ai/mostly-metrics.EY works with high-growth tech companies to navigate the messy realities of scaling—from regulatory requirements to IPO readiness. By helping teams get it right early and often, EY lets founders stay focused on building while reducing risk as they grow. Learn more at https://www.ey.com/techstartups—LINKS: Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsNGuest: linkedin.com/in/shiv-verma-6408249Company: www.robinhood.comCJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Intro2:21 The 2022 Refounding8:46 Using NPS17:53 Moving to a GM Model19:58 Finance Partners17:49 Killing Committees for DRIs20:04 Headcount Requests27:02 RPM Teams and Efficiency32:27 The Art of Capital Allocation33:34 Core, Scaling, and New Seeds37:07 Funding a New Idea38:17 Killing OKRs44:59 No Loss Leaders48:36 Building Prediction Markets Fast51:26 Why Shiv Hates Variable Costs53:37 Market Share Over Revenue55:59 Forecasting a Volatile Business59:53 Shiv's Biggest Mistake1:02:03 Lessons from the Oakland A's1:04:04 Advice to His Younger Self1:04:48 Finance Tech Stack1:05:30 Craziest Expense
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About Run the Numbers
Run the Numbers is a business podcast about financial metrics and business models for CFOs, aspiring CFOs, finance leaders, and ambitious people operating tech startups. Hosted by CJ Gustafson, CFO and writer of Mostly Metrics, the show shares lessons, frameworks, and operator insights from the trenches as a tech exec. Think of it as a playbook for the things CJ wishes he knew earlier in his career, covering SaaS metrics, annual budgeting, forecasting, headcount, equity, dilution, fundraising, and the decisions that drive performance and growth.
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