FP&A Today

Aarish Shah: What I learned from two decades operating as CEO or CFO

Listen Later

Aarish Shah is Founder of EmergeONE a Fractional CFO firm for venture backed UK tech startups and scaleups (from Seed to Series B). He has spent close to two decades operating as a CEO or CFO, and now specializes in helping startups understand and act powerfully on their numbers.  In this episode, Aarish shares his insights on financial planning and analysis (FP&A) in startups and the fundamental lessons he has learned in his career. 

  • His “worst budget ever” when one of his factories burnt down in Papua New Guinea
  • Who he would most like to meet
  • His Nothing Ventured podcast and key lessons talking to players in the venture ecosystem
  • Why he likes the constant “challenges” of Series B startups over other stage companies
  • The difference between "building" the playbook and "running" the playbook in startups
  • How to consider your finance tech stack scales pre-seed to Exit 
  • How FP&A should consider their tech stack
  • Why you need to spending your money at pre-seed 
  • Investing in early stage businesses in the UK
  • How do we go about creating a budget and forecast for a startup?
  • Key metrics I use to analyze startups 
  • How startups can cope with the drying up of cheap capital
  • How to get your CFO to say yes 
  • Favorite Excel function
  • How AI understanding is the one skill every FP&A practitioner needs 

    • Episode links:

    Nothing Ventured Podcast

    EmergeOne Fractional CFOs

    [email protected] (to contact Aarish)

    FP&A Today is brought to you by Datarails,the AI-powered financial planning and analysis platform.  Keep your own Excel financial models and spreadsheets and benefit from AI for data consolidation, reporting and planning.

    Follow Aarish on LinkedIn

    YouTube video of the episode

    Follow Paul Barnhurst on LinkedIn 

    Follow Datarails on LinkedIn

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store
    FP&A TodayBy Glenn Hopper
    • 4.7
    • 4.7
    • 4.7
    • 4.7
    • 4.7

    4.7

    45 ratings

    More shows like FP&A Today

    View all
    The McKinsey Podcast by McKinsey & Company

    The McKinsey Podcast

    392 Listeners

    PwC's accounting podcast by PwC

    PwC's accounting podcast

    180 Listeners

    HBR IdeaCast by Harvard Business Review

    HBR IdeaCast

    1,827 Listeners

    CFO THOUGHT LEADER by The Future of Finance is Listening

    CFO THOUGHT LEADER

    129 Listeners

    TED Business by TED

    TED Business

    1,110 Listeners

    M&A Science by Kison Patel

    M&A Science

    127 Listeners

    Wall Street Breakfast by Seeking Alpha

    Wall Street Breakfast

    1,030 Listeners

    Inside the Strategy Room by McKinsey & Company

    Inside the Strategy Room

    168 Listeners

    FT News Briefing by Financial Times

    FT News Briefing

    677 Listeners

    Making Sense by J.P. Morgan

    Making Sense

    59 Listeners

    Thoughts on the Market by Morgan Stanley

    Thoughts on the Market

    1,290 Listeners

    Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques by Matt Abrahams, Think Fast Talk Smart

    Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques

    802 Listeners

    WSJ's Take On the Week by The Wall Street Journal

    WSJ's Take On the Week

    146 Listeners

    FP&A Unlocked by Paul Barnhurst

    FP&A Unlocked

    24 Listeners

    Financial Modeler's Corner by Paul Barnhurst AKA The FP&A Guy

    Financial Modeler's Corner

    17 Listeners