Becoming A Startup CFO

Firefighting can make you feel indispensable while quietly preventing you from becoming strategic.

Alysha explores why start-up finance leaders need to move beyond constant reaction and start looking around corners. From cash and reporting to hiring and processes, this episode looks at how proactive CFOs identify issues while there is still time to do something about them.

Episode highlights

• Why solving urgent problems can create an illusion of progress
• The difference between reactive and proactive cash management
• Why recurring reporting problems usually point to a deeper process issue
• The powerful question, “Would this work if the business were three times the size?”
• How small warning signs can become significant financial problems
• Why CFOs need protected time for planning, risk and strategic thinking

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A great start-up CFO gives the CEO much more than accurate numbers.

In this episode, Alysha explores what founders and CEOs genuinely need from their senior finance partner, including clarity, commercial understanding, thoughtful challenge and the ability to see problems early. She also looks at why the fundamentals still matter and how trust develops between a CEO and CFO over time.

Episode highlights

• Why clarity is one of the CFO’s most valuable contributions
• The importance of understanding the whole business, not only finance
• How to challenge a founder without automatically blocking ambition
• Why accurate reporting and strong controls create strategic credibility
• The difference between bringing a problem and bringing options
• How emotional intelligence strengthens the CEO and CFO relationship

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Being technically right is only useful if the person listening understands what you mean.

In this episode of Becoming a Start-Up CFO, Alysha explores one of the most important skills finance leaders develop as they move towards CFO level, learning how to communicate finance clearly to people who do not speak the language of finance every day.

From founders and department heads to sales and marketing leaders, different audiences need different conversations. Alysha looks at why jargon can get in the way, how listening can completely change the financial question you think you are answering, and why making finance easier to understand helps the whole business make stronger decisions.

You’ll hear about:

• Why technical accuracy does not automatically mean good communication
• How to adapt financial language for different people across the business
• Why knowing your audience changes the way you explain finance
• The importance of listening before answering the financial question
• How unnecessary jargon can weaken rather than strengthen your credibility
• Why helping non-finance colleagues understand finance improves everyday decision-making
• How clearer written communication can save time and build trust
• Why translating complexity is an essential part of becoming a strong start-up CFO

If you are working towards a finance director or CFO role and want to become a clearer, more confident financial leader, this episode will help you rethink the way you communicate what you already know.

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If you are waiting for a senior title to make you feel confident, you may be waiting a very long time.

In this episode, Alysha shares her experience of entering finance leadership while still questioning whether she belonged in the room. She explores imposter syndrome, negative self-talk, asking uncomfortable questions and why confidence grows through participation rather than perfection.

Episode highlights

• Why a CFO title does not automatically create confidence
• Alysha’s experience of staying quiet in early leadership meetings
• How imposter syndrome can continue even as your career progresses
• Why keeping positive feedback can help counter self-doubt
• What asking “basic” questions taught Alysha about strong leadership
• How to build evidence that you can handle situations you have never faced before

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The step from finance manager to finance leader can be much bigger than it appears from the outside.

Alysha explores why leadership requires you to change where you place your attention, moving beyond short-term delivery into planning, ownership, team development and business-wide thinking. If you are aiming for an FD or CFO role but still feel buried in the day-to-day work, this episode will help you recognise where the shift needs to begin.

Episode highlights

• Why becoming a leader is more than taking on additional responsibility
• The difference between short-term management and longer-term leadership
• Why leaders are judged on output rather than personal effort
• How proactive thinking changes your role
• Why developing other people becomes part of your own progression
• How to begin practising CFO leadership before the promotion arrives

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Being technically excellent can build a brilliant finance career, but becoming a CFO asks for something different.

In this episode, Alysha explores the point where technical expertise stops being the main measure of your value. Drawing on her own transition into finance leadership, she looks at the shift from getting the work done to thinking strategically, influencing decisions and helping the whole business prepare for what comes next.

Episode highlights

• Why technical finance expertise is only the foundation of CFO leadership
• The difference between managing finance and leading a business
• Why hard work can sometimes disguise a lack of strategic thinking
• How your performance is judged differently at leadership level
• The importance of commercial curiosity, judgement and relationships
• Questions that help you start thinking like a CFO before you have the title

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Becoming a Start-Up CFO, hosted by Alysha Randall, is a practical and honest podcast for aspiring CFOs, new finance leaders and experienced professionals navigating the fast-moving world of start-ups and scale-ups. Drawing on more than fifteen years of experience across businesses including LoveFilm, Funding Circle and her own work supporting founders and finance leaders, Alysha explores what it really takes to move beyond the numbers and become a trusted strategic partner.

From leadership, confidence and commercial thinking to cash management, fundraising, boards, investors and building a high-performing finance team, each episode shares real experiences and practical insight to help finance professionals grow into the CFO role with greater clarity and confidence.

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Created by AI voice cloning tech in conjunction with the lovely humans at WAVEMAKERS AUDIO