On Today’s episode, CJ welcomes Chad Gold, the CFO of G2 and the former CFO of Salesloft. Gold shares valuable insights on the role of finance in startups and the qualities that set you on the path for a successful CFO career in venture-backed ecosystems.

Chad has raised money from some of the best investors in the business, including Vista Equity, Permira, Accel, IVP, and Insight. And he’s built world class finance teams for hypergrowth.

On this episode we cover 

* The concept of building lines, not dots, with investors

* How to decide how much time to dedicate to investor meetings vs running the business

* How majority recaps work, and the equity implications for execs and employees

* How finance teams can make the news, in a good way

* And we go way back to get some early lessons he learned on the finance team at Home Depot when he was just starting his career

Not only does Chad have the best name for a CFO, he’s extremely thoughtful about how FP&A and finance can plug into the business to be drivers, not passengers, during periods of hypergrowth. He’s also one of the people who comes to mind when I think about building a durable, successful career as a reputable venture backed chief financial officer. 

If you’re looking for an ERP platform, check out our sponsor, NetSuite: https://netsuite.com/metrics

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SPONSORS:

NetSuite provides financial software for all your business needs. More than 37,000 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 get a customized KPI checklist.

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Thoropass provides complete compliance management, continuous monitoring, and security audits through intuitive software and expert guidance – allowing you to do business with confidence. Learn more: https://bit.ly/Thoropass 🔒

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.

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FOLLOW US ON X:

@cjgustafson222 (CJ)

@chadjgold (Chad)

@turpentinemedia

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Intro

(02:32) Sponsors: NetSuite | Thoropass  

(05:04) Building Relationships with Investors

(11:28) Understanding Majority Recapitalization

(18:16) Sponsor: Maxio 

(22:07) Building Great Finance Teams

(25:06) Ownership Mentality

(25:42) How Finance Teams Can Empower Their Company

(29:39) Making The News and proactivity

(33:15) Feedback Cycle

(37:20) The Importance of Relationships

(40:16) The Role of Finance in Business Operations

(42:03) Chad’s Past Mistakes 

(45:55) Chad’s software stack brought to you by Tropic 

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