This week, Matt Burns spoke to  CFO turned CEO Christina Ross and her Mayfield partner Rajeev Batra. Christina's story is great - Prior to founding Cube, she ran finance at corporations and high-growth startups. 

On today's episode, we talked all about the shifting role of a CFO, how Cube caught Mayfield's eye, how startups can acquire customers from the beginning, and why you should consider buying your kid a cash register. As always, we ended the show with Pitch Practice: 3 entrepreneurs got to pitch their business to Christina and Rajeev in return for their feedback and advice.

You can watch the full interview, including slides from Cube's pitch deck, on our YouTube channel.

The TechCrunch Live Podcast drops at 6:00 a.m. PT every Monday, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast,Spotify and all the casts.

Where did Cube come from, and where is it today?

• Hear Christina's journey from multiple CFO roles to becoming a CEO, and why she left those business to start her own.
• On Cube's top competitors including normal spreadsheets
• Why everyone speaks spreadsheets

When did Mayfield invest, and what was your first meeting like?

• Butra spent several months getting to know Ross before investing in Cube.
• Mayfield investment process involves investing in the entrepreneur.
• Aligning on Cube's vision, mission, and purpose.

How did Cube pitch its product in its 2022 fundraise?

• On the shifting demands of a modern CFO including why it requires more strategic thinking
• "Garbage in, garbage out."
• Why most companies still fall back on spreadsheets despite paying for external FP&A tools

What did Mayfield find most intriguing about the product, and see its place in the vertical?

• Why Mayfield invested in Christina Ross, the founder, rather than investing in Cube, the company.
• Why Christina's family hates to play Clue with her.

From CFO to CEO

• CFOs already make unpopular decisions, becoming a CEO
• According to Butra, Ross has made an impressive journey from CFO to CEO