Run the Numbers

CJ sits down with Mike Jung, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Founders Circle Capital. They unpack the rise of structured liquidity, how secondaries went mainstream, and what CFOs should know before running a tender. Mike shares lessons from the dot-com era, AI’s “super cycle,” and what separates durable growth companies from hype.
—
SPONSORS:
RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.com
Rillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to close faster without fighting legacy systems. Designed to support complex revenue recognition, multi-entity operations, and real-time reporting, Rillet helps teams achieve a true zero-day close—with some customers closing in hours, not days. If you’re scaling on an ERP that wasn’t built in the 90s, book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cj
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/run
Abacum is a modern FP&A platform built by former CFOs to replace slow, consultant-heavy planning tools. With self-service integrations and AI-powered workflows for forecasting, variance analysis, and scenario modeling, Abacum helps finance teams scale without becoming software admins. Trusted by teams at Strava, Replit, and JG Wentworth—learn more at https://www.abacum.ai
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/metrics
Metronome is real-time billing built for modern software companies. Metronome turns raw usage events into accurate invoices, gives customers bills they actually understand, and keeps finance, product, and engineering perfectly in sync. That’s why category-defining companies like OpenAI and Anthropic trust Metronome to power usage-based pricing and enterprise contracts at scale. Focus on your product — not your billing. Learn more and get started at https://www.metronome.com
—
LINKS: 
Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsN
Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikjung
https://www.founderscircle.com/
CJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/
https://www.mostlymetrics.com
—
TIMESTAMPS:
1:08 Founder Circle origin
3:15 The founder liquidity insight
5:16 Staying private longer problem
6:04 Secondary market control vs chaos
8:44 Secondaries over IPOs
10:12 Liquidity keeps VC alive
11:27 Ask Jeeves dot-com lesson
12:26 $190 to $1 + AMT reality
13:10 Sponsors — RightRev | Rillet | Tabs
16:39 Private share opacity risk
20:25 Founder + employee liquidity playbooks
21:55 Early investors need liquidity too
22:31 Cap table math actually matters
24:17 SPV fee stacking insanity
25:37 Sponsors — Abacum | Brex | Metronome
28:54 Tender offer guardrails
30:09 Minimum vs maximum liquidity balance
33:01 Growth stage sweet spot + IPO bar rising
34:17 AI Cambrian explosion
34:58 Buying fear vs buying hype
36:29 AI growth sustainability
37:19 Founder-led advantage + product velocity
38:47 TAM is created, not measured
41:06 Anti-portfolio lessons
43:01 What is a supercycle
44:34 Do supercycles end in crashes?
46:16 AI’s unprecedented adoption curve
48:31 Community as a moat
52:50 Earning the right to be on the cap table

In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Mateo Bryant, CFO of Minted. They break down Minted’s life-event flywheel and decades-long LTV, managing extreme seasonality when half the year happens in one month, and balancing long-term CAC with short-term monetization. Mateo also shares lessons from scaling Uber and Amazon globally, localization missteps, and making marketplaces work in emerging markets.
—
SPONSORS:
Abacum is a modern FP&A platform built by former CFOs to replace slow, consultant-heavy planning tools. With self-service integrations and AI-powered workflows for forecasting, variance analysis, and scenario modeling, Abacum helps finance teams scale without becoming software admins. Trusted by teams at Strava, Replit, and JG Wentworth—learn more at https://www.abacum.ai
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/metrics
Metronome is real-time billing built for modern software companies. Metronome turns raw usage events into accurate invoices, gives customers bills they actually understand, and keeps finance, product, and engineering perfectly in sync. That’s why category-defining companies like OpenAI and Anthropic trust Metronome to power usage-based pricing and enterprise contracts at scale. Focus on your product — not your billing. Learn more and get started at https://www.metronome.com
RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.com
Rillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to close faster without fighting legacy systems. Designed to support complex revenue recognition, multi-entity operations, and real-time reporting, Rillet helps teams achieve a true zero-day close—with some customers closing in hours, not days. If you’re scaling on an ERP that wasn’t built in the 90s, book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cj
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/run
—
LINKS: 
Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsN
Mateo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryantmatt/
Minted: https://www.minted.com/
CJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/
Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com
—
RELATED EPISODES:
Peter Oey, CFO of Grab:
https://youtu.be/tdq0AZO0dLU
—
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Intro
03:16 Fixer to CFO
05:32 Mexico City Startups
09:00 Minted Flywheel
10:24 LTV Expansion
11:04 Entry Points
12:18 CAC and Cohorts
13:42 Sponsors: Metronome | RightRev | Rillet
17:06 Wedding Lifecycle
19:49 Holiday Forecasting
22:23 Retail Calendar
24:03 Cash Flow Swings
25:05 Marketing Over Sales
26:06 Email Limits
27:41 Sponsors: Tabs | Abacum | Brex
31:02 Retail Strategy
35:08 Global Experience
40:47 Uber Cash Economics
46:04 Cost of Not Localizing
50:19 Importer of Record
53:17 No Google Lesson
55:34 QBR Mistake
56:48 High Leverage Hours
59:03 Finance Stack
59:50 Seven Day Cruise Expense
#RunTheNumbersPodcast #MarketplaceStrategy #EcommerceFinance #GigEconomy #CFOInsights

In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Varsha Udayabhanu of Invisible to unpack what enterprise AI adoption actually looks like beyond the hype. They cover forward deployed engineers, eight-week solution sprints, value-based pricing when outcomes are hard to meter, ARR vs. services revenue, and why “momentum” beats traditional SaaS metrics. A tactical look at trust, expansion, and building durable AI revenue.
—
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/metrics
Metronome is real-time billing built for modern software companies. Metronome turns raw usage events into accurate invoices, gives customers bills they actually understand, and keeps finance, product, and engineering perfectly in sync. That’s why category-defining companies like OpenAI and Anthropic trust Metronome to power usage-based pricing and enterprise contracts at scale. Focus on your product — not your billing. Learn more and get started at https://www.metronome.com
RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.com
Rillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to close faster without fighting legacy systems. Designed to support complex revenue recognition, multi-entity operations, and real-time reporting, Rillet helps teams achieve a true zero-day close—with some customers closing in hours, not days. If you’re scaling on an ERP that wasn’t built in the 90s, book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cj
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/run
Abacum is a modern FP&A platform built by former CFOs to replace slow, consultant-heavy planning tools. With self-service integrations and AI-powered workflows for forecasting, variance analysis, and scenario modeling, Abacum helps finance teams scale without becoming software admins. Trusted by teams at Strava, Replit, and JG Wentworth—learn more at https://www.abacum.ai
—
LINKS: 
Varsha: https://www.linkedin.com/in/varshaudayabhanu/
Company: https://invisibletech.ai/
CJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/
Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com
—
RELATED EPISODES:
Marketing as a Form of Capital Allocation With Carta's Head of Growth Angela Winegar
https://youtu.be/rG09ehsrWv8
—
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Intro
03:21 What Invisible Technologies Does
05:34 Enterprise AI Adoption Gap
07:38 Forward Deployed Engineers
09:44 Evolving GTM in AI Services
10:36 Solution Sprints
12:37 Sponsor — Brex | Metronome | RightRev
15:56 Upfront Investment vs. Upside
18:38 Bespoke Deals
20:37 Value-Based Pricing in Enterprise AI
22:12 Value Sold vs. Value Delivered
23:31 Enterprise Revenue as a Portfolio of Bets
24:53 Time-Bound Solution Sprints
27:06 Sponsor — Rillet | Tabs | Abacum
30:32 Humans in the Loop & Expert Incentives
33:38 Niche Human Expertise
34:10 Rethinking KPIs Beyond ARR
35:44 Momentum Metrics
39:00 Evaluating GenAI Financial Profiles
40:47 Expansion as the Atomic Unit
42:19 AdTech Lessons on Distribution & Brand
43:23 Why Brand Matters for Enterprise
47:10 Commoditization Risk
48:31 Long-Ass Lightning Round
53:20 Credits

In this episode, CJ talks with Paul Stansik of ParkerGale Capital about what separates Simplifiers from Complicators. They unpack why most board meetings miss the point, how to answer the actual question, and why naming the real problem builds trust.
—
SPONSORS:
Abacum is a modern FP&A platform built by former CFOs to replace slow, consultant-heavy planning tools. With self-service integrations and AI-powered workflows for forecasting, variance analysis, and scenario modeling, Abacum helps finance teams scale without becoming software admins. Trusted by teams at Strava, Replit, and JG Wentworth—learn more at https://www.abacum.ai
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/metrics
Metronome is real-time billing built for modern software companies. Metronome turns raw usage events into accurate invoices, gives customers bills they actually understand, and keeps finance, product, and engineering perfectly in sync. That’s why category-defining companies like OpenAI and Anthropic trust Metronome to power usage-based pricing and enterprise contracts at scale. Focus on your product — not your billing. Learn more and get started at https://www.metronome.com
RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.com
Rillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to close faster without fighting legacy systems. Designed to support complex revenue recognition, multi-entity operations, and real-time reporting, Rillet helps teams achieve a true zero-day close—with some customers closing in hours, not days. If you’re scaling on an ERP that wasn’t built in the 90s, book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cj
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/run
—
LINKS: 
Paul on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulstansik/
ParkerGale Capital: https://www.parkergale.com/
https://hellooperator.substack.com/
CJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/
Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com
—
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Fixing Broken Windows in Investing
3:08 What an Operating Partner Actually Does
5:35 Managing Nine Portfolio Companies
6:07 Where PE Investors Spend Their Time
9:02 Do Investors Think About You All Day?
10:16 The Operator “Bermuda Triangle”
12:35 Sponsors — Abacum | Brex | Metronome
15:52 The CFO “Triangle of Doom”
17:47 How to Become an Investor Favorite
18:42 Templates Build Trust in Board Communication
20:54 Using Trusted Data
22:10 The Board Payback Record Scratch
23:18 Building Your “Data Diet” With the Board
25:19 Sponsors — RightRev | Rillet | Tabs
28:47 Signs a Team Isn’t in Command
31:30 Board Meetings Aren’t a Performance
34:16 “20 Board Meetings—Don’t Waste Them”
35:15 Ask Permission to Reallocate the Agenda
37:54 When to Send Board Materials
40:28 Simplifiers vs. Complicators
41:58 The Simplifier Finds the One Question That Matters
42:16 Three Traits of a Simplifier: Answer, Find, Do
43:15 Why Complicated Operators Take You on a Ride
44:26 Selling vs. Substance
46:23 “Get There, Bob”
47:25 Why We Hedge
49:36 You Can’t Fix a Secret
52:50 Credits

In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ Gustafson talks with Rivian CFO Claire McDonough about financing one of the most capital-intensive businesses in the world. They cover long-term investment decisions, capacity planning, cash management as production scales, lessons from Rivian’s nearly $14B IPO, the risks of over- and under-building, and why federal EV tax credits matter more than most people think.
—
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/run
Abacum is a modern FP&A platform built by former CFOs to replace slow, consultant-heavy planning tools. With self-service integrations and AI-powered workflows for forecasting, variance analysis, and scenario modeling, Abacum helps finance teams scale without becoming software admins. Trusted by teams at Strava, Replit, and JG Wentworth—learn more at https://www.abacum.ai
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/metrics
Metronome is real-time billing built for modern software companies. Metronome turns raw usage events into accurate invoices, gives customers bills they actually understand, and keeps finance, product, and engineering perfectly in sync. That’s why category-defining companies like OpenAI and Anthropic trust Metronome to power usage-based pricing and enterprise contracts at scale. Focus on your product — not your billing. Learn more and get started at https://www.metronome.com
RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.com
Rillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to close faster without fighting legacy systems. Designed to support complex revenue recognition, multi-entity operations, and real-time reporting, Rillet helps teams achieve a true zero-day close—with some customers closing in hours, not days. If you’re scaling on an ERP that wasn’t built in the 90s, book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cj
—
LINKS: 
Claire on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-rauh-mcdonough-5291b946/
Rivian: https://rivian.com/
CJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/
Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com
—
RELATED EPISODES:
Why Revenue Recognition Is the Next AI Battleground | Dan Miller of RightRev
https://youtu.be/TxhTtwmOass
—
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00:00 Craziest Expense Story at Rivian
00:01:22 Intro to Claire McDonough
00:03:09 Capital Intensity and Vertical Integration at Rivian
00:06:44 Raising $14B: How Rivian Planned Its IPO Capital
00:10:22 Capacity Planning and Scaling R2 Production
00:12:13 Sponsors — Tabs, Abacum, Brex
00:15:34 Sweating Existing Capacity vs Overbuilding
00:18:22 Winning EV Adoption from ICE Buyers
00:22:27 How Federal EV Tax Credits Shape EV Pricing
00:26:03 Sponsors — Metronome, RightRev, Rillet
00:29:27 R2 as a Driver of Long-Term Profitability
00:33:14 Supply Chain as the Critical Path to Launch
00:36:53 Product Roadmap as the Anchor for Capital and Headcount
00:39:40 Peloton and Flipkart Lessons from Banking
00:43:42 Biggest Career Mistake
00:44:50 Advice to Younger Self
00:47:19 Rivian’s Finance Software Stack