

33 episodes
by CJ Gustafson · English
Run the Numbers is a business podcast about financial metrics and business models for CFOs, aspiring CFOs, finance leaders, and ambitious people operating tech startups. Hosted by CJ Gustafson, CFO and writer of Mostly Metrics, the show shares lessons, frameworks, and operator insights from the trenches as a tech exec. Think of it as a playbook for the things CJ wishes he knew earlier in his career, covering SaaS metrics, annual budgeting, forecasting, headcount, equity, dilution, fundraising, and the decisions that drive performance and growth.

Jay Ritter (Mr. IPO) explains what 40 years of IPO data says about how technology waves (PCs in the 1980s, the internet in the 1990s, and AI today) affect IPO outcomes, underpricing (“day one pops”),…
27 Aug 2026 · 54m · 20 chapters
How AI is changing product-market fit, pricing, and go-to-market for B2B finance and agentic software—especially by incorporating token costs, usage/outcome pricing, and enterprise onboarding…
24 Aug 2026 · 45m · 14 chapters
Stripe Billing’s “quote-to-cash” walkthrough: how pricing/packaging, quoting, contracting, billing, provisioning/entitlements, tax, collections, and revenue recognition connect to turn what’s sold…
20 Aug 2026 · 55m · 19 chapters
Meredith Finn (CFO/COO at Front) explains the “dual mandate” as architect (CFO: budgeting/blueprints) plus general contractor (COO: executing/implementing).
17 Aug 2026 · 54m · 20 chapters
Modern CFOs expanding beyond financial reporting into transformation, operations, strategy, technology, and decision-making; using AI to separate signal from noise via “tripwires” (leading…
13 Aug 2026 · 50m · 29 chapters
Corporate private aviation—why companies use jets, how costs appear in SEC filings, and how personal use can become taxable perks or fraud.
10 Aug 2026 · 35m · 18 chapters
RapidSOS’s public-safety AI platform and how it uses AI, connected-device data, and “co-pilot” workflows to speed 911 dispatch and reduce operator cognitive load; plus Richard Haram’s finance/data/AI…
6 Aug 2026 · 50m · 34 chapters
Building an AI-native finance function at Plaid, combining bottoms-up AI experimentation with tops-down expectations and planning; also explains Plaid’s three-layer business model and how AI is used…
3 Aug 2026 · 53m · 24 chapters
How CFOs (and finance leaders) should disagree with demanding CEOs/founders—when to push back, how to earn the right to do so, and how to avoid silence, ego, or “all-green” dashboards.
27 Jul 2026 · 39m · 14 chapters