A CFO Playbook for Being Acquired - With Evan Fein of TextNow and The F Suite

Run the Numbers

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-54:43

A CFO Playbook for Being Acquired - With Evan Fein of TextNow and The F Suite

CJ Gustafson

Jul 22, 2024

Transcript

In this episode, Evan Fein, CFO of TextNow and Global Chairman of The F Suite, a professional group for CFOs, joins CJ for a deep dive into the complexities of being acquired. Evan introduces listeners to his company TextNow, and how it remains free while making money. He also covers important metrics for CFOs in telecom such as Average Revenue Per User and the importance of considering the time value of money. While we often hear from people on the buying side of M&A, Evan then sheds light on what it’s like being the CFO of a business that is being acquired, discussing the different types of acquisitions and how the due diligence process differs. He shares insights on continuing to run a company while managing due diligence and key lessons learned. Evan also offers advice on managing board expectations, sharing customer data, handling bad news, communicating with CEOs and investment bankers, when to include optimism, and generally mastering the art of being acquired while simultaneously also often working yourself out of a job.

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@cjgustafson222 (CJ)

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Preview and Intro

(02:16) Sponsor - Maxio | Planful

(06:38) How TextNow is Free and Makes Money

(09:21) Evan’s Start in Finance and Telecom

(11:15) Important Metrics for CFOs in Telecom

(15:49) Considering the Time Value of Money

(16:15) Sponsor - Leapfin | Mercury | NetSuite

(19:31) The Metric of Average Revenue Per User

(21:01) Definition of a Customer Versus a User

(24:39) Managing Churn & Churn Metrics

(26:16) Different Flavors of Acquisitions at a Company Getting Acquired

(27:57) How the Due Diligence Process Differs Based on Type

(30:37) Running the Company While Doing Due Diligence as a CFO

(32:13) Key Learnings From the Due Diligence Process

(33:52) When to Include Optimism in Your Model

(36:06) Conversations With the CEO in the Acquisition Process

(38:23) Insight and Advice for Working With Investment Bankers

(45:27) Managing Board Expectations

(47:11) CFO Job Security in an Acquisition

(48:50) Long-ass Lightning Round: Controlling Outcomes and Scarcity Complexes

(51:49) Finance Software Stack

(53:02) Craziest Expense Story

Discussion about this podcast

Run the Numbers

Run the Numbers is a twice-weekly podcast about financial metrics and business models, designed for ambitious people operating tech startups. It's a collection of things host CJ Gustafson (CFO at Partstech and writer of Mostly Metrics) has learned and thought about in the trenches as a tech CFO.

This show is meant to serve as a playbook of sorts for the stuff CJ wishes he knew earlier in his career, both from experience and from copying people smarter than himself.

Topics frequently touch upon Startup SaaS Metrics, Annual Budgeting, Financial Forecasting, Headcount, Equity, Dilution, and Fundraising – and how all of these drive business performance and growth.

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