Mostly metrics
Run the Numbers
E21: Building the Storytelling Muscle for CFOs with Andy Raskin
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E21: Building the Storytelling Muscle for CFOs with Andy Raskin

On the 21st episode of Run The Numbers, CJ sits down with Andy Raskin, a prominent Strategic Narrative consultant to venture-backed CEO and leadership teams. They discuss the importance of strategic narrative in conveying the value of a company and tell a powerful story to investors, highlighting the approach of naming the old game and the new game, interpreting transitions in the market as 'life and death' stakes, demonstrating how old tools weren't built for the new challenges, and how to keep updating a company's strategic narrative. Tropic is the next-generation Procurement Platform that’s helping modern CFOs take control of their budgets and bottom line, head to www.tropicapp.io/metrics.

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SPONSORS:

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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LINKS:

- Check out Andy's podcast The Bigger Narrative: https://andyraskin.com/podcast/

- Andy Raskin: The Best Sales Deck I've Ever Seen: https://medium.com/the-mission/the-greatest-sales-deck-ive-ever-seen-4f4ef3391ba0

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X / TWITTER:

@araskin

@cjgustafson222 (CJ)

@TurpentineMedia (Turpentine)

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Intro

(02:52) What is strategic narrative and positioning yourself to sell a movement

(05:54) On fundraising: category vs narrative

(08:10) Examples of a company with strategic narrative

(10:31) Naming the old game (or the old mindset as per Andy)

(12:50) Championing the new mindset

(14:48) What happens next after naming the old game

(16:48) Sponsor - Tropic

(18:00) Andy's take on naming and comparing against competitors when on a sales pitch

(21:28) The buyer mission statement

(24:16) Andy gives feedback on CJ's strategic narrative for Partstech

(30:30) How often should a company's strategic narrative be updated?

(34:22) So how should the CFO specifically then get involved in the strategic narrative?

(38:40) Where can people find Andy if they need help with their strategic narrative?

(40:49) Wrap

Discussion about this podcast

Mostly metrics
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.