Hello 👋 I’m CJ Gustafson. I’m a tech cfo.

Mostly Metrics is the top newsletter for CFOs and startup business operators.

Topics frequently include SaaS metrics (explained clearly), annual planning, business model monetization, and fundraising.

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Here’s a collection of my dog Walter’s favorite pieces. Bangerz only.

ARR

• Your Complete Guide to ARR

• How top tech companies define ARR

• If you want to trick investors, tell them about your CARR

NDR

• How top tech companies measure Net Dollar Retention Rate

• How to Calculate Net Dollar Retention Rate (the right way)

LTV to CAC

• How to calculate CAC Payback Period (the right way)

• Is LTV to CAC the Nickelback of SaaS Metrics?

Annual Planning

• Where Do I Start?

• Tops Down Target Setting (with Templates)

• Bottoms Up Budgeting

• How to Pitch an Annual Budget to your Board

• Building Sales Capacity

• Building a Marketing Budget

Pricing

• Avoid These Pricing Mistakes

• Tips for Negotiating Non Pricing Terms

• A Primer: Subscription vs Usage Based Pricing Models

Sales Comp

• Designing Comp Plans

• The Art and Science of SPIFFS

• Commission Rate Benchmarking

Finance Teams

• Building finance teams - The lifecycle of bean counters

• FP&A F'Ups - A list of boobytraps for first time FP&A leaders

Board Materials

• Participants, Roles, and Responsibilities

• Meeting Materials & Templates

• The Closed Door Session & Mistakes to Avoid

M&A

• M&A Strategies - How to evaluate your acquisition landscape

• Ways to buy a business - Asset deals vs Stock deals - in plain English

Marketplaces

• Marketplace Business Models

• 15 Ways to Solve the "Chicken or the Egg” Problem

• Marketplace metrics

Vertical SaaS

• The top metrics for vertical SaaS companies

• Owning the Control Point

Fundraising

• The 2022 SaaS Fundraising Napkin

• The 2023 SaaS Fundraising Napkin

• The game inside the game

• Steal This Pitch Deck Formula

• How much dilution is "normal"?

• SAFEs and Pre vs Post Money Valuations

Mostly featured

• Brex: How CFOs think about travel spend

• SecFi: How employees can think like shareholders

• Lightspeed: A Total Addressable Market Masterclass

• Ramp: Cash is king: unlocking magic in the cash conversion cycle

• Vareto: Top finance influencers to follow in 2023

—CJ