In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Aurélien Nolf, CFO of Navan, to unpack how to pre-align before budgeting, how to think about portfolio construction inside a company, when to fund or kill internal bets, how IR is becoming more connected to FP&A, and where AI actually works inside finance teams.
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SPONSORS:
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EY works with high-growth tech companies to navigate the messy realities of scaling—from regulatory requirements to IPO readiness. By helping teams get it right early and often, EY lets founders stay focused on building while reducing risk as they grow. Learn more at https://www.ey.com/techstartups
SpendHound is a SaaS spend management platform built for finance and procurement teams that want visibility and leverage in every deal. By tracking all your software, benchmarking pricing across thousands of vendors, and surfacing contracts and renewals, SpendHound helps you stop overpaying and negotiate with confidence. Trusted by teams at ZoomInfo and Hootsuite. Get started at https://www.spendhound.com/cj
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
Aleph is a modern FP&A platform built for teams that want more than another planning tool. By connecting your ERP, CRM, and other systems into one trusted data layer with AI workflows, Aleph helps you move faster with real-time insights. Get a personalized demo at https://www.getaleph.com/run
RightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for teams that have outgrown spreadsheets and billing tool workarounds. It handles high-volume subscriptions, usage-based contracts, and mid-cycle upgrades, so you can scale without scrambling at month-end. For RevRec that keeps your books clean, visit https://www.rightrev.com/CJ
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LINKS:
Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsN
Guest: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aureliennolf5b716412/
Company: https://navan.com/
CJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/
Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com
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TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Preview and intro
1:21 Welcome and guest intro
3:06 100-mile ultramarathon at Lake Tahoe
4:47 Resource allocation lessons from EA
6:41 Bucketing bets: proven, intuition, moonshots
7:43 Pre-alignment before budgeting
9:58 The 70/20/10 framework
10:35 Sponsors — Rillet | EY | SpendHound
13:51 The common trap: chasing everything
16:16 Lyft: $1B burning to $1B profitable
18:11 Killing projects without crushing morale
19:24 TAM as the planning foundation
20:57 Navan's TAM: managed vs. unmanaged
22:15 Sponsors — Brex | Aleph | RightRev
25:48 Why go after the unmanaged segment
28:24 Not all TAM dollars are equal
29:26 How IR is evolving
30:45 Why FP&A and IR belong together
31:54 Metrics: disclose vs. guide
34:04 Use internal metrics externally
35:12 Communicating bad news to the market
39:22 Earnings prep: the black book
40:04 AI in finance: can't vibe code compliance
41:31 Ava handles 55% of interactions
43:08 AI ROI: same framework as anything else
44:02 Why finance hasn't had its AI moment
44:46 Lightning round
44:56 Screwed up: wrong investor meeting
45:23 Sunday planning ritual
46:42 Advice to younger self
47:29 Finance software stack
48:34 Craziest expense: curtains at the hotel laundry
49:17 Credits