Ep. 44: Striking the balance of growth and profitability as a bootstrapped company with Jessica Katz, Director of Finance at Format

The Backbone: a journey inside finance at a startup

Jessica Katz, Director of Finance at Format

I chat with Jessica about:

1. Her journey into tech and finance from EY to Wave and DHX Media before taking on her current role at Format as the Director of Finance.
2. Format — what the company does and what is it all about.
3. The challenges and opportunities faced as a finance leader in a 100% bootstrapped company having raised no outside capital. Including managing financial reporting when you know there are no outside stakeholders, certain metrics that she’s really keen on that a venture backed company may not be.
4. How she balances profitability (or break even) and growth as a bootstrapped company and how she thinks about the competition that has raised a lot of venture capital funding and can afford to outspend Format.
5. The biggest misconception about the finance function within a technology company.

We close things off with a quickfire round:

• Your go to online resource for all things startup finance related
• Your favourite productivity hack
• Tech jargon that makes you cringe
• The best advice you’ve received
• One thing you don’t leave the office before finishing

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