Greg Lopez has served as the CFO and VP of operations at companies including Futurism, a digital media company, Wirecutter (acquired by the New York Times) and Gawker Media (acquired by Univision). Now Greg is a consultant at high-growth companies working with clients ranging from a “family owned business doing $20 million”,  “SaaS businesses doing $10 million a year” to private equity-backed business doing $500 million a year.”

In this episode he provides his formula for success in FP&A and finance:

How a career in finance suited my character traits and passions

Learning the full aspects of finance, FP&A and business partnering

Building to a commercial mindset as CFO

Acting as an investigative journalist for the business  

Why finance needs to lead in defining metrics in a startup

Moving from a bigger company to a startup - what you need to know 

Increasing the feedback loop in finance teams 

Expectations of CFO in a startup 

Favorite KPIs - from contribution margin and profit to Sales cycle velocity

Variables and determining drivers for the business 

One of the biggest finance challenges - developing talent and cyber attacks 

Lightning round: pickup basketball and lessons for finance

Best Excel feature: introducing Scenario planning and modeling using Watch Window 


Contact Greg

@glopeztweets on X

glopez@eventusag.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-lopez-4b248b88/

Show Notes:

Recommended reading:

How A Hulk Hogan Lawsuit Launched A Career in M&A | Greg Lopez
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-a-hulk-hogan-lawsuit-launched-a-career-in-m-a-greg-lopez/id1642784919?i=1000606411968

Financial Intelligence, Revised Edition: A Manager's Guide to Knowing What the Numbers Really Mean: Berman, Karen, Knight, Joe, Case, John: 9781422144114: Amazon.com: Books

Startup CXO: A Field Guide to Scaling Up Your Company's Critical Functions and Teams (Techstars): Blumberg, Matt, Birkeland, Peter M., Dorsey, Scott: 9781119772576: Amazon.com: Books

The Ten-Day MBA 4th Ed.: A Step-by-Step Guide to Mastering the Skills Taught In America's Top Business Schools: Silbiger, Steven A: 9780062199577: Amazon.com: Books

Amazon.com: Financial Planning & Analysis and Performance Managem