CJ sits down with Lauren Dillard, CFO of LiveRamp, whose path to the CFO seat ran through investor relations, communications, and even a year as interim CMO. They dig into why storytelling and influence matter as much as technical finance chops, how LiveRamp tore down and rebuilt its entire commercial model — collapsing 25+ usage metrics into 5 and inventing the "token" along the way.
—
SPONSORS:
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
Anrok is the sales tax platform that watches your exposure everywhere, automates compliance, and flags risk before it turns into a surprise back-tax letter from a state you've never set foot in. Companies like Anthropic, Notion, and Vanta already trust Anrok to stay ahead of rules that move faster than any spreadsheet can. Talk to a sales tax expert for a personalized exposure estimate at https://www.anrok.com/rtn
RightRev is a revenue recognition platform built for the AI economy, helping finance support usage-based pricing, credits, hybrid contracts, seats plus consumption, and whatever commercial model comes next. It gives product teams the freedom to keep innovating without outdated revenue systems slowing them down. Learn how RightRev can help at https://rightrev.com/cj
Pulley is an equity management platform that lets you issue options, model dilution, and complete 409As without your cap table turning into a spreadsheet disaster. Founders raising, hiring, and scaling use Pulley to keep equity clean and stay focused on building. Learn more or request a demo at https://pulley.com/mostlymetrics
Rillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to replace NetSuite and close faster. With revenue recognition, close management, multi-entity support, and native Stripe and Salesforce integrations, Rillet helps scaling companies run their finance stack in one place. Hundreds of teams, including Windsurf and Mercor, use Rillet to make the zero-day close real. Book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cj
Maximor is an autonomous finance platform that runs order-to-cash, procure-to-pay, the close, cash management, and reporting on self-learning agents instead of a dozen disconnected tools. One PE-backed customer posts 98% of transactions directly to its ERP, with the remaining 2% routed to a human for review. You pay for outcomes, not seats. See it at https://www.maximor.ai/
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
—
LINKS:
Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsN
Guest: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-russi-dillard-25502424/
Company: https://www.liveramp.com
CJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/
Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com
—
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Cold Open
1:18 Intro
1:29 Meet Lauren Dillard
4:48 Lauren's Path to CFO
5:06 The "Wrong" Career Move
7:48 Why Storytelling Matters
9:41 Turning the Answer Into Action
10:33 People Plus AI
14:50 Pricing Is a Strategy Exercise
16:43 Rebuilding a Commercial Model
22:29 Simplifying Quote-to-Cash
23:29 Where the "Token" Came From
28:48 Selling a New Pricing Model
29:27 Balancing New Logos
30:17 Upmarket or Downmarket?
34:17 Where Finance and HR Disagree
36:07 The Biggest Mistake
38:23 Will It Make the Boat Go Faster?
42:27 Lessons from the NBA
44:25 Lauren's Biggest Misstep
46:27 Finance Tech Stack
47:42 Craziest Expense
#RunTheNumbersPodcast #AIforCFOs #FinanceLeadership #MasterworksArt #ContextEngineering
