Tuesday Feb 14, 2023

Why a Top VC is Backing FP&A all the way

The VC behind buzzy startups Calm, GoFundMe, Udemy and Gong is bullish on FP&A.  Ryan Abdullah an Investor at Norwest Venture Partners tells FP&A Today says there are four reasons why VCs rely on FP&A, particularly during a downturn.

Firstly there is a huge increase in appetite for forecasts. Secondly  FP&A must take account of labor shifts in startups (not least caused by large layoffs). Thirdly, ( investors who are all about growth) see FP&A as an ally and “profit center” to help businesses “grow and do better”. Fourthly FP&A is delivering an agenda with other departments to define budgets “rather than just entering numbers in a spreadsheet.”

In this episode Paul talks to Ryan Abdullah covering:

 

  • How VCS look at the role of FP&A and the benefit to their portfolio companies
  • Which financial insights and KPIs matter most to investors
  • The role FP&A plays in big fundraising?
  • What do VCs see as FP&A magic 
  • The importance of realistic and accurate models for VCs
  • The importance of robust software for handling and cleaning financial data
  • The challenges and opportunities for SaaS KPIs
  • His biggest success and biggest failure
  • Ryan’s photography hobby and how it helps him to think about investing 

Watch the full show on YouTube

Read the full transcript and blog

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FP&A Today is brought to you by Datarails.

Datarails is the financial planning and analysis platform that automates data consolidation, reporting and planning, while enabling finance teams to continue using their own Excel spreadsheets and financial models.

Get in touch at www.datarails.com

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