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 [email protected] 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