Steve Erickson

What does a disciplined SaaS funding journey look like? In this episode of The SaaS CFO Podcast, I sat down with Rishi Grover, Co-founder & Chief Solutions Architect at Vena Solutions, to break down their path from early traction to raising over $500M—and what comes next. 💡 Key insight: Raising capital is just one part of the journey—how you deploy it and transition to sustainability matters even more. Rishi shares how Vena: 🚀 Built early momentum in a highly competitive market 💸 Raised multiple rounds—from Series A to a $300M Series C ⚖️ Transitioned to operating at cash flow breakeven while still pursuing growth opportunities It’s a great example of evolving from venture-backed growth to disciplined scaling, while still keeping optionality for the future. Episode 239 is now available, links down below 👇 YouTube: https://lnkd.in/g7dXJza5 Apple: https://rpb.li/tgVFdD Spotify: https://rpb.li/LaTrpI #SaaS #Fundraising #StartupGrowth #VentureCapital #Finance

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🔍 Webinar: The Journal Automation Gap No One Talks About Most finance teams believe journal automation is largely solved. In reality, what has been automated is posting, not creation. Join us on March 26 and hear from Redwood Software experts Aaron Veach, MBA, M.M and Chris Keir on why traditional “journal automation” falls short and how leading SAP finance teams are orchestrating journal creation, calculations, validations, approvals, and posting as one seamless flow. What you’ll learn: 🔹 Why faster posting doesn’t actually reduce close effort 🔹 How orchestration transforms journal entry inside SAP 🔹 What it takes to achieve 50–70% fewer manual journals 🔹 How to move toward a truly touchless journal process If you’re focused on reducing close risk, audit exposure, and last-minute fixes, this is one to attend. Secure your place here: https://bit.ly/4jMyzal #FinancialClose #SAPFinance #FinanceTransformation #JournalAutomation #RedwoodSoftware

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Board reporting isn’t just a requirement of venture-backed growth: it’s one of the most powerful tools founders have to drive alignment and better decision-making. In his latest CFO piece, Mike Batesole, CPA, CMA explains how board reports can evolve from tactical updates into a strategic leadership exercise. He outlines what effective board reporting looks like at each growth stage and how intentional structure leads to more focused discussions, clearer priorities, and stronger outcomes. Read the full piece here: https://lnkd.in/eNVdxuu8 Preparing for an upcoming board meeting? Attivo helps founders create decision-ready board materials and offers CEO support. #AttivoPartners #BoardReporting #FractionalCFO #StartupFinance #FounderLeadership

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AI-powered automation is changing the role of finance from reactive to strategic. In this episode of CFO Weekly, Redwood Software CFO Billy Newman joins Megan Weis, CPA, MBA, to discuss how modern CFOs can use automation to streamline operations, improve data accuracy and elevate decision-making. Billy also shares lessons from his experience leading finance teams through public offerings, private equity transitions and digital transformation. 🎧 Tune in here: Apple: https://okt.to/5pAXPy Spotify: https://okt.to/eMHyAz Youtube: https://okt.to/Oj2qWA #FinanceTransformation #FinanceAutomation #AI #CFOWeekly

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For SaaS finance teams, staying compliant with sales tax has gone from a periodic task to a high-stakes, always-on challenge driven by shifting rules, complex billing models, and expanding state obligations. Economic nexus, digital taxability, subscription adjustments, and multi-state filings are turning compliance into a constant source of risk. This blog breaks down six critical sales tax challenges SaaS companies face and what finance leaders should do next: ✅ Tracking nexus across employees, revenue, and channels ✅ Mapping SaaS taxability by state and product type ✅ Calculating tax with incomplete or changing customer locations ✅ Handling subscription billing, usage changes, and true-ups ✅ Integrating tax logic across finance and billing systems ✅ Automating filings across states with shifting due dates If your team is still stitching together sales tax compliance manually, this is your chance to reset. Read the full blog and start reducing risk heading into the new year: https://hubs.ly/Q03_x-sc0 #SalesTax #SaaS #FinanceOps #TaxCompliance #CereTax #ERP

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🚀 New from our CFO Bytes series! In today’s episode, John Silverstein, VP of FP&A, XR Extreme Reach, outlines typical errors accountants make while structuring tax categories within the Chart of Accounts (COA). 📚 Misgrouping taxes without separating into regulatory bodies ⚠️ Violation of tax regulations and unreconciled liabilities 📝 Unclear understanding of how tax duties impact working capital #CFObytes #FinanceAutomation #Hyperbots #ChartofAccounts #TaxStructures #TaxRegulations #TaxDuties #WorkingCapital

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