Scaling Startups and Building Finance Teams: Insights from CFO Julian Lange

Peter Ho welcomes Julian Lange, an experienced CFO who has guided companies from startup to IPO, including scaling Marley Spoon and leading VC fundraising for Aiven. Currently CFO at Upvest, Julian brings strategic financial leadership and a passion for team development.

Julian's Career Journey: Julian shares his background, starting with 10 years in the corporate world at General Electric (GE), where he held various finance roles and learned the importance of finance helping to run the business. He gained exposure to corporate FP&A among other important finance functions. After GE, Julian transitioned to the startup and scale-up world.

Experience at Marley Spoon: Julian was the first finance hire at Marley Spoon, a global meal kit competitor to HelloFresh. He discusses the company's rapid growth from zero to $250 million revenue and its IPO within four years. He emphasizes the importance of building processes early and shaping the finance team with a vision. Julian also highlights the significance of unit economics even in early stages, focusing on customer acquisition cost and lifetime value to build a "marketing machine".

Experience at Aiven: Julian joined Aiven, a software business providing value-added cloud infrastructure for open-source software, and experienced hypergrowth, with the team and topline revenue quadrupling in 18 months. Aiven reached a multi-billion dollar valuation.

Current Role at Upvest: Julian is currently the CFO at Upvest, an investment API company that enables other companies to offer stock and ETF trading. He explains the technical complexities Upvest solves in the investment space.

Key Takeaways for Finance Professionals and Entrepreneurs:

Finance should be a business partner, actively helping to run the company, not just focusing on numbers. Julian mentioned that what interested him at GE was being told that in finance, you help run the business. He found this to be true, noting that CFOs and finance teams have a huge say and impact on how things are done, which comes with the responsibility of knowing the business details. This perspective suggests that finance professionals should strive to understand the operational aspects of the business and contribute to strategic decision-making, rather than being purely reactive or focused solely on reporting. This is also reflected in his emphasis on business partnering later in the interview.

• Building strong unit economics is crucial for sustainable growth, even from the early stages of a company. Julian highlighted that even at super low revenue, they started looking at unit economics at Marley Spoon, specifically the relationship between customer acquisition costs and lifetime value . He described the goal as building a "marketing machine" that "magically... multiplies the money."  This takeaway emphasizes the importance of understanding the profitability of each customer and ensuring that growth efforts are financially sound, rather than just focusing on top-line revenue. This principle applies to both startups and more mature businesses looking to expand efficiently.

• Don't underestimate the value of hiring individuals with the right attitude and potential for growth, even if they are less senior initially. Julian shared the "famous example from Marley Spoon days" where his first finance hire was a working student who is now the CFO of one of their largest countries. He stated that he is "fine to hire less senior, but a person that I'm fully convinced otherwise can develop". This suggests that entrepreneurs and finance leaders should look beyond immediate experience and consider the long-term potential and adaptability of candidates, investing in their development for future success.

• Expect and embrace change and uncertainty, especially in high-growth environments, and focus on the ability to react quickly based on data. Julian's career has involved navigating various significant events, from the great financial crisis at GE to the rapid growth and market shifts at Marley Spoon and Aiven. He mentioned that he has "seen a career full of events that normally say people, oh, this happens once in a lifetime. But for me, it happens like once in a job." His approach is not to over-plan for every possibility but to "quickly react," look at the data, understand the new context, and make solid decisions. This suggests that agility and data-driven decision-making are vital for navigating the unpredictable nature of business, particularly in dynamic industries.

• Continuous learning and a focus on process improvement are essential for effective financial leadership. This highlights the importance of ongo