What happens when a finance-savvy product leader, obsessed with automating herself out of a job, meets the generational shift in AI? Erin Kim, former Carta exec and investment banker turned founder, is reimagining what a finance team even is. Now CEO of Mesh, Erin is building a fully agentic AI-powered finance team—starting with automated bookkeeping and reconciliation.
In this episode, we dive into how Mesh is replacing traditional workflows with intelligent agents, the trust challenges of AI in high-stakes finance, and why now is the perfect time for this transformation. We also explore Erin’s founder journey from Barclays to Carta to YC, and how the next wave of finance might not include humans at all—just copilots that close your books.
From spreadsheets to smart agents, Erin's career is a case study in replacing the manual with the magical.
Chapters:
Welcome & Guest Introduction (00:01 – 00:34)
From Investment Banking to Automation (00:35 – 01:22)
Joining Carta and Scaling Strategic Finance (01:23 – 01:53)
Shifting into Product and Fund Accounting (01:54 – 02:48)
Founding Mesh and the Origin Story (02:49 – 03:39)
Building Automated Finance Workflows (03:40 – 04:24)
The Agentic Future of Finance (04:25 – 06:20)
Balancing AI Accuracy and Trust (06:21 – 07:56)
Human-in-the-Loop Workflow at Mesh (07:57 – 09:12)
What Can and Can’t Be Automated (09:13 – 10:10)
The AI Unlock: From Workflows to Agents (10:11 – 11:27)
The UI Shift in the Agentic Era (11:28 – 13:11)
Work-as-a-Service and the Mesh Interface (13:12 – 16:16)
Who Mesh Serves Best (16:17 – 18:05)
Selling AI Tools: Excitement vs Skepticism (18:06 – 19:14)
Long-Term Vision for Agentic Finance Teams (19:15 – 21:00)
Accounting Talent Gaps and Industry Trends (21:00 – 22:01)
Advice to Early-Stage Founders (22:02 – 23:18)
Key Metrics and Accuracy Goals (23:19 – 25:23)
Context Switching and Founder Focus (25:24 – 27:29)
AI’s Untapped Use Case: Secure Credentials (27:30 – 28:12)
Balancing Advice and Intuition as a Founder (28:13 – 28:38)
//
Our sponsor Byldd helps non-technical domain-expert founders build and launch tech businesses by providing a complete product team - that's everyone you need from designers to engineers to testers, all the way up to a CTO.
We'll ship products while you focus on the other essentials: validation, sales, and distribution. Our portfolio companies have been backed by YC, Google, ERA, and other top-tier investors.
Get Started Here: https://tr.ee/bylld
Popular Podcasts
Are You A Charlotte?
In 1997, actress Kristin Davis’ life was forever changed when she took on the role of Charlotte York in Sex and the City. As we watched Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte navigate relationships in NYC, the show helped push once unacceptable conversation topics out of the shadows and altered the narrative around women and sex. We all saw ourselves in them as they searched for fulfillment in life, sex and friendships. Now, Kristin Davis wants to connect with you, the fans, and share untold stories and all the behind the scenes. Together, with Kristin and special guests, what will begin with Sex and the City will evolve into talks about themes that are still so relevant today. "Are you a Charlotte?" is much more than just rewatching this beloved show, it brings the past and the present together as we talk with heart, humor and of course some optimism.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com