How to be the CFO that a high-growth business needs

Joyce Mackenzie Liu, CFO, and Co-Founder of Pegafund, joins Vikram on the podcast today. Having worked at the intersection of Financial Services and Technology since 2007, Joyce has been an advisor, investor, and board member of European and US B2B software companies. She was a venture and early growth investor at Columbia Lake Partners, a Bessemer-backed European debt fund, and Dawn Capital, a London-based B2B Software equity fund. Joyce started Pegafund last year to provide full-stack, modern CFO services with a focus on SaaS go-to-market and funding strategy, growth planning, revenue operations, as well as cash and controls support.

In this episode, she begins by describing Pegafund and her reasons for starting it and goes on to highlight the differences between European and US Saas startups, the pitfalls she has observed in startup decision-making, and the concept of financial sprints. Joyce also shares her thoughts on making companies agile, the importance of investing in finance and operations early on, and balancing growth acceleration with financial health preservation. Joyce’s high level of expertise is on full display as she provides listeners with an abundance of insightful and valuable information and advice in today’s thought-provoking conversation.

The Finer Details of This Episode

-   Pegafund and why Joyce started it

-   The differences between European and US SaaS startups

-   The pitfalls Joyce has observed in the evolution of decision-making in startups

-   Financial sprints

-   Making a company agile from the start

-   The importance of investing in finance and operations early in an organization’s journey

-   Balancing growth acceleration with financial health preservation