🇬🇧 #15 - Simple metrics, big impact: How a CFO drives saas growth, with Christian (CJ) Jessen (Formalize)

The Commission Corner - with our first CFO guest ever: Christian (CJ), dialing in from Denmark.From building his own startup as a developer to investment banking at Citibank in NYC, C.J. brings a unique mix of tech and finance to the table. Now, as CFO at Formalize (formerly Whistleblower Software), he’s helping scale one of Europe’s most promising compliance startups.What’s the story behind Formalize?→ Started as a point-solution for whistleblower compliance, sparked by new EU regulations.→ Transformed into a compliance operations platform serving SMEs that now face enterprise-level regulation.→ Closed a €15M Series A to expand across Europe.What makes Christian (CJ) different as a CFO?→ Didn’t “grow up in finance” - started in tech, pivoted into banking, then back to startups.→ Brings M&A and fundraising expertise from Wall Street straight into hyper-growth environments.→ Thinks in systems: from Quote-to-Cash to long-term product dynamics.Revenue, not complexity→ For early-stage SaaS: ARR or MRR is the only metric that matters.→ C.J. avoids over-engineered KPIs and keeps dashboards focused on sustainable growth drivers.How does he view commission?→ Strong believer in clear and simple commission plans - reps should instantly know what they earn per deal.→ Incentives go beyond money: team-wide milestones, symbolic rewards (like a shared espresso machine), and moments that stick.→ “You want reps to feel success - not calculate it in spreadsheets.”Fundraising mindset→ CFO isn’t in the spotlight – but behind every deck, model, and investor call.→ The process is like sales: “The only difference is I only need to close one deal.”C.J.’s takeaway: “Understand the product. Understand the cycle. Build incentives that feel natural, not forced. Then step back and let the system run.”