#185 Founding a Lease Accounting FinTech with Greg Kautz, CEO at Black Owl Systems

Greg Kautz and Kevin Appleby discussed the challenges of lease accounting and the need for technology to streamline these processes. Greg highlighted the benefits of automating lease accounting, while Appleby questioned the need for separate accounting rules for lessees and lessors. Later, the pair discussed the benefits of leasing assets for business growth, emphasizing the importance of considering leasing as an option for expansion. Finally, they discussed the challenges of fundraising in the current market, with Greg sharing their company’s journey and Appleby providing insights on market conditions. Key topics covered include: Greg Kautz’s career transition from finance leadership roles to co-founding a lease accounting software company with his son An overview of the lease accounting software they developed called Black Owl Lease Accounting, which aims to solve issues with existing solutions A discussion of lease accounting standards and why lease accounting is important for businesses How they developed the initial prototype, hired staff, and grew the company Challenges they faced finding the right technical staff Their plans for future fundraising, global expansion, and growth of the company Reminiscing about the early days of accounting before technology from Kevin Appleby and Greg Kautz’s perspective https://youtu.be/gCOyz10LBp4 Links Greg Kautz on LinkedIn Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn GrowCFO Mentoring Timestamps 0:00 – Introduction of Greg Kautz and his career transition 4:20 – Overview of lease accounting software Black Owl Lease Accounting 7:30 – Discussion of lease accounting standards and importance for businesses 11:00 – Developing the initial prototype and hiring staff 14:15 – Challenges finding the right technical staff 17:10 – Future fundraising plans and market growth 19:50 – Reminiscing about early accounting days before technology 26:50 – Selling the software to CFOs and other buyers 29:15 – Greg Kautz’s future plans and not retiring anytime soon Find out more about GrowCFO If you enjoyed this podcast, you can subscribe to the GrowCFO Show with your favourite podcast app. The GrowCFO show is listed in the Apple podcast directory, Google Podcasts, Spotify and many others. Why not subscribe there today? That way, you never miss an episode. GrowCFO is a great place to extend your professional network. Join GrowCFO as a free member today and participate in our regular networking events and webinars.  Premium members can also access our extensive training centre and CFO Digital Toolkit. You can enrol in our flagship Future CFO or Finance Leader programmes here.  You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net