AI Pricing and the Hidden Growth Lever Most CFOs Ignore

In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Kunal Agarwal, CFO of Gorgias, to unpack how AI is reshaping pricing and operations. They discuss outcome-based pricing, how to forecast LLM-driven costs, and why order-to-cash isn’t just back-office plumbing—it can be a true growth lever when designed correctly.—SPONSORS:Tabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at https://www.tabs.com/runAbacum is a modern FP&A platform built by former CFOs to replace slow, consultant-heavy planning tools. With self-service integrations and AI-powered workflows for forecasting, variance analysis, and scenario modeling, Abacum helps finance teams scale without becoming software admins. Trusted by teams at Strava, Replit, and JG Wentworth—learn more at https://www.abacum.aiBrex is an intelligent finance platform that combines corporate cards, built-in expense management, and AI agents to eliminate manual finance work. By automating expense reviews and reconciliations, Brex gives CFOs more time for the high-impact work that drives growth. Join 35,000+ companies like Anthropic, Coinbase, and DoorDash at https://www.brex.com/metricsMetronome is real-time billing built for modern software companies. Metronome turns raw usage events into accurate invoices, gives customers bills they actually understand, and keeps finance, product, and engineering perfectly in sync. That’s why category-defining companies like OpenAI and Anthropic trust Metronome to power usage-based pricing and enterprise contracts at scale. Focus on your product — not your billing. Learn more and get started at https://www.metronome.comRightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for modern pricing models like usage-based pricing, bundles, and mid-cycle upgrades. RightRev lets companies scale monetization without slowing down close or compliance. For RevRec that keeps growth moving, visit https://www.rightrev.comRillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to close faster without fighting legacy systems. Designed to support complex revenue recognition, multi-entity operations, and real-time reporting, Rillet helps teams achieve a true zero-day close—with some customers closing in hours, not days. If you’re scaling on an ERP that wasn’t built in the 90s, book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cj—LINKS: Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsNGuest: https://www.linkedin.com/in/agarwalk/Company: https://www.gorgias.com/CJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Preview and Intro2:14 PE to venture incubator4:39 Operational empathy from zero-to-one4:45 First paying user feeling5:40 Jet ski customer support story8:49 Hanging with IC sales reps12:24 Sponsors — Tabs | Abacum | Brex15:44 Finance as the decision engine17:36 Gorgias overview20:20 Pricing structure and iteration22:11 Outcome based / resolution pricing24:48 AI success rate as key metric25:33 Sponsors — Metronome | RightRev | Rillet28:57 Pricing value split — $1 per resolution31:17 Vertical specificity as AI moat33:27 Managing LLM costs35:41 Falling token costs and model mix39:28 Order to cash as growth engine43:31 Auditing order to cash at 25M ARR44:09 Manual choke points46:32 Learning density over titles48:30 SurveyMonkey as the most formative period50:07 Lightning round50:17 Listening to respond vs. listening to learn51:04 Advice to younger self52:02 Finance software stack52:45 Cortex — internal AI decision tool54:21 Craziest expense story54:52 Credits