SaaSy Talk S01.26: The Rebel's Journey: A Dive into the CFO Role with Alka Tandan from Gainsight

About The Guest(s): Alka Tandan is Chief Financial Officer at Gainsight. Tandan has over 20 years of corporate finance and operations experience in the technology industry, mostly focused on SaaS. She began her career in investment banking where she helped take Salesforce and Google public and has held various strategic and operational roles at MetricStream, Actian Corporation, and SAP. Tandan is also a limited partner and advisor for the venture fund Operator Collective as well as an angel investor, and is a founding member of The F Suite, a community platform for Chief Financial Officers of leading venture capital funds and high growth technology companies. Summary: Alka shares her journey growing up in Silicon Valley and how her parents' background in engineering influenced her career in tech. She discusses the challenges and realities of working in Silicon Valley, as well as the impact and influence of being a woman in the industry. Alka also talks about the importance of building strong relationships in business and how she navigates the role of CFO with a human-first approach. She reflects on her proudest moments in her career, including Gainsight's acquisition by Vista, and discusses the challenges and opportunities of scaling a SaaS company. Alka shares her strategies for adapting to economic downturns and planning for the future amidst uncertainty. She also highlights exciting developments at Gainsight, including recent acquisitions and the company's focus on the post-sales journey. Key Takeaways: Growing up in Silicon Valley and being surrounded by tech influenced Alka's career in the industry Building strong relationships and effective communication are key to success in business Being a human-first CFO means being transparent, approachable, and explaining decisions to build trust Planning for the future requires scenario planning and regular review of the business's financials Gainsight is focused on filling the entire post-sales journey and leveraging AI for future growth. Quotes: "Being in an environment like Silicon Valley, my uncle being an entrepreneur, you just start dreaming big." "The most important reason this deal matters is that we've proven you can win in business by being human first." "We're not just a customer success company anymore. We're looking at owning the entire post-sales journey." Chapters:  00:08 Guest's Early Life and Career Beginnings 02:02 Growing Up in Silicon Valley 02:37 Career Milestones and Achievements 02:47 Challenges and Realities of Silicon Valley 03:54 Impact and Influence as a Woman in Tech 06:07 Journey to Becoming a CFO 08:24 Building Strong Relationships in Business 10:26 Adapting to Economic Downturn 12:51 Challenges in Scaling a SaaS Company 15:56 Learning from Business Mistakes 18:06 Proudest Moments in Career 19:35 Adopting a Human-First Approach in Business 23:48 Navigating Transparency and Confidentiality 26:45 Adapting to Unpredictable Situations 27:04 Team Alignment and Decision Making 27:13 Impact of Investment on Team Communication and Planning 27:28 Increased Alignment and Regular Meetings with Investors 30:11 Planning for 2024 Amidst Uncertainty 30:29 Strategies for Navigating Economic Changes 32:34 The Importance of Regular Review and Adaptability 33:23 Understanding Cash Flow for Business Flexibility 34:04 Exciting Developments and Future Plans for Gainsight 35:28 Quick Fire Round: Getting to Know Alka Subscribe on Apple:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/saasy-talk-unfiltered/id1709426070 Subscribe on YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@SaaSyTalkUnfiltered Subscribe on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/saasy-talk-unfiltered Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://substack.com/@saasytalkunfiltered Visit our Website:  https://saasytalkunfiltered.transistor.fm/   Follow Ricky Sevta on Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickysevta/ Follow Sean Diljore on Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/seandiljore/