As CFOs take on more operational roles within the C-suite, one of the most important moves is to move beyond the realm of finance and become powerful storytellers.
Veteran finance leader Lisa Cummins Darchinos recommends that CFOs hone their communication skills. She currently serves as CFO of Ayar Labs, a semiconductor unicorn based in San Jose, California and backed by NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel. She is a veteran executive with over 25 years of experience in the financial industry, from startups to large enterprises, including Penguin Computing and Oracle, and has played a key role in helping Ayar Labs raise and secure funding, including a $155 million Series D funding round in 2024.
“Yes, you need to be transparent about the numbers and the potential challenges, but you also need to be able to tell a consistent story that gets people excited about where the company is going,” she said in an interview with CFO Leadership. She shares her strategies.
How can CFOs at startups navigate today's complex financial environment?
Startup CFOs must evolve beyond traditional financial roles to become strategic operators, risk managers, and communicators. It's important to create a financial plan that not only tracks the basics, but actively supports your company's long-term goals.
At Ayar Labs, we focus on building multiple financial scenarios specific to our stage and industry dynamics, from the timing of changes in market adoption and customer design success to the impact of production delays and higher-than-expected tape-out costs. I rely on real-time data to adjust these scenarios and ensure I can pivot my plans as new information emerges.
This approach enables timely, informed decisions while keeping the CEO, board, and executive team aligned on strategy and execution. This allows us to remain agile in an unpredictable environment and deliver on our promises to customers and investors.
Equally important, today's CFOs need to be effective storytellers. You need to be able to uniquely translate financial data for a specific audience, such as investors, customers, or employees.
Today's CFOs are more than just financial managers. Yes, you need to be transparent about your numbers and potential challenges. But you also need to be able to tell a consistent story that gets people excited about where your company is headed.
How can startup CFOs balance growth and discipline in today's volatile funding environment?
My approach is rooted in thoughtful capital placement that maintains strategic flexibility. There is currently an abundance of capital available for AI startups, but that abundance is creating market volatility. Evaluations must be based on future performance and if not done correctly can ultimately lead to a down round. Rather than chasing huge, self-centered valuations, CFOs should strive to raise capital based on proven value rather than hype.
In the early stages, the focus is often on preserving capital for the cash-out date and the next financing. This time, your focus should be on establishing the infrastructure, systems, and processes for financial success. The important thing is to always be cautious. Raise the capital you need to execute while remaining agile enough to adapt.
What are some of the challenges currently facing the semiconductor industry?
The semiconductor industry is unlike any other field I've worked in. Capital investment is extremely intensive, research and development cycles are long, and the timeline for commercialization is also long. One of the biggest challenges is that early-stage investors in this space are often tech-savvy. You typically work with technologists who are focused on whether the technology can fundamentally disrupt existing infrastructure.
Their priorities are not primarily short-term or expected returns, which ultimately matter, but rather technical feasibility and proof points. For example, if an investor's first question is about our current earnings run rate, that is often a clear indication that the investor may not be a good fit for a business like ours. This is more common among software companies than hardware companies.
What really matters at this stage is the future design win. These contracts can lead to hundreds of millions in annual revenue if customers scale up production. We need patient capital and investors who understand that semiconductor returns are unlikely to be immediate, but can be transformative over a five- to 10-year period.
What three pieces of advice would you like to share with young finance leaders today?
Don't work harder, work smarter. Yes, you need to enter the time. But ultimately, it's the people who get out of the weeds and think strategically about who can make the biggest impact and move up the corporate ladder. It's easy to focus on completing tasks and take care of the easy stuff, but the hallmark of finance leaders is the ability to step back, synthesize complex information, and make decisions that truly move the business forward. Learn how to delegate details so you can see the big picture.
Stay informed with confidence. I'm not a huge fan of “fake it till you make it”, but you need to project confidence in everything you do. It comes from preparation. Invest your time to deeply understand not only finances, but also technology, markets, and business models. The more you know, the more trust you have and the more value you bring.
Build your network before you need it. As you progress in your career, being at the top can get lonely. Having a strong network of colleagues and mentors is essential. You need someone you can trust to question your thinking, share your perspective, and help you make difficult decisions. Start building these relationships early, because when you're under pressure, you don't have time to start from scratch.
