“Finance should enable growth, not hinder it.”
That's the focus of Darian Hong, CFO of Calero, a Rochester, New York-based company that provides technology business management solutions. He was appointed CFO in January 2024 and brings a wealth of experience from previous roles at companies such as Velocify, WebPT, and Act!. and Raintree Systems.
Hong shares how finance leaders can help their organizations build scale from day one.
You've led the finance departments of a number of high-growth SaaS companies. What are the most important lessons you've learned about building a finance function that scales effectively, and what do you think CFOs often underestimate at this stage?
One of the most important lessons I learned was the need to align the finance function with the broader goals of the business from the beginning. It may sound obvious, but it's surprisingly common for finance teams to operate in ways that run counter to the company's strategy. Finance should enable growth, not hinder it.
Another important point is to avoid being overly cautious or short-term thinking early on. It’s essential that you invest in scalable infrastructure, streamlined processes, technology that reduces manual effort, real-time data access, strong risk and compliance frameworks, and, importantly, a team that prepares your business for not just where it is now, but where it’s going to be.
Some CFOs underestimate how important it is to build for scale from day one. This will help you avoid growing pains later on. This enables finance teams to provide timely insights, adapt quickly, and support the business through future expansion stages.
As finance leaders are increasingly expected to play a strategic role in digital transformation, how do you personally balance operational responsibilities with strategic oversight, and what advice would you give to CFOs struggling with that transition?
CFOs are in a unique position, looking across the entire business and understanding how everything works together. This visibility provides significant advantages when developing strategy. But to get the most out of it, you have to be able to break away from your daily routine.
The key is to build a team you can trust. Rather than micromanaging tasks, delegate operational responsibilities and manage for results. Trusting your team and allowing them to lead allows you to focus on higher-level priorities while supporting their growth through guidance and coaching.
Shifting to a more strategic role doesn't mean stepping away from responsibility. You're still responsible for the numbers, but your focus expands. It will be important to use financial insights to inform decisions across the business and help leaders understand what the data means and what actions to take.
At Calero, he was involved in streamlining operations across the business, including client renewals and managed services. What cross-functional collaboration strategies are most effective, and where do CFOs typically run into obstacles when trying to drive change beyond finance?
The best collaboration occurs when teams work together toward a common goal, speak the same language around metrics, and operate from the same source of truth. Clear roles and frequent, open communication also go a long way. When these elements are missing, things break down, silos form, misunderstandings creep in, and change becomes difficult to implement.
Resistance to change is common even within teams that agree on an end goal. As CFOs, we can play a key role in overcoming this problem by being transparent about financial goals, communicating consistently across departments, and tying performance to common metrics. This kind of coordination makes the change stick.
From your perspective, what are the most misunderstood financial metrics in SaaS today, and how should CFOs rethink how they measure long-term value?
Customer lifetime value (LTV) is probably one of the most misused metrics in SaaS. It's often calculated in a way that doesn't take into account real-world churn patterns or natural limits on upsells. Just because customer spending has increased in the past doesn't mean it will last forever. Budgets are getting tighter and need to hit a plateau.
To properly understand long-term value, CFOs need to take a more nuanced approach. This includes analyzing LTV by customer cohort, stress testing upsell sustainability assumptions, and paying close attention to maintaining net revenue.
It's also important to stop thinking about customer acquisition costs in isolation. The LTV/CAC ratio reveals whether growth is efficient and scalable. Predictive analytics also allows you to proactively deal with cancellation risk, rather than just reacting to it.
