Architecting IPO Readiness from Day One with Nadia Asoyan, Formerly of Square, Robinhood, and Strike

In this episode, Sasha sits down with Nadia Asoyan, former CFO of Strike, Robinhood, and Controller at Square. Nadia shares her journey from EY to Silicon Valley's top fintech rocketships, offering invaluable insights on transitioning from accounting to CFO positions. She discusses the challenges of IPO readiness, the evolution of financial processes in fast-growth startups, and the delicate balance between growth and profitability.

Nadia also provides candid advice for aspiring CFOs, emphasizing the importance of cross-functional partnerships and data literacy.

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🔗 Link/s

Strike: https://strike.me/

⏲️ Timestamps

(00:00) Introduction

(01:06) Nadia’s Accounting Origins

(04:17) Big Four Lessons (07:38) Square's Early Days

(09:03) The Audit to In-House Transition

(11:22) IPO Readiness at Square

(17:05) Building Processes at Robinhood

(18:21) Sponsors: Netsuite | CommandBar

(21:00) Attracting Founders

(24:30) Expanding Responsibilities

(28:18) Evolving Processes

(28:42) Sponsors: Babbel | Attio

(32:33) Advice for Accounting Professionals

(35:05) Board Management and Fundraising

(42:00) Board Meetings

(45:20) Growth vs. Profitability

(48:32) Counterintuitive Advice

(50:00) Misconceptions and Unsolved Problems

(54:41) Square IPO Challenges

(59:48) Complexity and Automation

(1:04:10) Free Products and Hyper Growth

(1:07:01) Pricing Models

(1:10:22) Budget Setting

(1:14:20 ) Wrap

Subscribe to this season of Turpentine Finance, where our guests speak candidly about big business inflections, market curveballs, and how they approach decision-making to tease out tactics and mental models you can use when the pressure is on.

You’ll hear stories from Instacart, Mercury, OpenAI, Andreessen Horowitz, Netflix, Runway, and more. Topics frequently touched upon M&A, Market Downturn, Macro, PMF, Fundraising, Financial Forecasting, Headcount, Equity.

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Turpentine Finance is a part of the Turpentine podcast network. Learn more: www.turpentine.co

This show is produced by Turpentine: a network of podcasts, newsletters, and more covering technology, business, and culture, all from the perspective of industry insiders and experts. We’re launching new shows every week, and we’re looking for industry-leading sponsors - if you think that might be you and your company, email us at [email protected]