CJ Gustafson

CFO, PartsTech · 1 appearance on the record.

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executiveauthorhostoperator@cjgustafson222 ↗LinkedIn ↗mostlymetrics.com ↗

CJ Gustafson is a tech finance executive who authors Mostly Metrics, a popular newsletter covering SaaS unit economics, corporate finance, and business operations. He also hosts the business and finance podcast Run the Numbers, interviewing founders and finance leaders on operating tech startups.

9statements → 4claims → 0claims resolved → 3.56/5average certainty → 1.56/5average debate potential → ≈4.5/5argument clarity, estimated →

4 not checkable as stated how the 4 claims stand · each chip opens the sources

4 assertions · 4 insights · 1 disclosure · every statement was checked. The predictions and assertions are the 4 claims: statements the public record can support or contradict. 0 are resolved, and 4 name no date, number or outcome precise enough to check. Everything else (opinions, insights, what ifs, disclosures) can never be settled by the record, so it carries no assessment.

The record, in short

What the tape says about how CJ argues and how the claims held up. Everything they said, and everything said about them, is in the tabs below.

How they sound: not measured why? →

We measure speaking style by listening to the audio itself, and a fair number needs at least 2,000 words from one person on tape we have measured. There is too little of CJ Gustafson on measured tape to publish a rate. This says nothing about how they speak.

What they said9 Episodes1

Everything CJ Gustafson said on Top Founders that made the record, most notable first. Filter by type, assessment or year in the ledger →

Insight

Building an Audience First Beats Creating a Product Before Finding Distribution

“So a lot of companies, what they do is they'll make a startup and then they'll try to find distribution. So they'll start with the product and then try to find the people. My thing is to find the people have fun creating the content and then figure out what pr…”

CJ Gustafson Oct 17, 2023 ▶ 16:25 How to launch a Newsletter, get 7k Subs, first $5k Sponsor. SaaS Next?

Insight

Creators Must Treat Themselves as Media SKUs Rather Than Selling Backlinks

“So I think about myself kind of as a skew and I think content creators have to do that. Like, you know, it's not just about writing something in a backlink and charging for it.”

CJ Gustafson Oct 17, 2023 ▶ 8:41 How to launch a Newsletter, get 7k Subs, first $5k Sponsor. SaaS Next?

Insight

CFOs Do Not Buy Enterprise Software From a Single Banner Ad

“CFOs aren't going to just buy something because you did one banner ad in one post. You have to be willing to buy like at least a month or like six posts or, you know for the podcast, we do three month sponsorships because it's best for both of us.”

CJ Gustafson Oct 17, 2023 ▶ 11:31 How to launch a Newsletter, get 7k Subs, first $5k Sponsor. SaaS Next?

Insight

The Best Way to Grow a Podcast Is Through Other Podcasts

“And the best way to grow a podcast is through other podcasts.”

CJ Gustafson Oct 17, 2023 ▶ 15:33 How to launch a Newsletter, get 7k Subs, first $5k Sponsor. SaaS Next?

Assertion Not checkable as stated

Gustafson Grew Mostly Metrics to 35,000 Subscribers in 18 Months

“It went from, you know, my mother and my dog and my wife reading it to 35,000 people in about a year and a half.”

CJ Gustafson Oct 17, 2023 ▶ 4:29 How to launch a Newsletter, get 7k Subs, first $5k Sponsor. SaaS Next?

Disclosure

Mostly Metrics Charges a $5K to $10K Minimum Per Newsletter Sponsorship

“Minimally, minimally probably like five to 10,000 depending on how much I have to say about it.”

CJ Gustafson Oct 17, 2023 ▶ 8:23 How to launch a Newsletter, get 7k Subs, first $5k Sponsor. SaaS Next?

Assertion Not checkable as stated

Mostly Metrics Averages a 46 Percent Open Rate and 5 Percent CTR

“Open rate right now. Yesterday was 46% so far. And then my click through rate on any is between three and seven percent depending on the post itself. But usually it's probably in the four and a half to five range.”

CJ Gustafson Oct 17, 2023 ▶ 17:14 How to launch a Newsletter, get 7k Subs, first $5k Sponsor. SaaS Next?

Assertion Not checkable as stated

Mostly Metrics Has Approximately 7,000 Active CFO Subscribers

“So the last time I checked, I think I had about 7000 actual CFOs,”

CJ Gustafson Oct 17, 2023 ▶ 18:42 How to launch a Newsletter, get 7k Subs, first $5k Sponsor. SaaS Next?

Assertion Not checkable as stated

Sixty Percent of Mostly Metrics' CFO Subscribers Work in SaaS

“About 60%.”

CJ Gustafson Oct 17, 2023 ▶ 19:14 How to launch a Newsletter, get 7k Subs, first $5k Sponsor. SaaS Next?

Appearances (1)

Episode	Date	Speaking time
How to launch a Newsletter, get 7k Subs, first $5k Sponsor. SaaS Next?	Oct 17, 2023	13m

CJ Gustafson

The record, in short

How they sound: not measured why? →

Appearances (1)

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