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In our second episode of the #CFOTalks Podcast, we sit down with Dominic Ong, CFO of Endowus.
In this blog, we’ve captured some of the invaluable lessons he's learned from navigating fundraising during a tech winter, managing capital resource allocation in a volatile industry and his journey transitioning from a commercial role at an asset management company to CFO of Endowus.
On the role of the modern CFO:
“At the end of the day you’re still a problem solver. The role has evolved to the extent that it’s very unlikely for someone to have seen the whole range of challenges that will come up in that particular role before joining.
So you’re not hiring necessarily for experience anymore, you’re hiring for the ability to problem solve, evolve and adapt and to move things forward.”
On having a very focused approach to resource allocation:
“Everyone is very focused on their bottom line. We have to look very closely at where we expect revenues to grow and just prioritise that. And obviously growth comes at a cost - anything from headcount cost to marketing cost. You can turn on the taps and get more growth, but what kind of growth is it?
It’s important to be looking very closely at what the cost is and how it translates into drivers. When you describe financials to external parties, you tend to break things down to key drivers, that's what you have to watch very closely, things like your CAC, cost of IT, cost of your systems, cost per user for example. So you can really articulate the key drivers of where your revenues and profitability is going to come from.”
On needing to get creative when it comes to fundraising in a tech winter:
"We had to kiss a thousand frogs to find your princess. I believe you should continue talking to investors; that's the way to keep going, because, in the end, you only need one. Who knows? Maybe there's an introduction—people will always introduce new prospects to you. Unless there's a strong reason not to, you should keep meeting. Even if it's not for this round, it could be for the next round, a partnership, or some other angle. So, just keep meeting people."
