\u201cSecond time founders definitely realize what they went through the first time and now, whether it\u2019s accounting or equity compensation, they say \u2018let\u2019s set up that structure correctly in the beginning\u2019. It saves you in the long run,\u201d Ben Murray says of the insights he\u2019s gained from his research into SaaS financial tech stacks.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s safe to say that no matter what type of business or industry you\u2019re in you\u2019ll have thought, at least once, \u2018I wish I knew then what I know now\u2019. It could be in the aftermath of a missed opportunity or the result of a decision that didn\u2019t quite work out, leaving a costly hole that needs remedying. Ben has seen time and again; first time founders putting tasks on the long finger when establishing their initial company, but upon moving on they do learn from those experiences.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cSecond time founders I find reach out to me earlier in the process, where they\u2019re like, \u2018I learned from selling my company or doing due diligence and I don\u2019t want to do that again because it\u2019s painful. We didn\u2019t focus on finance and accounting early enough\u2019. I\u2019ve had some that reach out after a million or even less than a million in revenue, because they\u2019ve been through it before and they\u2019ll say \u2018I want to get this right the first time now\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
A CFO by trade Ben Murray, is a font of knowledge about all things SaaS operations related. Having worked in finance and accounting for over 25 years he launched his own firm to offer fractional CFO services, coaching and, of course, teach SaaS metrics and finance, which led him to begin compiling the Finance\/Accounting Tech Stack Survey<\/strong>, which takes an in-depth look into tech stack software, from payment processing and revenue recognition, through to payroll and cap table management. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of questions from founders were the same,\u201d Ben explains of what initially made him curious. \u201cThey were asking \u2018what accounting software should we use, what about forecasting?\u2019 So I said why not poll my audience? I have around 40,000 subscribers on my newsletter list, that\u2019s where the tech stack report came from.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFounders and co-founders starting a company are more focused on the product, first creating it, then seeing if they can sell and make money from it. It makes sense. You\u2019ve got to develop the product, then you\u2019ve got to see if the product will actually stick in the market\u201d he says of how companies end up developing their tech stacks differently.<\/p>\n When getting a new business venture off the ground your tech stack might not be the most glamourous of jobs, but as momentum builds it becomes clear very quickly that certain tasks can\u2019t be managed forever on spreadsheets, like your cap table for example. That information will be scrutinized as investors, both existing and potential, need to be satisfied everything is correct. The recommendation is to get away from spreadsheets sooner rather than later so finding the equity compensation software solution that\u2019s correct for you is essential.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tJust like revenue recognition, your cap table needs to be bulletproof. Your cap table and how you record all your ownership has to be perfect.\t\t\t<\/p>\nCostly errors and avoidable mistakes<\/h2>\n
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