Episode Description
In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with Intercom CFO Dan Griggs to discuss pricing and forecasting in the AI era. Dan shares the “it’s not zero” rule, the logic behind Fin’s $0.99 pricing, and how to bet on AI without blowing up the core business.
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SPONSORS:
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Metronome is real-time billing built for modern software companies. Metronome turns raw usage events into accurate invoices, gives customers bills they actually understand, and keeps finance, product, and engineering perfectly in sync. That’s why category-defining companies like OpenAI and Anthropic trust Metronome to power usage-based pricing and enterprise contracts at scale. Focus on your product — not your billing. Learn more and get started at https://www.metronome.com
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Rillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to close faster without fighting legacy systems. Designed to support complex revenue recognition, multi-entity operations, and real-time reporting, Rillet helps teams achieve a true zero-day close—with some customers closing in hours, not days. If you’re scaling on an ERP that wasn’t built in the 90s, book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cj
Tabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at https://www.tabs.com/run
Abacum is a modern FP&A platform built by former CFOs to replace slow, consultant-heavy planning tools. With self-service integrations and AI-powered workflows for forecasting, variance analysis, and scenario modeling, Abacum helps finance teams scale without becoming software admins. Trusted by teams at Strava, Replit, and JG Wentworth—learn more at https://www.abacum.ai
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LINKS:
Dan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-griggs-0970181/
Intercom: https://www.intercom.com/
CJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/
Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com
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TIMESTAMPS:
00:00:00 Cold Open
00:01:03 Dan Griggs and Intercom’s AI Pivot
00:02:45 Ice Cream to SaaS
00:04:19 Learning the Business
00:06:26 Operational Reality and Forecasts
00:08:00 “It’s Not Zero” Forecasting
00:10:09 Scenario Planning and Ambiguity
00:11:23 Sponsors — Brex | Metronome | RightRev
00:14:43 Mental Models for Metrics
00:16:15 Mental Math for Forecasts
00:17:28 Core CFO Ratios
00:19:13 Intercom’s Burn-the-Boats Moment
00:20:53 AI as an Existential Bet
00:22:21 SaaS Categories AI Can Replace
00:23:04 Why Finance Lags on AI
00:23:39 Sponsors — Rillet | Tabs | Abacum
00:27:05 Why Fin Uses Outcome Pricing
00:28:59 The $0.99 Resolution Tradeoff
00:30:46 Why Support Work Varies
00:32:01 AI Resolution Unit Economics
00:33:08 Model Choice as Costs Fall
00:35:19 Domain-Specific vs Generic LLMs
00:36:08 Selling Against the Core
00:38:50 Founder vs Professional CEOs
00:41:47 Hiring Mistakes and Instincts
00:44:28 Intercom’s Finance Stack
00:45:49 Craziest Expense Request