Tyler Sloat, also called the IPO Maker, is the CFO at Freshworks and is credited with being instrumental in making Freshworks the first Indian B2B SaaS company to go public on the US Stock exchanges. In this episode, he takes us through the nuances of getting a SaaS business IPO-ready.
Tyler Sloat - Getting your SaaS Business IPO-ready
Joining Vikram on the podcast today is Tyler Sloat, the CFO at Freshworks who is championed as someone instrumental in securing IPOs for SaaS businesses. Prior to joining Freshworks, Tyler had taken two companies public, POET Software and Zuora. Today, Tyler shares with us insights on the role of CFOs and how to get your SaaS business ready to go public.
Tyler shares his story of how he took an interest in business at a young age. He then describes the similarities and differences between Zuora and Freshworks when they were going public and how his job as a CFO differed in both organizations based on a number of aspects. Tyler explains that the role of the CFO has dramatically transformed over time, leaning into different roles, and he also shares the metrics he and his team use to determine the readiness of an organization before going public. He also discusses the importance of tracking predictability and forecasting when getting IPO-ready, and throughout the episode, shares useful information for CFOs and others who are on the journey of making the decision to take their business public.
The Finer Details of This Episode:
How Tyler’s interesting childhood shaped his view of the future
The process of taking Zuora and Freshworks public
How the role of the CFO has evolved over the years
What is the operational and executional readiness of an organization?
Achieving accuracy and predictability
Why you should track predictability before going public
Metrics used for accountability
Things Tyler would have done differently
