TraceHQ | Finance at the Foundation

TL;DR

Trace is the first service desk for finance teams, providing workflows and analytics to help with purchasing, hiring, and analyzing budgets.

Transcript

foreign hi everyone I'm Sarah Goa General partner at Greylock you're listening to gray matter where we share stories from company Builders and Business Leaders in today's episode I sit down with Mike Gonzalez founder and CEO of trace the first service desk for finance welcome Mike thank you for having me Sarah excited to be here congrats on getting... Read More

Key Insights

• 👨‍💼 Finance teams need to collaborate and work closely with the business to make informed decisions.
• 🥺 Traditional finance processes often involve silos and lack efficiency, leading to delayed and inefficient workflows.
• 😤 Trace aims to provide scalable infrastructure and drive efficiency and productivity for finance teams.

Questions & Answers

Q: What is Trace and how does it help finance teams?

Trace is a service desk for finance teams, offering workflows and analytics to assist with purchasing, hiring, and budget analysis. It helps finance teams collaborate with the business and make data-driven decisions.

Q: What are some examples of services that Trace provides for businesses?

Trace helps coordinate complex workflows, such as the purchase workflow, which involves multiple stakeholders and approvals. It also assists with hiring workflows and provides insights into spending and contract renewals.

Q: How does Trace's approach to finance differ from traditional methods?

Trace aims to transform the role of finance by providing real-time information, collaboration tools, and analytics. It focuses on empowering finance teams to work closely with the business, make informed decisions, and drive efficiency.

Q: What are the key insights driving Trace's product strategy?

The founder's experiences have highlighted the need for finance to collaborate with the business and focus on making fast, informed decisions. This includes providing real-time visibility into the impact of decisions and offering a portfolio of services to budget owners.

Summary

In this episode of the Grey Matter podcast, Sarah Guo, General Partner at Greylock, interviews Mike Gonzalez, the founder and CEO of Trace, the first service desk for finance teams. They discuss the problems that finance teams face, the services that Trace provides, and the changing role of finance leaders. Mike also shares his personal journey as a founder and the challenges he faced along the way.

Questions & Answers

Q: Can you give an overview of what Trace does and how it helps finance teams?

Trace is the first service desk for finance teams that helps them collaborate with the business around tasks such as purchasing, hiring, and analyzing budgets. It provides workflows and analytics that allow finance teams to make fast, informed decisions by showing the impact of those decisions on their financials. It aims to be like Jira for finance teams, providing the tools and information they need to execute their workflows effectively.

Q: What was the problem you were trying to solve when you founded Trace?

The problem we were trying to solve was the lack of collaboration between finance and the rest of the business. After spending a lot of time building financial plans, those plans often just sat there collecting dust while the business went on executing their projects and operations. There was a disconnect between finance and the rest of the company, and we wanted to bridge that gap by providing a platform for collaboration and real-time visibility into the impact of financial decisions.

Q: Can you explain the concept of a finance service desk and how it differs from traditional finance tools?

A finance service desk is a platform that enables finance teams to provide services to the business, similar to how IT service management platforms like ServiceNow and Atlassian's Jira Service Desk enable IT teams to provide services to other departments. It shifts the mindset from finance being purely a compliance function to being a partner in the business's operations. Finance service management helps streamline workflows, improve efficiency, and provide real-time insights into the financial impact of decisions.

Q: What are some examples of services that finance teams should offer to their business partners?

Finance teams should offer services related to purchasing, hiring, managing projects, and overall budget management. For example, Trace helps streamline the purchase workflow, which involves multiple stakeholders and processes. The goal is to provide a single platform for requesters to submit their purchase requests and for finance to coordinate all the necessary approvals and processes. Other services like hiring workflows and budget management are also important for finance teams to collaborate effectively with the business.

Q: How does Trace provide value to its customers?

Trace provides scalable infrastructure to improve productivity and efficiency for finance teams. By streamlining workflows and providing real-time visibility into spending, contracts, and renewals, Trace helps drive savings and optimize spending. It also provides insights and analytics that were previously difficult to obtain, enabling finance teams to make more accurate and timely decisions. Overall, Trace aims to empower finance teams to be strategic partners to the business and drive operational excellence.

Q: How did your previous experiences, including restructuring at Zenefits, influence the development of Trace?

My experiences at Zenefits, Facebook, and other companies taught me the importance of collaboration between finance and other departments. Restructuring at Zenefits required a deep understanding of committed spend and the ability to make tough decisions to save jobs. These experiences made me realize that finance teams need real-time visibility into financial data and the impact of their decisions. Trace aims to provide the tools and insights to facilitate this collaboration and enable finance teams to be more proactive and strategic.

Q: What are some of the challenges you faced as a founder, especially in the early days of Trace?

The early days were challenging, especially when I had to find a technical co-founder. I initially found someone, but they had to leave due to immigration issues. I ended up being a solopreneur and had to borrow money from my brother to keep the business going. It was a tough and uncertain time, but I persisted and eventually found my co-founder, Martin. The journey as a founder is never easy, but having a strong vision and surrounding myself with the right people helped me overcome the challenges.

Q: How do you see the role of finance leaders, like CFOs and heads of FPA, changing in the future?

The role of finance leaders is expanding beyond just numbers and compliance. There is an increasing expectation for them to provide operational and strategic impact. Finance teams need to be more involved in the day-to-day operational decisions of the business and serve as trusted partners to other departments. This requires a deep understanding of the data, collaboration skills, and the ability to make fast, informed decisions. The role of finance leaders is evolving to become more business-focused and to drive financial discipline and agility.

Q: How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the need for financial discipline and operational resilience?

The pandemic has emphasized the need for financial discipline and operational resilience for businesses. Companies had to reevaluate their spending and make tough decisions to cut costs. The ability to quickly analyze spending, understand commitments, and make informed decisions became critical. The pandemic has shown that businesses need to be agile and prepared for unforeseen events. Financial tools like Trace can help provide real-time information and insights to support better decision-making and improve operational resilience.

Q: How does Trace differentiate itself from existing finance tools and why is it important to provide value to end users?

Trace differentiates itself by focusing on collaboration and providing real value to end users. Traditional finance tools often focus on compliance and reporting, but they may not provide a user-friendly experience. Trace aims to make the finance function more accessible and useful to the entire organization, not just finance professionals. By providing insights, streamlining workflows, and integrating with other systems, Trace makes finance processes more efficient and valuable for end users.

Q: What habits or routines have you developed to stay focused and productive as a founder?

I believe in discipline and having a routine. I wake up early and go to the gym, which is my sanctuary and a place of peace for me. Even during the pandemic when gyms were closed, I adapted and created a mini gym at home. Having a disciplined routine helps me stay focused and energized throughout the day. I also surround myself with the right people and constantly remind myself of my driving force, which is taking care of my family and providing better opportunities for them.

Takeaways

The key takeaways from this episode are:

• Trace is the first service desk for finance teams, providing workflows and analytics to help them collaborate with the rest of the business.
• The role of finance leaders is evolving to be more operational and strategic, requiring collaboration and real-time insights.
• COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of financial discipline and operational resilience for businesses.
• Trace differentiates itself by focusing on collaboration, providing real-time insights, and delivering value to end users.
• Personal discipline, routines, and surrounding oneself with the right people are crucial for founders to stay focused and productive.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Trace is a service desk for finance teams, similar to Jira for project management.

• The platform helps finance teams collaborate with the business by providing workflows and analytics.

• Key insights from the founder's experiences include the need for finance to collaborate with the business and make fast, informed decisions.