Pete Donell Founder at Duet and Fractional CFO, shares his perspective on ROI in Technology and AI with Guy Hutchinson

In this episode we're joined by Sapna Shah Syndicate Lead & Venture partner at Sie ventures as well as seed investor and fractional CFO. Sapna and I dive into the focus areas for her investments, exploring the importance of network in key verticals and how to support founders shaping a big vision for investment. She shares her insights from her work as a Fractional CFO and you’ll certainly want to hear our discussion how CFO parents seek to shape the next generation. https://www.linkedin.com/in/sapna-shah/https://www.sie.ventures/

In this episode we're joined by Edward Barrow, co-founder & CEO @ Cloud Capital, and a former finance leader who spent years managing $100Ms in cloud commitments before building the company to solve the problem himself.In this episode, Ed unpacks the rise of cloud and AI compute costs, and why CFOs now face a brand new discipline: a line item that's grown to rival payroll, yet remains the least understood and least predictable on the P&L. We dig into the critical difference between AI costs sitting in OpEx versus COGS, why repricing alone won't rescue gross margins, and the "token treadmill" that keeps consumption outpacing falling unit prices. We also explore why the CFO-CTO relationship has never mattered more, and what it actually takes to build a shared vocabulary between finance and engineering.https://startupcfo.tech/https://www.linkedin.com/in/ebarrow/https://www.cloudcapital.co[Report] Cost of Compute 2026: https://www.cloudcapital.co/the-cost-of-compute

In this episode we're joined by Dr. Veronika von Heise-Rotenburg — CFO & MD @Everphone, an expert in the discipline of financial leadership, also a speaker and now published author.In this episode, Veronika shares some insights from her CFO career, and we take a deep dive into the topic of debt funding, discussing different solutions that a startup or scale-up might appraise. We also shine a light on the importance of the CEO-CFO relationship, highlighting key elements to taking that relationship to a high level of performance. https://www.linkedin.com/in/veronika-von-heise-rotenburg/

In this episode we're joined by Rob Collings — chartered accountant, former Head of Finance and CFO at tech startups including Packfleet, and now founder of Flexal, an AI-native accounting firm built specifically for early-stage companies. Rob reveals his insights on where AI genuinely moves the needle in finance — and where it doesn't. We dig into the build vs buy decision for finance teams, why some compliance tasks are proving stubbornly difficult for AI to crack, and how the relationship between startups and their accounting firms needs to evolve in an AI-first world.

In this episode, we to talk to Pete Donell - fractional CFO and founder at Duet.In this discussion we have a deep dive into why CFOs accel when focusing on data, analytics and RevOps. We talk through the way AI spend is a positive trigger for CFOs exploring the return on investment in R&D. You might be surprised to hear what steps leading finance leaders are expected to take in this important area.

In this episode, we talk to John Gronen is CFO at Yooz, the purchase-to-pay automation platform. John brings 25+ years’ experience across finance, operations, sales and M&A, including previous CFO roles.We explore his views on AI deployment in procure to pay and mitigating against fraud. Many CFOs will be fascinated to hear how he shapes the growth of his team and mentors others to help navigate essential career decisions.

In this episode, we talk to Spela Priyon, one of the co-founders at EquityPeople a business focused on team incentives and recently acquired by Optio. In this discussion we cover a range of challenges in the incentivisation space, from salary benchmarking to share option schemes. She shares her views on what it takes to make incentives drive the right behaviours and she shares her refreshing perspective of the role of Secondary share sales.

In this episode, we’re going to talk to Alexander Wulff CEO & Co-founder at Scaleup Finance and Nume. The businesses he has founded span the world of fractional CFOs supported by Tech platforms and the hive-mind. And most recently the first steps towards an AI CFO.We discuss a range of financial challenges for smaller businesses and those at seed stage. We cover what it takes to incorporate a fractional CFO into high value activities and you might be surprised to learn how Nume is unlocking the potential of Founders to make almost limitless prompts to an AI CFO application.

We explore Freddie Dixon’s career journey and the experiences that have shaped his leadership as CFO at Bright Network. He shares practical insights on how to run effective board meetings, from defining a clear purpose to aligning on what each stakeholder wants to achieve. The conversation highlights the guiding principles that turn board sessions into focused, high-impact discussions.

Arnon Shimoni has an unusual background for someone talking about billing infrastructure. Engineer turned solution consultant turned growth leader. That mix matters because billing sits at the intersection of product, engineering, and finance, and most companies let the wrong team drive.In this conversation, Arnon explains what CFOs need to understand about billing complexity, why it's a multi-disciplinary project that breaks when one function owns it alone, and reveals which overlooked role in your org is actually the best person to quarterback the whole thing.