The overwhelming majority of finance teams manage planning with spreadsheets yet most of these teams understand that existing processes are time-consuming and highly manual. Cube is the Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) platform that combines the power of SaaS with the familiarity of spreadsheets to deliver real-time financial intelligence. Founded by a finance exec with 20 years of experience, Cube does not require companies and team members to change how they approach FP&A but rather augments their existing processes with automation, resulting in streamlined workflows and more accuracy.
AlleyWatch caught up with Founder and CEO Christina Ross to learn more about how her previous experience in finance sparked the idea for Cube, how the platform bridges the gap between the pace of business today and previously manual processes for finance teams, the company’s expansion plans, latest round of funding, which brings the total funding raised to $15M, and much, much more.
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
We raised a preemptive $10 million Series A round led by Mayfield, with participation from Bonfire Ventures and Operator Collective. Cube’s investors also include current and former executives from Anaplan, Planful (née Host Analytics), Carta, and Rent the Runway.
Tell us about the product or service that Cube Software offers.
Cube is a real-time CFO intelligence platform that enables strategic finance professionals to go from numbers to narrative in record time. Cube automates the time-consuming, manual FP&A processes such as data collection, transformation, and modeling to provide the instant insights needed to guide the business forward with agility and confidence. By combining the power of enterprise cloud software with the flexibility of a spreadsheet, individuals and teams can get started in just days, not months.
What inspired the start of Cube Software?
As a child my favorite toy was a professional cash register which led me to a two-decade finance career at GE, Deloitte Consulting (CFO consulting), Rent the Runway, Criteo, and Eyeview.
As a CFO, I understood that Finance was a mission-critical, strategic function, but it lacked the tools needed to move at today’s pace of business. Nearly 90% of companies are still managing all planning on spreadsheets, yet the vast majority have expressed a desire to upgrade. I tried to “upgrade” to a leading FP&A solution, where after spending 6 months in an implementation cycle, I ended up moving back to spreadsheets as this new ecosystem was too difficult to adopt. The more CFOs I talked to, the more stories I heard like my own and I knew there had to be a better way.
How is Cube Software different?
We designed Cube to meet users where they are and allow them to continue to use their technology of choice, instead of requiring them to relearn FP&A in an entirely new ecosystem outside of spreadsheets
We built Cube to do for CFOs what Salesforce has done for VPs of Sales.
A good analogy is how Tesla reinvented the car, but people didn’t require people to re-learn how to drive. The same is true with Cube: we’ve reinvented the FP&A experience, but don’t require users to re-learn FP&A. Unlike other platforms, Cube believes spreadsheets will continue to be part of our workflow, and we embrace that.
What market does Cube Software target and how big is it?
Our initial focus is on mid-market companies, who simultaneously have the greatest need while being least served by existing tools in the space. However, we plan to expand over time and our total addressable market includes all companies who plan, so there is a massive open market opportunity.
What’s your business model?
How has COVID-19 impacted the business?
The beginning of Covid triggered the “great replanning of 2020”, where companies around the globe scrambled to review their cash on hand, update their forecasts and budgets in real-time, and run scenarios to prepare for a future that became more uncertain by the day. In this hastily executed exercise in survival, companies were forced to squeeze an exercise that is normally a months-long process, into a timeframe of just a few weeks, it became clear that financial planning is an area ripe for change and disruption.
What was the funding process like?
We met Mayfield immediately after closing the Seed round and had a chance to get to know them over time. Where many investor conversations can be purely educational, this one was highly inspirational, and we decided to partner up on the Series A.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
This time around it was more of a decision around when to raise and how much. We opted for a more “traditional” Series A in size because, as a planning company, we are fairly skilled at allocating capital and knew exactly how we would use it.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
We bonded over our unique approach of meeting users where they are and in the future of the spreadsheet
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
We plan to double the size of the team by the end of the year with significant investments in R&D and go-to-market
What advice can you offer companies in New York that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
Proper planning makes all the difference. Strategic focus leads to the most efficient cost savings, and proper resource allocation (e.g. headcount) leads to the most effective revenue growth. Don’t stress over the $25 a month SaaS platform, focus on how to allocate your cash to drive the most efficient growth.
Proper planning makes all the difference. Strategic focus leads to the most efficient cost savings, and proper resource allocation (e.g. headcount) leads to the most effective revenue growth. Don’t stress over the $25 a month SaaS platform, focus on how to allocate your cash to drive the most efficient growth.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
Our focus is on continuing to build a world-class product and expanding our go-to-market motion
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Source: https://www.alleywatch.com/2021/03/cube-software-cfo-intelligence-platform-financial-planning-analysis-automation-fpa-christina-ross/
