How to go from seasoned finance professional to tech startup CFO, drive growth as a startup finance leader, and ensure cash is king with Rainforest CFO and co-founder Jason Tan (Call #129)

On Call with Insignia Ventures

Join us on call with Jason Tan, CFO and Co-Founder of Rainforest, an ecommerce house of brands buying and growing brands for parenting and kids categories. Q1 this year the company marked its first profitable quarter and now with 16 brands in its portfolio, looks to expand their acquisitions beyond Amazon brands and build up their post-acquisition capabilities (they are hiring!). Jason goes down memory lane with learnings from his 20+ year career in finance from banking in CIMB to startup CFO (ex-OVO, Fave), deep dives into what being a CFO means in the context of Rainforest’s business, and shares advice on fundraising, making the jump into startups, and ensuring cash is king for your business.

Are you a finance professional looking to make a career shift into startups? We're here to help you take those first steps. Check out Insignia Ventures Academy's StartCFO program, an 8 week program for aspiring startup finance leaders to get a sense of what it will take to lead finance teams for innovative, fast-growing companies.

Timestamps

(02:32) A 20+ Year Career from Banking to Fintech Founding CFO to CFO of an Ecommerce House of Brands;

(13:25) Buying and Building the Best Ecommerce Brands for Parents and Babies as a Profitable Business: The CFO Perspective;

(20:08) Building a Finance Team on the Foundations of Trust;

(23:07) Advice on Fundraising and Jumping into Startups as a Finance Professional;

(26:07) #MinuteMasterclass: How to Make Sure Cash is King as An Entrepreneur;

(27:48) #RapidFireRound;

About our guest

Jason Tan is CFO and Co-Founder of Rainforest, a house of brands based out of Singapore buying and building the ecommerce brands of the future. Prior to Rainforest he was CFO of Fave and OVO before that. Before getting into the tech sector, he had a more than a decade career at CIMB which saw him become Director of Group Strategy and Strategic investments at the bank.

The content of this podcast is for informational purposes only, should not be taken as legal, tax, or business advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security, and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Insignia Ventures⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ fund.