<p>Host Erik Zhou, CAO at Brex, sits down with Richie Mashiko, Fractional CFO, to unpack the financial complexities of running high-growth e-commerce and CPG brands. From measuring the right things to navigating ad spend, pricing strategies, and fragile supply chains amidst tariffs, Richie offers a unique operator’s perspective on what it takes to drive sustainable growth in today’s market.</p><p><strong>Key quotes</strong></p><ul><li>“There are 4 things I look at in an e-commerce business: cost of goods, operating expenses, advertising spend, and profit” </li><li>“A lot of e-commerce businesses are dependent on the performance and efficiency of ads on Meta, Google, or Tik Tok”</li><li>“It's cheaper to have a website than it is to have a physical retail location. But what ends up happening is over time, it can end up costing way more to run a website because you have 50 different software providers. Most people don't even touch all the software that they're using.”</li><li>“I see a lot of brands in business for a long time who don’t increase their prices. Don’t be afraid to do price testing.” </li></ul><p><strong>Time Stamps</strong></p><ul><li>(00:51) Richie's background and early ventures</li><li>(05:04) Basic e-commerce business strategies</li><li>(08:18) Impact of tariffs on e-commerce</li><li>(19:23) Managing margins and operational costs</li><li>(25:55) Capital structure and financing challenges</li><li>(31:11) Future outlook for e-commerce brands</li><li>(34:55) Finance leaders are fun too! </li></ul><p><strong>Links</strong></p><ul><li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardmashiko/">Connect with Richie</a></li><li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardmashiko/">Visit She’s Birdie</a></li><li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/erik-zhou-561825b8/">Connect with Erik</a></li><li><a href="https://www.brex.com/">Visit Brex</a></li></ul>