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.

Key quotes

“There are 4 things I look at in an e-commerce business: cost of goods, operating expenses, advertising spend, and profit”
“A lot of e-commerce businesses are dependent on the performance and efficiency of ads on Meta, Google, or Tik Tok”
“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.”
“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.”

Time Stamps

(00:51) Richie's background and early ventures
(05:04) Basic e-commerce business strategies
(08:18) Impact of tariffs on e-commerce
(19:23) Managing margins and operational costs
(25:55) Capital structure and financing challenges
(31:11) Future outlook for e-commerce brands
(34:55) Finance leaders are fun too!

Links

Weathering tariff risks: Richie Mashiko’s framework for lean, resilient CPG brands