Founders often ask, “Help me hire a CFO.” But the better question is: Why do you think you need one?

In this episode, Colin Anderson (Founding Partner of Friends and Family Capital and former CFO of Palantir Technologies) breaks down how to think about your first — or next — finance hire using first principles.

Instead of defaulting to a big title, Colin shares three practical frameworks to help founders diagnose the real problem, hire for stage, and build a finance function that acts as a force multiplier.

If you're between 20 and 100 employees, feeling financial blind spots, or preparing to raise capital, this episode is for you.

• 0:00 – Show intro and episode overview

• 0:29 – The real question behind “Help me hire a CFO”

• 0:54 – External vs. internal motivation for hiring

• 1:23 – Framework #1: The quantitative lens (past, present, future)

• 2:47 – Framework #2: Pilot vs. airplane builder

• 3:25 – Framework #3: “Peak theory” and splitting roles

• 4:04 – Moving from frameworks to tactical hires

• 4:49 – The three common first finance hires

• 5:14 – Staff accountant: Bringing accounting in-house

• 5:29 – Financial analyst: Systems, clean data, and forecasting

• 5:58 – Fundraiser profile: Hiring for capital markets execution

• 6:39 – Scaling from one to N in finance

• 7:25 – Experienced operator vs. high-aptitude athlete

• 8:12 – Conclusion: Solve the problem before hiring the title

• 9:13 – Disclaimer

Learn more at https://www.fafc.com/

Friends & Family Capital’s First Principles Finance is the show where founders receive candid answers to the finance questions that matter most when building a world-class technology company.

Hosted by Colin Anderson — founding partner of Friends & Family Capital and former CFO of Palantir Technologies — the show pulls directly from the conversations Colin has each week with founders at the coal face.

Every episode tackles the critical finance decisions that shape a company’s path: when to bring on a first finance lead, how to keep a cash war chest safe, and how to use debt and equity.

https://www.fafc.com/