Six and a half years ago my good friend and professional colleague, Rob Meinhardt asked me to take a meeting with Mike Whitmire, the Founder and CEO of FloQast, an early stage SAAS company that Rob had just invested in. FloQast, had developed a solution to help corporate accounting teams close their books faster and more accurately. Rob thought my background in sales and business development could be helpful to Mike as he developed FloQast’s GTM strategy. Mike had been part of the accounting team at Cornerstone OnDemand and had personally felt the stress and frustration of trying to close the company’s books. I liked Mike and his passion. Not only had he built a solution to solve his own problem, but he had a bigger vision, to elevate the role of the corporate accountant. Also, FloQast seemed to be targeting a big underserved market. However, the company had only $3M of ARR, a couple hundred customers, an $8,500 ACV and about 70 employees. I had never sold to the Controller or Office of the CFO. Also, there was a very large public competitor. Still I was intrigued. Given the perceived risk, I asked a good friend of mine, Rob Krolik, if he’d be willing to speak to Mike and take a look at the FloQast product. Rob was a respected CFO who had taken Yelp public and was also a CPA. After meeting with Mike, Rob called me and said three things: 1) “My life would have been a lot less stressful had I had FloQast when we took Yelp public. 2) I’m not sure why every company doesn’t use software like FloQast. 3) Their price is too low for the value they provide.” So, with the endorsement of a trusted adviser, I took the plunge and joined FloQast. 6 1/2 years later, our ARR has increased by more than 40X, we have more than 2600 customers, 600 employees, a robust partner ecosystem, and a global presence. It's been quite a run and I’m extremely proud of what FloQast has accomplished. As I look towards the future, It's time for me to pass the reins to a new CRO that will lead us on our next phase of growth. Please join me in welcoming Josh Glover to FloQast. Josh has a tremendous track record. He was the President and CRO of nCino, where he led all GTM functions and was instrumental in driving their stellar growth to become a $500M public company. I will be moving into a new role as Chief Business Development Officer at FloQast. This will allow me to focus on my passion for partnerships, which will be a key pillar of our GTM strategy going forward. I look forward to working with Josh, and the rest of the executive team, to continue our mission to build the world’s preeminent software company serving the Office of the CFO.
Ken, thanks for all the Support you have shown us as we opened up the ANZ region, really appreciated. Looking forward to continue to work and learn from both yourself with our partner strategies, and now Josh with his experience in growing nCino to $500m, especially as we expand outside of ANZ and into SE Asia region.
Great work, Ken.Excited for the next chapter! Big things to come.
wow, sounds like quite the journey with floqast! congrats on the growth and passing the reins to josh glover. exciting times ahead in your new role
Congrats on an impressive run, wishing your he best in your new role
Congrats Josh and Ken. Thanks for also bringing me along for the ride here (Rob and Ken). I have certainty seen Floqast grow and do big things. The unique part of it is that they have done it all the “right way” and that reflects the “Tone at the Top”. The Floqast suite of modules is second to none!!
What an incredible journey and transition. Congratulations on your new role as Chief Business Development Officer. Your passion for partnerships will undoubtedly be a significant asset to FloQast's continued success. Best wishes to you and Josh Glover in this exciting new chapter Ken Sims
And it only continues Ken Sims! Excited to continue big things in the years to come together and cheers to the many we've already had with you leading the way
Impressive journey and growth story! 🌱 Reflecting on your path reminds me of Marcus Aurelius - The obstacle is the way. Here’s to continued success and innovation at FloQast! 🚀✨