In this enlightening episode of The Gross Profit Podcast, host James Kennedy chats with Jason Andrews, a finance leader whose career path has taken an unconventional but deeply insightful turn. From growing up in a family-run petrol station to becoming a key player in Twilio’s explosive growth, and now transitioning into a marketing role at FloQast, Jason’s story is one of calculated risks, relentless improvement, and people-first business thinking.
The Golf Game That Set the Tone
Jason kicks off the episode with a story that captures his personality perfectly: the night before his Leaving Cert exam, he chose to play golf with Irish legend Christy O’Connor Jr. instead of cramming for his exams. The decision paid off, both in the results and as an early lesson in taking meaningful, sometimes risky opportunities when they arise.
Early Roots: Family Business and Finance Foundations
Jason’s business instincts were honed early. Growing up in a family-run petrol station, he was making calls and collecting receivables before most kids had a summer job. This hands-on business experience led him to study business at the University of Limerick, eventually launching his finance career at Grant Thornton.
Hard Calls in Troubled Businesses
At Grant Thornton, Jason was on the front lines during the post-recession years, often stepping into businesses in crisis. His emotional recount of a family-run hotel facing receivership shows his human-centric approach to finance. It wasn’t about cutting jobs – it was about saving what could be saved, and doing so with empathy.
Scaling with Twilio: A Masterclass in Hypergrowth
Jason joined Twilio during its meteoric rise – growing from $650M in revenue to over $4B. He shares the challenges of scaling finance operations globally, touching on ERP migrations, interdepartmental dependencies, and managing 6,000+ close tasks across 250 people. His solution? Documenting processes ruthlessly and leveraging lean methodologies like Six Sigma.
The FloQast Advantage
Jason used FloQast to bring order to the chaos of global accounting operations. He explains how the platform provided clarity, improved sequencing, and drove down meeting times with visibility into late tasks and bottlenecks. FloQast didn’t just track workflows – it diagnosed process inefficiencies and enabled automation where it mattered most.
Making the Leap to Marketing
In a surprising twist, Jason cold-emailed FloQast leadership and transitioned from a senior finance role into marketing. Now, he helps shape the message to other accountants, bringing real-world experience and empathy into play. His journey shows that great marketers understand their audience – and Jason is fluent in the language of controllers and CFOs.
Business Hero: His Mother
Asked about his business hero, Jason names his mother, who ran the family petrol station with integrity, gratitude, and people-first leadership. Her focus on building human connections and instilling a strong work ethic clearly left a lasting mark on Jason’s professional philosophy.
Key Takeaways:
- Document, Then Decide: You can’t improve what you haven’t mapped.
- Empathy in Finance: Hard decisions don’t have to be heartless.
- Tech and People: Growth is about balancing smart tools with smarter hiring.
- Courage Pays Off: Sometimes the biggest wins start with a cold email.
To hear the full story, including Jason’s candid insights into scaling operations and his new life in marketing, check out the full episode of The Gross Profit Podcast
