Have you ever contemplated working for an organization with an altruistic mission?  CFO Ken Cucarola did and so he accepted the top finance role at Teachscape, a K-12 SaaS software firm that is dedicated to bridging the gap between educational research and everyday teaching practices.  Join us as Ken  shares the motivations that led him to the intersection of education, high-tech, and finance.

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Finance Philosophy

• “I think (our mission) is in the back of our minds all the time as we approach our jobs. How do we impact teachers? Is the question that (motivates). Even though the finance team is somewhat removed from the teachers – our customers – there is a motivational factor here that really runs across the entire company.”

Mentoring Round:

• “It’s kind of easy for people in our role to just dictate. Because we can. … But what you want to do is ask questions. The secret to being effective in this role is to ask questions that will help lead others to what you want them to think about. You may already know the point that you’d like to make, but when you ask a question you are helping people think in a certain way, and you can now educate them as to why something may or may not be good for the busness.”

Business Book Picks

Freakonomics [Revised and Expanded]: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything By Steven D. Levitt

Interview Links

• Ken’s site