The Power of Community: Why I’m Proud to Lead the Largest Tech CFO Community Nationwide

August 05, 2024

  • Evan

    Evan Fein

    CFO, TextNow

Conference signage, The F Suite Leadership Summit 2024

Why I’m Proud to Lead the Largest Tech CFO Community in the U.S.: A Message From The F Suite Executive Chairman

Earlier in my career, I joined Impinj as employee number eight. I was hired as the director of finance and was ultimately promoted to CFO — a dream for any early employee, but also a challenge. The learning curve at a rapidly growing company was incredibly steep, and I knew that my success depended on seeking guidance from others who had navigated similar paths before me.

So, along with Tom Walker, the former CFO at Tableau, I formed a group of six Seattle-based CFOs to connect, learn from each other, and provide mutual support.

That initial bunch of us expanded into the Seattle Tech CFO Group, bringing together hundreds of finance leaders from top high-growth tech companies like Smartsheet, Rover, Redfin, Robinhood, OfferUp, Onestream, Avalara, Outreach, Poshmark, Remitly, Extrahop, Apptio, and Highspot. Over the past 14 years, the people in this rich, connected community have taught me so much, helped me lead through mergers, IPOs, rounds of funding, and more, and inspired me to become a far more effective CFO at my current company, TextNow.

And that’s why I’m so excited to announce that the Seattle Tech CFO Group has merged with The F Suite. By integrating this community with The F Suite’s thriving network of over 750 CFOs, we get to combine the collective wisdom of our members, exponentially fueling our ability to learn, grow, and support each other.

As part of the merger, I am honored to take on the role of Global Chairman of The F Suite while continuing my full-time role as CFO at TextNow. I have always been a community builder at heart, and together with The F Suite’s co-founders Kiran Lingam and Greg Raiten, and our Executive Board, I can’t wait to create even more opportunities for our members to connect.

Here are just a few aspects of The F Suite’s future I’m excited about:

Expanded Networking Opportunities

With this merger, we’ve created the largest concentration of tech CFOs in the United States — and thus limitless opportunities to exchange ideas and learn from one another.

Exclusive Access to Resources

Seattle Tech CFO Group members now have access to The F Suite’s Braintrust platform for real-time collaboration, national conferences, local events, and a library of valuable documents, compensation surveys, and more. The team has plans to continue expanding upon these highly curated resources with Annual Benchmarking Sentiment Surveys, the ability to ask anonymous questions of the community, new unique event formats, and more.

Invaluable Peer Support Through Uncertain Times

In arguably one of history’s most complex economic time periods, having a robust network of talented peers is more important than ever. I look forward to fostering an environment where we can all thrive together and help members find the peers closest to them in terms of experience, company type, industry, and more to ensure they get the most value possible.

This merger isn’t just about expanding our network; it’s about creating a supportive community that elevates all of us and the companies we so proudly represent. I am eager to continue building a vibrant environment where we can grow as leaders and drive our companies and industry forward.

About The F Suite

The F Suite is an invitation-only executive peer community where leading CFOs turn to make better, faster decisions that propel their companies forward. Member CFOs build their Braintrust with peers from high-growth companies and investment funds including Lyft, Bumble, Circle, Nextdoor, Via, Riskified, Fireblocks, Anthropic, Midjourney, Contenful, OnlyFans, Vista Equity Partners, Polaris Partners, Upfront Ventures, Felicis Ventures, and First Round Capital. F Suite members benefit from access to a custom-built, proprietary platform for curated connections and conversations with hundreds of CFOs on trending topics; an extensive library of hyper-relevant data and timely insights from CFO peers; a members-only vendor database to find the right solution the first time; and exclusive local, national, and virtual events that bring member CFOs together with their trusted inner circle.