What does it mean to be a customer-centric CFO?

Coworking is a recurring segment where we talk with CFOs and other leaders in the finance space about their experiences, their companies, and the larger economy. Let us know if you are—or you know—a CFO we should interview.

Once upon a time, CFOs were just expected to keep the books tidy. Now their job is to help the business bloom. For Dominique Highfield, CFO of Bloom & Wild, that’s both literal and metaphorical.

The CFO of the UK-based flower delivery service has to act like a gardener to the business: cultivating strategies, tending to growth, and pruning flawed plans. We talked with Highfield about how even on rocky ground (last plant reference, we promise), the company is still getting flowers to doorsteps.

How is being CFO at Bloom & Wild different from other roles you’ve had?

This is my first founder-led role. The founder is also our CEO…he very much cares about the longevity of the company, and also the customer-centricity is really key. It’s why he started the business. And it remains true to this day. And I would also say, being [at an] earlier stage than I would normally be in the high growth is really important.

Is there anything unique about this business model that changes your role as a CFO?

The business model is really unique in the fact that we’re a gifting business. So we have this underlying virality where a sender sends a product, they become a recipient, and then there’s a flywheel of virality, as that recipient then becomes the new purchaser in the future. That’s a really lovely, very attractive business model, because it’s a low-acquisition [cost] as a result. But it also means that customer experience is really important, and as a customer-centric CFO, that really suits me.

What does it mean to you to be a customer-centric CFO?

It means that you don’t always make decisions based on the numbers. You make decisions based on the right thing to do for the customer coming back, and the customer to rave about our brand for doing the right thing.

We are entering a time of possible recession and a lot of uncertainty in the marketplace. How are you preparing your team and your business for that macroeconomic trend?

We are constantly doing different scenario plans and downsides and more positive looks. But I have to say, we’re not seeing the negative sentiment. We hear negative sentiment and it’s definitely true in the UK market, and the UK government would have us believe things are dire. But actually we’re in double digit, over 20%, growth this half. And we’ve seen really positive pieces. The consumers have been saving because they’ve been nervous, and they’re starting to spend more now, and we’re seeing that come through in our numbers.

Do you follow any unique KPIs?

How many people found us because we landed on their doorstep.

What do you think CFOs in high growth phases need to keep in mind?

What’s really important as a CFO is that you have a team underneath you that you can trust. [They] can do the day-to-day pieces, like the forecasting at the month-end with relatively minor input from you, so that you can then spend the time doing the value creation…I would urge every CFO to make sure they have a great bench beneath them so the CFO can spend time on value creation, growing, and playing in those new spaces.

What’s your favorite flower?

I love a dahlia, but I also love a hydrangea. Actually, I changed my mind. A ranunculus is my favorite flower.