Welcome to The 6 a.m. CFO, where finance chiefs share how they jump-start their days and engage with the tasks that are in front of them.
Today, Backblaze’s CFO, Marc Suidan, shares his morning routine.
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Backblaze
- Open cloud storage platform to help develop applications, manage media, secure backups, build AI workflows and protect from ransomware.
- Year founded: 2007
- Number of employees: 360
- Revenue: 2024 revenue of $128 million; grew 25% from 2023.
MORNING ROUTINE
Can you walk us through your normal workday morning routine? What is your morning pick-me-up? I start my morning with yoga and calisthenics. I take my kids to early morning figure skating practices, so during that time, I get my workouts done while listening to YouTube about the market, and other peer group earnings calls. Afterwards, I drive my kids to school and enjoy the commute with them. Then, I start my work day around 8 a.m.
Can you share a recent morning when things didn’t go according to plan? I work out of the office a few days a week, and I had a scheduled NASDAQ Trade Talks interview with Jill Malandrino. The team prepared the office with a solid camera setting, lighting, microphone and a Backblaze background. But the power was out in San Mateo, where our headquarters are based, so I had to rush back home and use my home office setup. Generally, my days rarely get off track, but I always enjoy the change.
How do you structure your first few hours after you log on at work? What do you prioritize, and how do you engage with your teams? I generally respond to everything in real time, and do my deep thinking type of work the night before. So I use my day to have working sessions with my teams, and I try to meet all my peers regularly for one-on-ones. Outside of core BAU (earnings release, financial close and SEC reporting, IR conferences), the working sessions are usually focused on transformational efforts across the company.
And the one-on-ones with my peers serve many purposes, but the most important one is building a strong bond. Backblaze is largely a new executive team working across different US cities. So investing time in team building maintains alignment, helps push thinking faster and solidifies the attributes of a great team to work through all challenges.
LEADERSHIP AND INSPIRATION
What is your favorite quote or mantra? Steve Jobs was quoted as saying: “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; We hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.”
Realistically, many claim to exercise this quote, but it’s not easy. I am a huge believer in challenging people to speak their minds and to create an environment to challenge your bosses, which results in attracting and retaining the best talent, and you achieve way more with such a cohort of smart and unleashed people.
Can you share your favorite leadership lesson? Andy Grove’s book, “Only the Paranoid Survive.” Understanding a critical strategic inflection point, Andy managed to turn Intel into an incredibly high-performing company.
I am a big fan of setting up a company to compete in a trail-blazing way, always paranoid that they can be taken down anytime. It creates a sense of urgency and thoughtfulness to see around corners and execute fast and with rigor. Realistically, we compete with both hyperscalers with massive budgets and with new startups that are extremely scrappy. So the urgency to compete, grow faster with less spend is a critical mindset these days.
What is something important to know about you that you wouldn’t know from your business bio? I’ve traveled to over 45 countries, and speak in varying levels of proficiency in five languages. I am a big internationalist, and love exploring people, cultures and history.
What was the last job you did at your company that fell outside your traditional scope of work? Shopping at Target to replenish the company’s snack bar. One morning, I found the snack bar too bare, so I went to Target and replenished it and tried to experiment with new items, and see if it gets more people into the office.
Can you share one way in which you have learned to manage work-induced stress? I switch meetings from an office sit-down to “walk and talk” with my peers and employees, or I increase my amount of Yoga and workouts.
What is your favorite number? 40 — as in Rule of 40. This is a common metric for growth SaaS companies. Backblaze was not delivering on this metric and was disappointed with this valuation. We established a clear roadmap to get the company back to being a Rule of 40, which is the sum of annual revenue growth and free cash flow margins.
What are the most noteworthy items in your workspace? Pictures with my current and former teammates, and funny caricature-type pictures.
Do you have a pet sitting in your office right now? No pets!
What is your favorite phone app that is unrelated to work? Duolingo! I enjoy practicing and learning new languages. My second is YouTube: I enjoy listening to market news, healthy living perspectives and geopolitical analysis.
What was your first car? A Honda Prelude.
Can you share the most important piece of literature you’ve recently read? Poor Charlie’s Almanack by Charlie Munger. It’s a refreshing perspective on grit, perseverance and resilience to drive successful outcomes, and secondly, the importance of focusing on fundamentals and first principles thinking
