The venture debt landscape has changed dramatically over the past few years, and CFOs can’t afford to be left behind. Catherine Jhung, Senior Managing Director at Hercules Capital and a seasoned expert in venture lending, joins CJ to explore the landscape of venture debt in 2025. Together, they unpack important questions for CFOs approaching lenders, the delicate balance between rate and flexibility, and a surprisingly overlooked use case for venture debt. You’ll also hear when not to raise debt, how to determine the right amount for your capital stack, what really separates banks from private debt funds, and the complex dance between VCs and debt providers. Plus, Catherine sheds light on the concept of capital as a commodity and how her early career in sales shaped her approach to selling the one thing every company needs: capital.

If you're looking for an ERP, head to NetSuite: https://netsuite.com/metrics and get the CFO’s Guide to AI and Machine Learning.

—

SPONSORS:

Rippling Spend is a spend management solution that handles your entire company’s spending in one unified system. It enables you to bring your corporate cards, expense management, bill pay, and more into one place to achieve real-time visibility and uniquely granular control with automated policy controls across every type of spend. Get a demo to see how much time your org would save at rippling.com/metrics.

Pulley is the cap table management platform built for CFOs and finance leaders who need reliable, audit-ready data and intuitive workflows, without the hidden fees or unreliable support. Trusted by companies like Linear and Runway, Pulley helps turn ownership into a strategic advantage. Switch in as little as 5 days and get 25% off your first year: pulley.com/mostlymetrics.

Tropic is an intelligent spend management solution that consolidates your spend data and processes into one unified offering, enabling insights and decisive action. From spotting hidden optimization opportunities to automating painful procurement workflows and giving you the best market data to turn vendor negotiations in your favor, Tropic combines smart insights with real human expertise to keep you ahead of the curve. Visit tropicapp.io/mostlymetrics to learn how.

NetSuite provides financial software for all your business needs. More than 40,000 companies have already upgraded to NetSuite, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you're looking for an ERP platform, head to NetSuite https://netsuite.com/metrics and get the CFO’s Guide to AI and Machine Learning.

Planful is a financial performance management platform designed to streamline financial tasks for businesses. It helps with budgeting, closing the books, and financial reporting, all on a cloud-based platform. By improving the efficiency and accuracy of these processes, Planful allows businesses to make better financial decisions. Find out more at www.planful.com/metrics.

Tabs is the AI-native platform automating contract-to-revenue for fast-growing finance teams. Whether you're working with custom terms, usage-based pricing, or hybrid sales models, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and late-night deadlines, giving you clean, automated revenue data from contract to cash. Companies like Cortex and Statsig trust Tabs to streamline invoicing, rev rec, and cash application. Find out more at: tabs.inc/metrics.

—

LINKS:

Catherine Jhung on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherine-jhung-she-her-434732/

Hercules Capital:

https://www.htgc.com/

Ventured Growth: https://www.htgc.com/category/podcast/

CJ on X (@cjgustafson222): https://x.com/cjgustafson222

Mostly metrics:

http://mostlymetrics.com

—

TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Preview and Intro

(02:35) Sponsor – Rippling Spend | Pulley | Tropic

(07:29) The Questions CFOs Should Be Asking Lenders in 2025

(09:31) Three Plans CFOs Should Have When Approaching a Lender

(12:26) The Levers of Pricing and Flexibility

(14:45) Sponsor – NetSuite | Planful | Tabs

(18:50) How Hercules Differs From a Bank

(22:30) A Great Use Case for Venture Debt That Founders Rarely Think About

(23:47) Determining the Appropriate Amount of Debt for a Capital Stack

(27:38) When Not To Raise Venture Debt

(29:23) The Major Players in the Venture Debt Landscape Today

(31:37) Syndicated Deals Between Banks and Private Debt Funds

(35:15) VCs Versus Venture Debt Firms

(39:07) Building Relationships in the Venture Ecosystem

(39:06) Catherine’s History in Sales

(42:43) A Sales Skill That Made Catherine a Better Investor

(46:57) How To Differentiate Selling Capital as a Commodity

(49:22) What Catherine Learned About Finance and Leadership From Her Podcast

Get full access to Mostly metrics at www.mostlymetrics.com/subscribe

The One Use Case for Venture Debt That Most Founders Never Think About

Run the Numbers

The One Use Case for Venture Debt That Most Founders Never Think About