Michael

[Michael @ShomerSchwartz]

@nikitabier @finkd @inversebrah

[Michael @ShomerSchwartz]

Excited to share that @ObolHQ been acquired by @PrioritySw, a Blackstone company.

We started Obol to give finance teams real-time, AI-powered visibility and control over their cash flow, something they'd never really had.

We built a platform connected to 35,000+ financial institutions, trusted by 100+ businesses across the US, and a team that made it real.

Grateful to everyone who was part of it: our team, customers, investors, and my co-founders.

Obol now becomes part of Priority's platform, and I'll be focused on bringing the two together.

Looking forward to what we build next.

[Michael @ShomerSchwartz]

https://t.co/0xj7ISPQ47

[Michael @ShomerSchwartz]

@nikitabier Forty two

[Michael @ShomerSchwartz]

Every business runs on two clocks.

The first is the cash cycle: when money actually shows up. Customers promise 30 days but pay in 45 days. Retailers hold back while they process returns. Insurance takes months to reimburse. On a spreadsheet it looks predictable, but in reality it never lands the way you expect.

The second is obligations: the things you can’t push back. Payroll clears every two weeks. Vendors expect payment on schedule. Rent is due at the start of the month.

The hard part? Those clocks almost never move together.

You can celebrate hitting sales targets. You can show a strong quarter on paper. But if the cash isn’t there when obligations hit, none of it matters.

Finance teams who get this right don’t leave it to chance. They build the habit of watching both clocks and making sure one doesn’t outrun the other.

So many customers at @ObolHQ tell us that real-time visibility changed how they operate. With a live view of their cash flow, finance leaders can make smarter decisions, strengthen liquidity, and move with confidence.

[Michael @ShomerSchwartz]

@ConnorAbene Obsession is right.
You can recover from lost revenue. But you can’t recover from running out of cash.

[Michael @ShomerSchwartz]

Figma just went public at a $19B valuation.

Not long ago, they were set to be acquired for $20B. The deal fell through. Most companies would’ve paused. Recalibrated. Waited to see what came next.

But Figma didn’t. They grew. They became profitable. They doubled down on product. And they came back to the public markets stronger.

That kind of growth isn’t loud. It’s quiet, consistent, and built behind the scenes. It doesn’t make headlines, but you see it in their cash flow. YoY revenue growth is approaching 50%. Q1 net income was nearly $45M. Their IPO priced above range, raising $1.2B—$1.4B with the over allotment.

They didn’t take the Adobe buyout. They proved they could stand on their own.

Everyone wants to go public. Very few actually earn it. And even fewer do it with this level of discipline while staying true to product and community.

Cash flow becomes a filter in those moments. Are you building a real business, or are you just buying time?

This is the version of growth I respect most. Quietly compounding. No dramatic pivots. Just teams solving real problems, listening to users, and treating operational discipline like a product feature.

[Michael @ShomerSchwartz]

Most people see Apple, Microsoft, and Verizon as giants.
I see them as case studies in operational discipline.

They’re not just profitable. They’re liquid.
In the last year:
– Apple generated $108B in free cash flow
– Microsoft: $69B
– Verizon: $19B

That didn’t happen because they sold more.
It happened because they built infrastructure to control how cash moves.
Every day. Across every function.

That’s where most operators fall short.

I’ve met finance teams doubling revenue, hiring fast, expanding globally, and still struggling to answer a basic question:
“How much cash do we actually have available to spend this week?”

You can’t move with confidence if you don’t know where you stand.
And you can’t scale what you can’t control.

Cash flow is the foundation every operator builds on, whether they realize it or not.

Apple, Microsoft, and Verizon didn’t become cash machines by chance.
They became cash machines by design.

https://t.co/7fPLh87ztf

[Michael @ShomerSchwartz]

@ObolHQ powers real-time cash flow planning and reporting for companies managing billions in inflows and outflows, giving us a front-row seat into how finance teams are responding to today’s cash demands.

I'm excited to share that we just published The Last 13 Weeks, @ObolHQ 's quarterly industry report. It combines analysis of current cash trends with perspective from finance operators leading the charge, Shivranjani (Surbhi) Vaidya (CPA), Nicholas Manolelis, Chris Ortega, Bob Parker and Guido Torrini.

Here’s what stood out:
• Businesses held 6.1× their monthly outflows in idle cash totaling an average of $370M
• 73% of retailers reported longer inventory cycles, with DIO increasing by 13–15 days
• Fractional CFO hiring is up 103% YoY, driven by demand for tighter cash control

If tighter control, faster decisions, and real visibility are on your radar, this is where to start.

Access the full Q2 report here: https://t.co/2ifz6qRkW9

[Michael @ShomerSchwartz]

@amazon’s Prime Day officially kicks off tomorrow, and it has the potential to set up countless success stories for retailers. High-intent buyers flood in, sales spike, and massive volume moves in a short window.

However, it’s also one of the most cash-intensive moments of the year.

To make it work, brands invest heavily, and long before a single dollar settles. They commit real money upfront, hoping the demand justifies the risk.

The hope is that orders are up, revenue is surging, and momentum is high.
But looking at cash, this may tell a different story.

Payouts take time, expenses don’t. Suppliers are chasing payment, shipments are already moving, and payroll still needs to clear.

The spike ends. Demand drops. And now you’re managing the aftermath with less liquidity than expected and more decisions than you’re ready for.

Can you restock in time? Can you stretch your cash position without compromising the next move?

The brands we work with experience this cycle every quarter, not just during Prime Day.
What sets them apart isn’t how fast they sell, but how closely they manage their cash.

They use @ObolHQ track available balances in real time, adjust short-term plans daily, and make decisions based on what’s actually there.

Selling fast isn’t the problem.
Losing visibility is.

[Michael @ShomerSchwartz]

In quite a few of the conversations we’ve had with finance teams, there’s an interesting theme that has been coming up. We call it the cost of inaction.

Not doing the wrong thing. Just not doing anything at all. Letting things run as they always have.

Knowing there are process inefficiencies, but holding off because it still “works” or “gets the job done��.

We’ve seen teams delay changes or rollout of new systems for quarters at a time.

Not because of cost and not because of complexity. But because it’s easy to wait when nothing feels urgent. If it isn’t broken, why fix it?

However, behind the scenes hours are lost to manual work every week.

Decisions get made without a clear picture of what’s happening with cash.

And by the time the pain becomes obvious, the damage is already done.

The cost of inaction isn’t loud. It’s quiet and easy to ignore. Until it isn’t.

If the numbers aren’t live, the risk is. If the tools slow down workflows, so will the decisions. And when visibility is limited, then so is the control.

I believe that in finance, that’s the real risk. Not falling behind all at once, but inch by inch, decision by decision, until it’s hard to catch up.

[Michael @ShomerSchwartz]

Finance teams don’t struggle to get the numbers.
They struggle to trust them enough to move quickly.

Everyone’s working off exports, reports, recaps.
But the business is moving in real time.

So decisions slow down.
Not because people are unsure.
But because the data isn’t current enough to support the risk.

What would finance look like if it operated in the same timeline as the business?

[Michael @ShomerSchwartz]

One of the biggest cash leaks in a business?
Not doing anything about it.

Not improving the systems that slow you down.
Not solving the problems you already see.
Not acting when you know you should.

Doing nothing feels safe. But it’s quietly bleeding your business.

You don’t notice it at first, because the losses aren’t loud — they’re just consistent.
- Time wasted on manual processes
- Finance teams rebuilding the same spreadsheet every month
- Decisions made without real-time data

The longer you wait, the more expensive it gets.
Inaction compounds. Quietly. Relentlessly.

What feels like caution is often just delay.
And delay is one of the most expensive decisions you can make.

[Michael @ShomerSchwartz]

Cash management has a blind spot. Most finance teams don’t see it until it’s too late.

Your bank balance tells you what’s available right now.

But it says nothing about what’s already committed, delayed, or in motion.

That’s where the visibility gap begins.

One is a snapshot. A static reflection of the past.
The other is operational. Tied to timing, obligations, and real-world context.

Treat them like they’re the same, and decisions start getting made on incomplete data.

It’s not a technicality. It’s the root of bad decisions.

And most finance teams only realize it after it’s cost them.

[Michael @ShomerSchwartz]

82% of US agencies are hitting pause on growth because their cash flow is unpredictable.

They’re waiting weeks for payments, losing thousands to unbilled scope, and managing it all through outdated spreadsheets. No real visibility into their cash going in and out.

You can’t make smart decisions when your most important number—cash, is a moving target.

If you're trying to grow, hire, or invest, you need to know exactly when money is arriving, what’s owed, and what’s leaving your account.

That’s what @ObolHQ gives you. A real-time view of your cash, so you can move with control, not uncertainty.

https://t.co/cRFkWzncZ9

[Michael @ShomerSchwartz]

Most finance teams still build cash flow plans on a monthly cycle.

A spreadsheet gets updated. A report gets sent.
Then the business moves on.
But your business operates daily, not on close cycles or reporting deadlines.

Decisions happen mid-week, mid-call, mid-shift in priorities.
And they’re made with whatever context is available at the time.

Manual cash flow planning just isn’t moving at the speed of the business.
And when it lags, visibility drops.

@ObolHQ shows live bank and ERP data into one place, so finance teams can see where cash stands, what’s changing, and what’s coming next — without waiting for month-end.