---
title: "Office Hours with Lee Kirkpatrick, former Twilio CFO on Managing through Turbulence"
description: "Join former Twilio CFO Lee Kirkpatrick to learn SaaS survival strategies from 4 major market downturns, usage-based pricing insights, and runway extension tactics."
categories: ["office hours","financials","management"]
keywords: ["Twilio","SaaS","usage-based pricing","financial management","venture capital","market downturns","runway extension","Lee Kirkpatrick","financial strategy","startup survival"]
ai_summary: "Learn SaaS survival strategies from former Twilio CFO Lee Kirkpatrick, focusing on usage-based pricing and managing through downturns."
date: 2022-06-14
lastmod: 2026-07-31
canonical_url: https://www.tomtunguz.com/lee-kirkpatrick-office-hours/
author: "Tomasz Tunguz"
---

![image](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzawgnnlr/image/upload/v1655224498/lee_twilio.png)

[Lee Kirkpatrick](https://www.linkedin.com/in/lee-kirkpatrick-69837/) is no stranger to downturns. During the dotcom crash in 2001, the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, and the SaaS corrections in 2014, 2016, and 2018, Lee was either COO/CFO or CFO at Twilio, SAY Media, and Ofoto.

In addition to his experience navigating financial markets, Lee oversaw the finance function at one of the most successful usage-based billing companies. Usage-based billing - the practice of charging customers by consumption rather than subscription - has become top of mind for many startups seeking to [align their success with customer needs.](https://tomtunguz.com/seat-vs-usage-based-pricing/)

On Tuesday, June 21st at 10am Pacific time, Office Hours will welcome Lee Kirkpatrick to learn from his experience. We'll explore:

- lessons on usage-based pricing throughout Twilio's evolution
- managing through uncertainty during different macroeconomic conditions
- best practices around lengthening runway 

If you're interested to attend, [please register](https://ttunguz.typeform.com/to/cySHpcOT). We will collect questions from participants before the event, weave them into the conversation, and answer live questions at the end of the session.

I look forward to welcoming Lee to Office Hours!