When A Winning Product Isn’t Enough

Laurent Charpentier had a problem most CEOs would envy: His company, Yooz, was winning. Thousands of customers loved its accounts payable automation product. The team was talented. And yet, when he stepped into the global CEO role in early 2022, the data told a different story about North America: Growth had stalled, and the people writing the checks—the CFOs—weren’t in the room.

For years, Yooz had earned a solid reputation for doing the unglamorous work of automating invoice processing faster and more accurately, dominating with AP managers across three continents. “This wasn’t about marketing, timing or a pricing model, Charpentier explains in an interview with Chief Executive. “It was about ROI and relevance. When you realize your message doesn’t capture the person holding the budget, your best next step is a strategic shift.”

In the conversation that follows, he doesn’t pretend the shift was smooth. He walks through the moment he knew change was non‑negotiable, what challenges cropped up during the pivot, and what metrics now tell him whether the risky bet on Lean Financial Operations was worth it.

What specific data points or market signals made you realize that positioning Yooz purely as AP automation was limiting growth potential in North America?

When we looked at our North American numbers, we saw a very clear story: Engagement at the AP manager level was strong, but we uncovered an opportunity to speak directly to the decision makers—CFOs. We decided to pivot to a more holistic, strategic approach and highlight the multitude of areas we can impact with our product, rather than the specific operational tasks.

At the same time, we were operating in a massive greenfield where companies were still shuffling paper around offices, exposed to fraud, and dealing with inefficiency every single day. The demand was there, but our story needed to be elevated from a departmental tool to a strategic imperative.

Walk me through the exact moment you knew a pivot was necessary. What was the catalyst?

During discussions with our customer base, it became clear that CFOs’ concerns extended far beyond invoice processing. They were focused on managing cash, preventing fraud and protecting margins. It wasn’t about tweaking our go-to-market strategy or refining the product demo; it was that our core message needed to better align with CFO priorities. That was the moment I knew the pivot was not optional, but necessary.

How did you differentiate between temporary market challenges versus a fundamental need to change strategy?

A temporary issue shows up in one place: maybe a competitor out-executes you, or a campaign misses the mark. What we saw was different. CFOs were engaging with our AP automation pitch, but not at the level of urgency we were hoping for. This wasn’t about marketing, timing or a pricing model. It was about ROI and relevance. And when you realize your message doesn’t capture the person holding the budget, your best next step is a strategic shift.

Take me through the process for developing the Lean Financial Operations framework.

We started by listening to CFOs. We uncovered what their real pain points were. The same themes kept surfacing: waste, fraud and lack of visibility into cash. That is what we built Lean Financial Operations around. The framework isn’t about abandoning AP automation, but about elevating it. AP is still a critical piece, but it now sits within a framework that matters to CFOs as well, not just the finance team.

One of the challenges was around underestimating the effort to shift messaging—what specifically went wrong and what did you learn?

One misstep is believing that a new website or sales deck will flip the switch. Sales teams may default to highlighting features because that is what they know. Marketing can lean into product-centric campaigns because it’s safe. It’s easy to underestimate how much cultural retraining this would require. What we learned is that you don’t change a message by changing slides. You change it by changing habits and a complete reset in how we measure success.

How did you maintain team morale and confidence during the uncertainty of a major strategic shift?

We stayed transparent about the reality of the challenge. The shift was not going to happen overnight, and there would be operational bumps along the way. Despite that, the team was genuinely enthusiastic about the change. The brand refresh and strategic shift brought renewed energy and alignment across the organization. The modernized identity and messaging resonated strongly, making it easy to get everyone on board. Once the North American data made it clear that maintaining the status quo would only yield more of the same, the conversation shifted. Leadership across the organization recognized the opportunity that came with embracing Lean Financial Operations.

How did you retrain or realign your sales and marketing teams?

We worked with sales to refine their messaging, leading with CFO outcomes instead of product specs. Marketing reoriented its campaigns toward CFO-level thought leadership instead of feature-heavy material. We also built fresh case studies centered on fraud prevention and cash visibility. The goal was not just to give the team tools, it was to change the way they started conversations.

How did this pivot create new value or opportunities for your existing customers, and how are you helping them benefit from these changes?

Our pivot created new value for existing customers by expanding the impact of their work without disrupting their day-to-day operations. While the platform experience remained seamless, apart from refreshed design updates, we helped customers see how their contributions now connect to a broader financial strategy. For AP managers, that meant understanding that their focus on efficiency remains essential, but now plays a key role in driving larger outcomes like fraud prevention and cash optimization. By elevating their role in this bigger picture, we not only strengthened their confidence but also helped them recognize how their efforts contribute directly to strategic, CFO-level goals.

How specifically did AI inform your product development? Can you give concrete examples?

AI allowed us to expand our offering, moving from process automation to limiting risk and guiding strategy. Our models don’t just route invoices. In addition to the ability to forecast cash flow, they catch any anomalies and duplicate invoices by learning from hundreds of millions of documents. By continuously learning, our models significantly reduce errors and fraudulent activity. For example, in construction, AI can highlight unusual spending spikes from subcontractors, giving CFOs an early warning system. That is not just efficiency, that is foresight. And it’s only possible when AI is at the forefront of product development.

What metrics are you using to measure the success of this pivot so far?

We measure on three levels: First, customer outcomes: Are we seeing hard numbers like 90-percent-plus error reduction, faster invoice cycles and stronger fraud detection? Second, pipeline engagement: Are CFOs engaging with us and joining meetings where they were not before? And third, share of voice: Are we showing up in CFO-level conversations? Together, these metrics give us a balanced view of both perception and performance.

Was there anything you wish you’d done differently in managing this transformation?

Timing is always a challenge. But I’m proud that we embraced the shift to Lean Financial Operations early on, giving us time to educate our team behind the scenes. Still, a pivot of this scale isn’t just about marketing and messaging. It’s about culture. And meaningful culture change takes time, training and consistent reinforcement.

For other CEOs considering a similar pivot, what’s the most important advice you’d give?

Listen relentlessly to your customers, especially the ones who aren’t buying, because their silence speaks volumes. Bring your team into that listening process early so they understand the “why” before you prescribe the “what.” And above all, recognize your role as CEO. You have to be the chief storyteller, instilling the organization’s narrative until it becomes second nature inside the company and in the market.

How do you now compete differently against your previous competitive set?

The conversation has moved from tactical to strategic, and that changes who we go head-to-head with and how we win. We no longer expend energy in feature wars with AP vendors. Instead, we compete for the CFO’s attention. That’s a much bigger stage. We aren’t just saying “we process invoices faster,” we’re showing CFOs how Lean Financial Operations helps them cut waste, stop fraud, and manage cash with confidence.

What’s your elevator pitch for Lean Financial Operations that you couldn’t make as an AP automation company?

Before, we could say: “We make AP faster.” Now, we can say: “We’ll help you run finance differently.” Lean Financial Operations is a CFO-guided model that reduces waste, prevents fraud and gives real-time visibility into cash flow. It transforms finance from a back-office bottleneck into a growth engine. That’s a pitch that gets the CFO’s attention, and it’s one we couldn’t make until we evolved.