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The ERP for the AI Revolution is here

John Glasgow is the CEO and founder of Campfire (S23), an AI-native ERP platform built for high-growth tech companies that automates accounting and financial reporting workflows using a custom foundation model and agent platform — the company recently raised a Series B led by Accel and Ribbit Capital, has more than doubled ARR each quarter since Q4 2024, and now exceeds 100 employees after closing a $35 million Series A in June 2025 with just 12 people. In this fireside, John sat down with Andrew Tan to talk about how he went from a Google Sheets prototype to pulling customers off NetSuite, why staying in founder-led sales until $1M ARR was critical, how narrowly targeting the needs of tech companies gave Campfire a wedge into a decades-old market, and why the shift to AI-native infrastructure flipped the narrative on what "safe" software buying actually means. https://www.meetcampfire.com Apply to Y Combinator: https://www.ycombinator.com/apply Work at a startup: https://www.ycombinator.com/jobs

Andrew TanhostJohn Glasgowguest
May 20, 202627mWatch on YouTube ↗

At a glance

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Campfire builds AI-native ERP, disrupting NetSuite with speed and focus

  1. Campfire positions itself as an AI-native ERP that automates accounting and financial reporting work so finance teams can focus on higher-leverage tasks.
  2. The company wedged into a mature ERP market by focusing on tech companies outgrowing QuickBooks and solving a narrow set of forcing-function needs like approval workflows and multi-entity accounting.
  3. Early traction came from shipping an extremely scrappy prototype (a Google Sheet embedded in a web app), then iterating rapidly with paying customers in classic YC style.
  4. Campfire unexpectedly won customers migrating off NetSuite by outperforming on usability, APIs, and a few critical workflows, while building trust through founder credibility and product velocity.
  5. The “why now” evolved from “everything else in the finance stack modernized except the GL” to “AI-native is now viewed as safer/strategic,” giving buyers air cover to leave incumbents.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

You don’t need “full ERP feature completeness” to win—just the right forcing functions.

Campfire focused on the subset of NetSuite functionality that tech companies actually use (e.g., approval workflows for audit, multi-entity accounting), enabling displacement without rebuilding the entire incumbent surface area.

A credible wedge can start as a spreadsheet if it delivers value and gets paid usage.

The first version was a Google Sheet embedded in a login with connected feeds, optimized to get paying customers quickly and compress feedback cycles rather than perfect architecture.

Product velocity can be a primary trust signal in mission-critical categories.

Customers took “venture-like” risk by switching ERPs; consistent fast shipping reassured them Campfire would keep up with evolving needs (subsidiaries, complex revenue, audit rigor).

Founder-led sales remains a strategic advantage even in the AI era.

Glasgow attributes the path to Series A (≈$1M ARR) to personally running demos, staying in customer Slack channels, and using firsthand sales context to drive engineering priorities.

Wedges must convert into the core product—or they become a distraction.

Campfire initially considered leading with revenue accounting/rev-rec, but found that buyer cohort didn’t reliably convert to the general ledger ERP, so they reversed it (core first, add-on second).

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

Campfire is the AI-native ERP for high-growth companies, and we help finance and accounting teams automate manual work for their accounting and their financial reportings, whether it's taxes or investors.

— John Glasgow

I vividly remember during my YC interview, uh, of course famously it was eight minutes, it went short.

— John Glasgow

And I remember this one CFO told me, he's like, "Literally, we are making a venture investment in you by going with you because you can only be on one ERP really at a time."

— John Glasgow

I've never had anybody outgrow Campfire.

— John Glasgow

I tell my wife this is the last job I'm ever gonna have. You know- the, uh, the next 30 years of my career will be Campfire.

— John Glasgow

AI-native ERP and finance automationWedge strategy: QuickBooks-to-ERP transition momentDisplacing NetSuite with targeted featuresScrappy MVP and rapid iteration (Google Sheets prototype)Founder-led sales and customer intimacyGo-to-market: events, LinkedIn, inbound demand“Why now” catalysts: modern finance stack + AI narrative shift

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