1060: Reaching Unicorn Status Through Innovation | Emma Seymour, CFO, Deputy

When Emma Seymour arrived at Deputy in early 2022, she became focused on strengthening the company’s financial foundation. In the three years since, Deputy has achieved a historic milestone—reaching unicorn status through strategic partnerships with major customers who not only become clients but also invest capital, thereby opening new distribution channels and co-creating additional value. Turning back the clock, Seymour tells us her initial focus was “runway optimization”—a disciplined approach to spending and resource allocation that helped the business thrive in uncertain market conditions. Seymour’s path to the CFO office was paved by a broad advisory background, where she honed her ability to identify “leaky taps” and champion data-driven decisions. At Deputy, she has sought to refine revenue models, implement robust metrics, and guide the firm through a series of pivotal fundraising conversations. The move to pursue strategic investments from major customers rather than relying solely on venture capital is now expected not only to deepen customer relationships but also to unlock new distribution channels for Deputy’s offerings. Looking back, Seymour tells us she has consistently applied a “storytelling through numbers” philosophy. Along the way, she understood that it was incumbent on finance leadership to make sense of raw data within companies—finance leaders must connect figures to overarching strategy in a way that resonates with board members, employees, and investors alike. This dual focus on clarity and collaboration allowed Deputy to pivot quickly when market conditions shifted, without sacrificing the company’s innovation agenda.