How a Former Pro Musician Became the CFO of a $1B Marketplace, with Kevin Drost
The Growth-Minded CFO · 2026-04-01 · 49 min
Episode notes
How does someone go from jazz musician to CFO of a $1B marketplace? In this episode of The Growth-Minded CFO, Alex Louisy and Lauren Pearl speak with Kevin Drost, former CFO of Reverb — the musical instrument marketplace acquired by Etsy — about his unconventional path into finance and what it taught him about the role. Kevin didn’t start in finance. He started by running a business. From founding a record label to navigating cash flow, trade-offs, and uncertainty in real time, he learned finance by doing — not by following a traditional path. In this conversation, he shares how that operator mindset shaped his approach as a CFO, why finance leaders need to stay close to customers, and how the role has evolved from reporting performance to helping drive growth.