How Holy Post Media Gained Financial Clarity and Confidence With Forecastr
Upgrade an existing financial model
Enable data-driven decisions
Partner with financial
planning experts
Holy Post Media didn’t begin as a business—it started as a podcast. Long before podcasting became mainstream, Phil Vischer (creator of VeggieTales) and Skye Jethani (pastor and author) launched The Holy Post as a creative side project. They weren’t chasing a business model. They just wanted to explore ideas, share perspectives, and connect with listeners.
Over time, that simple podcast began to gain traction. First, it built an audience. Then a community. Eventually, it opened the door to something bigger. But even as the platform grew, the business behind it remained informal. Revenue came mostly from Patreon. There was no financial strategy, no operating framework, and no clear direction for scale. “We sometimes call ourselves a 12- or 13-year-old startup,” said Jon Houghton.
That changed in 2022, when Jon stepped into leadership. With a background in nonprofit management and ministry, he wasn’t your typical startup CEO—but he came in with a clear mission: Turn a successful content platform into a sustainable, scalable business.
Within his first year, Jon led the company through a $1.5 million fundraise—a huge milestone for a previously unstructured operation. But raising capital was only step one. The bigger challenge was turning that funding into a smart, strategic growth plan. That meant making hard decisions about hiring, budgeting, and burn rate—all while setting clear goals and keeping investors aligned.
It was during that pivotal shift—from fundraising to execution—that Jon discovered Forecastr.
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Location: Wheaton, IL |
Facing the Weight of Financial Responsibility
As CEO of a growing media company, Jon's job shifted quickly from casting vision to making high-stakes financial decisions. Suddenly, it was up to him to decide where to invest first, who to hire now rather than later, and how to grow the business without blowing through our runway.
Jon didn’t come into the role without financial experience. His work in the nonprofit space had required him to manage budgets and think strategically. But startup finance was a different game. “I was being asked different questions than before,” he said. “Every potential investor or advisor had different formats or assumptions they wanted to see.”
What resulted was a mess of fragmented models: 20 different versions scattered across Google Sheets and Excel, each attempting to answer slightly different questions but none offering a complete picture. “None of them were very well done,” Jon admitted.
Holy Post Media's website
Worse, they didn’t help him feel confident. Decisions were still being made in isolation, without visibility into how one choice might affect the rest. That’s when Jon realized something needed to change. “I desperately needed to stop making financial decisions in a vacuum,” he said. “Forecastr helped me do that.”
Sometimes the right solution comes at exactly the right time. For Jon Houghton, that moment came through a trusted advisor, Mark Phillips, a venture capital founder who had worked closely with many early-stage startups.
Mark understood Jon’s situation perfectly. Jon was still adjusting to the fast-paced world of startup finance, juggling investor expectations, managing new responsibilities, and facing big financial decisions with high stakes. So when Mark recommended Forecastr, it wasn’t a casual referral; it was a direct response to Jon’s specific needs. “Mark knew exactly where I needed support,” Jon said. “When he said Forecastr could help, I listened.”
Jon took the time to explore the platform and quickly recognized that Forecastr was a strong match, not just because it was a powerful tool, but because it made him feel supported. The decision to move forward came naturally as The Holy Post finalized its raise and prepared to scale. “We were at a critical inflection point,” he explained. “I needed something I could trust to guide our financial decisions. Forecastr was that tool.”
Meeting Founders Where They Are
One of the first things Jon Houghton noticed about Forecastr was how well it blended a powerful financial platform with genuinely supportive human guidance. From the beginning, he felt respected and understood—never talked down to or overwhelmed by technical jargon. “I never felt like I was being talked down to,” Jon said. “Plenty of people say, ‘That’s not a dumb question,’ but it still makes you feel small. With Forecastr, I always felt like they were in my corner—meeting me where I was and helping me grow from there.”
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CEO Profile |
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Home: Chicago, IL |
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That support came to life through Faisal, Jon’s main point of contact at Forecastr. Faisal wasn’t just there to answer questions—he acted like a member of Jon’s team, bringing finance expertise into Jon’s world in a way that felt collaborative, not condescending. “As CEO of a small company, I don’t have deep expertise in every area,” Jon explained. “But Faisal translated complex financial ideas into something I could actually use. That’s rare.”
Their calls weren’t just routine check-ins. They became valuable working sessions—part accountability, part planning, and part mentorship. Faisal helped Jon stay focused, prepared, and proactive. “QuickBooks can sit on my to-do list forever,” Jon joked, “but if I’ve got a call with Faisal, I’ll actually prepare for it. And I always come out more confident.”
More importantly, that sense of partnership wasn’t just something Forecastr promised—it was something Jon experienced over and over again. “Lots of vendors say, ‘We’re your partner,’ but this was the first time I saw it demonstrated.”
With Forecastr, Jon didn’t just get access to a product—he gained a trusted finance professional on his team, someone who helped him stay focused on strategic goals and grow with confidence.
A Real-Time View of Financial Tradeoffs
Once the fundraising was behind him, Jon Houghton faced a new kind of challenge—putting that capital to work. The Holy Post was ready to grow, but the decisions ahead weren’t simple. Should they hire now or wait? Invest in marketing or product? Upgrade infrastructure or hold off?
Every move had a price tag. Every dollar spent meant less flexibility elsewhere. “Every choice came with an opportunity cost,” Jon said. “I couldn’t afford to guess.”
That’s when Forecastr became a game changer.
Before using the platform, Jon’s decision-making was based mostly on instinct. But instinct wasn’t enough anymore. With Forecastr’s dynamic modeling tools, he could now simulate different scenarios, test assumptions, and see the impact of each decision in real time. “If we’re thinking about making a hire or taking on a new expense, I plug it into Forecastr, hit refresh, and instantly see how it affects our runway,” he said. “If the runway shortens too much, I know it’s not the right time.”
That kind of visibility didn’t just help with forecasting—it changed how Jon approached leadership. Decisions weren’t made in silos anymore. Everything was connected. How does expanding the team affect burn rate? Will spending on web development limit content investment later?, If growth slows, how does that shift the timeline for the next raise?
Forecastr helped Jon navigate those tradeoffs with clarity and confidence. He also appreciated the flexibility of planning in layers. “I love being able to run multiple models and ask, ‘What happens if we’re aggressive on hiring? What does that do to our marketing budget?’ That was key for me.” In the past, these kinds of questions led to uncertainty. Now, they led to action.
Turning Ambition Into Action with Goal-Oriented Planning
One of the biggest shifts Jon experienced with Forecastr was in how he approached goal-setting and strategic planning. Before, when asked about quarterly goals, the answer was often vague—something like, “We want to grow.” But Forecastr helped turn that ambition into something actionable. “Now we set real assumptions—customer acquisition goals, revenue targets—so we actually know what we’re aiming for,” Jon said. “It helped us hit goals by helping us set them in the first place.”
Forecastr's financial modeling platform
With a forward-looking financial model in place, The Holy Post could finally define what success looked like and measure its progress along the way. This clarity wasn’t just useful for leadership—it made it easier to communicate priorities to the team and align with investor expectations. And throughout this process, Faisal—Jon’s main point of contact at Forecastr played a key role. “I’ve been in moments where I didn’t fully trust myself,” Jon said. “I’d reach out to Faisal, and he’d get back right away. That feels like a real partnership, not just words.”
That support also translated into investor relations. Forecastr helped automate and simplify investor reporting, saving Jon hours and elevating his credibility. “My investors believe in me,” he said, “but not necessarily in my ability to manage finances. So having a system like Forecastr adds credibility.”
Most importantly, Jon now walks into internal meetings with confidence. “My favorite part is the confidence I now have in making decisions for our company,” he said. “I can walk into a meeting and know I’ve got a real handle on things.”
| "I used to make financial decisions in a vacuum. Now I click refresh in Forecastr and immediately see how decisions impact runway, hiring, marketing, and more." | |
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- Jon Houghton |
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A Financial Platform That Grows with Your Business
For Jon Houghton, Forecastr didn’t just replace a pile of spreadsheets—it redefined the way The Holy Post approached financial planning.
With one centralized source of truth, Jon gained visibility, structure, and peace of mind. He no longer had to second-guess how different choices would impact the business. He has a “home base”—a system that not only tracks what’s happened but shows what’s coming.
That forward-looking insight is now an essential part of how The Holy Post plans for the future. Whether they’re evaluating when to raise more capital, building next year’s hiring plan, or exploring new revenue channels, Forecastr gives them the tools to move forward with clarity. Ultimately, Forecastr isn’t just about the numbers—it’s about empowering leaders to make better decisions faster.
“I used to make financial decisions in a vacuum,” Jon said. “Now I don’t. I’m more confident, more credible, and more prepared.”
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