Mare + Co. Substack

Hi, I’m Tina Sawtelle, founder of Mare + Co.

This newsletter is for small and mid-sized business owners and anyone else who is championing the work of SMB’s. More specifically, this writing is for you if:

• You run on gut feel and want insightful financials to back it up.

• You’re curious about AI and want practical applications.

• You’re seeking to learn from someone who’s actually done it.

• You’re serious and ready to grow your business.

• You’re my Dad or Mom (my two biggest fans).

You’ll also find thoughts here on how to carve out time to do the real work of a CEO (getting you out of the weeds), the lessons I’ve collected running organizations over the years…and the joy I find in doing all of it while raising a family.

Who am I?

I’m an operator, not a consultant. I spent decades running organizations on real P&Ls, most recently a decade at a nonprofit live entertainment venue, first as CFO and then as CEO. Before that, years in higher education finance amongst other things.

I also grew up in a teeny-tiny rural Maine community surrounded by small business. My mom ran a diner, and my dad ran a construction company. That’s where I first learned what running a business actually asks of the people doing it.

Now I run Mare + Co., where I use AI to make CFO judgment affordable for the owners who’ve always been priced out of it. This newsletter is where I think out loud about that work.

What to expect

Every article opens (this is a new habit I’m testing…) with the key takeaways up front, so you can tell in a few seconds whether it’s for you.

Also, these two things show up most weeks:

• What I’m Testing with AI: the actual experiments, what’s working, what isn’t, and what I’m still figuring out.

• Just One Thing: what new music I’m dialling into or what I’m reading, cooking, gardening, watching, or learning in my own life.

I’m building Mare + Co. in real time (founded her in 2026), and the writing is evolving as I go. I’ll be honest about what I’m still working out and where I have firm beliefs based on what has worked (or failed).

Should you choose to subscribe, my weekly articles will land in your inbox sometime between Tuesday and Thursday morning. In a nutshell, you’ll receive: practical financial thinking you can use, with the testing done for you to know which AI actually matters.