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cover of episode Customer Obsession Made Gusto A $9.6 Billion Company

Customer Obsession Made Gusto A $9.6 Billion Company

2025/3/18
logo of podcast Y Combinator Startup Podcast

Y Combinator Startup Podcast

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Harj Taggar
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Josh Reeves
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Josh Reeves: 我热爱科技,但我们想解决一个不只是硅谷,而是全国乃至全球都面临的问题:简化薪资流程,帮助中小企业。我们最初的想法是建立一个专家咨询平台,但很快发现这个方向不适合我们。通过与小企业主交流,我们发现薪资管理系统存在严重问题,这促使我们转向了这个领域。创业初期,需要证明问题的存在、解决方案的有效性、商业模式的可行性和可扩展性;对问题的热情和执着至关重要。我们最初的薪资系统只包含最基本的功能,以确保其正常运行。为了激励团队,我们决定在能够使用自己的系统支付薪水之前,不给自己发工资。我们最初的客户是Y Combinator中的其他公司,这并非长远之计。我们没有一个明显的增长故事,但我们依然成功地获得了种子轮融资。我们之所以能成功融资,是因为我们与众不同,并且切中了市场痛点;我们抓住了技术和市场变革带来的机遇;投资者青睐的是拥有清晰商业模式的巨大市场,以及一个能够有效占领市场的公司。从单一产品到多产品,关键在于团队的分工与协作,保持对客户的关注;利用现有客户的反馈可以加快开发速度。我们通过创建不同的团队来处理不同的产品,每个团队都专注于解决特定的问题。创业初期,竞争是好事,关键在于拥有独特的策略并有效执行;如果竞争对手规模远大于你,并且策略相同,那么竞争会更加艰难。长期合作需要共同的愿景、良好的沟通和持续的改进。人工智能可以帮助我们更快地实现目标,为小企业提供更个性化的服务。我们的目标是提高美国新企业主的数量和存活率,并为此提供全面的合规服务。 Harj Taggar: 作为Gusto的用户,我一直觉得你们的产品设计富有乐趣和创意,这与传统的薪资管理公司不同。即使在当时,并非所有创业公司都在开发移动社交应用,你们也有其他领域的创业者可以交流学习。你们的很多天使投资人都是其他领域的成功创业者,他们也经历过类似的挑战,这帮助了你们。三个联合创始人能够长期合作并保持热情,这很不常见。

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Gusto's journey began with a different idea, an expert advice platform. However, the co-founders quickly realized it wasn't the right fit. Through a series of observations and pivots, they landed on the payroll space, recognizing the significant pain points and potential for disruption in the market. This shift was driven by a desire to tackle a problem that impacted small businesses across the country.
  • Initial idea focused on connecting experts with clients.
  • Pivot to payroll after identifying widespread pain points in the existing system.
  • Recognized the large market opportunity and potential for disruption in the payroll industry.

Shownotes Transcript

Gusto (https://gusto.com) made payroll and HR painless for small businesses, growing into a $9.6B company along the way.

Co-founder & CEO Josh Reeves joined YC's Harj Taggar to share how they built a payroll company from scratch and their customer-first approach to product design and culture.