Looking for a cofounder to replace finance ERPs
4 comments
Cool idea, PM me if you're still searching for a co-founder. Cheers
Just curious about this statement - 1. ERP (Quickbooks, Netsuite, etc.) already collects the data, but it sucks
Why do you think these products sucks and why do you think you can do non sucking ERP?
Why do you think these products sucks and why do you think you can do non sucking ERP?
They suck because
1. They haven't been innovated for decades
2. Quickbooks is built for bookkeepers that help small businesses. Founders, in-house accountants and finance people experience low NPS
3. They only collect information at the surface level for the purpose of financial reporting, but if you have a deeper level question, you have to go back into another system. For example, Quickbooks will say you're Starbucks expenses are 2x from prior month, but you have to go into Brex/Ramp to find out what happened and who's purchasing more
4. They made business accounting and finance really hard to understand. Debits, credits, revrec, amortization, etc. I've worked with many CEOs that knows exactly what they want the P&L to show, but can't do it in the tools. If everyone can have a clear view of their spending + spend by category from their personal cards, why can't it be done in the same way for business?
5. It's really painful to use the tools. Think of Figma vs Adobe
Have you tried reaching out to some of the engineers at your previous jobs?
Unfortunately I didn't work with many engineers as I did finance and analytics. About to exhaust everyone I know and want to work with. Thanks for the suggestion though!
maybe try startupschool.org? they got cofounder matching in there
Quality is really low when I have nothing - typical conversation from a tech person is: do you have revenue? do you have customers? how big is your idea? Ok talk to me when you have everything and I'll build for you. But if I get there without them, I don't need them after.
So I'm trying now again (also through HN) because I've made a ton of progress.
So I'm trying now again (also through HN) because I've made a ton of progress.
I’m looking to find a technical co-founder to replace finance ERPs – starting with accounting for founders of VC-backed companies.
The problem - Companies have to report financial results every month (revenue, expenses, cash, etc.) - The requirement increases as funding stage progresses, for both timing and accuracy - To do this for the prior month, accountants start on the 1st after and have time pressure to deliver quickly - The average accountant uses 10 tools today to do this - Context switching under pressure sucks - Require a ton of resources to manage tools - Results are late (2+ weeks) - Results are inaccurate (~80%) - All this leads to poor decision making
The ideal solution (that won’t work today) - A better data aggregator won’t work 1. ERP (Quickbooks, Netsuite, etc.) already collects the data, but it sucks 2. No one will sign up for a new or better aggregator. Switching cost is high and accountants are late-adopters
The way in - A 10x better product for early-stage VC-backed founders. They currently use Quickbooks and outsourced bookkeepers - Bookkeepers lack business context, aren’t CPAs. All they do is categorize transactions for you (most personal CC/banking tools do this automatically) - Bookkeepers manage Quickbooks for you because… - Quickbooks is primarily built for bookkeepers that serve small businesses
Why now - Easier to build fintech tools today. One can launch virtual cards in 3-6 months - This is bad: accountants are constantly being introduced to new point solutions without considering the implicit cost it adds to reporting monthly results - This is good: providing a connected financial data platform will solve the problem, and it’s easier to build today - Data-driven decisions are increasingly important – making it timelier and more accurate is invaluable - Accountants and finance professionals are no longer the “budget police”, they’re starting to become strategic business partners that empower the business
Why me - I joined 3 VC-backed Startups as their first finance hire, taking over outsourced bookkeeping by doing it manually. Built out teams, scaled companies, raised funding. - I have a strong network of early-stage founders, VCs, accountants, CFOs - I’ve investigated every part of the accounting and finance stack, for both US and Canada for the past few years - I’ve spoke with 100+ potential cofounders, and no one wants to touch accounting… :’)
Progress (since I quit two weeks ago) - 30+ customer interviews - Landed a handful of paying early adopters - Received interest for pre-seed funding from a few people - No website, no product, but I can do what customers need efficiently
My next steps - Will keep building with or without a cofounder, posting here to give it a shot - Launch landing page with signup form - Build with airtable and bubble.io - Continue to setup calls with potential customers - Only accept the niche set that I will build 10x better for today - Apply for YC
About me - Friends describe me as: intense, passionate, driven, analytical, creative, make things happen - My Gallup top 5: restorative, strategic, analytical, activator, learner - I communicate directly, concisely, transparently, and compassionately
About you - Must: strong communication skills - Must: don’t hate accounting - Must: basic technical skills and ability to learn - Must: ready to commit full-time - Nice: knowledge in accounting and finance - Nice: full-stack and can get things done - Nice: recruiting and leadership experience
Next steps If you made it this far and are interested to learn more about each other, leave your info here: https://forms.gle/uD4gRcn6qFhFa7MA8
Thanks!