Culture is both what you tolerate and don't
Start-up: Compt
Co-Founder: Amy
Location: Boston
What is Compt?
Compt is a software service for small and large US-based companies, which may have operations around the world, to better manage employee benefits. It enables employers to be able to offer similar benefits to employees in offices around the world, and it also provides the opportunity for employees to customize their benefits. Compt was established 2 years ago.
The Beginning
The idea of Compt grew in the back of Amy’s mind for about 5 years until one day she decided to make it happen. Prior to starting Compt, Amy held various positions like CFO and COO in 6 companies, so she could really figure out how businesses worked. Working with various start-ups made her realize how much she liked the fast-paced and dynamic nature of start-ups. During this time, she constantly looked for and failed to find a company like Compt that focused specifically on employee benefits. She was frustrated that employees weren’t getting the benefits they needed and that they didn’t have the option to customize their benefits. She wanted to make customizable benefits a reality.
Compt to date
The basic piece of software was bootstrapped before January 2018, but that’s when Compt really started. Compt is now at an exciting place. Compt is working with companies from 11 states across the United States, and US-companies with international operations. They also currently have a team of 5 people (spanning engineering, marketing, and sales).
Things to think about when expanding the team
Compt’s team is still small, but Amy had some great advice for when you decide to start growing your team. When adding additional members to your team you really need to add people with different skillsets than yourself. You also need to prioritize and deal with the most need first. After you hit an employee base of 20-25 people, there may be some overlap. The first few hires are key because with a small team, one employee counter to culture can have a big impact on team dynamics. Amy noted that “culture is the behaviours you [both] tolerate and don’t. Lowest common denominator defines the culture. Build your culture and stay true to that.”
Fundraising
Amy noted that you want to raise enough money to carry-out your business, but the most important factor is who you are taking the money from. Your board can hugely accelerate or slow-down the company’s process. You really need to look at finding people who bring perspective and to not just look for a cheque (as enticing as that might be).
About Amy
Amy grew-up near the redwood forest about 5.5 hours north of San Francisco and she comes from a family of small business owners; for example, her father owned a bicycle shop. She noted that running a tech company is very different than a bike shop, although, at the end of the day, both companies are worried about cash flow and their ability to write a cheque. Tech companies are also likely not profitable in the first few years as can be seen from some public tech companies, which are public and still not profitable.
Some facts about Amy
If she wrote a book, she would write a memoir called: Wife, Actually
Nerdy fact: She keeps very detailed records of her personal finances and has kept it in an excel spreadsheet since the early 2000’s. She finds a lot of insights from numbers.
Coolest place travelled: Mongolia! Amy noted that it is a very different country compared to her typical travels and highlighted the local nomadic lifestyle.
Surprises and learnings Amy has come across during her entrepreneurial journey
Amy noted that she has seen smaller companies grow internationally faster than expected. She also has seen larger companies seek Compt out, which makes it trickier since these companies have larger teams and infrastructure already in place.
There’s a lot to think about when dealing with companies that have international operations (including exchange rates!)
If your exit strategy is via acquisition, you need to start acting like a big company from day 1. Large companies deal with a lot of compliance and internal processes and contracts. You don’t want to overwhelm the process, but building internal processes, like what bigger companies have, will make a smoother transition if acquired; don’t consider retrofitting later.
There’s an idea that the harder you work and the closer you get to burn-out, the more successful you will be. However, Amy noted that its important to have capacity to learn in other ways and expose yourself to different things.
Always treat people well on the way out. Amy noted that originally, exit lunches were frowned upon, but with people moving around, it’s important to realise that you have to be mindful and respectful of each person’s career path and that there is a good chance your paths will cross again.
If you would like to reach-out to the Compt team, please feel free to connect with them!
