From Punch Cards to IPO - Bill.com's 20-Year Journey to $1 Billion Revenue

In this episode, I sit down with René Lacerte, founder and CEO of Bill. René shares his entrepreneurial journey from growing up in a fintech family to building one of the most successful SMB financial platforms. We dive into his failed pitch to Intuit that led to his first company, why he parted ways with PayCycle to start Bill, and how he navigated the company through the Great Recession while dealing with personal loss. René also discusses his decision to go public in 2019, the strategic acquisition of Divvy, and why he believes accountability drives performance. We explore how AI is transforming financial operations and his insights on building for the underserved SMB market.René Lacerte: https://www.linkedin.com/in/renelacerte/00:00:00 - There's Nothing Like Being a Public Company00:00:31 - René's Journey: From Fintech Family to Founder00:02:08 - What Was Your Mother Doing the Night You Were Born?00:03:16 - The Dinner Table MBA: Learning Business from Family00:05:22 - From Florida to Silicon Valley: Early Tech Roots00:07:18 - The Failed Intuit Pitch That Started Everything00:09:16 - PayCycle: From Nanny Payroll to Accounting Firms00:11:14 - Why René Left PayCycle to Start Bill00:14:20 - The Great Recession: Laying Off 40% of the Team00:18:36 - Why Solo Founders Make Faster Decisions00:22:16 - How to Reach SMBs: Go Where They Trust00:24:34 - The Scale That Unlocked Bill's IPO Journey00:27:05 - Why Accountability Drives Better Performance00:31:07 - The Problem with Dual Class Share Structures00:33:22 - The Divvy Acquisition: Getting 100% of Spend Data00:38:15 - Bill vs Competition: We Started with Financial Ops00:42:10 - How AI Will Create Fortune 500 Teams for SMBs00:44:36 - Building for SMBs: Passion and Hacking Solutions___Connect with Rex on social media:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rexsalisbury/Twitter: https://twitter.com/rexsalisburyTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rex.salisburyInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/rexsalisbury/

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