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 Company

00:00:31 - René's Journey: From Fintech Family to Founder

00:02:08 - What Was Your Mother Doing the Night You Were Born?

00:03:16 - The Dinner Table MBA: Learning Business from Family

00:05:22 - From Florida to Silicon Valley: Early Tech Roots

00:07:18 - The Failed Intuit Pitch That Started Everything

00:09:16 - PayCycle: From Nanny Payroll to Accounting Firms

00:11:14 - Why René Left PayCycle to Start Bill

00:14:20 - The Great Recession: Laying Off 40% of the Team

00:18:36 - Why Solo Founders Make Faster Decisions

00:22:16 - How to Reach SMBs: Go Where They Trust

00:24:34 - The Scale That Unlocked Bill's IPO Journey

00:27:05 - Why Accountability Drives Better Performance

00:31:07 - The Problem with Dual Class Share Structures

00:33:22 - The Divvy Acquisition: Getting 100% of Spend Data

00:38:15 - Bill vs Competition: We Started with Financial Ops

00:42:10 - How AI Will Create Fortune 500 Teams for SMBs

00:44:36 - Building for SMBs: Passion and Hacking Solutions

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