In the final episode of "20 minutes VC," host Harry Stebbings interviews Bill Clerico, co-founder and CEO of Wepay, discussing the company's evolution from a platform for collecting money among friends to a comprehensive payment solution for platforms, raising $75 million from notable investors. Clerico shares insights on the importance of building strong relationships with investors, especially during pivotal moments like strategic pivots that can see a startup lose significant revenue overnight. He emphasizes the value of an opinionated company culture, guiding behavior and decisions when leadership isn't present, and the role of culture in aligning a company's direction. Additionally, Clerico highlights the early days of fundraising challenges, the critical role of a CFO in a scaling business, and the potential for fintech to disrupt traditional banking in the coming years.
We are back for the third and final episode of the 20 minutes VC.
This quote introduces the final episode of the series, indicating its ongoing nature and episodic format.
This week with your host Harry Stebings, found on Snapchat at H Stebbings with two b's.
The quote provides information about the host, Harry Stebings, and where listeners can find him on social media, specifically Snapchat.
So joining us today, we have Bill Clerico.
This quote introduces Bill Clerico as the guest of the episode, setting the stage for the conversation.
At Wepay, the most complete payment solution for platforms. To date, they've raised close to $75 million in VC funding from some of the best in the business.
The quote emphasizes Wepay's position in the market and its successful fundraising efforts, highlighting the company's credibility and the caliber of its investors.
And I do also want to give a big thank you to previous guest Kevin Chow for the intro to Bill today, without which this episode would not have been possible.
This quote acknowledges the role of Kevin Chow in facilitating Bill Clerico's appearance on the podcast, illustrating the value of industry connections.
Eight is a sleep innovation company with their latest product, the eight smart mattress, being a bed that literally tells you how well you slept last night.
This quote describes the functionality of the Eight smart mattress, tying it to the theme of productivity and health.
Full contact really is the best all in one solution for contact management. And it truly has changed the way I not only manage my contacts, but engage with my contacts.
The quote endorses Full Contact as an effective tool for managing and engaging with personal contacts, showcasing the product's benefits.
I grew up on the east coast of the United States in New Jersey. From a very young age, was into technology. Started a program when I was seven or eight years old.
This quote provides insight into Bill Clerico's early passion for technology, which eventually led to his career in the tech industry.
So we founded Wepay on the premise that we could make it easier to collect money from friends.
The quote explains the original concept behind Wepay, highlighting the problem it aimed to solve in its early days.
It was the worst recession since the Great Depression, if you listen to the headlines.
This quote sets the context for the difficult economic environment in which Wepay was trying to raise funds.
I think I pitched 40 evcs in Boston and didn't raise a dime.
Bill Clerico's quote illustrates the initial struggle and failure to secure VC funding, emphasizing the challenges faced by startups.
Yeah, I sort of disagree with the idea of the commodization of capital.
This quote expresses Bill Clerico's perspective on the unique value of investor relationships beyond the monetary aspect of venture capital.## Investor Relationships
"I think where investors can add value is when things are not going so great, where there needs to be a change in strategy, where things are going sideways for a little bit, where you really need their support, and that's where the relationship really starts to matter."
This quote emphasizes the importance of investor relationships, especially when a company faces difficulties and requires strategic changes or support.
"I personally think that relationships with investors is built on you saying what you're going to do and then showing results against that and then being incredibly honest when things don't go well and explaining why and what you're going to do differently."
This quote outlines the key to building trust with investors: making commitments, delivering results, and being transparent about failures.
"What culture is, is it's the set of kind of norms and guidelines that guide people's behavior when no one's telling them what to do."
This quote defines company culture as the guiding principles that influence employee behavior autonomously, highlighting its significance in leadership.
"I just think you have to take a stance on something. I think if you have a generic culture, then you don't really have much of a culture."
This quote stresses the need for companies to have a distinctive and strong set of values, which is what constitutes an opinionated culture.## Culture Evolution and Transformation in Scaling Businesses
"But as companies scale, culture becomes a challenge, and culture has to change and evolve and has to be policed and revisited."
"I think the new expression they use know, move fast and ship love or something to that effect."
"But what it actually means is that you've failed as an entrepreneur."
"It took us probably 18 months to get all the way through it."
"It's really our newer investors where we make sure to take time educating them about the business, sharing things, showing again, demonstrating what we're going to do, actually doing it, and then giving them sort of constant, candid, open feedback."
"And that's where leveraging the team and encouraging your team to build those relationships is great."
"So we, I would say earlier than most, went out and hired a CFO."
This quote indicates the speaker's belief in the early appointment of a CFO, suggesting that they see significant value in the role for the financial oversight and strategic guidance it provides.## Importance of CFOs in a Company
CFOs are trusted for their unbiased perspective on company numbers.
They are the only function that can look across the entire company objectively.
CFOs advise the CEO on resource allocation and performance measurement.
They balance the interests of various departments like sales, marketing, and product/engineering.
A CFO acts as a thought partner and is crucial for running the business and forecasting, especially in the payments industry.
"And I think the other sort of unspoken benefit of cfos is that they're really the only other function that can look across the entire company in an unbiased way and help sort of measure performance and help advise the CEO on how to invest the company's resources."
This quote highlights the CFO's unique role in providing an unbiased view across the company, assisting in performance measurement, and advising on resource investment.
"And it's a book about really the early days of the US space program."
This quote introduces the subject of Clerico's favorite book, emphasizing its historical context and focus on the US space program's early days.
"Biggest takeaway from YC? I mean, make something people want, focus on your product, get users, and then sort of all else flows from that."
The quote encapsulates YC's core philosophy of prioritizing product development and user engagement as the foundation for business success.
"I think it's still early days. I think fintech has sort of wormed its way into different categories of financial services, but the reality is that the big banks have really been unaffected by fintech."
This quote reflects Clerico's belief that while fintech has made inroads, it has yet to fundamentally disrupt the banking industry.
"I read the information pretty religiously. I think it's just high quality reporting, and I like how it digs deep into different topics versus just sort of a superficial quick hit."
This quote explains Clerico's preference for comprehensive reporting, which "The Information" provides, over brief, surface-level news.
"We think there's a huge opportunity in international expansion, so that'll be a big priority for us."
The quote indicates Wepay's strategic priority on international expansion as a key part of their growth plan.
"Well, Bill, it's been such a pleasure to have you on the show."
This quote is an expression of appreciation for Bill Clerico's contribution to the podcast episode.
"Eight is a sleep innovation company with their latest product, the eight smart mattress."
This quote is part of the host's promotion, highlighting the benefits of a product that aids in sleep tracking and improvement.
"With full contact they provide the ability to organize your contacts, gain rich insights into them, and therefore build deep relationships."
This quote promotes Full Contact's service, focusing on its contact management features and relationship-building capabilities.