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Back to How Gusto Built a $9.5B Company with Co-founder Tomer London, with Tomer London.

How Does Gusto Give Small Businesses Peace of Mind?

Tomer London says Gusto tries to give small business owners peace of mind by acting as a partner, not only a business tool. A tool is something the owner must use correctly, like a hammer they have to keep from hurting them. A partner takes work off the plate and offers reassurance that someone else has it handled.

Since day one, Gusto has asked the fewest questions possible to get the job done, sent reminders only when it absolutely has to, and explained any new concept in very plain language. The owner is not assumed to be a tax expert. The test is a one minute walk from the desk to the bathroom while trying to pay a contractor. The copy speaks like a human, and hearts and fun graphics are meant to feel personable, bringing relief and even a smile.

The same partner-and-assistant language now lines up with AI and agents, technology the company had been waiting for. Gusto is building experiences that feel like talking with someone, including an agent experience with co-founder. The approach grew out of the emotional ups and downs his dad lived through while running a business.

Grokipedia·Gusto

Transcript

How Gusto Built a $9.5B Company with Co-founder Tomer London ·

The Peel with Turner Novak

More from this episode

  1. What Does Every Gusto All-hands Start With?Tomer London says every Gusto all-hands opens with a customer.
  2. What Is Gusto Co-Founder?Tomer London says Gusto Co-Founder is a way to run the back office by text instead of logging into Gusto. It works over SMS, iMessage, Slack, and WhatsApp.
  3. Why Did Small Businesses Hire While the US Lost Jobs?Tomer London says small businesses added 38,000 net jobs in July while the US economy lost 23,000, and he thinks AI is a big reason small businesses kept…
  4. Did a Newspaper Declare the End of Small Business?Tomer London says a couple of weeks into COVID, before PPP loans, a major newspaper he thinks was the Wall Street Journal ran a front-page headline like the…
  5. What Is Gusto's Net Promoter Score?Tomer London says Gusto's net promoter score jumped to 88 or 89 and stayed there for a very long time.
  6. What Happened to Gusto When Silicon Valley Bank Collapsed?Tomer London says Gusto was not affected as a processor when Silicon Valley Bank collapsed, but some customers banked there.
  7. Why Does Gusto Embed Payroll in Other Software?Tomer London says Gusto embeds payroll in other software because only 9% of small businesses use Gusto today, leaving 91% still to reach, and many small…
  8. Is Payroll Just Wiring Someone Money?Tomer London says payroll is not just wiring someone money, and doing that is illegal.
  9. Why Can Three Neighbors Owe Different Payroll Taxes?Tomer London says three neighboring homes at the end of a United States cul-de-sac each have a different set of tax codes, so payroll has to know which side…
  10. What Did a 40-year Clothing Store Teach a Payroll Founder?Tomer London says his dad has run a clothing store in Israel for over 40 years and is still running it. The lesson was how many jobs sit on one owner.
  11. Do Small-business Regulations Come From a Good Place?Tomer London says regulations come from a good place. No senator or government official sets out to make it hard to start a business.
  12. How Did Word of Mouth Grow Gusto?Tomer London grew Gusto through word of mouth by treating the small business owner as one decision maker.
  13. Why Did Gusto Acquire Guideline?Tomer London says Gusto acquired Guideline, one of the leading 401k providers in the US, because Guideline had built the same kind of business Gusto built for…

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