Gusto – Startup Story | Founder| CEO | Funding | History | Competitors


Gusto
Gusto - Startup Story | Founder| CEO | Funding | History | Competitors
Spread the love

Introduction:

Gusto, which debuted as ZenPayroll in 2012, offers services to more than 200,000 businesses nationally. We help businesses create amazing workplaces while processing tens of billions of dollars worth of payroll and offering employee benefits like health insurance and 401(k) accounts.

About Gusto:

Gusto image
Gusto (Image Source: gusto.com)

For organizations situated in the United States, Gusto, Inc. offers cloud-based payroll, benefits, and human resource management software. Gusto manages payments to workers and independent contractors as well as the electronic filing of documents required to support client businesses in adhering to tax, labor, and immigration rules. Gusto is available in each of the 50 US states.

Gusto Founder & Team:

In 2011, Edward Kim, Joshua Reeves, and Tomer London launched ZenPayRoll, which later changed its name to Gusto. Gusto has its main office in San Francisco, California, and a second location in Denver, Colorado.

Gusto Founder image
Gusto Founder (Image Source: medium.com)

Gusto History:

Gusto was a member of the Winter 2012 round at Y Combinator. Joshua Reeves and Edward Kim formally debuted the service on December 11, 2012, in California. Gusto introduced support for paying contract workers on June 12, 2013, as well as ensuring tax compliance (by filing the relevant Form 1099 and other paperwork).

Some technology writers praised this as giving the business an edge over rivals like ADP and Paychex, whose payroll software was said to be inflexible and unable to account for contract workers. The business has declared plans to begin offering services in Florida, Texas, and New York.

Gusto said in August 2013 that it had reached $100 million in yearly payment processing and was expanding to Florida, Texas, and Washington state. Gusto introduced its application programming interface (API) and relationships with more than a dozen SMB back-office service providers in September 2014. Gusto declared support for allowing employers to match employees’ charitable contributions in December 2014.

Gusto declared support for all 50 states in April 2015. Gusto stated in July 2015 that it had grown its clientele and established a new location in Denver, Colorado. It was revealed in September 2015 that Gusto, formerly known as ZenPayroll, had changed its name and was expanding its scope to incorporate workers’ compensation and health benefits into its payroll software. The company unveiled an advertisement campaign in 2016 with Kristen Schaal portraying a Gusto human resources specialist.

Gusto declared the inauguration of its third location, which is situated in New York City, in 2019. Gusto is pushing to work with more accounting firms in 2020 in order to obtain its People Advisory Certification.

Gusto declared in June 2021 that it would start providing a portion of its service to outside platforms via an API. Gusto Embedded Payroll, a new offering, will enable vertical SaaS companies to offer payroll services to their own clients.

Gusto image
Gusto (Image Source: g2.com)

Gusto Highlight:

Company NameGusto
FoundersEdward Kim, Joshua Reeves, and Tomer London
Started at2011
CompetitorsOnPay.QuickBooks Payroll.Rippling.Sure Payroll.Paychex Flex.TriNet.Square.
Websitehttps://gusto.com/
Revenue$260 Million
CountryUSA
Customer care Emailsupport@gusto.com
Customer care Contact details(800) 936-0383
Company ValuationNot Known
IndustryFintech
HeadquartersSan Francisco

Gusto Revenue:

Over the past three years, Gusto’s income has continuously risen, reaching almost $260M in 2021. High-margin subscription revenue from SMBs using its payroll and HR services is one of Gusto’s two main sources of income.

Gusto Funding & Investors:

ZenPayroll graduated from Y Combinator’s Winter 2012 class in April 2012, and Gusto revealed in December 2012 that ZenPayroll had raised the highest seed amount ever for a Y Combinator business.

A total of $6.1 million was raised from investors, including Google Ventures, Data Collective, Sherpalo Ventures, Salesforce.com, Box CEO and co-founder Aaron Levie, Yammer CEO and co-founder David O. Sacks, Dropbox CEO and co-founder Drew Houston, YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim, Yelp CEO and co-founder Jeremy Stoppelman, Badgeville CEO and co-founder Kris Duggan, SugarCRM CEO Larry Augustin, and Zuora

Gusto announced a $20 million Series A funding round on February 19, 2014, with a valuation of over $100 million. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and General Catalyst Partners also participated in the round, which was led by the former.

The business received $60M in Series B fundraising in April 2015. Google Capital took the lead in the round. Gusto raised $50 million in an opportunistic round in December 2015, valuing the business at $1 billion.

Gusto concluded a $140M Series B investment in July 2018. CapitalG, Dragoneer Investment Group, T. Rowe Price, and Y Combinator took the lead in the funding round. These investors were followed by Kleiner Perkins, General Catalyst, Emergence, SWS Venture Capital, and others. Gusto raised $200 million in July 2019 at a $3.8 billion valuation.

Gusto Business Model:

Gusto Business Model image
Gusto Business Model (Image Source: ycombinator.com)

Gusto aims to become the go-to financial management tool for its employees by bringing together payroll, 401(k) planning, savings accounts, debit cards, and more in one location. That is the aspect of finances. Gusto also said today that it is now assisting small businesses with the creation of health reimbursement accounts.

A few years ago, Congress passed a law granting small firms a special tool (known as the QSEHRA) to provide health reimbursement to their employees. However, that program is rife with bureaucracy and legalities. Gusto thinks that its new product will enable more small companies to develop these kinds of initiatives.

Given Gusto’s emphasis on small businesses, the global epidemic has resulted in significant adjustments this year. For the company, Reeves said, “it’s been an amazing, demanding, motivating, and energizing period.” Normally, I’d say that we have three home bases: New York, San Francisco, and Denver. There are currently 1,400 home bases. The company’s objective hasn’t been affected by this, and if anything, it has helped many of its employees feel more connected to the small businesses they eventually support.

Services Offered thru Gusto:

Gusto offers financial services like these to entice employers and employees to stay involved because it receives payment from employers for its payroll services in the form of a software subscription fee. Gusto expects that this will allow workers to maintain lower levels of debt and provide them with greater financial security, especially when new and existing enterprises emerge in the wake of COVID-19.

Gusto Wallet also provides “Cashout,” which can advance a paycheck in accordance with an employee’s pay history. The program is made to assist customers in smoothing out a portion of their revenue rather than obtaining a pricey payday loan if they require their salary to arrive before their direct deposit. It is also cost-free.

“One of the major concerns is individuals are often living paycheck to paycheck — they’re either not saving money, or they’re being stuck in debt from things like overdraft fees, credit card debt, or payday loans,” Gusto CEO Joshua Reeves said. With Gusto Wallet, the idea is to not only draw consumers in but also leave them in the far better financial situations than they were.

Gusto services image
Gusto services (Image Source: thedigitalmerchant.com)

Payroll processing is one of Gusto’s main product offerings. Gusto provides employee onboarding as a component of their primary payroll offering (work authorization forms, direct deposit forms, employee information aggregation).

Gusto provides enrollment and management for employee health, dental, and vision insurance separately. Gusto also provides additional employee benefits and associated goods via third parties, including as 401Ks and workers’ compensation insurance.

The small business payroll startup was opening a new office in New York City after raising $200 million. However, Gusto has also been adding additional services recently that are not part of its core payroll offering. These capabilities blur the lines between payroll and financial wellness and, as a result, are changing the traditional fintech market map.

Gusto Awards & Recognition:

There is no data on it.

Gusto Competitors:

Top 7 Gusto Competitors And Alternatives Of 2023.

  • OnPay.
  • QuickBooks Payroll.
  • Rippling.
  • Sure Payroll.
  • Paychex Flex.
  • TriNet.
  • Square.

Gusto Latest News:

In order to give employees better financial and health options through their employers, the company unveiled a host of new offers. The company’s Gusto Wallet product is the most intriguing one in this group. For employees who are paid through Gusto, there is an app and a range of goods that essentially serve as a mini-bank and financial wellness monitor.

Similar to programs like Acorns and Digit, it provides an interest-bearing cash account (named, appropriately enough, Cash Accounts) that may also direct a small portion of each salary into a user’s savings. Today, money kept in the account generates 0.34 percent interest, and you can receive a Gusto debit card to use to make purchases.

Gusto Future Plans:

There is no data on it.

FAQs about Gusto:

Why is Gusto so successful?

Gusto’s decision to pursue organic growth through affiliates and referrals was influenced by small user economics. Since the beginning, Gusto has utilized NPS to gauge the level of service it offers to different user groups and support the growth of its referral program.

Is Gusto a good company?

In our ranking of the Best Payroll Software of 2022, Gusto comes in first. It offers three price-ranged plans that can be customized to suit a range of demands.

Who invested in Gusto?

117 investors are helping to finance Gusto. The most recent investors are Friends & Family Capital and Glynn Capital Management. As of August 10, 2021, Gusto has a post-money worth in the neighborhood of $10B+, according to PrivCo. Register for a free trial to discover the precise valuation and look for businesses with comparable valuations.

What bank owns Gusto?

Gusto is not a bank; it provides payroll services. Nbkc Bank, a Member of the FDIC, offers banking services. The NBKC bank, a member of the FDIC, is the issuer of Cash Accounts and the Gusto Debit Card.

Is Gusto a Fintech company?

Gusto provides cutting-edge payroll, benefits, and HR services to 200,000 businesses and teams. Gusto launched Gusto Wallet as part of their definite foray into the financial industry. Through their payroll provider, employees on the Gusto platform have early access to their paychecks, banking, savings, and emergency money.

What makes Gusto different?

With Gusto, a sole proprietor can handle all payroll tax obligations and activities, both for W-2 employees and 1099 contractors. The number of payrolls per month is not limited and won’t require additional fees, which makes perfect sense for businesses working with several contractors on different pay schedules.

What can you do with Gusto?

  • Payroll. Automated deductions, direct deposit and tax filing.
  • Time and attendance. Time tracking and time-off requests.
  • Workers’ comp. Protect you and your team if an injury or illness happens.
  • Employee benefits.
  • Hiring and onboarding.
  • Integrations.
  • HR experts.
  • Talent management.

What is Gusto known for?

Gusto is an easy-to-use, all-in-one human resources (HR) platform that helps small businesses handle payroll, employee benefits, hiring, onboarding, time and attendance, and compliance.

Does Gusto track your location?

Once you allow location sharing requests, Gusto will add a location stamp to your timesheet the moment you clock in and clock out—it won’t track your location throughout your shift. If you’re at your location and it’s not being detected even though you’re at work, please reach out to your company admin.

How many admins can you have in Gusto?

Companies can have unlimited Full Access Admins. Signatory: Signatories have permission over signing documents. Companies can only have one signatory.

Conclusion:

The new name, Gusto, referred to a feeling of enthusiasm and allowed the business to go beyond payroll processing services. “Our new name, Gusto, was inspired by our customers and their teams, who display courage and passion in the work they do every day.

Gusto’s decision to pursue organic growth through affiliates and referrals was influenced by small user economics. Since the beginning, Gusto has utilized NPS to gauge the level of service it offers to different user groups and support the growth of its referral program.


Spread the love

Disclaimer -We have collected this information from our direct sources, various trustworthy sources on the internet and the facts have been checked manually and verified by our in-house team.