Tearsheet Podcast: Exploring Financial Services Together - 'Small business powers our communities': How Wave empowers entrepreneurs to start up new businesses

'Small business powers our communities': How Wave empowers entrepreneurs to start up new businesses

04/23/21 • 20 min

Tearsheet Podcast: Exploring Financial Services Together

I’m Zack Miller, editor in chief of Tearsheet. The following was produced by Tearsheet Studios. We worked with Wave, a financial software company for entrepreneurs and small businesses, to create a three part podcast series on what micro businesses and solopreneurs really need now from their banks, financial service providers, and financial software. It’s never a simple time for small business owners. They live and breathe cashflow. Many function pretty much hand to mouth, so any disruption -- let alone the pandemic we’re navigating through -- any disruption can really challenge an entrepreneur. I, for one, wouldn’t like to see a world with all big box retailers, faceless corporations, hawking me throwaway stuff and disposable experiences. I think the crisis brought out the fact that small businesses are really important parts of our cities, towns, and communities. If they suffer, we all suffer. Kirk Simpson, is the CEO of Wave, a provider of free accounting software for entrepreneurs. He lives and breathes what micro businesses deal with -- they’re his customers. So while he tracked the struggles of these folks, he also watched as many survived and thrived. It was also a time that a lot of people set out on their own to follow their own entrepreneurial dreams.

Previous Episode

Wave's Kirk Simpson on the founding and exiting of Wave, a fintech startup

The following was produced by Tearsheet Studios. We worked with Wave, a financial software company for entrepreneurs and small businesses, to create a three part podcast series on what micro businesses and solopreneurs really need now from their banks, financial service providers, and financial software. One of the things that’s got me really interested in fintech was hearing founders’ own stories. What got them into the business. Why some left high paying jobs to throw their hats in the entrepreneurial ring. A ring that can be really hard, confounding and a roller coaster of emotion. Many of them started their business out of a deep connection to the problem they’re trying to solve. And when you trace back through their stories, you can get some insight and apply it to your own business, practice, or department you’re trying to build. In 2009, Kirk Simpson founded Wave, accounting software for entrepreneurs, micro businesses and solopreneurs. He didn’t have an accounting background -- his co-founder did -- but he did have experience building and running small businesses. Also, he absolutely wanted to leave working for the man, which helps fire up the motivation to change how things are done. To stir the pot. To mix things up and break through the status quo.

Next Episode

Q2's Ahon Sarkar on how banking as a service changes the economics of serving the underbanked

The following was produced by Tearsheet Studios. We worked with Q2, a digital banking software company, to create a four part podcast series on how embedded finance and banking as a service is changing the definition of who is a bank, where customers turn for banking products and services, and how it is helping some of the weakest players in the economy get access to the modern financial industry. There’s still almost 20% of the U.S. population that’s underbanked. That’s tens of millions of people who may have access to basic banking but are falling between the cracks. That’s in spite of the fintech bull market we’ve had over the past few years. I interview Q2's Ahon Sarkar about the impact banking as a service changes the economics of banking. The result is more products and services available for the underbanked. We discuss how this changes the banking industry and the customers it serves.