The Challenges Faced by the Self-Employed

Managing a business as a self-employed individual often presents significant difficulties. Tasks such as bookkeeping, invoicing, and tax payments can quickly become overwhelming.

Many freelancers and independent contractors utilize various tools and services to address the diverse needs of their businesses. Keeping track of everything, however, can be a considerable undertaking.

Introducing Found: A Solution for Independent Businesses

Found, formerly known as Indie, has emerged as a startup designed to simplify the operational complexities of self-employment. The company was established by two experienced executives from Square, drawing upon their direct observations of how small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) manage their payroll processes.

The Founders' Background

Lauren Myrick began her tenure at Square in 2010, serving as the company’s second project manager. She played a key role in the launch of Square’s initial point-of-sale (POS) system and its subsequent Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offerings. Her responsibilities eventually expanded to include General Manager of the payroll division, providing her with valuable insight into tax regulations and their implications.

Co-founder Connor Dunn led the engineering efforts for Square Payroll. This combined expertise formed the foundation for Found.

Identifying a Growing Need

Recognizing a surge in self-employment, particularly accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the founders identified a clear market opportunity.

“We began to observe the increasing trend toward self-employment,” Myrick explained to TechCrunch.

Extensive interviews were conducted with numerous self-employed individuals in 2019 to pinpoint their most pressing challenges. Tax compliance and expense tracking were consistently cited as particularly burdensome and costly aspects of independent work. This led to the creation of Found, aiming to provide a comprehensive platform for business banking, bookkeeping, and tax management.

Securing Funding for Growth

The San Francisco-based startup has successfully raised $12.75 million in a funding round led by Sequoia, with additional contributions from angel investors.

A Unique Perspective

Myrick’s personal experience as a public accountant early in her career, coupled with her sister’s profession as a self-employed yoga instructor, provided her with a unique understanding of the target audience.

Found represents the convergence of Myrick’s professional backgrounds.

“Leveraging my accounting knowledge and the insights gained at Square, I realized we could develop a system to function as a ledger for these businesses, resolving their bookkeeping and tax concerns through software,” she stated. “This is precisely what we have accomplished.”

Platform Features and Functionality

The platform enables users to deposit business income, acquire a dedicated debit card for business expenses, and calculate their tax obligations.

A key feature automates the process of setting aside funds for quarterly tax payments and facilitates those payments. Real-time business and tax reports are also provided, reflecting expenses immediately upon card transactions.

Investor Confidence

Sequoia’s Josephine Chen and Alfred Lin expressed their strong impression of Myrick during their initial discussions.

“Lauren possesses an exceptional grasp of the subject matter and a remarkable attention to detail. She thoroughly explained the complexities self-employed individuals face when completing their Schedule Cs, and elucidated nuances of various tax codes – we were captivated,” they commented.

Lin shared that his own experience running a small data analysis business during graduate school fueled his interest in Found.

“I managed invoicing, tax reporting, and bookkeeping myself,” he recalled. “I relied on spreadsheets to maintain organization. It became clear that more effective tools were needed, and Lauren has delivered that with Found.”