Editor's Note: In our “3 Questions” column, we chat with a thought leader within a unique sector of fintech.
Name: Kurt Rathmann
Title: CEO and Founder
Company: ScaleFactor
Web Address: www.scalefactor.com
1. How did you personally become involved in fintech?
During my tenure as CFO in Denver, I faced a series of operational inefficiencies that created a major disconnect between stand-alone actions and their impact on the business. We couldn’t digest how decisions impacted things that happened in May until we received the monthly reports in June. I knew there had to be a better way—why did we have to wait weeks, months or quarters to solve for current problems? Why not seconds or minutes?
I searched for something that would help me save time and understand what was happening in real time, that would enable me to prioritize operational tasks day-to-day. I discovered that in the accounting industry overall, cloud-based accounting networks were growing and expanding with integrated apps. It was the first time I had seen a significant efficiency increase in the SMB back-office space in a long time. I saw it as a notable turn in the industry.
From there, I began a quest to simplify the complex accounting tasks and automate the tedious manual work. In short order, I became obsessed. Soon, everything else became a distraction to solving this problem ... including my job as CFO. Once I was realized that I very passionate about this problem and that I knew how to solve it, it only made sense to pursue it full-time.
2. What does your firm do/offer within the fintech sector?
ScaleFactor is a team of dedicated experts reimagining accounting and finance for businesses. We’re taking the stress and frustration out of accounting and replacing it with proactive, actionable insights—think push notifications for your business. We’re not just adding features, we’re building solutions that solve the problems millions of business owners, managers and entrepreneurs face every day.
3. How do you feel consumers or your clients are adapting to the the kind of fintech services that your firm offers?
The challenge for small businesses is both peculiar and universal. Their time is best spent cutting your hair, teaching you down dog and making your latte, not reconciling transactions, catching up on inventory, or paying bills. The catch: They have to keep up with these tasks to stay in business, but with their limited time and the lack of resources in today’s market, they often have no other options.
The evolution of fintech means small businesses no longer need to silo their data into multiple software subscriptions, and are no longer forced to wait until the end of the month to decide the next strategic move for their business. ScaleFactor delivers best-in-class automated solutions for bookkeeping, inventory, invoicing, taxes, forecasting, bill pay, payroll classification and 1099 management. We’re building technology to help businesses be proactive and scale, not just meet their basic needs. We are creating better business operators who ultimately power the mainstreet that we all know and love.
Kurt Rathmann is a serial entrepreneur. In high school, he founded numerous businesses, including a 17-person landscape and architectural lighting company with 200+ clients. He attended the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin where his experience in the professional accounting program developed his passion for financial technology. As a senior audit professional at KPMG in Denver, Rathmann became the CFO of KNS Communications Consultants. During his time in this role, he turned his attention toward financial technology innovations and cloud applications. In 2014, he launched ScaleFactor, of which he is founder and CEO.