Dive into the intriguing world of Expensify, where unconventional organizational structures challenge traditional practices. Discover how the 'Expensify Senate' empowers long-term employees in decision-making. The hosts explore innovative hiring strategies that promote diversity and autonomy, and the role of a rural satellite office in redefining employee roles. Plus, insights on tackling equity and evolving work culture set this episode apart, revealing why some companies are ditching predictability for dynamism.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Expensify's origins
Expensify's CEO, David Barrett, worked with Travis Kalanick before Uber.
Both companies, Expensify and Uber, originated from this connection and are heading towards public markets.
insights INSIGHT
Expensify's unique approach
Expensify reinvents traditional business practices, avoiding defaults for HR and organizational structure.
They've created a unique social experiment by challenging established norms.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Alternative Compensation
Consider alternative compensation models like Expensify's revealed preference system.
This game-theoretic approach aims to reward valuable contributions, even in less visible projects.
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Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines.
For this week’s deep dive, Natasha and Danny unpacked the Expensify EC-1, which includes a ton of surprises, building tips, and, as we discuss in the show, some life lessons as well. This is our largest EC-1 to date, and is the result of six months of prodigious work from the inimitable Anna Heim. Of course, we had to add our Equity spin on the feature and boiled down our favorite musings into a succinct episode.
Here's what we got into:
Expensify's silent period as a fun dynamic to deal with as reporters
There's always an Uber angle, and Expensify is no different when you realize its early roots are tied to entrepreneur Travis Kalanick's persuasion
How Expensify manages to stay slim, focus in a rural town in Michigan, and achieve profitability
Natasha asked if lack of structure negatively or positive impacts minorities and underrepresented folk, while Danny explained a nifty way that the company deals with promotions and raises.
Danny explained how re-writing the playbook might positively impact recruitment, and how joining Expensify doesn't come with your classic SaaS pitch.
And we end with a meta conversation on how society views work, and why neither of us went to spend the next 50 years with predictability.
Once you're done listening to the episode, make sure to check out Heim's EC-1 below:
Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.
Equity