Hey — it’s Nico.

This is Behind Tactics 🧠, the Failory newsletter where I share the strategies behind the best startups.

This issue takes 6 mins to read and is brought to you by Warp, the payroll and compliance platform for startups.

I had the opportunity to sit down with Warp's founders and ask them for their best advice for entrepreneurs navigating the challenges of building a startup in a competitive market.

The first section of this newsletter dives into Warp’s mission, approach, and unique offerings. Below that, you’ll find 10 pieces of advice from the founders on fundraising, hiring, and growing your business.

Let’s get into it.

A Dive Into Warp

What inspired you to start Warp, and what’s the core problem it aims to solve?

Warp was born from the frustration of navigating tax, payroll, and HR compliance as startup founders. We previously spent countless hours dealing with state tax websites and labor departments when all they wanted to do was focus on building a great product for their customers.

Warp’s mission is to remove this burden from founders, freeing up their time and saving them from the penalties and fines that can arise from compliance mistakes. In essence, Warp abstracts away all the "government BS," allowing startups to operate without the constant worry of administrative hurdles.

How does Warp position itself to stand out among payroll platforms like Deel and Rippling?

Warp takes a distinctly different approach compared to traditional payroll platforms. It’s designed specifically for founders and startups, with an obsessive focus on creating a product that users love, rather than prioritizing sales.

The goal is to build a platform founders trust and enjoy using, where administrative tasks are simplified and streamlined. Unlike other payroll tools, Warp aspires to be the "Ramp of Payroll and HR," a platform that businesses not only rely on but actively appreciate for its intuitive design and time-saving capabilities.

What makes Warp unique for your customers?

Warp tackles the daunting challenge of U.S. tax compliance by automating the entire process in the background. It’s like what Stripe Atlas did for incorporating a C Corporation—turning a complex government process into a seamless experience.

When a founder hires an employee in a new state, Warp handles everything. It sets up the necessary tax accounts, ensures worker’s compensation is in place, files new hire reports, and manages end-of-year documentation automatically. Founders no longer need to worry about the compliance implications of hiring across states like California, New York, or Texas. Warp takes care of it all, saving time, reducing stress, and avoiding costly mistakes.

What’s next for Warp?

Warp’s journey has been exciting and fast-paced. After building its core platform and gaining early traction in 2023, the focus in 2024 has been on scaling and improving the product. Today, Warp processes millions of dollars in payroll each month across hundreds of businesses.

Looking to 2025, Warp is dedicated to expanding its reach, helping more startups, and introducing new features that save businesses even more time and money. The vision remains clear: to be the ultimate tool for founders to handle payroll and compliance effortlessly.

Advice for Founders

General Startup Advice

1. Understand your customers’ problems better than they do. Build solutions that truly address their needs. This customer-centric mindset is crucial, especially in competitive markets where alternatives are readily available.

2. When starting out, have a clear focus on (a) what problem you’re solving, (b) who you’re solving it for, and (c) why solving this will make your company a massive success one day.

Building the Team

3. Look for "underrated alpha" talent—individuals who aren’t fully “priced” but seek ownership, agency, and adventure. These people thrive in startup environments.

4. Avoid hiring those fully established in late-stage careers (e.g., Directors at major corporations) as they may not align with the startup’s risk-taking and growth-driven culture.

Fundraising Advice

5. Investors are looking for massive outcomes. Even in the early stages, you need a compelling and somewhat believable vision of how your company could grow into a billion-dollar business.

6. Fundraising thrives on momentum. Schedule all your investor calls within a short period to build excitement and urgency. Starting with part of your round pre-committed (via angels) can help.

Lessons from Y Combinator

7. Moving quickly doesn’t mean sacrificing quality. Rapid iteration enables faster feedback loops, which can lead to better outcomes.

8. Having a group of founder peers to share challenges and insights with is incredibly beneficial.

Navigating Challenges

9. Embrace the volatility of startups. Unexpected challenges are inevitable, and the focus should be on developing resilience and adaptability.

10. Avoid dwelling on past mistakes; instead, focus on becoming better equipped to handle future challenges.

Warp’s journey exemplifies these lessons, with a steadfast focus on solving real problems for their customers and maintaining a clear vision for growth. Founders can take inspiration from Warp’s emphasis on customer obsession, speed, and adaptability to build their own ventures successfully.

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That’s all for this edition.

Cheers,

Nico