So this is just a personal post, not as an investor or blogger or community runner, but as an SMB owner. Running “SaaStr Inc.” as an SMB. My 2 Favorite Apps of 2022. And … why.
Favorite #01 as an SMB Admin: Gusto.
So Gusto is not the most important app at SaaStr, but it’s fairly important. People need to get paid. It’s important. We’ve used Gusto for years, but recently I became an Admin for the first time and saw the magic.
Everything just .. worked. And as an admin, not just an end user. That’s hard. I didn’t need to watch an explainer video. I didn’t need to wade through a Wiki. Everything was exactly where I expected it. That’s hard. That’s a magical UI/UX.
Aim for that. That’s what I love. I sort of hate Wikis and HowTos and Explainer Videos. Yes, you need to do them, and should do them. But the best apps … don’t really need them. At least, not for most users.
Try your own app from scratch. How easy is it to be an admin? Huge kudos to Gusto here.
Favorite #02 as an SMB Admin: Bill.
Now there have been some debates on Twitter on Bill. Some folks find getting vendors into the system too much work. It might be — I don’t actually care as the “boss” at an SMB. Folks do that for me, even in our tiny org.
No, my job is to manage, review and approve bills. And Bill makes it so simple, so easy, and so awesome. I couldn’t possibly approve and run all the bills and vendors at SaaStr without Bill. It takes almost none of my time, yet I get great visibility into all our bills. What more could you want — as an admin? It does what I want and need in terms of managing and paying vendors. It makes my life easier as the CEO of an SMB. That’s magic.
These are my 2 favorites as, in essence, the CEO of an SMB. Others on our tiny team have their own favorites, based on their roles. But here’s the thing. If the admin loves your app, if the boss loves it — you almost never lose the customer. No matter what the macros.