Gusto’s Tomer London: Payroll pain, pick the right first customers, and earn trust for mission‑critical SMB software

Tomer London, co‑founder and Chief Product Officer of payroll and HR platform Gusto (serving 300,000+ small businesses), explains how payroll is a persistent pain point for SMBs and a gateway for broader product expansion. Key points: payroll causes strong frustration among small‑business owners; solving payroll well creates access to valuable employee data and opportunities to address HR and operations problems; selecting the right initial customers and close collaboration with design partners (for example, accountants) drove early learning and word‑of‑mouth growth; the employee self‑service experience should be separated from employer workflows; building trust and credibility—especially through strategic partnerships—is essential when selling mission‑critical software to traditional SMBs; collect feedback via a structured funnel (customers, prospects, investors, teammates) but balance it against product vision to avoid overreacting. For traders: this is a product/market insight piece rather than market news—no direct crypto projects or tokens are announced—but it highlights durable demand for reliable payroll/HR platforms in the SMB sector and the importance of trust and partnerships for SaaS scale.