Vanta CEO <a href=https://www.ycombinator.com/"https://twitter.com/christinacaci/">Christina Cacioppo</a> and <a href=https://www.ycombinator.com/"https://zapier.com//">Zapier CEO <a href=https://www.ycombinator.com/"https://twitter.com/wadefoster/">Wade Foster</a> made the decision to take a disciplined approach to fundraising. They flipped the equation of a typical startup founder: instead of raising money to enable a certain amount of growth, they eliminated the assumption of fundraising, controlled their spend, and evaluated how to ramp up spending based on what the business was bringing in. <br></p><p>YC’s <a href=https://www.ycombinator.com/"https://twitter.com/anuhariharan/">Anu Hariharan</a> sat down with Christina and Wade to talk about their unique funding history in our first episode of <a href=https://www.ycombinator.com/"https://www.ycombinator.com/blog/new-yc-audio-series-same-same-but-different/">Same, Same but Different.</a> </p><div class=\"kg-card kg-audio-card\"><img src=https://www.ycombinator.com/"/blog/content/media/2022/07/SSBD_Final_1_thumb.jpg?v=1657216763245\" alt=\"audio-thumbnail\" class=\"kg-audio-thumbnail\"><div class=\"kg-audio-thumbnail placeholder kg-audio-hide\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http://www.w3.org/2000/svg\"><path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M7.5 15.33a.75.75 0 1 0 0 1.5.75.75 0 0 0 0-1.5Zm-2.25.75a2.25 2.25 0 1 1 4.5 0 2.25 2.25 0 0 1-4.5 0ZM15 13.83a.75.75 0 1 0 0 1.5.75.75 0 0 0 0-1.5Zm-2.25.75a2.25 2.25 0 1 1 4.5 0 2.25 2.25 0 0 1-4.5 0Z\"/><path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M14.486 6.81A2.25 2.25 0 0 1 17.25 9v5.579a.75.75 0 0 1-1.5 0v-5.58a.75.75 0 0 0-.932-.727.755.755 0 0 1-.059.013l-4.465.744a.75.75 0 0 0-.544.72v6.33a.75.75 0 0 1-1.5 0v-6.33a2.25 2.25 0 0 1 1.763-2.194l4.473-.746Z\"/><path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M3 1.5a.75.75 0 0 0-.75.75v19.5a.75.75 0 0 0 .75.75h18a.75.75 0 0 0 .75-.75V5.133a.75.75 0 0 0-.225-.535l-.002-.002-3-2.883A.75.75 0 0 0 18 1.5H3ZM1.409.659A2.25 2.25 0 0 1 3 0h15a2.25 2.25 0 0 1 1.568.637l.003.002 3 2.883a2.25 2.25 0 0 1 .679 1.61V21.75A2.25 2.25 0 0 1 21 24H3a2.25 2.25 0 0 1-2.25-2.25V2.25c0-.597.237-1.169.659-1.591Z\"/></svg></div><div class=\"kg-audio-player-container\"><audio src=https://www.ycombinator.com/"/blog/content/media/2022/07/SSBD_Final_1.mp3/" preload=\"metadata\"></audio><div class=\"kg-audio-title\">Same, Same but Different with Vanta and Zapier</div><div class=\"kg-audio-player\"><button class=\"kg-audio-play-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"http://www.w3.org/2000/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path d=\"M23.14 10.608 2.253.164A1.559 1.559 0 0 0 0 1.557v20.887a1.558 1.558 0 0 0 2.253 1.392L23.14 13.393a1.557 1.557 0 0 0 0-2.785Z\"/></svg></button><button class=\"kg-audio-pause-icon kg-audio-hide\"><svg xmlns=\"http://www.w3.org/2000/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><rect x=\"3\" y=\"1\" width=\"7\" height=\"22\" rx=\"1.5\" ry=\"1.5\"/><rect x=\"14\" y=\"1\" width=\"7\" height=\"22\" rx=\"1.5\" ry=\"1.5\"/></svg></button><span class=\"kg-audio-current-time\">0:00</span><div class=\"kg-audio-time\">/<span class=\"kg-audio-duration\">59:28</span></div><input type=\"range\" class=\"kg-audio-seek-slider\" max=\"100\" value=\"0\"><button class=\"kg-audio-playback-rate\">1×</button><button class=\"kg-audio-unmute-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"http://www.w3.org/2000/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path d=\"M15.189 2.021a9.728 9.728 0 0 0-7.924 4.85.249.249 0 0 1-.221.133H5.25a3 3 0 0 0-3 3v2a3 3 0 0 0 3 3h1.794a.249.249 0 0 1 .221.133 9.73 9.73 0 0 0 7.924 4.85h.06a1 1 0 0 0 1-1V3.02a1 1 0 0 0-1.06-.998Z\"/></svg></button><button class=\"kg-audio-mute-icon kg-audio-hide\"><svg xmlns=\"http://www.w3.org/2000/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path d=\"M16.177 4.3a.248.248 0 0 0 .073-.176v-1.1a1 1 0 0 0-1.061-1 9.728 9.728 0 0 0-7.924 4.85.249.249 0 0 1-.221.133H5.25a3 3 0 0 0-3 3v2a3 3 0 0 0 3 3h.114a.251.251 0 0 0 .177-.073ZM23.707 1.706A1 1 0 0 0 22.293.292l-22 22a1 1 0 0 0 0 1.414l.009.009a1 1 0 0 0 1.405-.009l6.63-6.631A.251.251 0 0 1 8.515 17a.245.245 0 0 1 .177.075 10.081 10.081 0 0 0 6.5 2.92 1 1 0 0 0 1.061-1V9.266a.247.247 0 0 1 .073-.176Z\"/></svg></button><input type=\"range\" class=\"kg-audio-volume-slider\" max=\"100\" value=\"100\"></div></div></div><p><strong>You can also listen on <a href=https://www.ycombinator.com/"https://open.spotify.com/episode/3c1CmZtpzCqMa2MxXK845H?si=Ay6GBKIuT4OPfZePwUO4bQ\%22>Spotify, <a href=https://www.ycombinator.com/"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/158-same-same-but-different-with-vanta-and-zapier/id1236907421?i=1000569160335\%22>Apple Podcasts</a>, or <a href=https://www.ycombinator.com/"https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1vAxRkrNwoXKl/">Twitter. </strong><br></p><p><strong>3:20 </strong>- Christina, why did you wait so long before raising your first round?<br></p><p><em>Vanta was bootstrapped until raising a Series A round that ended up looking more like a traditional Series C. The company has surpassed 3,000 customers and is valued at $1.6B.</em><br></p><ul><li>Investors want to fund businesses that don't actually need funding.</li><li>Christina talks about ensuring they were truly building something that people wanted and finding product-market fit.<br></li></ul><p><strong>7:10 </strong>- Christina, what was the scale of Vanta when you decided to raise? Why did you decide to raise if you were cash-flow positive? <br></p><ul><li>Vanta had true signs of product-market fit, as shown by the impact of sales and marketing.</li><li>Christina talks about raising to ensure they didn’t lose the market they created. <br></li></ul><p><strong>10:50</strong> - Christina, how did you say no to the investors wanting to fund Vanta? What was your mental model? <br></p><ul><li>Be pragmatic with how you plan to spend funds; ensure the dilution from fundraising is worth it.</li><li>Christina talks about already hiring as quickly as possible and funds not helping with this challenge.<br></li></ul><p><strong>14:15 </strong>- Wade, tell us about your experience raising a seed and why you decided not to raise again. <br></p><p><em>Zapier raised only a $1.3M seed round in 2012 and has been profitable since 2014. The company is valued at $5B. </em><br></p><ul><li>Treat each funding round like it will be the last money you ever get.</li><li>Wade talks about his personal experience working for a quickly-growing, bootstrapped company, growing Zapier in a cost-effective way, and addressing constraints without fundraising. <br></li></ul><p><strong>20:00</strong> - Wade, did you always want to build a bootstrap company? When did you know Zapier had product-market fit and that it was a business model predisposed to being bootstrapped? <br></p><ul><li>When you make something people care about, it’s easy to sell to customers.</li><li>Don’t hire until it hurts.</li><li>Wade talks about finding product-market fit, their repeatable go-to market strategy to grow their base without a ton of capital, and their philosophy around hiring and building a remote company. <br></li></ul><p><strong>24:30</strong> - Wade, how did you attract talent without big headlines about fundraising news?<br></p><ul><li>Wade talks about hiring in a distributed way, writing about their learnings, and unique hiring tactics to raise the profile of Zapier as an employer. <br></li></ul><p><strong>27:00</strong> - Wade, what was the hardest part about hiring for a bootstrapped company? <br></p><ul><li>Wade talks about this not being an issue when hiring outside of Silicon Valley and already being profitable. <br></li></ul><p><strong>29:15</strong> - Christina, can you highlight Vanta’s journey to product-market fit?<br></p><ul><li>You can’t raise your way into the right product.</li><li>Christina shares insight into her first customers and advice on testing the value proposition with early users. <br></li></ul><p><strong>35:45 </strong>- Christina, when did you know you had product-market fit and what were the signs? <br></p><ul><li>The path to product-market fit isn’t linear.</li><li>Christina speaks to the mistake of focusing solely on hiring versus selling in the early days. <br></li></ul><p><strong>38:45 </strong>- Christina, how did you attract talent without big headlines about fundraising news?<br></p><ul><li>Christina shares how her pitch to candidates changed throughout Vanta’s journey. <br></li></ul><p><strong>44:10 </strong>- Wade, how has hiring changed since the pandemic? <br></p><ul><li>Wade speaks to more companies competing in this remote environment and how this is shifting again given today’s economic climate. <br></li></ul><p><strong>46:45</strong> - Wade, what is your advice for founders whether to fundraise or not? <br></p><ul><li>Determine the constraints in your business and figure out how to address those.</li><li>Wade shares their biggest challenges and his mental model to determine whether to raise or not raise. <br></li></ul><p><strong>49:00 </strong>- Wade, talk about your early days and how you were able to reach product-market fit as a remote company. <br></p><ul><li>When building a company, pick a lane: all remote or all in-office; the hybrid approach is the most challenging.</li><li>Wade talks about how this played out for Zapier, including working in-person with his co-founders the first few years and reaching product-market fit during this time. <br></li></ul><p><strong>51:15</strong> - Christina, do you recommend in-person, remote, or hybrid? <br></p><ul><li>Christina talks about the importance of documentation for remote and hybrid companies.<br></li></ul><p><strong>53:30 </strong>- Christina, how long in Vanta’s experience was in-person important? <br></p><ul><li>Christina shares the challenges of shifting from in-person to remote. <br></li></ul><p><strong>55:30 </strong>- Christina, how are you thinking about fundraising today in this funding environment and what advice do you have for founders? <br></p><ul><li>If you can, push your fundraising out — and if you can’t, it’s all about unit economics.</li><li>Christina talks about her recent experience fundraising (<a href=https://www.ycombinator.com/"https://www.vanta.com/blog/vanta-announces-series-b/">$110M Series B</a>) and the importance of metrics.<br></li></ul><p><strong>58:00 </strong>- Wade, what advice do you have for founders in this funding environment? <br></p><ul><li>Running a good business never goes out of style. Focus less on what investors care about and a lot more on what your customers care about.</li></ul>","comment_id":"62c640aadb59f2000159e618","feature_image":"/blog/content/images/2022/07/Same_Same_1600x900_72DPI.png","featured":false,"visibility":"public","email_recipient_filter":"none","created_at":"2022-07-06T19:10:50.000-07:00","updated_at":"2022-07-07T10:59:27.000-07:00","published_at":"2022-07-07T08:55:00.000-07:00","custom_excerpt":null,"codeinjection_head":null,"codeinjection_foot":null,"custom_template":null,"canonical_url":null,"authors":[{"id":"61fe29e3c7139e0001a7106f","name":"Y Combinator","slug":"yc","profile_image":"/blog/content/images/2022/02/yc.png","cover_image":null,"bio":null,"website":null,"location":null,"facebook":null,"twitter":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"url":"https://ghost.prod.ycinside.com/author/yc/"}],"tags":[{"id":"61fe29efc7139e0001a71176","name":"Podcast","slug":"podcast","description":null,"feature_image":null,"visibility":"public","og_image":null,"og_title":null,"og_description":null,"twitter_image":null,"twitter_title":null,"twitter_description":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"codeinjection_head":null,"codeinjection_foot":null,"canonical_url":null,"accent_color":null,"url":"https://ghost.prod.ycinside.com/tag/podcast/"},{"id":"61fe29efc7139e0001a7115e","name":"Fundraising","slug":"fundraising","description":null,"feature_image":null,"visibility":"public","og_image":null,"og_title":null,"og_description":null,"twitter_image":null,"twitter_title":null,"twitter_description":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"codeinjection_head":null,"codeinjection_foot":null,"canonical_url":null,"accent_color":null,"url":"https://ghost.prod.ycinside.com/tag/fundraising/"},{"id":"61fe29efc7139e0001a71152","name":"Founder Stories","slug":"founder-stories","description":null,"feature_image":null,"visibility":"public","og_image":null,"og_title":null,"og_description":null,"twitter_image":null,"twitter_title":null,"twitter_description":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"codeinjection_head":null,"codeinjection_foot":null,"canonical_url":null,"accent_color":null,"url":"https://ghost.prod.ycinside.com/tag/founder-stories/"},{"id":"61fe29efc7139e0001a7119c","name":"#1781","slug":"hash-1781","description":null,"feature_image":null,"visibility":"internal","og_image":null,"og_title":null,"og_description":null,"twitter_image":null,"twitter_title":null,"twitter_description":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"codeinjection_head":null,"codeinjection_foot":null,"canonical_url":null,"accent_color":null,"url":"https://ghost.prod.ycinside.com/404/"},{"id":"62b9edfe063d2d0001f0fc58","name":"#442","slug":"hash-442","description":null,"feature_image":null,"visibility":"internal","og_image":null,"og_title":null,"og_description":null,"twitter_image":null,"twitter_title":null,"twitter_description":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"codeinjection_head":null,"codeinjection_foot":null,"canonical_url":null,"accent_color":null,"url":"https://ghost.prod.ycinside.com/404/"},{"id":"61fe29efc7139e0001a71174","name":"Advice","slug":"advice","description":null,"feature_image":null,"visibility":"public","og_image":null,"og_title":null,"og_description":null,"twitter_image":null,"twitter_title":null,"twitter_description":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"codeinjection_head":null,"codeinjection_foot":null,"canonical_url":null,"accent_color":null,"url":"https://ghost.prod.ycinside.com/tag/advice/"},{"id":"61fe29efc7139e0001a71181","name":"YC Continuity","slug":"yc-continuity","description":null,"feature_image":null,"visibility":"public","og_image":null,"og_title":null,"og_description":null,"twitter_image":null,"twitter_title":null,"twitter_description":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"codeinjection_head":null,"codeinjection_foot":null,"canonical_url":null,"accent_color":null,"url":"https://ghost.prod.ycinside.com/tag/yc-continuity/"}],"primary_author":{"id":"61fe29e3c7139e0001a7106f","name":"Y Combinator","slug":"yc","profile_image":"https://ghost.prod.ycinside.com/content/images/2022/02/yc.png","cover_image":null,"bio":null,"website":null,"location":null,"facebook":null,"twitter":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"url":"https://ghost.prod.ycinside.com/author/yc/"},"primary_tag":{"id":"61fe29efc7139e0001a71176","name":"Podcast","slug":"podcast","description":null,"feature_image":null,"visibility":"public","og_image":null,"og_title":null,"og_description":null,"twitter_image":null,"twitter_title":null,"twitter_description":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"codeinjection_head":null,"codeinjection_foot":null,"canonical_url":null,"accent_color":null,"url":"https://ghost.prod.ycinside.com/tag/podcast/"},"url":"https://ghost.prod.ycinside.com/same-same-but-different-with-vanta-and-zapier/","excerpt":"Both Vanta [https://www.vanta.com/] CEO Christina Cacioppo\n[https://twitter.com/christinacaci] and Zapier [https://zapier.com/] CEO Wade\nFoster [https://twitter.com/wadefoster] made the decision to take a disciplined\napproach to fundraising. They flipped the equation of a typical startup founder:\ninstead of raising money to enable a certain amount of growth, they eliminated\nthe assumption of fundraising, controlled their spend, and evaluated how to ramp\nup spending based on what the business was","reading_time":4,"access":true,"og_image":null,"og_title":null,"og_description":null,"twitter_image":"https://ghost.prod.ycinside.com/content/images/2022/07/Same_Same_1600x900_72DPI-1.png","twitter_title":null,"twitter_description":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"email_subject":null,"frontmatter":null,"feature_image_alt":null,"feature_image_caption":null},"mentions":[{"id":442,"slug":"zapier","name":"Zapier","batch_name":"S12","small_logo_url":"https://bookface-images.s3.amazonaws.com/small_logos/d5d8aefda7d4e7fdbe927854bc8021fbacdcbfb3.png","one_liner":"The easiest way to automate your work.","website":"http://zapier.com","long_description":"Founded in 2011, Zapier has helped over 1.8 million individuals and businesses with their automation needs. The company connects over 2,000 apps to help people be more productive at work, saving customers up to 20 hours per week. By helping to discover and weave together web applications that increase productivity and success, Zapier is changing the way people work.","tags":["SaaS","B2B"],"ycdc_status":"Active","logo_url":"https://bookface-images.s3.amazonaws.com/logos/8e0c13619c221d9b8d746ac47e117e940ca379e0.png","year_founded":2011,"team_size":400,"location":"Mountain View","linkedin_url":"https://www.linkedin.com/company/zapier/","twitter_url":"https://twitter.com/zapier","fb_url":"https://www.facebook.com/zapierapp","cb_url":"https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/zapier","is_hiring":true,"active_job_count":0},{"id":1781,"slug":"vanta","name":"Vanta","batch_name":"W18","small_logo_url":"https://bookface-images.s3.amazonaws.com/small_logos/0660fb546ece5e50a895e790c299dcaaeeefad32.png","one_liner":"Automate compliance. Simplify security. Demonstrate trust.","website":"https://vanta.com","long_description":"Vanta was founded in 2018, in the wake of several high-profile data breaches that shook our collective faith in internet businesses. Online security was only becoming more important, but we knew firsthand how hard it could be for fast-growing companies to invest the time and manpower it takes to build a solid security foundation.\r\n\r\nFrom our early days of automating security monitoring for compliance standards like SOC 2, HIPAA, and ISO 27001, to pioneering a brand-new market as the leading Trust Management Platform, our vision to restore trust in internet businesses by enabling companies to improve and prove their security remains unchanged. Now more than ever, making security continuous—not just a point-in-time check— is essential. Vanta is the leading Trust Management Platform that helps simplify and centralize security for organizations of all sizes. Over 4,000 companies including Autodesk, Chili Piper, Flo Health and Quora, rely on Vanta to build, maintain and demonstrate their trust—all in a way that's real-time and transparent.\r\n\r\nRecently named the #1 Leader in G2's Winter 2023 Grid® Reports for Security Compliance, Vanta debuted a number of new product innovations over the last year, including Access Reviews which automates the once-manual, time-consuming access reviews process and an enhanced Risk Management solution allowing companies to holistically understand, prioritize, and reduce risks within their company to build a stronger security approach and demonstrate compliance.\r\n\r\nVanta was built on the idea that software can be used to do amazing things for the world—if we trust it to do so. And we can’t do it alone. Come join us!","tags":["B2B","Compliance","Security"],"ycdc_status":"Active","logo_url":"https://bookface-images.s3.amazonaws.com/logos/d59e1f876b17991e50566ecfbab85d330927372a.png","year_founded":2018,"team_size":330,"location":"San Francisco","linkedin_url":"https://www.linkedin.com/company/vanta-security/","twitter_url":"https://twitter.com/trustvanta","fb_url":"","cb_url":"https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/vanta","is_hiring":true,"active_job_count":0}],"related_posts":[{"id":"61fe29f1c7139e0001a71be6","uuid":"bc8c7121-4029-4947-aebe-6bc3739a35a9","title":"Watch 30 founder pitches from YC's GTM Jobs Expo","slug":"watch-30-founder-pitches-from-ycs-gtm-jobs-expo","html":"<!--kg-card-begin: html--><p>Y Combinator hosted our first <a href=https://www.ycombinator.com/"https://www.workatastartup.com/events/2021-gtm-expo/">Go-To-Market Jobs Expo in March</a>, and we’re now posting the founder pitches on <a href=https://www.ycombinator.com/"https://www.workatastartup.com//">Work at a Startup</a>.</p>\n<p>At the event, 30 fast-growing YC startups shared more about their companies and open roles. Startups include:</p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=https://www.ycombinator.com/"https://www.workatastartup.com/companies/vanta/">Vanta (S18)</a></strong> helps companies protect their consumer data from data breaches and security issues. They’ve raised a $50M Series A due to their strong product-market fit and are hiring in all roles — engineering, product, sales, marketing, and more.</li>\n<li><strong><a href=https://www.ycombinator.com/"https://www.workatastartup.com/companies/berbix/">Berbix (W18)</a></strong> allows companies to do ID checks online, all as a platform. Covid has accelerated the adoption of their tech across the internet, and their founders solved the same problems as employees at Airbnb. They’re hiring for sales, BDR, and product, as well as engineering.</li>\n<li><strong><a href=https://www.ycombinator.com/"https://www.workatastartup.com/companies/openphone/">OpenPhone (S18)</a></strong> recently raised $14M to build the next generation business phone — all from an app. They’re growing by word-of-mouth and are using the money to hire in all functions, including tech, sales, growth, and support/services.</li>\n</ul>\n<p>View all the pitches on Work at Startup and create a profile to connect directly with founders:</p>\n<p><a href=https://www.ycombinator.com/"https://www.workatastartup.com/events/2021-gtm-expo/">https://www.workatastartup.com/events/2021-gtm-expo
(S12)The easiest way to automate your work.
