Matt Gardner of Hiline On 5 Things You Need To Succeed In The Modern World Of Finance & Fintech
An Interview With Jason Hartman
Fail fast and move on. I’m motivated by the challenge of building a differentiated business. There isn’t a market leader in our industry yet that excites me. That also means there isn’t a playbook for how to do this and things change a lot. We fail almost on a daily basis. You have to learn how to take punches with grace. Hardship builds grit and resilience. You’re building new muscles when things get hard. But that pays dividends later. If it feels easy, you’re not trying hard enough.
As part of my series about the “How to Navigate and Succeed in the Modern World of Finance”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Matt Gardner.
Matt Gardner is the CEO and Co-Founder of Hiline, a leading financial services firm that delivers scalable accounting, human resources, tax, and payroll services to growth-minded companies, small and midsize businesses, and nonprofits. Following his experience as a CPA and auditor. Gardner started and ran Gardner & Capparelli, a boutique, integrated services accounting company for small and medium sized businesses. Through expanding the company and working with innovative companies, Gardner recognized a glaring opportunity to modernize back office operations and disrupt traditional accounting with a modern approach and integrated technology. Hiline was born out of that mentality and serves hundreds of clients today as a leading provider of financial-operations-as-a-service that helps growth-minded organizations manage risk, improve outcomes, and make better decisions. Gardner is a Certified Public Accountant and earned his BS in Accounting from SUNY Oswego. His entrepreneurship also extends to hospitality as an owner of multiple restaurants, activity in commercial real estate, and as an angel investor in early stage technology companies.
Thank you so much for your time! I know that you are a very busy person. Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
Sure, my journey into the world of finance and accounting began over a decade ago, where I worked extensively as an accountant and auditor. During this time, I witnessed firsthand the outdated and analog nature of the industry. It became apparent that the traditional approach valued conformity over curiosity and lacked innovation.
My co-founder shared similar sentiments. With a background in tax, he and I recognized the need for a change. We noticed that the tax, accounting, and auditing work had remained largely unchanged since the 1970s, and it felt commoditized.
Driven by a passion for helping small and medium-sized business (SMB) founders and owners make better financial decisions, we decided to leverage our experience. We learned valuable lessons from working with startup clients, especially that traditional accounting methods were ill-suited to meet the needs of modern companies that often prioritize efficiency and innovation. It was quite glaring that tech-forward small and medium businesses with high-growth potential were held back by financial and compliance details
Inspired by the agile and tech-driven approaches of our startup clients, we founded Hiline, a new age accounting company. Our mission was clear: to modernize back-office operations and disrupt traditional accounting practices with integrated technology. We wanted to bring new thinking to disrupt traditional accounting with the very methodologies that our target clients deploy (ie. tech and software product management approaches that focus on being agile, prioritizing user experience, etc.). By applying software product management methodologies and prioritizing user experience, we developed cloud-based financial reporting and virtual CFO services.
Today, Hiline serves as a leading provider of financial-operations-as-a-service, helping growth-minded organizations manage risk, improve outcomes, and make better decisions through our comprehensive services across accounting, finance, tax, human resources, and payroll. We’ve cultivated relationships with key technology providers and assembled a team of experts across finance and tech.
Our success lies in our ability to adapt and innovate. While many businesses rely on local accounting services, Hiline has expanded its reach, working with hundreds of clients well beyond our own zip code. Our journey continues as we strive to empower businesses with the tools and insights they need to thrive in an ever-changing landscape.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?
We started the business with absolutely nothing. We leased an office space above an old Irish Pub in downtown Syracuse and borrowed $50,000 to start the business. The first year was unimpressive. We had revenues of $30,000 and made absolutely no money. But, this was my favorite part of building the business. We had so much fun sitting on that patio outside that pub talking about our vision for the future or taking meetings with prospects, building the muscle for storytelling and convincing someone to buy the thing that we were building. It was humbling and it built incredible grit.
Patience is the most valuable lesson that taught me. There is no such thing as overnight success.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Yes, we’re constantly engaged in exciting new projects at Hiline.
One of our primary endeavors involves a pretty big way to reduce the finance function’s reliance on disparate excel worksheets by launching a new CFO services offering. We’ve partnered with Basis, an AI-powered planning and reporting tool that scales as companies grow, to build a scalable, FP&A-led advisory offering.
We’re also integrating additional technology vendors into our Hiline operating system. This initiative underscores our commitment to combining human expertise with cutting-edge technology, ultimately enhancing the solutions we offer.
Moreover, we’re particularly focused on fostering business growth and ensuring the successful integration of our recent acquisition of another company in the space. By expanding our capabilities and resources, we aim to provide even greater value to our clients and partners.
It’s all in support of empowering individuals and organizations with the tools and support they need to thrive in today’s dynamic business environment. Through innovative solutions and strategic partnerships, we’re dedicated to making a positive impact and helping people achieve their goals.
Thank you for that. Let’s now shift to the central focus of our discussion. Extensive research suggests that “purpose driven businesses” are more successful in many areas. When your company started what was its WHY, its purpose?
Our journey began with a desire to challenge the status quo and continues as we strive to empower businesses with the tools and support they need to thrive in a rapidly evolving landscape.
When our company started, our purpose was clear: to disrupt traditional accounting and back-office operations in order to facilitate better growth and risk mitigation for high growth businesses and nonprofits. Having spent a decade as an auditor, I also realized that the industry was stagnant, valuing conformity over curiosity and regimentation over innovation. Put bluntly: the tax, accounting, and auditing work all seemed commoditized and the thinking unchanged since at least the 1970s.
It’s also worth noting that early in my career, I was frustrated to see high-potential start-ups and small- and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) have difficulty finding the right firms to support them. There’s a lot of firms that have a mentality that they will only take on larger businesses, pushing away SMBs until they’ve gotten a bit bigger, and with a bigger budget in tow.
That’s the absolute wrong mentality. Firms can and will see pay off when they invest time with companies and their founders early-on. This gave me confidence in two things: first, there’s an opportunity to make a lasting impact on the SMB ecosystem through a new business model– increasing their likelihood of success, achieving their goals and overall survival (the high mortality rate of SMBs in the first 5–7 years is no secret) and second, investing in those companies at the right time would create a powerful brand loyalty. The companies and founders would keep coming back.
So, we saw an opportunity to approach things differently and modernize back-office operations and inject innovation into the industry. We were inspired by the moments where we saw CEOs and CFOs truly excited about their work, and we wanted to bring that same energy and enthusiasm to accounting and finance. Recognizing the need for change, we founded Hiline with the mission to disrupt traditional accounting practices and integrate technology to better serve our clients–without losing the human element.
Do you have a “number one principle” that guides you through the ups and downs of running a business?
Fail fast and move on. I’m motivated by the challenge of building a differentiated business. There isn’t a market leader in our industry yet that excites me. That also means there isn’t a playbook for how to do this and things change a lot. We fail almost on a daily basis. You have to learn how to take punches with grace. Hardship builds grit and resilience. You’re building new muscles when things get hard. But that pays dividends later. If it feels easy, you’re not trying hard enough.
If a fellow business leader would ask you for advice about whether to bootstrap or to look for VC capital, how would you help them weigh the pros and cons of that decision?
I think the job of a CEO/Founder is first and foremost capital allocation and understanding how to manage and deploy both human and financial capital. If you don’t have experience doing this, I would recommend you bootstrap a company first for 12–24 months to learn what that feels like before you take on investment.
Your job is also to provide a return for investors once you take on capital. This is where capital allocation becomes so important. It’s not a blank check. It’s also not 2021 anymore. There is far more oversight coming to the venture markets. You need to be able to demonstrate how your capital allocation decisions are yielding traction in product market fit, go to market, product milestones, team development, etc.
If you’re bootstrapped, there’s a larger chance you’ll make swift progress on all those things as you won’t have the luxury of excess capital to waste. You also have to convince others to work with you without capital. This is powerful.
What measure do you use to determine the value of a company? What advice would you give to other leaders about how to get an optimal evaluation of their business?
There are comps, valuations, and standards for how to value businesses but put simply, a business is worth somewhere between what the owner will sell it for and what someone is willing to pay for it.
If there is a true, defendable strategic position that differentiates a company from its competition AND it’s able to generate differentiated growth and/or cash flow, the valuation needle should move higher.
What are the most common finance mistakes you have seen other businesses make? What should one keep in mind to avoid that?
Most founders/operators of SMBs are intimidated by accounting and finance. They don’t speak the language. I get it, I’m an accidental accountant myself. The side of your brain you use to create a business–which is more about vision and creativity–is a different side of your brain than what you use for accounting. With that in mind, many business operators feel the need to bring on a CFO or senior finance hire. I don’t think that’s correct. It’s an overinvestment for so many companies to hire in house. While you need a strategic partner and bookkeeping, there isn’t a CFO that will be both a bookkeeper and a strategic partner helping you navigate the future.
Coming from the industry, I know that many accountants view a controller or CFO gig with an SMB as a cushy, six-figure job. Personally, I always hated that..it felt lazy to me. In those scenarios the fate of the department is that the CFO will want a small team to carry out additional back-office functions. Oftentimes, this is required because they haven’t upgraded systems to optimize their work–it’s almost self preservation.
Don’t make this mistake. There are ways to build efficiencies with tech but not neglecting human input for strategic decisions. Companies like Hiline are positioned to do just this and at a more economical price point. This will help a SMB be better set up for success long-term and with a system in place that scales with their growth.
Ok, here is the main question of our discussion. Based on your experience and success, what are the five most important things one should know in order to succeed in the modern finance industry? Please share a story or an example for each.
Modern Finance is About Embracing NOT Dismissing Tech
One thing that I’ve learned via all my experiences inside the accounting industry and working with other accounting firms–big and small–is that there is a reluctance to leverage technology. And, in a way, this makes sense. It’s hard to admit that tech can replicate a part of your offering and something that you’ve maybe spent your entire career trying to master. That can feel a bit intimidating. I believe that the accounting firms that will succeed and best help their clients are the ones embracing technology. On the flip side, companies need to be mindful about the kind of accounting firms they bring on. Do they embrace tech? Are they comfortable with the notion that things are changing and they’re not required to be human encyclopedias and understand all the nuances of tax code–as technology can be leveraged to streamline that–and then allow for more focus and energy advising and managing systems and financial strategy. That’s where businesses are going to get the most value.
Whether you’re a CFO, controller in public accounting, outsource financial operations company, or the founder of a fintech company: the expectation for what we can do and should be able to do is changing.
Brand Matters
Zooming in on the accounting industry specifically, I’ve always felt that the big four accounting firms like PwC and KPMG have strong brands. Those brands are associated with compliance, credibility, professionalism. It means something to the top 2% of businesses out there that work with them but these are massive entities. Obviously, not everyone can afford to work with the big four and the accounting firms that work with small and mid-sized businesses have to think about their brand and how brand shapes prospective clients’ perception of them.
Historically, location mattered more than brand. While there’s a lot of different companies out there doing things in the accounting and finance space, most of them have basically put a geo-fence around their city or region they work in. Because, too often, professional services–accounting, advisory, legal support, etc.–are brought on because they are local to their customers. That worked historically. Now, these firms have to be mindful of the shift to remote work cultures. Especially with attracting the next generation of clients as millennials, Gen Z, and probably even Gen X founders, are not necessarily looking for the local shop but rather the shop that’s the best fit for them — regardless of location.
Understanding that if your brand means something locally, it doesn’t necessarily carry that meaning nationally. Competing in the modern world of finance means that you have to build a brand that is agnostic to a particular region. For example, we started as Gardener & Caparelli, which sounds like your typical accounting practice. When we rebranded to Hiline, that helped us be more location agnostic and didn’t tie us to our specific neighborhood. We spent a lot of time and energy and investment in making sure that we had a brand that we felt could stand the test of time, which has helped us compete and stand out against those who are only marketing on the local level.
Being Capital Efficient
Being a capital allocator is the primary responsibility of a company leader–regardless of industry. Especially in the current economic climate with high rates and a more conservative lending environment. For businesses to navigate through that, you have to build a company that competes with those that might have resources. Being a good capital allocator comes down to two things: how you leverage your cash flow and how you invest in talent.
From my experience, as a bootstrapped company, we were able to grow really fast. We made a lot of investments in infrastructure that enabled us to scale in the long run. Without pursuing venture capital backing, we were motivated to achieve profits that we could reinvest back into the business. That allows the business to survive.
Hire the Right People
It’s not just about investing in the right technology but also finding the right people to execute off your vision and the strategy. For us, that included go-to-market sales and marketing and we had to bring in somebody who had experience with change management transformation as we transitioned from a more regional, traditional accounting practice to a tech-enabled accounting company.
Team alignment and moving in the right direction together is what’s going to move the needle. Thinking about how you can leverage existing folks and their unique skills to best serve your organization is key but there will be a need to bring on new talent. And this is expensive. Very expensive and hard. But the ROI is huge.
If you really want to build a big business, you have to hire people that are smarter than you. We knew that and we also knew that accounting isn’t the sexiest of industries. We also knew that folks that had experience at big name firms might not be amenable to working at an upstart. So, how do you solve for that? There are people that are going to be a fit for your company that might not think of pursuing the finance industry all together. But focusing on a compelling story and building your brand will help attract talent. How are you different? What do you believe in? What are you building? Knowing the answers to these questions is going to help you bring in the right talent–the kinds of people that share your vision and want to be a part of that story.
Focus on Culture and Retaining Your Talent
I’ll say it again, hiring the right people is hard and it’s expensive. So, retaining your talent is just as important as finding the right people! From my point of view, empowering your team to be a part of building out the business and making a real impact is probably the biggest way to retain talent.
Basic best practices serve every company well and from my experience, I can’t stress enough the importance of connecting an employee’s purpose with the company’s purpose. And helping them understand how their efforts translate into success and make a real impact for the business. I’ve found that the best talent doesn’t want to be a cog in the wheel. By setting a clear vision, providing opportunities for employees to solve really hard problems, and ensuring they see how their efforts make a difference (and then getting out of their way so they can do the work), you’re sure to retain the most valuable talent.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
We are in a really interesting moment in the industry. There are multiple, converging inflection points. With AI, there is a technology inflection point that can have an impact on how the work is getting done–and that’s changing rapidly. There’s also an inflection point with accounting firm leadership, with the majority of the accounting firm owners ready to retire. There’s likely massive consolidation with accounting firms on the horizon. We’re also facing a talent inflection point. The “brand” of the accounting and finance profession is still the same as it was several decades ago and there has been an ongoing decline in new talent entering the field.
This is no time to bury our heads in the sand; it’s time to innovate! Technology provides a unique opportunity to scale profitability. Further out, increased focus on how to be the “conductor of systems” versus the “doer” of manual tasks.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
It’s cool to be a responsible capital allocator. SMBs account for 98% of the US economy. Let’s celebrate and evangelize those founders driving the future of the SMB economy. There are very few unicorns in the business world. Sometimes it seems like an “all or nothing” approach works from the narrative we see coming out of the venture world, but there are far more success stories in the SMB ecosystem–and those should be celebrated!
How can our readers further follow your work online?
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattgardnercpa/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/hiline-tech-enabled-accounting/
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
About The Interviewer: Jason Hartman is the Founder and CEO of Empowered Investor. Jason has been involved in several thousand real estate transactions and has owned income properties in 11 states and 17 cities. Empowered Investor helps people achieve The American Dream of financial freedom by purchasing income property in prudent markets nationwide. Jason’s Complete Solution for Real Estate Investors™ is a comprehensive system providing real estate investors with education, research, resources and technology to deal with all areas of their income property investment needs. Through Jason’s podcasts, educational events, referrals, mentoring and software to track your investments, investors can easily locate, finance and purchase properties in these exceptional markets with confidence and peace of mind.
Starting with very little, Jason, while still in college at the age of 19, embarked on a career in real estate. While brokering properties for clients, he was investing in his own portfolio along the way. Through creativity, persistence and hard work, he earned a number of prestigious industry awards and became a young multi-millionaire. Jason purchased a California real estate brokerage firm that was later acquired by Coldwell Banker. He combined his dedication and business talents to become a successful entrepreneur, public speaker, author, and media personality. Over the years he developed his Complete Solution for Real Estate Investors™ where his innovative firm educates and assists investors in acquiring prudent investments nationwide for their portfolio. Jason’s sought after educational events, speaking engagements, and his popular “Creating Wealth Podcast” inspire and empower hundreds of thousands of people in 189 countries worldwide.
While running his successful real estate and media businesses, Jason also believes that giving back to the community plays an important role in building strong personal relationships. He established The Jason Hartman Foundation in 2005 to provide financial literacy education to young adults providing the all-important real world skills not taught in school which are the key to the financial stability and success of future generations. We’re in a global monetary crisis caused by decades of misguided policies and the cycle of financial dependence has to be broken, literacy and self-reliance are a good start. Visit JasonHartman.com for free materials and resources.
