Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Matt Watson, CEO & Founder of Origin, a financial wellness platform for the modern workforce that has raised over $70 Million in funding.
Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:
- From Wall Street to Startup: Matt transitioned from a corporate role at Citigroup to becoming a successful tech founder, driven by a desire to bring professional money management to employees everywhere.
- Early Entrepreneurial Lessons: Starting with a snow shoveling business at age 12, Matt’s entrepreneurial journey was heavily influenced by his small business owner parents.
- Indio’s Success: Matt's first company, Indio, was a vertical SaaS company that provided workflow management for commercial insurance agents, achieving a significant exit and returning over 100 times initial capital to early investors.
- Financial Wellness Vision: Origin aims to offer the same level of financial advice and management to everyday employees that CEOs receive, addressing the widespread stress and complexity associated with money management.
- Conviction in Vision: Despite early rejections, Matt’s unwavering belief in the necessity of financial wellness benefits for employees helped secure initial customers and drive Origin’s growth.
- Market Adaptation: When faced with a downturn in benefits spend, Origin successfully pivoted to focus on core financial services, demonstrating resilience and adaptability.