Pujun Bhatnagar, CEO & Co-Founder of Kintsugi: $8.2 Million Raised to Build the Future of Sales Tax Automation

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 Pujun Bhatnagar, CEO & Co-Founder of Kintsugi, a sales tax automation platform that's raised $8.2 Million in funding.

Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:

• Sales tax compliance on autopilot: Kintsugi simplifies the complex process of sales tax management, integrating with platforms like Shopify and QuickBooks to automate tax calculations, filings, and compliance with over 48 U.S. jurisdictions.
• Post-2018 legal shifts created opportunity: The South Dakota vs. Wayfair ruling radically changed sales tax collection, sparking Pujun's idea for Kintsugi as businesses began grappling with new compliance challenges based on customer location rather than business headquarters.
• Avalara's gap in the market: Pujun observed that incumbents like Avalara were slow to adapt to these legal shifts, leaving a gap for Kintsugi to fill with a more nimble, AI-driven solution.
• Product-led growth through a seamless onboarding: Kintsugi's GTM strategy focuses on providing immediate value—offering users a self-service platform where they can onboard and see their tax liabilities in minutes, without lengthy sales interactions.
• Building trust through transparency: To build trust in a sensitive area like taxes, Kintsugi offers detailed, auditable reports and a guarantee that covers penalties if errors occur. They focus on transparency and reliability.
• Scaling fast with the right team: Pujun emphasized the importance of assembling a strong team, scaling from 3 to 47 employees in 10 months, and aiming for exponential growth, with a goal to 10x their revenue in the next 12 months.

 

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