"When you give people benefits that actually fit their lives, they use them" says Compt CEO/Founder

HackerNoon: What is your company in 2–5 words?

Amy Spurling: Personalized employee lifestyle benefits platform.

Why is now the time for your company to exist?

Traditional one-size-fits-all benefits are failing today's diverse workforce. Companies are struggling to support employees across different life stages, cultures, and needs. Meanwhile, employees are rightfully demanding more personalization and flexibility in their benefits. Compt solves this by enabling companies to offer truly inclusive lifestyle and workstyle benefits that fit everyone, everywhere.

What do you love about your team, and why are you the ones to solve this problem?

Our team is about as diverse as you can get. We're cross-generational and diverse racially, in gender, in country of origin, and in geographical location lines. This is our superpower and makes us the perfect team to solve the challenge of personalized lifestyle benefits. Many on the team have HR and Finance backgrounds - both of which are necessary to solve the challenges that come with a tax-compliant and budget-efficient (i.e., finance-approved) program that also has industry-setting employee engagement (HR approved). We have so many ways of approaching and reviewing problems and solutions that we can truly come up with the best solution for everyone. It has helped us run more efficiently while supporting companies with people across the globe.

If you weren’t building your startup, what would you be doing?

I'd likely be teaching entrepreneurship. There are so many start up norms that I believe need to be debunked and not further spread - hustle culture, ignoring the power of a diverse team, thinking venture funding is the only path, etc. I believe that more people seeing alternatives will build a better ecosystem. These classes exist in top universities and in tech hub cities, but I think they should also be available in junior colleges and smaller regional schools. You never know where the next amazing idea will come from!

At the moment, how do you measure success? What are your metrics?

I measure my personal success not by a metric but by checking in with myself to ensure I'm doing things every day that support (what I believe) is a more inclusive world. On a company level, success metrics are around our reach. We believe that every employee should have full access to the benefits they are eligible for, so the more people we reach, the more inclusive we can make work environments for employees.

In a few sentences, what do you offer to whom?

We offer companies a platform to provide personalized lifestyle benefits that their employees actually want and use. Our solution helps HR teams deliver inclusive benefits while giving finance teams the compliance and budget control they need. Compt is for any company that wants to move beyond the outdated cafeteria-style benefits model to something that works for their entire workforce.

What’s most exciting about your traction to date?

We're seeing incredible engagement and participation rates. Over 93% of employees are actively using their benefits through our platform. This proves what we've always believed: when you give people benefits that actually fit their lives, they use them. We're also proud that our customer base spans from fast-growing startups to enterprise-size, global companies across various industries, showing Compt works at any scale.

Where do you think your growth will be next year?

We're seeing strong demand from mid-market companies who want to compete with larger organizations for talent but need a more efficient way to deliver comprehensive benefits. There is also a lot of interest in family benefits (beyond the narrow scope of fertility) and professional development stipends, for which we're expanding our platform features. Compt also continues to grow internationally as more companies realize the need for culturally aware benefits programs for their global teams.

What’s your biggest threat?

Our biggest challenge isn't competition but inertia. Many companies are stuck in the 'this is how we've always done it' benefits mindset -- and some always will be. But as younger generations enter the workforce and demand more personalized experiences (and older generations take note and join the movement), this resistance to change becomes increasingly expensive in terms of talent attraction and retention.