I’m a disabled founder building a financial wellness startup with $0, and a customer discovery meeting just changed who I’m building for.

I’m Ruby “SunShine” Taylor, founder of Financial Joy School®, and in Episode 7 of Building Financial Joy I share a mid-build pivot for the Financial Joy Index™. I started with banks and credit unions because I’d worked with several and knew the industry.

But asking a bank to skip the upsell is a hard sell, and every conversation drifted away from piloting my software. Then someone in HR said, “This is perfect for us to pilot for our employees.” That was real enthusiasm, and it made me rethink my whole go-to-market strategy.

I also share the apple tree advice that changed how I think about early customers: pick the low-hanging fruit. You’ll hear why employee benefits and total rewards teams may be the first market for an employee financial wellness program, what it takes to land a pilot (it’s as hard as a sale), what a pivot costs a founder in time and energy, and why I’m aiming for a December pilot launch. We’re also moving the build onto AWS with the AWS Social Impact team.

This is startup building, customer discovery, entrepreneurship, fintech, HR, employee benefits, financial wellness, and disability advocacy with nothing smoothed over. Wins, setbacks, and faith, told as they happen.

A note before you listen: I’m a stutterer and a traumatic brain injury survivor and thriver, so you’ll hear me stumble a time or two. This is my journey building a startup with zero money. Yes, yes, and yes.

New episodes every Tuesday. Learn more at Grean.US

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