Meet Camden!

Camden Bean didn't set out to build software for accountants; he grew up around them. After dropping out of college to join Divi, a fintech startup founded by his uncle, Camden helped take the company from zero to $100M in ARR in two and a half years before it was acquired by Bill.com. From there he ran a $100M venture fund, got hooked on what AI could actually do, and eventually built Ping — the "client intelligence" platform now used by firms from top-20 shops down to solo practitioners.

In this episode, Camden and Zane get into why the word "advisory" has become meaningless in the accounting industry, why Camden thinks firms should be building an MRC instead of a CRM, what it actually takes to make AI agents useful for client work, and the one thing every firm needs to do right now to be ready for what's coming. They also swap new-dad stories, talk about why Camden dropped out of school, and close out with a rapid-fire round covering audiobooks at 2x speed and butter chicken.

Timestamps

00:00 — Welcome, Camden Bean

03:50 — Studying accounting, then dropping out to join Divi full-time

07:12 — His honest take on the four-year college degree

09:32 — Inside Divi's early days: unpaid intern to core team

13:39 — Raising and running a $100M venture fund

16:05 — The idea that became Ping

21:28 — Why an engineering-only support team changes everything

23:52 — Building and motivating a team without leaning on money

34:41 — Why Ping stays laser-focused on accounting, not every industry

37:11 — Forget the CRM — build an MRC (Managing Relationships with Clients)

43:35 — Camden's #1 piece of advice for firms getting ready for AI agents

45:21 — Fatherhood, free time, and what's next

46:55 — Rapid-fire round

Key Takeaways

- "Advisory" has become a buzzword nobody can define. Camden argues the industry needs real, specific playbooks

- Build an MRC, not a CRM. Static systems that just store client data aren't the point — the value is in a system that proactively surfaces what to do next.

- AI-readiness starts with data aggregation.

- Responsibility motivates more than money.

- Relationships open the door; the product keeps people.

Notable Quotes

"Nobody knows what advisory means. It's all ethereal."

"We're building the opposite of a CRM. We're building an MRC — we're helping you manage your relationships with your clients."

"If you're not putting your data in a place that's easily queryable by other agents... that is the most important thing you can do right now."

Connect with Camden

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/camden-bean/

Business - https://www.pingassistant.com/