10 Questions Every Founder Should Ask Before Scaling | Tabs, Ali Hussain

Tabs CEO Ali Hussain on Going Slow Before Scaling Fast

Ali Hussain's guide to scaling starts with going slow. Before Tabs he spent six months interviewing finance professionals, betting that the boring back office was a large untouched market. What a founder should put in place before growth includes a core product beyond services, an initial team unlike the founder, internal leaders, clear metrics and AI embedded in every function. Hussain warns that twelve-month roadmaps can become disadvantages as technology and customers move faster, and he prefers internal people for leadership roles.

Takeaways

• Go slow before you go fast. Hussain spent almost six months before starting Tabs talking to hundreds, nearly a thousand, finance professionals to find where the pain really was. Getting the right pieces in place makes everything afterward faster, he says.
• Finance and accounting was left behind. His first investor asked why he would chase the most boring problem. The success of Zip, Ramp and Coupa, plus unicorns formed overnight, showed the opportunity was large. He faced the problem himself.
• First ten hires must differ from founder. His litmus test is that his first eight to 10 hires should not look or behave like him. Founders must add skills and diversity they lack, and the initial team should be together in New York or San Francisco. Early people compound.
• Bet on internal leaders over outside hires. Tabs makes promising people pod leads before giving them full managerial responsibility. If they crush it over three or six months, Hussain bets the farm on them. Internal people understand the product and culture best.
• CEO role shrinks as specialists arrive. In the early days the CEO sells, handles support tickets, runs operations and does marketing. After specialists are hired, the role shrinks and can become almost redundant. Documentation and enablement are the hardest muscles, and Tabs at 150-plus people is not perfect at them.
• Twelve-month roadmaps can hurt fast growers. Hussain says thinking twelve months out can be a competitive disadvantage. He is comfortable with long-term uncertainty while driving short-term customer impact. Roadmaps should follow customer impact, product-market fit and where technology is moving.
• AI mandates touch every function. Tabs has significant AI mandates across every function. Most of its post-sales team can connect into the product and build on top of it, while marketing and support get automation. Hussain tells founders to clarify what differentiates them from things AI can build easily.

Latch's hard middle

• At Latch, Hussain joined a team of fewer than 10 people, many fresh out of college and driven by belief.