The Achieve Podcast - Sam Strasser (Treasure Financial)

Welcome to another episode of the Achieve Podcast, the show where we highlight leaders, creators, entrepreneurs who are building meaningful businesses, shaping their industries, and having an impact. I'm Taylor Baker Baker, your host, and excited today to be joined by Sam Strasser, the founder and CEO of Treasure Financial, and you can find them at treasurefi.com. Sam, thanks for joining us. And give us the backstory. How did you get into this space with this niche and who are you currently serving?

Yeah, great to be here, Taylor. Thanks for inviting me on. Um, so Baker got started in 2018, uh, really came about from last business I had. Uh, we had about 10 months of cash sitting on the balance sheet, wasn't doing anything, and, um, went to the bank, tried to negotiate something a little bit better. You know, that didn't go, uh, in the direction I was hoping and Started to really look for other options with our cash. Was introduced to the CFO of Airbnb at the time, and he really introduced me to the world of corporate treasury. Was very quickly taken aback by just how effective that department was and how, at least inside Airbnb, 30% of the revenue was driven from this department of corporate treasury. I would say the first principle was, and really what it boiled down to was they were incredible stewards of their capital. They had created a bunch of different systems and tactics that enabled them to put every dollar inside the business to its highest and best use. And so took, you know, roughly a lot of those concepts and strategies applied to the business, increased our bottom line by about 7% just that year alone, and was kind of like the aha moment of, you know, why isn't every company out there doing the same thing. And so sold basically all my shares to my partner and 2018 went full-time, started Treasure. And that was over in Santa Monica, or sorry, in San Francisco. And we've about a year and a half ago moved the company from San Francisco to Scottsdale. And so that's where we're located now today. Wow.

And how big is the team and the organization?

Uh, so we have a team of about 7 right now, and, um, we've, uh, started to really lean in hard to the Agentic AI space. Um, that's really helping us, I would say, overhaul our entire operations. Uh, really got, I would say, uh, involved with that and started to apply that back in 2024. So we've been, you know, doing it here for, you know, a little bit, but the evolution of it is always changing the game. We're constantly finding new things, new capabilities. And new ways to apply it in the business.

Wow. And so with the, with the adapt and growth of the business itself, who's your ideal client right now?

Yeah, so we work with a lot of— we work directly with businesses, US-based entities or, you know, foreign companies that have a US-based entity. And really, I would say small, medium-sized businesses is who we focus on, you know, enabling them to really become the best financial stewards with our platform. And so what we have is a B2B platform, make it really easy to connect all your accounts. You open up a Treasury Reserve account and, you know, we're able to get you, you know, much better yield and in a diversified way for, for basically all your idle cash. And so we make it really easy to identify the idle cash, put it into an investment account. We do everything else for you.

Wow. Wow. So at this stage for the business, what would you say is driving growth for you guys?

I would say, you know, there's quite a bit of our customer service, I'd say, is probably one of the biggest factors that separates us. I would say if you look at Mercury, Ramp, RO, all the other, I would say, treasury offerings out there, they're all pretty much delivering the same exact thing, same, you know, money market fund or the same, you know, treasury ETF. What Treasure does is we have 3 different vehicles— managed money market, managed treasuries, and managed income. And so you can allocate basically your cash across all 3 of them. But everything is always being optimized, you know, every single month so that you're getting really the most effective mix of funds within each vehicle. And so everything's actively managed. Our fees are also, you know, I'd say quite a bit better than what you're going to get anywhere else. And so I'd say really the overall experience is really the, the biggest factor that separates us.

Now, looking for you personally, what turning points, positive or negative, have molded the way you think about running the organization?

What turning points? Is that what you're saying? Yeah. Gosh, I mean, starting this company, you know, really on the precipice of the pandemic, making our way through the pandemic, having to figure out, you know, a completely new way of managing and operating the business. You know, prior to the pandemic, I'd never run a distributed company. Everyone was always in-house where we always had a central kind of headquarters. That was, you know, I'd say probably the biggest challenge for me was learning how to operate the company in a completely new way. You know, we're also a venture-backed business. And whenever you raise venture funding, you're, you know, essentially, yeah, taking in, you know, certain inputs that drive the— that drive the business in a certain direction. It's really, you know, when you raise your A, you know, it's all about what do you need to do to achieve your Series B and, you know, kind of get on that hamster wheel. And so getting off of that, really figuring out, okay, what does this company need? To operate in the long run. You know, what are the economics that are really driving the business? You know, figuring all of those pieces out so that it's not just building the business for, you know, the next fundraise, but building the business for, you know, sustainability. That was, I think, you know, something that— a lesson that I learned and relearned again.

And as you try to grow and expand, what have been the biggest bottlenecks or obstacles that keep showing up?

I mean, gosh, there's, there's so many on that front, but I would say just the evolution of technology. You know, that's something that we're, you know, first and foremost a technology company. We're operating a, you know, a platform as a service, you know, in a highly regulated space as well. And so, I mean, there's, there's quite a bit of quite a bit of bottlenecks, you know, everything from compliance to, you know, creating new products, you know, basically working through our roadmap, getting things launched, you know, all doing that in this space that's evolving every day in rapid form. So, you know, just really navigating all of that is what, you know, every leader has to essentially figure out for themselves. You know, how are those, those Are the macro tailwinds something that you can take advantage of? How are the headwinds going to be impacting you and what do you need to do to prepare ahead of time? You know, what's the evolution of the team need to look like so you're operating efficiently and then, you know, staying consistent. I'd say finding ways to maintain consistency is always what we're trying to figure out.

Yeah. Now, when it comes to your outreach, your messaging, your marketing, what have you found been working well? And where are you filling the gaps and frustrations?

So, I mean, we do quite a bit of outbound. I'd say that that's been our most effective form because ultimately everything we do is built on trust. And so we need to make sure we start with building the relationship, focusing on the customer, what are their needs. Everything we do day in, day out is ultimately a question of how can we serve the customer better. And so that's, that's really, I would say, the approach we're taking the mindset that we maintain on a daily basis.

Okay. Now, you had mentioned earlier with AI and the changing that's been happening there, where have you guys found ways internally to utilize it and where do you still see opportunity?

Yeah, I mean, we've actually started to integrate it, you know, throughout every aspect of the business. I would say, you know, compliance was a big part of it. You know, that was something that we could start to automate a lot of the checks and balances and audit trails that we need to maintain organization. Of all the documents. And, you know, and then on the customer success side, you know, that has certainly, you know, I'd say increased our ability to know where the customer is at. You know, what is it that they're dealing with, you know, in their market and their sectors, what impacts are taking place to their business? And ultimately, how does that change the services that we can offer them? You know, on the product side, obviously, you know, automating a lot of the organization, you know, making sure that we're even just our daily sprints, you know, from, you know, the notes it's taking to the actions that it's reminding us of. I mean, our agents these days are, I'd say, you know, some of the main drivers of the business. And so I think, yeah, I mean, we're utilizing it every which way, especially on the sales side. You know, I've been able to basically maintain a whole sales program, uh, with, uh, you know, no more than, than a single person operating it. That's because of really all the tools that we're able to leverage nowadays.

Wow. That's so true. It's amazing what somebody using it properly can— how much work they can do.

Yeah. It's, uh, definitely an order of magnitude, you know, greater than now, even I'd say 2, 3 years ago.

Yeah. Yeah. Now when you think about the next stages of the business, Sam, what are you most excited about?

I'm really excited just about the evolution of stablecoins, how blockchain is really changing the movement of money, you know, the capabilities, but also the financial feasibility of it. I mean, it's a lot cheaper. And I'd say now that it's pretty much commercialized and being adopted in every area of finance, I think that's going to be something that's going to really just increase the speed of evolution when it comes to financial capabilities, you know, commerce on a global scale. That's, that's probably the area I'm most excited about.

Well, now when you look back at your own journey, the wins, the mistakes, what lessons stand out to you? And what do you wish you understood sooner?

You know, I think it's— it really comes back to investing in the people that you work with, you know, making sure that you have a culture that is something exciting, that, you know, even when, you know, passion maybe isn't at its peak, you know, you have a group of people that that camaraderie and that environment just keeps you going. And so I think, yeah, investing in the people, you know, first and foremost is definitely, I think, The most important lesson I've, you know, continue to learn over and over again.

I love that. Even when passion's not at its peak, it's like, that's that culture that sustains it.

Yeah, exactly.

So Sam, last question. If you had to pick one constraint to focus on and solve over the next 90 days, what would it be?

Hmm. Um, one constraint. I would say probably prototyping and testing, you know, 4 or 5 different things that we have that we're pretty excited about. Just increasing how we test, the creativity of it, you know, finding unique ways to test it. You know, really just, you know, where can we find that alpha, you know, that translates into a better product experience for the customer.

Wow, I love that. So again, thank you for coming on, Sam. Any final words or thoughts for our listeners and others on a similar journey?

No, I mean, I definitely understand just the, uh, the challenges that every leader faces. Um, I mean, it's, it's definitely a, uh, a lonely journey at times, but, uh, you know, getting out, talking about it, you know, integrating, uh, your passions into the company itself. I mean, that's all the, the pieces that, that make it, you know, a much more fun journey all around.

And to your point, the culture of that makes it so much more bearable, so much more enjoyable, because you're going to have those low moments.

Yeah, exactly.

Wow. And again, for those who want to reach out and learn more, um, they can go to LinkedIn, they go to treasurefy.com. Where else can we send them?

Yeah, uh, I mean, that's, uh, I would say reach out to us. You definitely can find me on LinkedIn. I'm Yeah, TreasureFire or treasurefinancial.com, definitely the best way to take a look at our product. I would love to help you out. You can also shoot me an email, sam@treasure.tech. Would love to connect and learn more about the business.

That's awesome. Well, thank you, Sam, so much. And thank you to today's sponsors, Achieve Fractional, which provides fractional executive leadership for growing businesses. And if you enjoyed the episode, share it with a friend, with a colleague. If you have some extra business cash sitting there instead of gaining a small percentage, reach out to Sam and the team. They can show you how to maximize its efficiency. And like you said at the beginning, being a good steward over the resources you have. And so that's what Sam and his team will help you do. That's right. So reach out to Sam. Thank you again, Sam, for joining us, and we will see you on the next episode of the Achieve Podcast.