The Biggest Sacrifices of Business for PayCertify’s Chase Harmer

What did you sacrifice to get to where you are today?

You have to put in a lot of money if you want to make money. I spent a lot to build something from scratch, when I could’ve lived on the money I already had. But I wanted to bring my ideas to life. So I bootstrapped the first $2M, which was tough. The more I earned, the more I put back into the company. We just got a valuation of $280M, so it feels like it has paid off. I’m proud of what we’ve been able to do.

What drives you to keep working hard each day?

I’m always looking at the big picture. No matter what we’ve achieved so far, there’s always so much more to do. I’m not interested in getting complacent with what I’ve already accomplished. I want to continually improve and I know there’s so much I can improve upon.

What advice do you have for others looking to do what you’ve done?

Start with great leaders. Make sure they lead with the same core values you want to develop in your team. That’s the basis of a strong company culture. When you’re building tech, the hardest thing is keeping your team onboard because the work is challenging. It’s exhausting. You need good leadership to keep people motivated and engaged.

You also need to hire for the right traits. You need people with capabilities that you don’t have. Know your strengths, and find strong people to fill in the gaps.

Follow Chase Harmer on Instagram and Twitter.