We had the opportunity to interview Alice Cheng, the co-founder and CEO of TaxDrop. TaxDrop was founded in 2016 as a mobile app that connects users with a licensed CPA for tax preparation. The company currently has a live crowdfuding campaign.
Q. Can you tell us a bit about yourself and TaxDrop? When was your company first launched?
A. TaxDrop automates tax season for consumers, from gathering tax documents to filing the tax returns. Users are connected with a licensed CPA via mobile app and simply snap pics of anything such as W-2's/1099's. All it takes is ten minutes. Featured at TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2017, the TaxDrop app is currently available for download on the Apple (AAPL) App Store. The tax industry is an $11B market with over 149M individual returns filed annually. The TaxDrop founders all have financial experience from Deloitte, Moody's, and CPA tax/accounting experience.
I graduated from Rutgers Business School in 2015 and started my career in International Tax at Deloitte, gathering my experience in high-wealth and multinational tax planning. The roots for my individual tax experience started before I had graduated and soon I found the two professional experiences enabled me to combine my core competencies into something extremely helpful for the consumer. TaxDrop launched during tax season 2017.
Q. At what point did you realize you had a viable business model?
A. I can’t owe it to a specific moment in time, but each time speaking with consumers for feedback validated TaxDrop’s business model and made it stronger. In the early stages for TaxDrop, we had tabled at a local NYC coffee shop for an entire weekend from 7 AM through the afternoon just so we could meet and share TaxDrop with busy locals, the exact type of people we were hoping would use TaxDrop in the future. Since then, we’ve had tremendous support and fantastic encouragement to push forward to make TaxDrop a reality.
Q. Describe the features you have in TaxDrop's app. Are you planning on implementing new features in the future?
A. TaxDrop is rolling out new features within the existing iOS app and the first user web portal to make tax filing easier than ever. TaxDrop is integrating Plaid API to make 365 days’ worth of transactions more accessible and quicker to share with the CPA. The web portal will work smoothly even for bulkier documents or excel files that clients may want to drop in. As future developments roll out, all will turn the 10 minutes it currently takes to get through tax season even faster.
Q. Are you looking for additional funding or have a crowdfunding campaign? If so, what are you looking for in a potential investor, and how can interested readers get in touch/learn more?'
A. TaxDrop is currently live on Republic.co/taxdrop until Halloween! It’s a great opportunity for investors and TaxDrop alike because we get to have an open dialogue with real consumers who are as interested in the product as we are. For most investment levels, we match the investor’s contribution with that much in TaxDrop credit, so it’s a rewarding crowdfunding campaign for all!
Q. Was it always your goal to have your own company?
A. It was always my goal to contribute to the world and making taxes easier is my way of doing that! Accounting seems like a field that people don’t normally touch unless you’re a professional in it. Thus I feel the growth in this industry has been slow. Being that we are now in 2017, the time for automation has been long overdue.
Q. What makes your company different from others in your space?
A. TaxDrop is different from others because we are foremost a team led by professionals in the field who have deep expertise. Our mission and product is focused on automation and not merely creating portals which already exist. In 5 years TaxDrop will have successfully removed “to-do’s” from the consumer’s hands, not needing them to gather any tax documents because machine learning can gather everything for them to file their taxes.
Q. How do you ensure that your user's documents and data are kept private and secure?
A. All photos and documents are encrypted. TaxDrop is powered by Amazon Web Services and has a web of security protocols, from time-expiring URLs to double authentication protocols. Our backend designer specializes in security having come from the fintech company Yipitdata, where he worked with key and confidential information.
Q. What was the final push that lead you to take the risk to create your own company?
A.Realizing that the time is always now. There is no amount of waiting or gathering “experience” that will make you more prepared to start your own company than to simply start.
Q. What kind of traction does your product have? Have you hit any major milestones?
A.TaxDrop had a soft launch in March 2017 and has been rapidly growing since. Between being featured at TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2017 and speaking at various radio stations like WGN Chicago Radio, TaxDrop has seen great potential and traction. Between partnerships with resident buildings in NYC and exposure in press to promote the "life-hack" reputation, TaxDrop is on track to acquire 3000 users by end of spring 2018. Many business owners have demanded TaxDrop services and trends show that TaxDrop will release a business-focused platform by next year.
Q. Who was the greatest help in creating TaxDrop?
A. “It takes a village to raise a child”—It definitely took the support, advice, and guidance from every founder, investor, consumer, and mentor that we have met to be where we are today and where we will continue to grow. You can’t go wrong listening to the customer and I believe TaxDrop’s history was chiseled by all the fantastic advice we’ve gathered from those more experienced than us.
Q. If you could go back in time and give yourself one piece of business/financial advice, what would it be?
A. I am a first-time founder so during my short experience as TaxDrop’s business mind, I’ve learned many things. One of the most important being that you need to have a very specific plan always, and it’s okay if it changes—as long as you have a plan. Plans always need to be bolstered by real data, so before spending a dime on anything, seek market validation and make sure that there’s confirmation beyond your own mind that the business will stick. Something that I have been careful about since the beginning and still am is prudent cash flow. It’s the blood of the company and without it, you’re out of business.
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