From a duo to almost 100 FTEs: How Lili’s co-founder refines product through her experience owning an SMB
- Lili distinguishes itself in the SMB app market with an uncommon product mix that has fueled its growth and popularity over the past five years."
- We explore Lili's journey through the eyes of co-founder and CEO Lilac Bar David, focusing on how her SMB ownership shapes the company's product development.
Small business owners have long grappled with managing multiple finance and accounting software, which can cost up to nearly $50,000 annually. Recognizing this issue, some SMB-centric platforms are beginning to offer more cohesive financial experiences. Lili is one example of this emerging trend.
What sets Lili apart in a sea of SMB-focused apps is its rare product combination, which has contributed to its growth and popularity over the past five years. The neobank integrates banking, payments, invoicing, and tax management into a single app. By combining a checking account with AI-based accounting and tax preparation tools, Lili enables business owners, including self-employed freelancers, to manage their finances, simplify tax filings using transaction data, and monitor deductions.
Lili grew to 200,000 users by May 2021. By March 2022, its user base surpassed 550,000.
Today we take a closer look at Lili’s journey from inception to evolution through the lens of co-founder and CEO Lilac Bar David, exploring how her personal experience as an SMB owner shapes her firm’s product development strategies.
From concept to creation
Co-founders Lilac Bar David and Liran Zelkha brought Lili to life in 2019. The concept for Lili was born from a gap in the market that highlighted the struggles of SMB owners to have a one-stop-shop solution to manage their businesses’ finances. Combining her personal experience with extensive research and testing, Bar David and Zelkha saw the potential to fill this gap by creating an integrated banking app.
