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MainStreet

SaaS platform for automatic identity, claims, and advances for tax credits

21-100 employees
  • B2B
  • Investing
  • Financial Services
  • SaaS
75 E Santa Clara St, San Jose, California 95113, US

Company mission

To help every small business make a big impact.

Top investors

-31% employee growth in 12 months

Otta's take

Theo Margolius headshot

Theo Margolius

COO of Otta

The US tax code is so complex that even many accountants are unable to fully identify and take advantage of the rebates and credits available to early stage technology businesses. These credits can be worth tens of thousands of dollars to even small businesses, so there's a strong incentive to seek them out.

MainStreet takes on this burden for businesses by connecting to startups’ payroll and scanning the data on a monthly basis for potential federal, state, and local tax credits. It then advances 80% of the credit due to the startup so it can use the funds right away, and charge a 20% commission fee for its time.

With more than half a million new startups being created every year, MainStreet certainly has a flourishing market at its fingertips. In recent years, local governments and states are looking to attract businesses to their specific region with rebates and incentives, making the market for a platform like MainStreet bigger than ever.

The founders are ex-Google employees and successful technology entrepreneurs themselves. Founder Doug Ludlow was motivated to start the company due to his experience growing up in a city greatly impacted by the decline of big business. If smaller businesses are able to flourish, he believes that communities can continue to thrive.

Benefits

  • Health & Wellness - We cover 100% of medical, dental, life, vision, and disability insurance for you and your dependents
  • Paid Time Off - Take unlimited PTO to rest and recharge. You can’t give your best if you don’t have the energy to give
  • Parental Leave - We offer generous parental leave so you can take the time you need to care for your little ones
  • Retirement Options - Save for the future with a 401K plan that fits your retirement goals
  • In-Home “Office” Perks - We’re a remote-first company, fully distributed across 30+ states and Canada. And we just opened our first in-person office in San Jose!
  • Company Outings - We come together at least once a year to celebrate our wins, build in-person relationships, and look to what’s next

Company values

  • We won’t stop until we've helped every small business. / We come to work because we believe that we can fundamentally reshape America's economic landscape. We pursue big bets in service of our customers, and when we hit headwinds we find a path forward.
  • We’re a backyard BBQ kind of company. / Whether on Zoom or literally in each other’s backyards, joining MainStreet feels like joining a gathering of old friends. We’re committed to making sure the diversity of our customers is reflected in the team that serves them.
  • We are each responsible for the team's success. / Integrity, respect, and trust from the bottom line - we know that we can't succeed if we don't do what is right every. single. time. We’re humble as individuals so that we can accomplish great things together.
  • We trust you to do you. / We work hard, but not at the expense of everything else in life. We’re each trusted to do what’s best for us, our team, and for MainStreet. We prioritize relentlessly and support each other’s boundaries so we can all do our best work sustainably.
  • We move as fast as our customers do. / We set "impossible" goals, test new ideas, and support our people to take smart risks. We deliver results quickly, inviting feedback, and continuously iterating to co-create the best version of everything we build.

Funding (last 2 of 3 rounds)

Mar 2021

$60m

SERIES A

Jun 2020

$2.3m

SEED

$62.7m

Total funding

This company has top investors

Founders

Before MainStreet, they served as Chief of Staff for Google’s SMB and NBU Ads. They also founded Hipster (acquired by AOL in 2012) and Happy Home (acquired by Google in 2016).

Dan Lindquist

(Board Member)

Before MainStreet, they led product teams at Google and Intuit, focused on SMB and SaaS.

Diversity & Inclusion at MainStreet

  • Company culture requires commitment. We work every day to live up to what we value most. An emphasis on mental health and work-life balance is at the core of what we do.
  • Employee-Run Groups (ERGs) like Womxn@MainStreet, Black@MainStreet, LGBTQ@MainStreet

Endorsements

All

Challenging work (4)

Opportunities to learn (3)

Inspiring mission (3)

Growing fast (3)

Intelligent people (2)

Focus on employee wellbeing (2)

Clear values (2)

Career progression (1)

Autonomy (1)

Meaningful work (1)

The work at MainStreet really pushes you to being a problem solver. Regardless of your level of seniority, you're going to be asked to play a meaningful role in helping the company try to solve big challenges and reach really ambitious goals.

Operations & Strategy

Challenging work

Oct 2021

Everyone I've worked with at MainStreet is extremely compassionate. Leadership sets the tone for the whole organization that the expectation is everyone is treated with respect, and given what they need to be successful. Despite a ton of rapid growth, everyone is also great about holding you accountable to doing what you need to do to recharge; you're always treated as a human being first, and given space to set boundaries to maintain your work-life balance.

Operations & Strategy

Nice people

Oct 2021

If you see an opportunity, you're given the autonomy to pursue good ideas, and bring them forward to leadership. Managers do a good job of staying out of your way and letting you get your work done without imposing unnecessary hurdles/bureaucracy.

Operations & Strategy

Autonomy

Oct 2021

My manager takes special care to make sure the projects I'm working on are engaging and aligned with my career goals. And it's not just talk. I was on a project that I made me feel like I was on autopilot and I wanted something new. One week later I had the opportunity to take on a new feature in an area I have been wanted to explore.

Product

Opportunities to learn

Oct 2021

Giving businesses advances against their future tax credits was a revolutionary breakthrough that drove tremendous value for our customers and paved the way for tremendous growth for MainStreet. Competitors are just now catching up to the product we launched 18 months ago which is only now a sliver of our total offering. It is so invigorating to be able to shock and delight customers with new offerings each month.

Product

Innovative product

Oct 2021

Our employee count has 3x'ed in 6 months without lowering the extremely high bar we have for hiring. Our team is our most valuable asset.

Product

Growing fast

Oct 2021

In starting this job, I had never worked in the start-up industry, and had never had a traditional "sales" role. This team and company helped me dive in head first and learn as much as possible to help expel any imposter syndrome and ensure that I was really contributing to the team, and company at large.

Sales & Account Management

Opportunities to learn

Oct 2021

Every day I'm challenged and driven to bring my best due to the incredibly bright and smart people I'm surrounded by. When we have the opportunity to brainstorm as a company, the work and products we push out always impress and amaze me.

Sales & Account Management

Intelligent people

Oct 2021

Not only is this a fun and incredible place to work from a culture perspective, but I strongly feel that when I'm going out to sell, I know I'm making a difference in the lives of the customers we work with. We are allowing them to continue to grow the other startups in the United States which will revolutionize countless industries.

Sales & Account Management

Inspiring mission

Oct 2021

We work on large-scale, brand-new problems. I'd never felt challenged in my work before joining MainStreet, and I love that every day I get to come to work and create something awesome now.

Operations & Strategy

Challenging work

Oct 2021

Even though I'm fairly junior at MainStreet, I can share my opinions with everyone up to the C-level and see the impact of my opinions. Two weeks ago I provided a recommendation to the leadership team and we're now implementing it into our product, which is so cool.

Operations & Strategy

My opinions are valued

Oct 2021

I truly believe that everyone at MainStreet is here to serve our mission: to help small businesses succeed. In every discussion about growth, we center our mission and think creatively about how we can best serve small businesses.

Operations & Strategy

Inspiring mission

Oct 2021

I am constantly impressed at the caliber of my peers at MainStreet. Not only is it inspiring to be surrounded by such brilliant coworkers, but the range of backgrounds and knowledge I've been exposed to has been a great learning experience.

Operations & Strategy

Intelligent people

Oct 2021

If the savings MainStreet helps small businesses find were easy to realize, there'd be no need for MainStreet at all. The challenge of building and delivering a great customer experience in a complex regulatory environment is extremely rewarding. Particularly because the pace at which MainStreet continues to iterate and develop means there are always ongoing challenges. As such, our team is made up of eager problem solvers.

Operations & Strategy

Challenging work

Oct 2021

MainStreet clearly has a philosophy of trusting smart people to do great work. I have seen ego play zero role in any of the decision making at MainStreet. Similarly, everyone is eager to share and celebrate each others work and successes. MainStreet cares not just about great work, but great work done by great people.

Operations & Strategy

Great work is recognised

Oct 2021

MainStreet is a company with its mission, goals and values at the forefront. From day one of joining, there was transparent communication, access to information and cross functional discussions that allowed me to better understand what we were doing, where we are going and how we are getting there.

People, HR, Recruitment

Clear values

Oct 2021

I joined MainStreet because of the mission. Small businesses are the backbone of the US economy, and unfortunately, there has been an imbalance in allowing those businesses to succeed. MainStreet is here to push these businesses forward, provide them with a foundation to do this, and support them along the way. I love seeing feedback from our clients, and learning how we helped them.

People, HR, Recruitment

Inspiring mission

Oct 2021

Hands down, MainStreet is one of the most employee focused cultures, that I have been a part of. They offer benefits with their employees in mind (think, what is going to be best for them). In addition to that, our time is valued, and that means the time we are not working as well... we are encouraged to utilize our time off, to unplug and recharge, and to enjoy it. Beyond that, we have regular initiatives that empower us to focus on our wellbeing, inclusive of activities that encourage us to focus on that; some of my favorites have been, Journaling, Face Yoga (and so much more)!

People, HR, Recruitment

Focus on employee wellbeing

Oct 2021

MainStreet is the proverbial "once in a 100 lifetimes" rocket ship. The team has grown 30x in just over a year while simultaneously growing its customer base by 50x. Opportunities like this are beyond rare. If you're seeking a role at a fast-paced, high autonomy, and impactful company, where customer relationships and macro impact are top priorities, look no further.

Sales & Account Management

Growing fast

Oct 2021

Nothing we do is easy, which is why every day is a chance to up-level your skillset. There's no pre-established playbook for navigating the tax system on behalf of startups and SMBs. Automating and democratizing the tax code for all businesses is a massively complex undertaking, but it's 110% worthwhile when you learn that this work keeps businesses afloat.

Sales & Account Management

Challenging work

Oct 2021

MainStreet is fluid. We innovate and build faster than any startup I've worked for. Because of this pace, employee contributions are highly visible and widely recognized by management. In turn, many people receive greater responsibilities and scope. MainStreet also makes it a point to promote internally. Whereas this promise is made at every company, leadership actually practices what they preach.

Sales & Account Management

Career progression

Oct 2021

While growing so fast, I love that MainStreet's leaders prioritize the learning and development of employees, while still growing the company. Managers have had the opportunity to participate in leadership training with an external consulting company, we have monthly trainings through Athena, and are always encouraged to provide engaging feedback to our peers, managers and direct reports, that support moments of learning.

People, HR, Recruitment

Opportunities to learn

Oct 2021

From weekly Q&A sessions, where employees have the opportunity to ask questions on our All-Hands anonymously to our executive team, to an open PTO policy and monthly Health & Wellness themes, I feel supported both professionally and personally by everyone at MainStreet. I appreciate that the team recognizes that we are working hard, and have to work hard to keep up with all of the success - but we also need the time to reset. After all, we are people before we are employees.

People, HR, Recruitment

Focus on employee wellbeing

Oct 2021

Woah. We have new employees join every week, and new products and ideas that come along with that! I love how fast we are moving and evolving, but at the same time, we have one clear goal in mind; help every small business out there.

People, HR, Recruitment

Growing fast

Oct 2021

From starting our morning meetings with high energy music, to rallying together to plan co-working trips to Breckenridge, to piloting new products in the span of weeks - the energy of the MainStreet team is truly inspiring. I feed off the energy of my co-workers and we constantly push each other to bring out the best in each other

Product

Team energy

Oct 2021

Our mission to create jobs and opportunities for small businesses is something that we really believe in, and it motivates the team every day. The products we are building really make a difference for small businesses and it feels meaningful every day. It's incredibly inspiring to get positive feedback from our customers on the real difference that we're making in helping them run their business

Product

Meaningful work

Oct 2021

We prioritized defining our values really early in our company's life and these truly guide us. Our CEO takes time to talk to all new joiners about our values, and we weave them in regularly in our day to day. Eg. we explicitly look for values alignment during our hiring process, and we do annual 'values awards' at our offsite events to reward people who really exemplify our values

Product

Clear values

Oct 2021

Jobs (3)

All locations

Software Engineering

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