Meet Lara Hodgson | Co-Founder, President & CEO, NowAccount Network Corporation (Now®)

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lara Hodgson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lara, do you disagree with some advice that is more or less universally accepted?
I disagree that you have to be passionate about “what” you do. I believe that you have to be passionate about the “so what” that you do. Many entrepreneurs are passionate about their “what” – their product or service. As a result, human nature causes them to not REALLY listen. If someone suggests changes or improvements, the initial reaction is to defend the product/service because that is where the creator’s ego sits. If, instead, you can be passionate about your “so what”, your impact, and not on your “what”, then when you hear suggestions, you are open minded and all ears.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
NowAccount® grew out of a failure. Stacey and I were trying to scale our business and as we took on larger customers with larger orders, it took longer to get paid. When we sold to small companies, they typically paid with a credit card. But when we sold to larger companies they wanted an invoice with Net 30 terms and even then would take 45+ days to pay the invoices. We realized that we were going to GROW out of business instead of go out of business because we were the free bank to our business and government customers. If we had to wait to get paid, then how could we pay our employees and vendors? Everyone told us to get a line of credit or try factoring but that made no sense because we should not have to take on risky debt or factoring just to lend the dollars to our customers. Sitting at lunch one day we realized that retailers and restaurants NEVER wait to get paid because they accept credit cards for payment. But B2B customers won’t pay immediately with a card because they prefer an invoice that lets them pay later. The idea for NowAccount was born! NowAccount is the first payment system that enables a small or mid-sized business to get paid immediately when they deliver their good/service and send an invoice to their customer. They simply upload a copy of the invoice or connect their Quickbooks and they get paid their actual revenue (not a loan or factoring) in 2 days even though their customer won’t pay the invoice for 30+ days. It feels like accepting a credit card for payment and nothing changes for their customer except for the remittance address. The customer pays when and how they normally would and makes the payment out to the small business but remit the payment to an account NowAccount controls.

I often say we are a 10-year overnight success. The only thing I have done that rivals this in difficulty is start a charter school for underserved kids in SW Atlanta. At Now® we just recently accelerated our $1 billionth dollar of invoices to small businesses and the impact is that our clients grow exponentially, create countless jobs and drive both generational wealth for themselves and economic prosperity for their communities. NowAccount is changing the way businesses get paid so that the “small” in small business” is not a permanent status,

We have had more than 9 lives and I pull rabbits out of hats daily. The truth is that the key to being a successful entrepreneur is staying alive long enough to get lucky. We are only here today to have the impact we are having because of our team – our colleagues work every day to serve small businesses, our partner, Goldman Sachs is dedicated to improving the lives of One Million Black Women, our investors support and push us and our clients are the reason we get up each day eager to make a difference.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Atlanta is an entrepreneur. She has pursued goals without regard for resources under her control. She was crazy enough to think she could host the Olympic Games. She exists because the railroad ended here. So when people visit Atlanta I love to show them all of the things that make Atlanta the contrarian She is. We would visit the tree-lined urban neighborhoods that make Atlanta the most heavily wooded city in North America. We would spend a day tailgating at Georgia Tech before a football game and see the vibe of a university that came across the highway to invigorate the city. We would ride on the beltline and stop for lunch at Ponce City Market. We would climb Stone Mountain and spend a day at Fernbank. We would spend a day at Serenbe and enjoy amazing food and outdoor theatre. We would see a show at the Fox Theatre. We would spend an afternoon at Terminus Wake Park. We would spend Saturday morning at the local Peachtree Farmer’s Market which shows the best of Atlanta with friendly people supporting businesses of all kinds while local musicians play and kids run around.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My shoutout goes to Stacey Abrams. Stacey and I met in Leadership Atlanta in 2004, as described in the first chapter of our book, “Level Up: Rise Above the Hidden Forces Holding you Back.” We both had full-time, high ranking positions in large organizations and we both had strong “so whats.” We gave each other the courage to step out as reluctant entrepreneurs. What is most intriguing to others, and most worthy of more than a shout out, is that Stacey and I come from different backgrounds, have different ideologies, and would be considered opposites on most every axis. In this increasingly polarized and politicized world, people often ask how we each overcome the challenge of working with someone who we often disagree with. Our response is, “You are asking the wrong question. You assume it is a challenge to be overcome, when in fact we have chosen for it to be our super power.” Surrounding oneself with like-minded individuals is certainly comfortable and convenient, but it does not make you successful or significant. To innovate you have to be able to look at a problem or issues from 360 degrees and you have to use your friction to stay focused on the end goal, the “so what.” I am forever grateful to Stacey for challenging me without judging.

Website: https://www.nowaccount.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nowcorp/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larahodgson/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NOWaccount

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lara.hodgson

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@nowteam594