5 Go-to-Market Lessons from Summer’s Journey: Building a B2B FinTech in the Student Debt Crisis
Most startup advice suggests moving fast and breaking things. But Summer’s approach to the $1.7 trillion student debt crisis proves that deep domain expertise can be a powerful GTM advantage. Here are five key lessons from founder Will Sealy‘s journey from government watchdog to B2B fintech founder.
- Transform Industry Expertise into Product Authority
Before launching Summer, Will spent five years studying the student loan market from inside the government. “I was actually the first person at the agency that was looking into what the CFPB could do on a regulatory standpoint in student loans,” he explains. This expertise became crucial for product development and credibility with enterprise customers.
Rather than rushing to market, Will invested time understanding the complexity of the problem: “When I started tackling a problem as big as student debt, it wasn’t as simple as raising $25,000 and saying, okay, I can do this. It felt far more complicated.” This deep knowledge enabled Summer to build what Will describes as “almost a TurboTax like product” that navigates borrowers through over 120 federal and state loan assistance programs.
- Design Distribution for Multiple User Personas
Summer’s GTM strategy acknowledges that financial products must serve diverse user preferences. Will notes: “You have young people who are like, I don’t even pick up the phone when my mom calls. I only text… all the way through to someone who’s like, I do not do finances through an app.” This insight led to a hybrid approach combining technology with human support.
- Build Bespoke Channel Partnerships
The company’s distribution strategy leverages both employer and financial institution partnerships. Will emphasizes flexibility in these relationships: “We work with a number of financial institutions – Intuit, Fidelity, and a host of others… there’s usually very bespoke models that work within their ecosystem.” This adaptable approach enables Summer to meet partners where they are.
- Prioritize Face-to-Face Connections in a Remote World
Despite being a remote-first company, Will maintains that crucial business interactions benefit from in-person meetings. He recently secured three competitive hires by “taking each one of them out to dinner and had a proper conversation with them about the business.” For one candidate, he even “rerouted a trip back from California to New York and went to his hometown in Atlanta.”
- Start Narrow, Then Expand Strategically
Summer began with a laser focus on student debt but is now expanding into adjacent financial wellness challenges. Will explains: “There’s all kinds of financial literacy and consumer financial problems that are adjacent to this that are equally as difficult but would be as impactful to solve.” This strategic expansion builds on their core competency while addressing related customer needs.
These lessons highlight a crucial truth for B2B founders: sometimes the best GTM strategy isn’t about moving fastest, but about building the deepest understanding of your market and customers. Summer’s journey shows how domain expertise, thoughtful distribution, and human connection can create a sustainable competitive advantage in complex markets.
The approach has particular relevance for founders tackling regulated industries or complex financial products. As Will puts it, when “you’re solving something, moving it a hairline to the side for 350,000,000 people” in government, that experience can translate into building products that create meaningful change at scale in the private sector.
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