Bill.com's Founder & CEO, René Lacerte, Launches Small Biz Forum With AskLacerte.com Blog

Lacerte Uses Four Generations of Entrepreneurship Lessons to Open Discussion With Other Entrepreneurs on Business Issues


PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwire - February 7, 2008) - This week, Bill.com Founder and CEO René Lacerte launched a new blog called AskLacerte.com, featuring insights to many aspects of running a business. In an effort to provide businesses with less than 500 employees a business forum and to build new opportunities to network and collaborate, Lacerte's blog will feature articles, research and other useful links for entrepreneurs. Some of the topics for his columns will include Starting a Business 101: the 5 Essential Elements; Creating a Culture; Raising Money; Attracting Great Talent & Hiring the Right People; How to Set Up and Leverage an Infrastructure; How to Automate and Become a Paperless Business; Managing Your Cash Flow; Growing Your Employees from 1-100; and Customer Service: The Core of a Great Business.

"For more than 18 years, I have worked in the finance, software and payment industries, specifically targeted at helping provide efficiency/productivity tools for small to mid-sized businesses. I spent a great deal of time talking to other entrepreneurs and combing the business trades, newspapers and the Web for information that would help me be successful as an entrepreneur and business owner," said René Lacerte. "AskLacerte.com is a vehicle to pass on some of the valuable lessons I have learned on the job, from my research and from my family. There are 25 million businesses in the United States that need productivity tools for managing their finances and other aspects of their business. It is my hope that the content on AskLacerte.com may provide some turnkey solutions and ideas that will help them be more successful."

Lacerte founded Bill.com in April 2006, built from a legacy of four generations of entrepreneurs. Back in June 2004, Inc. Magazine ran a feature titled "It Runs In The Family," highlighting how the Lacertes have made building businesses a family tradition. René learned more about running a business from his father and grandfather at the dinner table than most learn from an M.B.A program. It all started with Arthur Lacerte (Rene's great-grandfather) in 1910, who started a general store in Canada. And, almost a century later, the Lacertes have launched or started more than 15 companies all over North America, including Lacerte Software which was sold for $400 million to Intuit in 1998 by René's cousins Larry and Phil.

René Lacerte's Expertise

Lacerte developed the concept for Bill.com based on personal experience growing several new businesses. Bill.com is a Software as a Service (SaaS) company that provides businesses automated billing and bill management services. Prior to Bill.com, René co-founded America's #1 online payroll service, PayCycle, which now employs over 100 people and serves over 50,000 customers. PayCycle has received multiple 5-star awards from PC Magazine and numerous accountant trade publications. At PayCycle, Lacerte developed an industry-leading customer service organization that provides an unparalleled customer experience to build loyalty. For both of these ventures, Lacerte successfully secured more than $45 million in financing. Lacerte also spent five years at Intuit, creating and managing the company's payroll and bill presentment teams and growing its bill payment and credit card businesses. He received a Masters of Science degree and Business Administration degree in Economics and Quantitative Economics from Stanford University.

"René's successful entrepreneurship and leadership skills have allowed him to create strong cultures that attract, motivate and develop the best employees," said Tom Blaisdell, General Partner at DCM, one of Bill.com's key investors. "His passion to solve inefficient systems with simpler, faster and more affordable solutions has attracted key vendors, customers and investors throughout his career."

About Bill.com

Based in Palo Alto, Calif., Bill.com simplifies and automates business finances. It allows companies to pay, receive and send bills with the click of a mouse, saving substantial time so companies can focus on growing their businesses. Bill.com is an online bill management service that allows companies to store all documents, related processes and transactions in one place, so financial stuff can be easily and securely accessed from anywhere, any time. Unlike traditional accounting systems with after-the-fact reporting, Bill.com is the first and only low-cost bill management service that gives companies a real-time daily view of anticipated cash flow while simultaneously processing transactions. This allows companies to more effectively plan, forecast and make smarter financial decisions. For more information visit www.Bill.com or watch the Bill.com video at Bill.com Video.

Contact Information: Contact Info: Cathy Sperrazzo Eye-To-Eye Communications, Inc. 858-565-9800

Rene Lacerte, Bill.com Founder and CEO