Breaking Down Barriers: Origin's Mission to Make Wealth Management Accessible

In this episode of Why Work Here, Amit Matani sits down with Matt Watson, Founder and CEO of Origin, to discuss how the company is democratizing wealth management, their unique approach to product development, and what they look for in potential hires.

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What is Origin?

Origin is on a mission to become "the Charles Schwab for everybody" by creating a comprehensive personal financial management platform that makes wealth management accessible to all. As Matt explains:

"We are a leading personal financial management application. So the easiest way to think about us is like a private bank for everybody. When we looked at the personal financial management space, we saw that it's very fragmented and complicated. If you have a ton of money, you've got someone to take care of that for you. And we wanted to build that same experience, but bring it from the top 1% down to everybody else."

The company is addressing a critical gap in the financial services ecosystem. While the wealthy have access to comprehensive wealth management services and there are numerous solutions for those at the lower end of the income spectrum, the middle market remains underserved—forced to juggle multiple applications to manage their financial lives.

Origin's solution combines investment management, tax preparation, estate planning, financial tracking, subscription management, and more into a single platform, essentially functioning as "a combination of Wealthfront, TurboTax, Mint.com, and estate planning all in one."

A Founder's Journey: From Wall Street to Silicon Valley

Matt's journey to founding Origin began on Wall Street, where he worked at Citigroup before deciding to pursue entrepreneurship in the tech industry. After moving to San Francisco and successfully selling his first company, his financial situation changed dramatically—giving him firsthand insight into how the financial services industry operates.

"It was eye opening for me. You kind of realized that there's this world when you do have some money where people want to help you manage it. And what I realized in doing that was that this industry is actually very uneven and technology generally makes most industries more even."

This realization, coupled with the evolution of financial technology infrastructure that made it easier to build compound financial products, led Matt to create Origin—a platform designed to democratize access to sophisticated financial tools and advice.

Building a Product People Love: The Press Release Approach

When it comes to product development, Origin takes a unique approach inspired by Airbnb—the press release model:

"What is just the absolute most exciting and impressive way we could solve this user problem? And how would we articulate that to the rest of the world? That's been a really helpful way to think about product. Because ultimately, you can build a product and solve the pain point, but if you can't explain it to the world and why it's really important, it's so hard to get it out the door."

This approach prevents the team from getting lost in the details and helps them maintain focus on creating solutions that genuinely excite users. As Matt puts it:

"We literally say those things. Like, 'No one's going to love that.' And I think you have to get comfortable being open and honest and seeking truth in these things. If you shared this with your peers, would they say, 'Wow, that's really helpful'? And I think if you're not getting that response, we should go back to the drawing board."

This commitment to building something people love is deeply embedded in the company's culture and decision-making process.

From Solo Vision to Team Ideation: A Founder's Evolution

Like many founders, Matt initially drove most of the product ideas at Origin. But as the company grew, he discovered the value of empowering his team to contribute:

"I think the way it happened for me was people just started to have better ideas than me. And being open to that, like, 'I hadn't thought of that.' The more that happens, you're like, wait a second, these people are closer to it than I am on a day-to-day basis. They're talking to our customers every day."

This shift wasn't without challenges. Matt acknowledges the "constant push and pull around what height you should have as a founder when it comes to the product." But by fostering an environment where ideas can come from anywhere—including engineers, designers, and other team members not specifically on the product team—Origin has created a culture of innovation that transcends traditional roles.

The Scrappy, Resourceful Culture

One of Origin's core values is being "scrappy and resourceful," a principle that has become even more critical in today's capital-constrained environment. Matt explains how this manifests in practice:

"Ideas are not unique. I think a lot of the ways to improve things or businesses to build are pretty obvious. The advantage that a startup has is that they can just move more quickly. Our competitors are smart people. They all went to great schools. They all have great backgrounds. The only way that we can win is just by moving faster."

This mindset translates into concrete actions, such as finding creative, cost-effective alternatives to expensive agency work:

"We're launching a product video—if you go to an agency and ask them to help you with a two-minute video, you might get quoted 150 or 200 grand. So what do we do? We went on Upwork and we find someone super talented who's willing to do that for $8,000. We can get a tremendous product and tremendous outcome by maybe taking one more step of work on our own using some of these AI tools."

By embracing this "do more with less" philosophy, Origin has turned resource constraints into a competitive advantage.

What Origin Looks for in Candidates

When it comes to hiring, Matt emphasizes two key attributes:

"I think intellectual curiosity is massive. Probably the biggest thing. Second to that would be drive and maybe a chip on your shoulder to get something done."

He cautions against being overly impressed by candidates' past associations with successful companies, noting that there can be a "huge halo effect" for people who worked at prominent tech companies during their growth phases. Instead, Origin focuses on finding people who demonstrate genuine intellectual curiosity and drive, which aligns with their core values.

For candidates looking to stand out in the application process, Matt offers this advice:

"The easiest way to stand out: take a few minutes to download the product, use it, and give a few pieces of feedback. If you're coming in and you're a growth PM, download the app and give me some feedback on the onboarding funnel. 'Hey Matt, we haven't met. I'm interested in growth at Origin. I downloaded the app, and I saw that the way that you're collecting data between your basic customer signup data, you're using too many screens. You're using six screens there, and I think we need to condense this to three, and I think you'd convert 25% better.' Oh my gosh, I want to meet this person badly."

This approach not only demonstrates initiative but also gives candidates an opportunity to showcase their skills and thinking in a way that's directly relevant to the role they're applying for.

Looking Ahead: The Future of Origin

As Origin looks to the future, the team is focused on leveraging AI to bring more automation to financial management:

"There's a lot of things that we learn about people and ways that they can improve their finances that they have to go and then take action on. So they've got to go and refinance a loan or they have to go negotiate a bill or cancel a subscription or change an investment allocation. And I think that the ultimate version of our product, or what it would be like if you worked with a financial advisor, is they would just do those things for you."

By continuing to innovate and automate these processes, Origin aims to simplify financial management for its users further, making it "less complicated and less onerous" to achieve financial well-being.

Why Work at Origin?

For candidates considering a career at Origin, the appeal goes beyond just building an innovative product. It's about working on a mission that addresses one of the most significant sources of stress in people's lives:

"Finances are the number one driver of stress for adults in the country. And it's a part of life that regardless of income is stressful. If you don't have a lot of money, you have a very unique set of financial challenges. And I think maybe the disappointing part of that is when people get more, they have a new set of problems to figure out. It doesn't go away. But what you can do is come up with a plan."

By joining Origin, you become part of a team that's creating tools to alleviate this universal stress—helping people make better financial decisions and ultimately increasing prosperity across the board.

The company, which is just under 100 people, operates with a remote-first approach while maintaining offices in São Paulo, New York City, and San Francisco. With approximately two-thirds of the team focused on product, engineering, and design, Origin offers a truly product-centric environment where innovation is valued and ideas can come from anywhere.

For those passionate about making a meaningful impact on people's financial lives while working in a fast-paced, resourceful culture that values intellectual curiosity and drive, Origin represents an exciting opportunity to contribute to the future of personal financial management. View Origin's open roles here.