We Built Thryve to Be the Anti-Accountants

Most people do not get excited about accounting. We understand, because for a long time, neither did we.

That is a strange thing for the co-founders of an accounting firm to admit. But it is the truth, and it is also the whole reason Thryve exists. When we, Nic Barbagallo and Tony Lappostato, sat down to talk about how we ended up here, we kept landing on the same idea: we set out to build the firm we wish we had run into years ago. The anti-accountant firm.

Where the anti-accountant idea comes from

"The word accounting made me cringe most of my life." That is Nic, and he means it. He dreaded accounting classes in college, to the point of nightmares about failing them. Not exactly the origin story you expect from someone who now does this for a living.

That history matters, because it is where the mission came from. Accounting has a stigma, and a lot of it is earned. Too many firms are cold, jargon-heavy, and hard to reach. You hand over your books, you get back a report you do not fully understand, and you feel a little smaller for having asked. We wanted to be the opposite of that. Anti-accountants. A firm built on empathy and a real connection with the people we work with, not on making anyone feel behind.

From intimidated to hooked

Tony came into accounting from the other direction, out of a sales and business development background. Walking into a technical field as the new person was, in his words, intimidating.

"It was and it still is kind of intimidating," he says, "but it has been really exciting and rewarding to just feel like I am starting from scratch." That is the part worth sitting with. The intimidation did not go away and turn into boredom. It turned into curiosity. Learning the craft with fresh eyes made the work feel alive instead of routine, and it gave him a gift most lifelong accountants lose early: he remembers exactly what it feels like to not understand the numbers yet. That is the seat most of our clients are sitting in.

The real job is solving problems

Here is the thing we both figured out, from opposite starting points. Accounting is not really about the books. It is about the person and the decision in front of them.

"Accounting can be fun," Nic says. "You are working with people and solving problems." That is the shift. We are not here to hand you a tidy report and disappear. We are here to help you actually understand your financial health and make better calls because of it. Teaching beats delivering. When a client understands why a number is what it is, they stop being a spectator in their own business.

The moment the numbers click

One meeting sticks with us. We were sitting with a client at a CPG manufacturing facility, walking through his financials, and something changed in the room.

"I literally was watching his eyes just light up," Nic remembers. "It was a complete connection." That is the moment we are chasing every time. Not a filed return. Not a closed month. The moment an owner finally sees his own business clearly and realizes he can steer it. That does not come from a slicker report. It comes from a real conversation, and from someone who cares whether you actually get it.

Why fractional changes the math

A lot of growing businesses are stuck between two bad options. They cannot justify a full-time controller or CFO, but they have outgrown doing it all themselves at the kitchen table. That gap is where owners lose sleep and money.

Fractional services close it. You get access to experienced finance and accounting professionals without the overhead, the payroll burden, or the long learning curve of a new hire. You get the senior judgment when you need it, not the fixed cost when you do not. For most founder-led companies, that is a better fit than a resume on the wall, and it is a big part of how we work.

Accounting does not have to be dull

We come back to this a lot. Accounting does not have to be dry, cold, or something you avoid until tax season. With the right mindset, and the right partner, your numbers become one of the most useful tools you have for growing the business.

That is what we are building at Thryve. A firm that leads with empathy, teaches instead of hides, and treats your financials as a way to help you run the company, not a report that confuses you. If you have ever cringed at the word accounting, we get it. We did too. Come talk to us, and let us show you the other version of it.