In this episode of Culture Uncovered, Jena Dunay sits down with Jourdan Pym, VP of People at Karbon, to explore what it's like to build culture at a fast-scaling practice management software company for finance and accounting teams.
Jourdan shares the winding story of how she nearly turned down the role entirely, and what changed her mind once she recognized the size of the opportunity in the accounting practice management space. The conversation dives into how Karbon has grown from 62 to 367 employees across eight countries in five years, how the company defines "cultural adds" over "cultural fits," and the intentional, personal candidate experience Karbon builds into every stage of hiring — even for applicants who don't get the job.
The episode also covers Karbon's executive-led leadership development programs, its approach to internal mobility, and a candid look back at a reduction in force that taught Jourdan the importance of HR leaders understanding the numbers behind the business, not just the people side.
What You'll Learn
How Karbon differentiates between "cultural fit" and "cultural add" when hiring
Why Karbon builds personalized rejection and feedback emails into its recruiting process at scale
What the "Karbon Circle" peer interview process reveals to candidates before they accept a job
How Karbon's Frontline Leaders and Emerging Leaders programs are run entirely by the executive team
What it's like to scale past key headcount thresholds (100, 150, 200+ employees)
Why understanding burn rate and revenue trends is a critical skill for HR leaders
Company Highlights
Industry: Practice management software for finance, accounting, and bookkeeping professionals
Customer Base: Finance teams, accounting firms, bookkeepers, tax, and CAS professionals
Company Stage: 11-year-old company, 367 employees across eight countries, with hubs in Chicago and Sydney
Culture: Highly connected, community-driven, and transparent from the executive level down
Focus Areas: Candidate and employee experience, leadership development, internal mobility, and financial literacy for HR leaders
Unique Perks & Programs
Employee Stock Ownership: Every employee has the option to become a shareholder through stock options
Emerging Leaders Program: A self-nominated, executive-approved development track with a ~92% promotion rate, including access to executive leadership meetings
Frontline Leaders Program ("Leadership Matters"): Twelve months of leadership courses taught directly by Karbon's own executive team
Personalized Candidate Communication: Every rejection email comes from a real recruiter, with feedback offered where possible
Karbon Circle Interviews: Peer-led interviews giving candidates an honest look at day-to-day team dynamics
Internal AI Upskilling: Peer-led "lunch and learns" and internal AI experts, prioritizing in-house knowledge sharing over external training vendors
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