Goody gets more rewards from its business credit card spend with Brex.
Company: Goody makes gifting easy.
Founded in 2020, Goody is a corporate gifting platform that makes recognizing customers and employees easy. It was the first such platform to offer recipients the ability to return or exchange gifts. Today, more than 12,000 companies, including Google, Stripe, and Brex use Goody to show appreciation for customers, recognize employees, and create custom-branded swag.
Challenge: Are we getting the most out of our credit card spend?
Katy Carrigan took the helm as Goody’s CEO in June 2022 during a difficult economic environment. Venture funding had slowed, interest rates were climbing, and inflation was soaring. Strategic cash management was Katy’s top priority for her 30-person company, and she wanted to make the most of the money Goody had as its transactions grew. “In today’s challenging market, focusing on the path to profitability is crucial for Goody as we navigate these times,” she said.
Katy dove into the books to understand exactly where money was going and how it was spent. She found that the majority of employee spending was to purchase goods to fulfill gift orders, and most of that was going on corporate cards.
Additionally, the company’s continued growth meant more transactions, which increased the risk of fraud. “One of the biggest issues for me was preventing fraud,” said Ahad Azalman, Goody’s Director of Finance. “Our previous card processes just had too many human touch points.”
“That dialogue with Brex left me wondering whether we were getting the most out of our current card provider. Because it does directly impact our bottom line.”
Solution: Switching to Brex cards delivers big rewards — and impact.
Goody was generally satisfied with the cashback from its previous card provider, but when Katy ran into the Brex team at New York Tech Week, she questioned whether Goody was maximizing the benefits of its business credit card spend.
“That dialogue with Brex left me wondering whether we were getting the most out of our current card provider,” Katy said. “We started asking: Are we doing this in the most strategic manner, and what rewards are we missing out on? Because it does directly impact our bottom line.”
The Goody team loved Brex’s approach to rewards — the variety, flexibility, and overall impact — and switched its corporate credit card program to Brex. “A lot of it had to do with the financial aspect of Brex rewards, but the more personal approach in onboarding — even before we onboarded, there were so many touch points — was very engaging,” Ahad said. “You don’t see that in this age. Everyone is sending automated emails, so you really don't get that true account management support. It's a breath of fresh air to see Brex providing that personal outreach.”
Impact: Goody reinvests in its employees using Brex.
Today, Goody fulfills its gifting orders using Brex cards as a strategic cash management tool and earns rewards tailored to a scaling company. Goody redeems the majority of their Brex points for travel and statement credits, notably for its company offsite. “We're an all-remote company. And over the past few years, we’ve used our cash back to pay for our offsite. It's such a critical event for our employees, their morale, and retention that there’s so much ROI from being together for a week.”
Goody plans to meaningfully grow its staff, and Katy acknowledged how important Brex rewards will be in keeping its offsite costs in check with a larger team. In fact, Katy hopes to further invest in her employees using Brex rewards. “My hope is that as we continue to scale, we'll reap more of those rewards so I can say yes to employee conferences or meetups outside of the annual offsite,” she said.
Katy mentioned another cool benefit of Brex’s rewards program: the white-glove service Goody received in placing a Times Square billboard, one of Brex’s unique point redemption options. “With our current focus on profitability, we had to deprioritize big branding campaigns,” Katy said. “To have Brex helping us obtain this screen time is very cool — and meaningful.”
“With Brex, we’re freeing up significant hours every day. And with that automation piece in place, we’ve also seen zero fraud since using Brex.”
Ahad appreciates how Brex’s virtual cards automate key parts of Goody’s ordering processes, which helps employees save loads of time but also reduces the risk of fraud. “Some employees submit 10 to 20 orders per hour, and with 2 to 5 minutes saved per transaction with Brex, we’re freeing up significant hours every day,” Ahad said. “And with that automation piece in place, there are fewer human touch points and fewer loopholes that typically allow fraud to trickle in. In fact, we’ve seen zero fraud since using Brex.”
Katy says that those additional value-adds sum up why she feels Brex is not only a trusted card provider but a true business partner for a company planning to double its revenue this year and continue its growth trajectory. “Our relationship with Brex started with rewards, but it has gone beyond that,” she said. “I appreciate the way Brex does business and supports our business. People buy from other people, and with the level of service we’ve received from Brex, I feel confident we are going to help each other grow.”