Hint: It's not about the money

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‍Podcast Recap:

In this episode of The Character Effect, we sit down with Topher Reynoso - entrepreneur, startup founder, and now CEO of Kept.io - to discuss the role of character in leadership and business.

Failures

Topher recalls his early career, including two failed startups, and how those experiences shaped his approach to entrepreneurship. He shares why those failures taught him that you have to love what you are building, not just love to build. "

“If you’re not excited to tell your startup’s story a hundred times a day, you probably shouldn’t be building it.”

Figuring out how to align his work with his values changed everything.

Successes

He co-founded and scaled PlanGrade, which was later acquired by Gusto, a leading HR platform for SMBs. One standout story involves a critical strategy decision, where Topher expected pushback on his recommendation not to push a boundary. Instead, he found welcome support from Gusto co-founder Tomer London, who said: “I want to make sure we’re doing the right thing here.”

Values

That kind of leadership stuck with Topher and shaped how he now runs Kept.io, a startup focused on compassionate offboarding. The idea behind Kept is simple but powerful: help companies support employees during one of the most difficult transitions - when they’re being let go. Beyond just delivering COBRA paperwork, Kept provides real help and human support.

The episode also explores Topher’s personal story, including the influence of his immigrant father, who modeled hard work, integrity, and heart. Those values continue to drive how Topher builds teams, makes decisions, and defines success.

This is a story about leadership that listens, companies that care, and what it really means to build with character.

🎧 Listen to the full episode.

📺 YouTube
‍🍎 Apple
‍🟢 Spotify‍