In this episode of Founders, Future, with host Jae Encarnacion, we sit down with Holly Hoffman, founder of Sales Tax Advisory Network and "The Sales Tax Lady." With over 20 years of experience—including 8 years as an auditor and technical tax specialist at the Wisconsin Department of Revenue—Holly shares how she’s revolutionizing sales tax compliance for small businesses and contractors. Frustrated by the lack of accessible, personalized guidance in the industry, she launched her advisory network in 2019 to offer audit protection, multi-state filing, and—most importantly—education. Holly reveals her unconventional "no billable hours" model, which prioritizes long-term client relationships over short-term profits, and how this approach has helped her stand out in a field dominated by high-priced CPAs and impersonal AI solutions.

Holly also opens up about her vision for scaling Sales Tax Advisory Network, including her plans to build a learning management platform to train businesses (and her own team) at scale. She discusses the challenges of balancing her role as a solopreneur with her mission to democratize tax knowledge, emphasizing the power of education over technology in an industry starving for human expertise. Listeners will walk away with insights on why authenticity and confidence are the ultimate competitive advantages—and why Holly believes "sales tax is easy" when you have the right teacher.