Ramp co-founder and CEO Eric Glyman recently sat down with Alex Lieberman, executive chairman of Morning Brew, to discuss some of his greatest business lessons. From hiring strategies to boundary-setting, here are Eric’s top lessons learned from co-founding two companies.
Catch his extended answers below or check out the 60 second video featuring quick-fire responses here:
Number one tip for managing well?
Clarify responsibilities and align on how we'll jointly measure performance. Leave no ambiguity and go all in to help the team hit the goal.
Number one strategy for prioritizing your time?
Regular calendar audits. They help confirm that how I actually use my time matches the company’s top priorities. It’s brutal but the reality check is critical.
Number one thing you do to hire well?
We hire for potential and growth trajectory and favor slope over intercept. We make bets on people. The goal is not an absence of problems, but 10x potential.
Number one thing you do to fire well?
Ensure that if it’s not working, it’s never a surprise. Once you know, partner to make the transition smooth and gracious. How you treat those who put their trust in you matters.
Best indicator that you are doing a good job as a leader?
Seeing our customers win by spending less money ($300M less than they would without Ramp) and then referring Ramp to others (thousands have already done so).
Biggest mistake that you won't ever make again?
My first company, I didn't think about the long term. I treated Amazon like an enemy, not a partner. And I played a small part in getting Amazon to get rid of its price adjustment policy for every customer in America.
If your business completely failed 5-10 years from now, what do you think would have been the main cause?
If we hired poorly and we didn't invest in innovation.
How do you best maintain boundaries or balance between business, family, and personal hobbies?
Super hard over time, but try your best. I think if you don't, if you keep trying to mix everything up, it’s impossible to have space to step away from the problem.
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