The founder who knew Brex well enough to choose something better
“You can control all the different parameters of cards you issue to folks. It assuages a lot of the concern around spend transparency in a fast-moving company, because all kinds of guardrails have been put in place.”
CEO, Abode
Tyler Bliha has a useful kind of experience. Before founding Abode — a startup that helps homeowners cut the rising costs of owning their home — he led finance operations at a company running on Brex and Expensify. He watched reimbursements become a headache, card management become a manual effort, and a points-based rewards program accumulate value that nobody ever actually used. When he started Abode in 2023, that experience didn't slow him down. It pointed him directly to Ramp.
Two tools, two sets of problems — and a points system nobody was using
Before becoming Abode’s CEO, Tyler led finance operations for a real estate startup with over 100 employees. On paper, Brex handled that company’s cards, and Expensify handled the expenses. In practice, the two tools created more work than they saved — fragmented workflows, slow reimbursements, and a card management process that required significant manual effort every time a new employee needed a card or a spend limit needed adjusting.
"Reimbursements were a huge headache for me. And on the credit card side, I don't recall it being as easy to spin up a credit card and toggle the parameters of the credit card in Brex."
— Tyler Bliha, CEO, Abode
The rewards model compounded the frustration in a different way. Rather than returning real value to the business, Brex's points system quietly incentivized spending — the opposite of what a cost-conscious finance leader wants. "We just weren't using the points that Brex was offering," says Tyler. The model didn't align with how he thought about running a lean operation.
When Tyler left to start Abode, he had no intention of rebuilding the same infrastructure. He wanted a single platform, real cashback, and spend controls that worked the way a founder actually thinks: fast to set up, easy to adjust, and always visible.
One platform. Instant card issuance. Automated close.
From day one at Abode, Tyler built the finance operation around Ramp. Onboarding was fast, policies and automations were intuitive to configure, and there was no need for a second tool to stitch in. Every employee got a Ramp card. Virtual cards get spun up for marketing campaigns and vendor trials, each with its own parameters and spend limits. And when a bill needs approval, it gets handled in one click.
"I spin up cards for different marketing initiatives — sometimes even free trials that I don't want to have to remember to cancel. We put parameters and limits on spend to make sure we're not getting out ahead of our skis."
— Tyler Bliha, CEO, Abode
Abode's controller manages the QuickBooks integration, which handles expense categorization automatically and keeps the books organized in real time. For a CEO running a lean startup, Ramp also surfaces the kind of low-friction intelligence that compounds over time.
"The other thing Ramp does is tell me where it's better to have an annual subscription over a monthly subscription. Small things like that add up."
— Tyler Bliha, CEO, Abode
Books closed in 5 days. Spend locked down. Savings compounding.
Ramp's automation tools have meaningfully reduced the time Tyler spends on manual expense management, freeing him to focus on building the business rather than running it through a checklist. The QuickBooks integration handles expense categorization quietly in the background, keeping the books clean in real time and significantly streamlining the monthly close.
The company has realized real cost savings too, thanks to Ramp's cashback model, which has returned tens of thousands of dollars back to the business since getting started with Ramp. Unlike Brex's points system, Ramp's cashback approach is direct and tangible, and it rewards exactly the kind of financial discipline Tyler has always brought to the table. "The other thing Ramp does is tell me where it's better to have an annual subscription over a monthly subscription," says Tyler. "Small things like that add up."
Beyond the bottom-line savings, Ramp has given Abode organization-wide spend visibility and control. "You can control all the different parameters of cards you issue to folks," says Tyler. "It assuages a lot of the concern around spend transparency in a fast-moving company, because all kinds of guardrails have been put in place."
With its lean team and ambitious expansion plans, Abode relies on Ramp to grow without adding operational complexity. Ramp's continuous product improvements give Tyler confidence that the platform will keep pace with the company, and then some.
"The reason I've been such a super fan of Ramp is the product velocity. Not only is it incredibly beneficial to the user, it's also something that gives me confidence in your ability to continue to pull away from other products."
— Tyler Bliha, CEO, Abode
By building on Ramp from day one, Tyler has given Abode the financial infrastructure it needs, not just for where the company stands today, but for wherever it's going.
