Why Abode's CEO, Tyler Bliha, chose Ramp over Brex

When Tyler Bliha founded Abode in 2023, he brought a wealth of finance experience to the company. Before becoming Abode’s CEO, Tyler led finance operations for a real estate startup with over 100 employees. That startup used Brex for spend management, and Tyler encountered many operational challenges inherent to the platform that hindered efficiency and visibility. These experiences significantly influenced Tyler's decision to choose Ramp when establishing Abode’s financial infrastructure.

At his previous company, Tyler had witnessed firsthand how a spend management tool without an intuitive reimbursement experience could create a cumbersome, fragmented process. The lack of spend management functionality within Brex necessitated a second tool, Expensify – and the dual-pronged approach increased complexity, slowed workflows, and made expense tracking difficult. 

“Reimbursements were a huge headache for me,” says Tyler. “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.” 

While using Brex, Tyler’s team struggled with card provisioning. Issuing new corporate cards or adjusting parameters like spend limits and spend policies required significant manual effort, which inhibited the company’s ability to scale seamlessly.

Moreover, Tyler found Brex’s points-based rewards system impractical. “We just weren’t using the points that Brex was offering,” says Tyler. Instead of providing tangible cost savings, he found, the system incentivized spending, which ran counter to the goals of cost-conscious financial management. Tyler preferred a solution that offered straightforward cashback, which aligned with his overarching objective of reducing operational costs and optimizing financial efficiency.

At his prior company, Tyler had initially been hesitant to switch platforms due to the perceived difficulty of a transition: the operational downtime and resources needed for a switch seemed daunting. However, on top of an intuitive onboarding and user experience, Ramp provided tailored support and ensured an efficient, streamlined transition process. Tyler knew he needed this kind of partner when he started Abode.

Tyler's decision to adopt Ramp for Abode was informed by the platform’s exceptional ease of use and automation capabilities. Ramp's comprehensive approach to spend management resonated with Tyler’s philosophy of optimizing processes with minimal manual intervention. Features such as automatic card issuance with adjustable parameters, direct integration with accounting software, and one-click bill approvals were particularly compelling. 

Plus, Ramp is easy-to-use – which is essential for a time-constrained CEO of an early-stage startup. “I noticed the different UI and UX components that you guys are adding to make things a lot easier,” says Tyler. “It's those little moments of value that drive the user delight.”

Mostly, though, Tyler appreciates that Ramp was a one-stop-shop – and that its features, exceptional UI, and high-velocity product development mean that he doesn’t have to spend his valuable time managing the platform. 

Onboarding and implementation was seamless, thanks to white glove support from Ramp and intuitive guidance for building out policies, workflows, automations, and card issuance. Now, at Abode, every employee has a Ramp card and spend is kept carefully in check with smart policies.

“I spin up cards for different marketing initiatives – sometimes even free trials that I don’t want to have to remember to cancel,” he says. “We put parameters and limits on spend to make sure we’re not getting out ahead of our skis. And then our controller has all the integrations from Ramp to QuickBooks set up. The fact that she can close the books pretty quickly is a big accomplishment.” Tyler attributes the speed of month-end close to his controller – but also to Ramp. “I can see my monthly spend broken down in as much detail as I want, and a full draft of the books within five days of monthly close,” he says.

Ramp’s user-friendly interface and automation tools have been game-changers, says Tyler. The platform has reduced the amount of time Tyler has to spend on manual expense management, which in turn allows for focus on more strategic initiatives. The automated integration with QuickBooks, which maintained expense categorization within Ramp, significantly streamlined the monthly close process. The company has realized cost-savings, too, thanks to Ramp’s cashback model. Cashback through Ramp has provided immediate, tangible financial benefits and supported Tyler’s goal of reducing operational costs. Unlike Brex’s points system, Ramp’s cashback approach is straightforward and aligned with the responsibilities of a business leader committed to fiscal prudence. “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.”

In addition to time- and cost-savings, Ramp has enhanced 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 support its growth with scalable, automated solutions. Tyler's previous experiences reinforced the importance of a comprehensive, user-centric spend management platform, which he found in Ramp. As Abode continues to grow, Ramp’s continuous product improvements and responsive support team ensure a reliable, scalable foundation for seamless financial operations. 

“The reason I've been such a super fan of Ramp is the product velocity you guys are able to exhibit,” says Tyler. “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.”

By choosing Ramp, Tyler Bliha has reinforced his commitment to strategic financial management and operational excellence—critical components for Abode’s success as it scales into new markets.