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Sri Batchu currently leads growth at Ramp, the fastest-growing SaaS business (and fintech business) in history. Previously, he led growth strategy and operations at Instacart and was one of the first 50 employees at Opendoor, where he built, scaled, and managed a variety of business teams, including analytics, sales, and pricing. During his time there, the company grew from $100M to $5B+ in revenue and to 1,500+ people. In this episode, we discuss:\u2022 The surprising tactics behind Ramp\u2019s unprecedented early growth\u2022 A breakdown of Ramp\u2019s current growth org and growth channels\u2022 Why you need to be \u201cfailing conclusively\u201d\u2022 Ramp\u2019s unique approach to metrics and measurement\u2022 Examples of Ramp\u2019s \u201csecret sauce\u201d: a data- and technology-driven approach to everything\u2022 Why Sri prioritizes employee autonomy and flexibility over hours worked\u2022 Why team structure is a red herring for growth teams, and what Sri focuses on instead\u2022 How to set good North Star metrics, and why you should have more than one\u2022 Why Sri prefers payback periods over CAC for measuring investment ROI

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Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/lessons-from-scaling-ramp-sri-batchu

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Where to find Sri Batchu:

\u2022 Twitter: https://twitter.com/sri_batchu

\u2022 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sribatchu/

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Where to find Lenny:

\u2022 Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

\u2022 Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan

\u2022 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

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In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Sri\u2019s background

(04:07) Stats surrounding Ramp\u2019s hypergrowth

(06:20) How Ramp set the stage for their remarkable growth

(09:19) New customers vs. customer expansion

(10:20) How Ramp has prioritized data-driven decisions

(12:12) Ramp\u2019s growth engineering team, and how it supports the sales team

(13:41) The structure of the growth team at Ramp

(14:36) The \u201cskunk works\u201d team

(15:49) How Ramp maintains working at such high velocity

(19:11) How Ramp boosts morale and keeps employees engaged and excited

(21:45) How to promote hard work

(25:10) Optimizing efficiency in your growth engine

(27:28) Leveraging PR and fundraising

(29:20) Traditional media vs. newsletters and podcasts

(30:49) Building a repeatable and scalable growth process

(32:28) Examples of good North Star metrics

(37:09) Lower-level metrics

(40:30) When it makes sense to use the North Star framework

(42:03) Why Ramp doesn\u2019t allow signups through personal emails, and how to reach out if you\u2019re in that position

(43:11) Efficiency metrics and volume metrics

(46:49) Payback period vs. CAC for measuring ROI

(48:55) Defining payback period and contribution margin

(49:51) How to sequence growth tactics for B2B

(52:18) Experimentation and the importance of failing conclusively

(58:06) Ramp\u2019s tool stack

(1:00:32) How to hire great people

(1:03:21) The importance of compensating employees properly

(1:06:28) The MECE framework

(1:09:21) Lightning round

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Referenced:

\u2022 How Ramp builds product, in Lenny\u2019s Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-ramp-builds-product

\u2022 Eight Sleep: https://www.eightsleep.com/

\u2022 Keith Rabois on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith/

\u2022 Packy McCormick\u2019s article on Ramp: https://www.notboring.co/p/ramps-double-unicorn-rounds-behind

\u2022 Gibson Biddle\u2019s framework: https://gibsonbiddle.medium.com/9-the-gem-model-65c89face5de

\u2022 DoorDash\u2019s business model: https://businessmodelanalyst.com/doordash-business-model/

\u2022 Airtable: https://www.airtable.com/

\u2022 Mutiny: https://www.mutinyhq.com/

\u2022 Gokul Rajaram on Twitter: https://twitter.com/gokulr

\u2022 Claire Hughes Johnson on Lenny\u2019s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/lessons-from-scaling-stripe/

\u2022 MECE principle: https://productfolio.com/mece-principal/

\u2022 Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as If Your Life Depended on It: https://www.amazon.com/Never-Split-Difference-Negotiating-Depended/dp/0062407805

\u2022 Stories of Your Life and Others: https://www.amazon.com/Stories-Your-Life-Others-Chiang/dp/1101972122/r

\u2022 Everything Everywhere All at Once on Hulu: https://www.hulu.com/movie/everything-everywhere-all-at-once-fa320000-8cf3-46fc-8c45-df5ec67b71f2

\u2022 Fellow kettles: https://fellowproducts.com/

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Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.

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Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.