Startup Soothsayers

The reality is that it is unclear if an AI-driven internet is net-better for the world. Creative destruction, the process of change that leads to the destruction of existing economic structures, has long pushed society forward. But the internet is so important, and the impact of AI’s change is so dramatic, that it is hard for me to comprehend what ... See more

The argument that Ramp is in the best position of any B2B company to capitalize on AI comes in three stages, from general to Ramp-specific: 

AI will drive extreme consolidation.

The companies that win will be in the sweet spot between owning workflows and building great products. Ramp is in the sweet spot. 

Of all of the workflows to own, finance is t... See more

There are some industries primed for what we call AI leapfrogging. Leapfrogging happens when an industry or market (usually an outmoded industry, or an emerging market) skips a step along the technology transformation chain.

These industries have historically not been digitized and don’t have a dominant cloud incumbent. We see greenfield opportuniti... See more

Recently, ChatGPT changed something else.

It has helped me see that English is not one language. Instead, there are many different, invisible versions of English. They all bear a resemblance to one another—like members of a family—but they are all different. And, like people within families of a certain type, they don’t directly talk to one another.

Assuming that everyone has equal access to the technology, you get what I call Syndrome Syndrome. Syndrome was the villain in Pixar’s 2004 movie The Incredibles whosesignature line was: “If everyone’s super, nobody is.” Syndrome Syndrome is what happens when everyone has access to the same technology at the same time. If everyone has an AI agent, n... See more

Dan O’Connell, chief AI and strategy officer at the cloud communications company Dialpad, sees his current role—and the jobs of other AI-devoted C-suiters—as essentially transitional: They are there to shepherd their respective companies into a future where AI is ubiquitous enough that it no longer falls under the purview of just one exec.

“I actual... See more

I once defined the job of a product manager as to “deliver business impact by marshaling the resources of your team to identify and solve the most impactful customer problems.” Essentially, to be the conductor/quarterback/glue of the team who pulls all the disparate pieces together to create great products and drive the business forward. I believe ... See more

Artificial intelligence will spur two fundamental changes in our relationship with technology. The first is that voice—already the most natural interface for human interaction—will become a dominant interface. Imagine latency reduced to less than half a second, a stark contrast to the sluggishness of touch-based devices. Even silent voice is on the... See more

Given the pace we are working at, we look foremost for flexibility and initiative. The ability to build constructively in a limited-resource environment (potentially having to wear several hats) is the most important to us.