Geoff Charles

Guest: Geoff Charles - VP of Product at Ramp. Geoff Charles has played a pivotal role in Ramp's rapid growth, helping the company become the fastest-growing SaaS startup in history, reaching $100 million in annual run rate in just two years. Key Takeaways: Velocity as a Core Value: Ramp prioritizes speed in product development, empowering small, focused teams to move quickly and independently, which has been crucial to their success. Empowerment and Context: Teams are given autonomy with a focus on context over control, allowing them to make informed decisions without micromanagement, fostering innovation and ownership. First Principles Thinking: Ramp encourages solving problems from first principles rather than relying on past experiences, which is essential given their unique business model. Avoiding Burnout: High velocity is balanced with meaningful work and empowerment, which helps prevent burnout by ensuring that team members feel their work is impactful. Efficient Use of Meetings and Planning: Ramp minimizes meetings and planning time, focusing instead on execution and maintaining flexibility to adapt quickly to changes. Topics Covered: Velocity in product development, team empowerment, first principles thinking, avoiding burnout, efficient meetings and planning, Ramp's growth strategy, product management best practices.