How long is your startup’s runway? It’s an important question and an essential metric for every early-stage founder to know. But for startups wading into hot sectors with big markets — fintech alone includes corporate spend, lending, consumer services and more — competing can be very expensive.
Striking the right balance between growth and spend is crucial for startups going up against entrenched incumbents, other determined startups — or both.
You can understand why we’re thrilled to announce that Ruth Foxe Blader, partner at Anthemis Group; Eric Glyman, co-founder and CEO of Ramp; and Thejo Kote, founder and CEO of Airbase will tackle this topic onstage at TechCrunch Disrupt on October 18–20 in San Francisco.
In a discussion called “How to compete without losing your mind and runway when cash is scarce,” these panelists, all of whom are well-versed in traversing the issue, will offer practical advice and guidance.
We’ll dig for specific tips and strategies that early founders can use to keep burn rate to a minimum and growth at a maximum — during a time when sanity’s at a premium. We’ll talk about marketing spend, how to hire, how to ensure that product focus is held, and more.
Ramp is just one runway success story. When the corporate management startup launched in 2020, it focused on small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Just two years later, it works with businesses of all sizes, and the company’s latest funding round and $8.1 billion valuation has it closing in on decacorn status.
At the same time, Kote’s company Airbase has been tackling the same market, but with a different business model. Having both companies onstage at once should help us learn how the two companies are approaching the issue of burn and growth, and how their methods differ.
This is a must-attend chat, we reckon. Learn more about the panelists:
Ruth Foxe Blader, a thought leader in fintech and insurtech, is a partner at Anthemis, where she leads strategic investment efforts across Europe and North America. She specializes in technology-enabled business models, insurance technology, risk transfer, early stage investing, product strategy and digital transformation.
Prior to joining Anthemis, Foxe Blader worked for Allianz SE, where she spearheaded leading digital innovation efforts. A founding member of the Allianz X team, she led investments in startups, including Lemonade, Moneyfarm, Argus Cyber Security and Simplesurance.
Eric Glyman is the co-founder and CEO of Ramp, a finance automation platform designed to help businesses spend less time and money. He previously co-founded Paribus, a digital tool that automates price protection and shipping guarantees at online retailers (acquired by Capital One in 2016).
Glyman is an active New York–based angel investor. He graduated from Harvard with a bachelor’s degree in economics and East Asian studies.
Thejo Kote is the founder and CEO of Airbase, a spend management platform for small and midsized companies. Launched in 2017, the startup — which recently announced a pilot program with Amex — has raised $101 million in venture funding from leading VC firms, including Menlo Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures and First Round Capital.
Prior to Airbase, Kote co-founded Automatic Labs, which was acquired by SiriusXM in 2017 for $110 million. Kote received a master’s degree from the UC Berkeley School of Information and a bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronics engineering from Visvesvaraya Technological University.
TechCrunch Disrupt takes place on October 18–20 in San Francisco. Buy your pass now and save up to $1,300. Student, government and nonprofit passes are available for just $195. Take advantage of the early-bird pricing while you still can. Prices increase July 29.
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