Published in First Block

First Block with Parker Conrad, CEO & Co-Founder of Rippling

By Anastasia Crew

Head of Notion for Startups

Listen to First Block on your favorite podcast platform.

Download Rippling's Multi-Product Roadmap template here. To learn more about how Notion is supporting startups, please visit notion.com/startups.

Welcome to First Block, a Notion series where founders and executives from the world's leading companies tell us about the many “firsts” of their startup journeys. Hosted by our Co-founder and COO Akshay Kothari, this series explores the many ups and downs that founders face as they build their companies, and what they've learned along the way.

In our first episode, we spoke with Parker Conrad, Co-founder and CEO of Rippling. Rippling lets you easily manage your employee's payroll, benefits, expenses, devices, apps, and more, all in one place.

We do a deep-dive into:

  • Building a “compound startup”

  • The importance of understanding user needs

  • Managing the personal ups and downs of founder life

  • The pressure of innovation

  • Fundraising and its challenges

What’s in this episode:

  • 00:00: Intro

  • 00:44: Early Founder Journey

  • 07:08: Fundraising

  • 10:07: Creative Destruction

  • 12:50: Compound Startup

  • 20:43: Product Effort & Differentiation

  • 35:39: Day in the Life of Parker Conrad

Get more insights and read the full transcript of the interview below:

Episode one transcript

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