Anique Drumright, VP of Product for IT at Rippling, shared how Rippling does it at SaaStr Annual + AI Summit. And see everyone at SaaStr AI 2026 on May 12-14 in SF Bay!!
Most B2B companies follow the same playbook: Build one product. Perfect it. Scale it. Move slowly and deliberately. Delegate early and often.
Rippling threw that playbook out the window.
In just 9 years, they’ve built over 25 products, secured 20,000+ global customers, hired 150+ former founders, and filed patents for 30+ employee inventions. They didn’t do this by following conventional B2B wisdom—they did it by systematically breaking every “rule” that slows down other companies.
The Compound Startup Thesis: Why Point Solutions Are Dead
While most startups chase singular focus, Rippling operates as what they call a “compound startup.” Their thesis is simple but revolutionary: employee data powers every workforce management tool, so why build them in silos?
Instead of creating disconnected point solutions, Rippling built:
- An employee graph as the foundation
- Common components (permissions, analytics, groups, policies) as “platform Legos”
- Multiple business lines (HCM, IT, Spend) that share this foundation
The result? Admins learn one system and get incredible automation across all workforce management needs. No switching between vendors. No data silos. No learning curves.
The lesson: In mature markets, integration beats best-of-breed. Customers are tired of managing 47 different B2B tools that don’t talk to each other.
The Three “Rules” Rippling Refuses to Follow
Rule #1: “Delegate Everything” → Rippling: “Go and See”
Most B2B leaders delegate down and manage up through dashboards and summaries. Rippling’s first core value flips this: “It is your responsibility to go and see.”
This isn’t just philosophy—it’s practice. Anique Drumright, VP of Product for IT, personally does MFA resets every week. Why? Because she needs to intimately understand her customer’s experience, not just hear about it secondhand.
When roadmap reviews happen, executives drill down to epic-level details, finding high-priority items from July 2024 that haven’t been groomed. This level of detail from C-suite executives isn’t normal—but it’s how Rippling maintains quality across 25+ products.
The lesson: The higher you climb, the more important it becomes to stay close to the actual customer experience. Delegation of execution is smart; delegation of understanding is dangerous.
Rule #2: “Move Step by Step” → Rippling: “It’s an AND Culture”
Traditional product management is obsessed with prioritization. Pick one thing. Do it well. Move to the next.
Rippling operates with an “AND culture.” They build parallel products that work together, not sequential products that compete for resources.
Their roadmaps don’t show 100 A/B tests (though they do test). Why? A/B testing is inherently incremental. If your roadmap is all A/B tests, you’re only capable of incremental improvements.
Instead, Rippling ensures 1-2 step-change items per quarter that can either introduce new product lines or fundamentally improve existing ones.
The lesson: Prioritization is important, but over-prioritization kills compound growth. Sometimes the magic happens when you build things that work together, not just work well independently.
Rule #3: “Be Patient” → Rippling: “MMDD Culture”
Most SaaS companies preach patience. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Good things take time.
Rippling is “wildly impatient” by design. Everyone—from CEO to support agents—is empowered to ask: “What’s the MMDD?” (month and date when something will be done).
If you can’t give a month and date, the next question is: “When can you give me that month and date?”
This simple practice completely changes culture. It’s not infinite time—it’s contained time that compels action. As Anique puts it: “At 5 PM, if I know I have an MMDD that I gave someone, it’s itching at me.”
The other cultural norm: “Who owns this?” Get specific. And if you’re blocked, call immediately. Don’t wait.
The lesson: Artificial urgency creates real momentum. When everyone operates with specific deadlines and clear ownership, execution speed compounds across the entire organization.
The Secret Sauce: Operational Hyperfocus
Here’s Rippling’s counterintuitive insight: While most startups hyperfocus on a single problem, Rippling hyperfocuses on how they operate.
They’ve built systems for:
- Going and seeing (staying close to product and operations)
- Betting bigger (pushing to the next frontier of customer service)
- Driving urgency (MMDD culture creates momentum)
This operational excellence is what enables them to build multiple businesses in parallel while maintaining quality and customer satisfaction.
The AI Opportunity: When Platform Strategy Meets AI
Rippling sits on an employee graph with rich data across every workforce management function. This creates natural AI opportunities that point-SaaS companies simply can’t match.
Their approach is dual-plane:
- Business line teams leveraging AI to automate admin busy work
- Dedicated AI teams building new products that leverage the employee graph
Their mission remains clear: eliminate all busy work for admins. AI becomes a tool for automation, not automation for its own sake.
The lesson: Platform companies with rich, structured data have inherent AI advantages. Point solutions will struggle to match the AI capabilities of integrated platforms.
What This Means for Your B2B Company
Rippling’s success doesn’t mean every company should become a compound startup. But it does suggest several strategic shifts:
For Early-Stage Companies:
- Build with integration in mind from day one
- Create common data models and components that can support multiple products
- Hire people who choose startups and thrive in high-urgency environments
For Growth-Stage Companies:
- Question whether your next product should be adjacent to your core platform
- Implement “go and see” practices to stay close to customers
- Create artificial urgency through MMDD-style commitments
For Enterprise Companies:
- Consider whether your market is ready for platform consolidation
- Evaluate if your data assets could power multiple product lines
- Build operational excellence that enables parallel execution
The era of pure point solutions may not be over, but the era of integrated platforms that operate like startups is clearly beginning.
Rippling didn’t just build a great product—they built a great way of building products. And that might be the most replicable part of their success.
