Presentation:

https://www.canva.com/design/DAG6lVu6ZWA/geeXT58mJZzkL2UYR69U0Q/edit?utm_content=DAG6lVu6ZWA&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton

Ramp has achieved what seems paradoxical in financial services: becoming the fastest-growing corporate card in America by helping customers spend less money. This analysis examines how Ramp leveraged counter-positioning. A strategy where a new business model is superior but incumbents cannot copy it without destroying their own value: to disrupt the $96B corporate card market dominated by American Express and challenge well-funded startups like Brex.

1. Market Context & Genesis

The Founders' Journey

Eric Glyman and Karim Atiyeh weren't first-time entrepreneurs when they founded Ramp. Their previous company, Paribus, automatically found savings for consumers by tracking price drops and rebates, saving customers over $100M annually before being acquired by Capital One in 2016. This experience gave them two critical insights:

1. Automation creates massive value when applied to financial inefficiencies
2. The B2B opportunity was larger than consumer savings

The Market Problem

Finance teams at growing companies faced a three-headed problem:

• Administrative burden: Hours spent chasing receipts, categorizing expenses, enforcing policies manually
• Runaway spending: During rapid growth phases, corporate spend spirals out of control
• Misaligned incentives: Existing solutions (Amex, Brex, Divvy) made money from interchange fees, meaning their revenue increased when customers spent more

2. The Strategic Moat: Counter-Positioning Explained

What is Counter-Positioning?