Scaling through culture, vision, and customer focus

Startups are full of people who think they have the next big idea. The difference between the ones that make it and the ones that fade? They listen.

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That’s exactly how Abhik Pramanik and Benji Encz built Ashby, a company that’s actually fixing the mess that is recruiting software. They didn’t just have a theory. They talked to over 100 recruiters, figured out what was broken, and built something 10x better.

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I had the chance to sit down with Abhik on After the First Million, and we talked about everything from his time at PlanGrid (a construction software startup that showed him firsthand how hiring tools weren’t cutting it) to how Ashby keeps evolving by staying close to customers.

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This is the story of how they built something great—not by guessing, but by paying attention.

The Moment You Realize You Need to Start Your Own Company

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Abhik had what most people would call a dream job. Straight out of college, he landed at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) working on visual effects for major films. But while other people would have settled in, he started getting the itch to build something.

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"I had my dream job, and then all of a sudden I felt like I had to leave to build this idea," he told me.

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The idea? A flag football app. Totally different from what he was doing, but he didn’t care. He just knew he wanted to create. That drive led him through multiple startups, including PlanGrid, where he started seeing just how broken recruiting software really was.

PlanGrid, Hiring Headaches, and the Lightbulb Moment

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PlanGrid was a startup that took construction blueprints out of stacks of paper and into the cloud. It was a huge improvement for the industry. But while the product itself was great, hiring there? That was another story.

Benji was leading hiring efforts at PlanGrid, and it was a disaster. The tools weren’t giving him the data he needed, reporting was a nightmare, and the only way to get anything useful was by dumping everything into spreadsheets.
"Benji came knocking. He was ready to start a company… He cared deeply about hiring, and he was just like, ‘The tools are not great. I wanted to do basic things, basic reports, and I couldn't do it. I had to do it in spreadsheets. There's something fundamentally broken about this.’"

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That was the spark. Abhik and Benji knew they could build something better.

Building a Company That Adapts

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Every founder starts with a vision, but the best ones know when to shift gears.

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In 2021, hiring was all about sourcing—finding candidates as fast as possible. Then 2022 happened. Layoffs started. Recruiters weren’t scrambling to find talent; they were drowning in applications.

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Ashby could have stuck to its original roadmap, but they didn’t. They listened.

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"We had to be nimble. We had to shift our focus to helping recruiters manage high applicant volume instead of just sourcing talent."

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That ability to adjust—not just once, but constantly—is what separates good startups from great ones.

Creating a Culture That Actually Works

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Growing a business isn’t just about the product. It’s about getting the right people in the right roles.

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Abhik saw this firsthand at PlanGrid, where he cared so much about the company’s future that he started acting like a founder—even when he wasn’t one.

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"I remember writing a thesis on where I thought PlanGrid should go next. Kevin, who now works with us at Ashby, warned me, ‘Abhik, you're going to be in the doghouse if you send this out.’ I sent it anyway." That’s when he knew he needed to build something of his own.
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At Ashby, he and Benji have focused on creating a culture of ownership:

• Employees don’t just follow orders—they take initiative.
• Leaders stay hands-on and involved in real problems.
• The team is built to think, not just execute.

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"I want to build a company where I myself could just be an individual contributor and still have a ton of fun. If we get that right, we’ll build something great."

The Secret to Staying Ahead? Actually Using Your Own Product

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Too many software companies build something and then forget to use it. Ashby does the opposite.
Abhik recruits for Ashby using Ashby. He sees what works and what doesn’t every single day.

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That direct connection to the product and customer experience makes a huge difference. It means:

• Bugs and friction points don’t go unnoticed—they get fixed.
• Customer requests aren’t just logged—they’re understood.
• Product improvements actually come from real-world problems.

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"A lot of companies say they listen to their customers, but then they get too confident, or they stop listening. We make sure we never stop listening."

What’s Next for Ashby?

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Ashby is moving fast. They’ve signed enterprise clients like Snowflake and OpenAI, and they’re going multi-product, which means expanding beyond recruiting into other areas where companies need better software.

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Then there’s AI. A lot of people in hiring are panicking about it, but Ashby is taking a different approach.

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"AI isn’t going to replace recruiters. What it will do is remove a lot of the monotony from their day. And I’m really excited to explore that in this space."

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Ashby isn’t about hype. They’re about real improvements that make people’s jobs easier.

The Takeaway

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This isn’t just a story about a startup. It’s about how to actually build a company that lasts.

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Here’s what makes Ashby different:

1. They listen. Instead of assuming they know everything, they stay close to customers and adapt.
2. They create ownership. Employees aren’t just executing tasks; they’re building the company.
3. They use their own product. If it’s not good enough for them, it’s not good enough for their customers.

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"The product will take care of itself if we get the culture and team right. That’s the real challenge—and the real opportunity."

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For founders trying to build something great, that’s the lesson to take from Ashby: Listen, adapt, and keep pushing forward.

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Want to hear the full conversation? Check out my episode with Abhik on After the First Million.