The art of scaling with purpose with Abhik Pramanik

After the First Million

Entrepreneurship isn’t just about building a product. It’s about building a culture and a vision that lasts.

For Abhik Pramanik, Co-Founder & VP of Engineering of Ashby, the journey to creating a company wasn’t a straight path. From working in visual effects at Industrial Light & Magic to the world of entrepreneurship, Abhik learned firsthand that success often comes from listening to customers, navigating failures, and staying adaptable. Alongside his co-founder, Benji, Abhik transformed Ashby into an all-in-one recruiting platform by focusing on execution, customer collaboration, and innovative solutions that scale.

In this episode, Abhik shares his insights on building a company that listens deeply to its customers, cultivates a strong team culture, and stays nimble in the face of evolving challenges. Whether you’re a founder, team leader, or just someone curious about entrepreneurship, this conversation is packed with lessons on scaling with purpose and precision.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Validate your ideas with real-world input: Don’t rely on assumptions. Broad validation helps ensure your product or service is solving genuine customer problems.
• Stay nimble while balancing vision and customer needs: Ashby’s success came from staying adaptable. When market conditions shifted, they reprioritized product development to address customer pain points.
• Empower your team with purpose and autonomy: A culture that supports creativity and problem-solving starts with leadership. Building a team culture gives employees the freedom to innovate while staying aligned with company goals.

Jump into the conversation:

(00:00) Meet Abhik Pramanik

(01:35) From visual effects to entrepreneurship: Abhik’s early journey

(03:08) Realizing you’re one of the “crazy ones”

(05:14) Lessons from being a passionate but “terrible employee”

(07:10) The birth of Ashby: How problem-solving led to opportunity

(09:39) Navigating failure: The role of past start-ups in shaping success

(12:28) Validating ideas with 100+ conversations

(16:12) Scaling Ashby while maintaining customer focus

(19:21) Balancing vision and customer listening in product development

(22:03) Building a culture of collaboration through customer success

(25:36) Leveraging partnerships and feedback loops to drive innovation

(30:45) The art of sequencing priorities for growth

(36:40) What’s next for Ashby in 2025

(41:12) Building a culture where rebels thrive