RingCentral Ventures: Expanding RingCentral’s Innovation Ecosystem

At the heart of my high tech career lies a passion for innovation. My recent shift to founding and leading RingCentral Ventures very much stems from that deep commitment to ongoing change. For nearly a decade at RingCentral, I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to transform our product line through in-house product development, partners in our platform ecosystem, and acquisition of companies whose tech complements and grows our ecosystem. Now, by leading RingCentral Ventures, I’m stepping into a role of driving innovation from the outside-in.

Partnering with the start-up community to solve problems is a natural step in RingCentral’s innovation ecosystem. When I consider what start-ups contribute to the high tech ecosystem in general, the ones that succeed are the ones which have a deep understanding of a problem that they want to solve, focus on it intensely, and become really good at solving that problem, ultimately creating a viable solution. As a leader in UCaaS space and with a track record of strong execution, RingCentral is a natural partner for start-ups wanting to transform the future of work. RingCentral Ventures creates a win-win for both companies involved by providing the investment and the support needed via advice from seasoned professionals as well as through access to people who can help to execute the start-up’s plans.

RingCentral Ventures is focused on early stage start-ups with exceptional teams solving real problems within a big and growing TAM (total addressable market). We look for a differentiated solution, innovative tech, product-market fit traction, and a team that is cohesive and that has demonstrated early execution prowess across the organization and customer proof-points. We like start-ups that can think outside of the box, show creativity in problem-solving while being grounded in data-driven decision making, and exercise the discipline of tracking to KPIs (key performance indicators). We bring to the table our team’s extensive track record of execution, product and market domain expertise, scaled GTM (go to market) and access to customers via our platform/app gallery. We are here to help, to be a great partner, and we typically do not take board seats. Our “wins” are found in customer value creation via ongoing innovation, in the expansion of RingCentral’s ecosystem via a thriving community of start-ups, and in growth acceleration.   

By identifying such companies, investing in them, and building strategic relationships, we facilitate innovation from outside-in. RingCentral’s platform enables a virtuous innovation cycle for our portfolio companies and customers. Our metrics are unparalleled, and our quality is among the best in industry due, in part, to our maturity, especially that of our customer management experience. There’s no customer that we leave unaddressed, and, because every customer knows that they matter and that we listen to them, they express their gratitude in part by sticking with us as we grow. Our customers and our teams don’t grow haphazardly, either. We grow from expertise, from knowing how to discern noise from signals, from knowing not to jump and build stuff just because it sounds good but, rather, because it’s truly needed. We use our resources properly and deliver products to our customers that improve their services and their lives. This customer focus is our only gauge of success, really. 

We seek partnerships with customer-focused, great interfaces that are easy to use and that will align with our customer-facing company. From our start-up partners, we demand top marks from customers out of the gate. Friction early on, even from as early as the onboarding process, is the mark of a company with which we won’t partner. Some enterprise companies have survived for far too long like that, but it’s a turn-off to customers. We prioritize nothing short of excellence in products born of need. Our first three start-up partnerships were featured in our Developer Conference, and all three share RingCentral’s ethos of customer-first excellence.

At the end of the day, RingCentral Ventures is about giving back to the start-up community, about “doing good.” Personally, I enjoy helping start-ups and am finding that sometimes, even if an investment isn’t the right fit for RingCentral Ventures, I can help and mentor anyway. RingCentral focuses on the future of work in two ways: by creating products that make work more productive and by taking care of people. After all, happier people are more productive people. One of our first investments, actually, is in an app that supports a healthier workplace environment – a cool way for our customers, and ourselves in-house at RingCentral, to take care of our employees. Stay tuned for more pieces soon on the start-ups with which we’re partnering to deliver a healthier, happier future of work.