Jeremy Henrickson

SVP of Product at Rippling

SVP of Product at Rippling leading product and design teams, previously CPO at Coinbase where he oversaw 10x growth during the craziest crypto market period including 40x usage growth in 2017, known for maintaining velocity at scale, going deep in the trenches as a leader, and fast decision-making culture.

The Craftsperson The Operator

Dimension Profile

Strategic Vision 55%

Execution & Craft 80%

Data & Experimentation 35%

Growth & Distribution 30%

Team & Leadership 70%

User Empathy & Research 40%

Key Themes

maintaining velocity at scale leaders going deep in the trenches small teams with clear missions fast decision-making culture scaling through extreme growth avoiding framework dependence

Episode Summary

Jeremy Henrickson shares lessons from scaling Coinbase through 40x usage growth during the 2017 crypto boom and now leading product at Rippling. His core philosophy is that leaders must go deep in the trenches rather than float above and delegate, that velocity at scale requires small teams with clear missions and minimized horizontal communication, and that organizations must go full speed toward a unified direction until they collectively decide to change course.

Leadership Principles

→ It's very tempting to float up as a leader and say 'you take that hill' — where you really learn is by being there in the trenches on whichever thing seems hardest or most complicated
→ Small teams with clear missions and minimized horizontal communication — if 300 people are working on one thing, communication challenges make it impossible to act quickly
→ You go full speed toward an answer until you decide to go full speed toward a different answer — debates happen on the margins but the company moves with unified direction

Notable Quotes

"It's very, very tempting to float up here as a leader and say, 'You take that hill over there.' Where you really learn where the challenges are is by just being there with the people in the trenches on whichever thing seems hardest."
— On why product leaders must go deep rather than just delegate

"You go full speed toward this answer until you decide to go full speed toward a different answer. While there may still be differing points of view and debates on the margins, you move with unified direction."
— On how Coinbase maintained focus during extreme uncertainty

"If there's 300 people trying to work on one thing, the sheer communication challenges, Dunbar's number, all of those things come into play and it's really hard to act quickly."
— On why small teams with clear missions are essential for velocity

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