"World of DaaS" Zip CEO Rujul Zaparde - procurement, AI agents and YC insights
28 snips
Aug 19, 2025 
Rujul Zaparde, co-founder and CEO of Zip, an AI-driven procurement platform, shares insights from his diverse experience, including stints at FlightCar and Airbnb. He discusses the common frustrations with procurement departments and explores how AI agents can revolutionize workflows in enterprises. Rujul also emphasizes the importance of authentic startup culture and the evolving role of Y Combinator. Additionally, he advocates for unconventional recruiting strategies and critiques outdated management wisdom for founders.
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Procurement Exists In Every Company
- Every organization does procurement even without a formal department because it's typically the second-largest area of spend after payroll.
- Formal procurement teams usually appear once companies reach ~500–700 employees and can scale to thousands in large enterprises.
Direct Versus Indirect Spend
- Procurement splits into direct (supply chain) and indirect (software, IT) categories, each requiring different ownership and systems.
- Indirect procurement is Zip’s focus and often reports to the CFO, though it may sit with the CIO when systems integration dominates.
Bad Reputation Comes From Bad Tools
- Procurement gets a bad reputation because antiquated systems and cross-team dependencies make the process confusing and slow for requesters.
- The friction stems from tooling and orchestration, not inherently from procurement professionals themselves.
