Kareem's Journey With Clay: Lessons in Creative Resistance and Growth
Building a startup is an unpredictable and often winding journey, and Kareem Amin, co-founder and CEO of Clay, has navigated it with determination, adaptability, and a touch of creative rebellion.
From abstract beginnings to achieving exponential growth, pivotal moments and bold decisions have shaped Kareem’s journey. He resisted market pressures to conform, embraced unconventional feedback systems, and redefined what it means to build a product in a crowded space. Throughout, he has remained committed to one central idea: that growth, whether for a company or an individual, is inherently a creative process.
For founders navigating the highs and lows of entrepreneurship, Kareem’s story delivers valuable wisdom and actionable insights.
Listen to Kareem tell Clay's story in his own words.
Meet Clay: The creative tool changing the game
Clay is a creative tool designed to help go-to-market teams by giving them the power of programming without requiring them to be programmers. Clay offers a flexible, intuitive platform that enables users to connect live data and build workflows for prospecting, list-building, and other growth strategies.
“We wanted to give the power of programming to an order of magnitude more people,” explained Kareem. Unlike other tools that focus heavily on efficiency or speed, Clay emphasizes creativity and flexibility, allowing users to innovate and create tailored solutions.
What makes Clay special is its ability to make users feel empowered. “We care how people feel when they use the product. It’s designed to make them feel smart, not just efficient,” Kareem shared.
This philosophy has been a guiding principle for Clay, influencing everything from its product design to its go-to-market strategy. This focus has also translated into financial success, with Clay achieving exponential revenue growth year-over-year and securing a $500 million valuation during its Series B funding round. These achievements highlight how a strong vision, paired with deliberate decision-making, can drive both innovation and business results.
Where it all began
The early vision was intentionally broad, focusing on assisting users across various domains. Kareem and his co-founder experimented with concepts like internal tools, data-connected spreadsheets, and other abstract ideas in search of the right fit.
But finding the right audience wasn’t straightforward. Kareem shared, “We went through loops, analyzing markets, building new features, and pivoting constantly. Myself and my co-founder started getting frustrated, wondering, ‘What is going on?’”
This period of uncertainty eventually led to clarity. By closely observing how users interacted with their tools, they identified go-to-market teams as their core audience. These teams (sales and marketing professionals managing data and scaling outreach) had clear needs that Clay could address.
Focusing on this audience provided much-needed direction, though Kareem admitted it wasn’t easy and would have moved much faster had he not got in the way. “I had hangups about committing to being just a go-to-market tool,” he shared. Once they fully embraced this focus, however, Clay began to gain traction.
How Clay serves go-to-market teams
Kareem and his co-founder, Varun, deliberately shaped Clay’s direction by addressing the unique challenges faced by go-to-market teams. After experimenting with various ideas, they identified a clear opportunity to solve the inefficiencies and fragmentation that sales, marketing, and growth professionals often encounter.
“We don’t tell you how to do it. We give you the building blocks so you can create your own way,” Kareem said. This approach stemmed from their belief in fostering creativity and allowing users to create solutions that work for their specific needs.
Kareem shared how his background in music influenced the product’s design: “It actually feels like a music tool. I use Ableton Live, and I specifically tried to make it like a music tool. Every other tool is made to be quick and easy, but then you get stuck—it pushes complexity downstream. We decided to make a product that might seem like it requires more effort at first, but it actually solves the problem in the long run.”
Kareem and Varun also embraced emerging technologies like AI, integrating tools such as ChatGPT to enhance workflows and encourage innovative thinking. By focusing on flexibility and creativity, they designed a platform that aligned with their vision of enabling teams to thrive in fast-paced markets.
Turning points that shaped Clay’s success
Several key turning points punctuate Kareem’s journey with Clay:
Resisting conventional labels
One of the most significant decisions in Clay’s evolution was resisting the urge to become just another lead-generation tool. This resistance gave the team space to rethink what their product could achieve and focus on building something with a broader, more creative purpose. By taking this approach, Kareem and his team developed a product that stood out in a crowded market and appealed to users looking for more than just efficiency.
Integrating ChatGPT
The integration of ChatGPT into Clay marked a major milestone. “When ChatGPT came out, it was super easy to plug it in. It made sense in our product and gave us a lot of tailwind,” Kareem explained. By leveraging cutting-edge technology, Clay was able to stay ahead of market trends and delivered new value to its users.
Radical feedback systems
Early on, Kareem made the bold and unconventional decision to funnel all customer feedback into a public Slack channel, bypassing traditional support systems. This approach came with a significant risk: other customers could see complaints, creating a highly transparent environment that could potentially damage trust if issues weren’t resolved quickly.
“We wanted the team to see problems firsthand,” Kareem explained. By exposing engineers directly to customer feedback, the team gained a deeper understanding of pain points and responded faster. While this level of transparency felt risky, it ultimately became a powerful driver of innovation and accountability.
Kareem believes this approach holds a valuable lesson for other startups: “Sometimes, the best way to build trust is to tackle problems in the open. It’s uncomfortable, but when customers see you actively solving issues, it strengthens their confidence in your product.” This radical feedback loop not only motivated engineers but also allowed Clay to accelerate improvements in a way that traditional methods couldn’t match.
Targeting B2B agencies
Initially, Kareem hesitated to focus on niche audiences like B2B agencies, concerned that this approach might limit Clay’s visibility. However, these agencies turned out to be some of Clay’s most valuable customers, providing actionable feedback and championing the product to others.
To deepen these relationships, Kareem and his team embedded themselves in the WhatsApp groups, where these agencies could exchange ideas and discuss tools. This allowed the team to understand their needs intimately and quickly address their pain points. Over time, these agencies became some of Clay’s best customers and also evolved into effective channel partners, promoting the platform to their clients and helping expand Clay’s reach organically.
“This group gave us some of our most sophisticated users,” Kareem shared. “They helped shape the product, and in return, they used Clay to generate value for their own clients, essentially becoming part of our extended team.” This targeted approach proved instrumental in building a loyal customer base and driving growth.
Lessons from the trenches: Advice for founders
Kareem’s experiences offer a wealth of wisdom for startup founders:
Trust yourself
“When you make decisions you don’t believe in, you learn nothing when they fail,” Kareem said. Trusting your intuition, even when it’s unconventional, is key to meaningful growth.
He believes founders must back their instincts, even in the face of external pressure, as authentic decision-making aligns with personal values and also strengthens long-term vision.
Aligning business with your passions
Kareem emphasizes the importance of aligning your business with your passions rather than just chasing what seems like a good opportunity. “We need to connect the product to what we are interested in and not just opportunistically what is a good business,” he said.
He shared how this philosophy shaped Clay’s decision to become a product-led growth (PLG) business. “It was substantially more difficult than I thought, but we kept asking ourselves—do we want to sell this way? If we get customers, will we learn more?” By staying true to their interests, Kareem and his team built a business they truly enjoy leading, even through the challenges.
Momentum is everything
Kareem likens his role to being a “momentum detective.” Once Clay found traction, maintaining that momentum became his top priority. “If you lose it for a minute, it can be ten times harder to get it back,” he warned.
He advises founders to identify areas where progress slows and address them immediately, as sustained momentum is critical for growth and resilience.
Leverage creative resistance
While market feedback is invaluable, Kareem believes founders shouldn’t shy away from resisting conventional wisdom when it doesn’t align with their vision. “Resisting being just a lead-gen tool helped us discover something bigger,” he said.
Creative resistance, when balanced with market needs, can uncover innovative opportunities and allow startups to carve out unique niches in competitive landscapes.
Build feedback loops
Kareem advises founders to integrate customer feedback into product development as directly and transparently as possible. “When engineers see the problem and solve it quickly, it motivates them and creates a fast loop,” he explained.
This approach can accelerate product improvement while fostering stronger collaboration and morale within the team.
Operate from wholeness, not lack
Kareem’s mindset shift redefined how he approaches entrepreneurship. “Entrepreneurship is going from one crisis to the next. You need to enjoy the crises and treat them like a game,” he shared.
Reflecting further, Kareem explained, “I’m not building to prove anything. I’m building from a place of wholeness. Success or failure doesn’t define me.” He emphasized the importance of maintaining steadiness in the face of challenges. “You have to approach it from a place of being steady; otherwise, it wears you down. You have to actually kind of enjoy it.”
This perspective has allowed Kareem to view even the most difficult moments as opportunities for learning and growth, rather than sources of frustration or burnout.
Kareem’s vision for the future
Clay plans to sharpen its platform and push its boundaries further into the go-to-market space. Riding on the momentum of exponential revenue growth and a devoted user base, Kareem is leading the team to gear up for even bigger milestones. By continuing to innovate and introducing new technologies, Clay is setting the stage to revolutionize how teams tackle growth, making the process smarter, more creative, and undeniably impactful.
The Rippling connection: Tools that fueled growth
Rippling became an essential part of Clay’s growth story, helping the company scale without losing focus on what mattered most—its mission. For a fast-paced company like Clay, managing critical operations efficiently was non-negotiable, and Rippling provided the tools to keep everything running smoothly.
“When you’re scaling quickly, every minute saved matters,” Kareem shared. Rippling’s platform brought payroll, HR, and IT under one roof, simplifying processes and keeping the team focused on building and innovating.
What made Rippling stand out was its flexibility, which matched Clay’s own approach to enabling users. Just as Clay enables teams to customize their growth strategies, Rippling gave Clay the tools to handle its operations without unnecessary complexity. This synergy allowed Clay to stay nimble and focus on what it does best: creating a game-changing product.
Listen to the full talk
Don’t miss the chance to hear Kareem’s unfiltered insights and hard-earned lessons. His candid reflections dive deep into the struggles, breakthroughs, and strategies that transformed Clay from a bold idea into a thriving business.
Kareem shares practical advice on leveraging feedback, challenging conventional wisdom, and maintaining momentum in the face of uncertainty.
This blog is based on information available to Rippling as of March 18, 2025.
Disclaimer: Rippling and its affiliates do not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide or be relied on for tax, accounting, or legal advice. You should consult your own tax, accounting, and legal advisors before engaging in any related activities or transactions.
