Sri Batchu on Failure Rates in Growth Experiments

A growth leader shares a personal estimate and a lesson about experimentation.

SBSri BatchuGuest · Ramp
Channel
20VC with Harry Stebbings
Published
Aug 1, 2023
Video
0:18
Read
1 min
Original
English
Open on YouTube
Scroll to read and the video shrinks to the bottom-right corner. Captions follow your reading language.
Reading languageAvailable in 2 languages
You're reading the original English.
SUMMARY

In 30 seconds

Batchu says most growth projects he has seen did not succeed and argues for reaching conclusions quickly.

  1. 1High failure rateBatchu describes his experience.
  2. 2About 30%He estimates his historical success rate.
  3. 3Decisive learningHe emphasizes failing quickly and conclusively.

Takeaways

  1. The estimate reflects his experience.
  2. Many experiments may fail.
  3. Reach conclusions quickly.
FULL TEXT

Read the edited text by chapter

Transcript only
01

Experiment outcomes

Ramp growth leader Sri Batchu says that growth projects have had a high failure rate across the companies where he has worked.

Ramp growth leader Sri Batchu says that growth projects have had a high failure rate across the companies where he has worked.

In his personal experience, roughly 30% of these projects succeeded, leaving about two-thirds unsuccessful. This is his historical estimate, not a universal benchmark.

02

Learn quickly

Batchu argues that the key is to learn quickly and determine conclusively when an experiment has failed.

Batchu argues that the key is to learn quickly and determine conclusively when an experiment has failed.

More from this channel

1:00:17EN
20VC with Harry Stebbings· Oct 29, 2026Podcast · 3 speakersHarry Stebbings, Jason Lemkin and Rory O’Driscoll on AI financing and venture betsGuest Jason Lemkin, Rory O’Driscoll · Host Harry StebbingsThe investors debate AI lab economics, spending on infrastructure, open-model risks and how to evaluate fast-moving private investments.Venture CapitalAI cost & performanceEnterprise AI+2
23:48EN
20VC with Harry Stebbings· Oct 26, 2026Podcast · 2 speakersSatya Nadella on Zero Trust for AI and Why Every Company Should Own Its IntelligenceGuest Satya Nadella · Host Harry StebbingsThe Microsoft CEO argues that capable agents need security boundaries even as alignment research remains unsettled, and explains why firms should retain the value created by their own AI use.Enterprise AIAI securityEvals+2
1:13:26EN
20VC with Harry Stebbings· Oct 24, 2026Podcast · 2 speakersNaveen Rao on Energy, AI Hardware, Verification and the Future of RoboticsGuest Naveen Rao · Host Harry StebbingsThe Unconventional AI founder argues that energy efficiency will shape AI hardware, while the growing volume of model output makes verification more valuable.EnergySemiconductorsInference+2
59:41EN
20VC with Harry Stebbings· Oct 22, 2026Podcast · 3 speakers20VC: Venture Fund Size, AI Valuations and the Changing Software MarketGuest Jason Lemkin, Rory O’Driscoll · Host Harry StebbingsHarry Stebbings, Jason Lemkin and Rory O'Driscoll debate venture concentration, infrastructure risk, code review and the assumptions behind fast-growing AI companies.Venture CapitalInvestingAI cost & performance+2
1:19:50EN
20VC with Harry Stebbings· Oct 19, 2026Podcast · 2 speakersSameer Dholakia on AI Investing, Bessemer's Growth Strategy and Company CultureGuest Sameer Dholakia · Host Harry StebbingsThe Bessemer partner explains his approach to pricing fast-growing AI companies, backing founders and building teams, while discussing the risks behind his optimistic forecasts.Venture CapitalAI StrategyLeadership+2
1:03:05EN
20VC with Harry Stebbings· Oct 17, 2026Podcast · 2 speakersHarrison Chase on Building Reliable Agents, Model Routing and MemoryGuest Harrison Chase · Host Harry StebbingsThe LangChain co-founder explains why agents remain difficult to control, where domain expertise matters, and how his team manages coding-agent costs.AI agentsAgent orchestrationEvals+2