Howard Lerman
Founder, CEO @ Roam
In this episode of the Startupr Founders Series, we sit down with Howard Lerman, a serial entrepreneur best known for founding Yext (NYSE: YEXT) and now building Roam, a groundbreaking virtual HQ platform designed for distributed teams and AI-powered collaboration.
From scaling a startup to IPO to redefining how the modern workplace operates, Howard shares sharp insights about entrepreneurship, leadership, and the next wave of how we build companies.
Watch the full interview above or dive into the key highlights below.
The Journey from Yext to Roam: Reinventing Work for the AI Era
Howard’s path from founding Yext - a company that revolutionized digital knowledge management — to launching Roam is rooted in one mission: make work better, smarter, and truly global.
After growing Yext into a public company, Howard realized traditional office tools were broken for distributed teams.
Inspired by products like Slack and Zoom, but frustrated by their limitations, he set out to create a true virtual headquarters.
Roam’s vision: recreate the spontaneity and serendipity of a real office for remote teams - with AI agents acting as co-workers.
Quote:
"In a physical office, innovation happens between meetings. Roam is about bringing that energy to distributed teams."
How to Identify and Solve the Right Problem
One of Howard’s core lessons:
Don’t build products around features. Build around human behavior.
Roam isn’t just a video tool. It solves the deep emotional loss of connection that remote teams feel.
By focusing on the problem - not the tool - Roam aims to create a new category of collaboration.
✅ Related: LedgerUp: How Joe Johnson Found His Winning Niche
What It Takes to Scale: Lessons from IPO to Startup Again
Scaling Yext from idea to IPO taught Howard hard truths about company building:
Speed matters more than perfection.
Team chemistry is everything. Especially during early scaling phases.
Leadership means energy. As Howard says, "You have to be the battery for the company every single day."
Building Roam, he’s applying those same lessons but adapting to 2025 realities: distributed hiring, asynchronous collaboration, and AI-native workflows.
✅ Recommended: Travis Rosser on the Real Challenges of Scaling Kajabi
Why Roam Focuses on AI-Powered Collaboration
Unlike legacy remote tools, Roam is built from day one with AI agents:
AI teammates help with scheduling, note-taking, and even brainstorming.
Roam is designed to make hybrid work less lonely and more productive.
It leverages the latest advances from platforms like OpenAI and Anthropic.
This vision isn't incremental - it’s transformational. In a world where remote work is here to stay, Roam offers a third way: not fully remote, not fully physical, but intentionally hybrid.
Fundraising and Building in Public
Howard is no stranger to venture capital, but he shares an important reminder:
Don’t chase money first.
Focus on solving a painful problem, building a killer product, and attracting the right first believers.
Roam has quietly raised from world-class investors, but the true driver remains customer obsession.
✅ Explore: What Y Combinator Teaches About Finding Early Product-Market Fit
Howard’s Advice to Founders: Build for the Future You Believe In
For entrepreneurs building today, Howard offers these lessons:
Be early. If it feels obvious, it’s already too late.
Recruit missionaries, not mercenaries. Your early team should believe deeply in the vision.
Prioritize connection. Especially if you’re building a distributed or AI-driven company.
Think in decades, not quarters. The best companies compound slowly, then suddenly.
Stay relentlessly human. Technology is just a tool - people are still the core.
Howard’s Offer to the Startupr Community
Howard is open to helping founders thinking about:
Distributed team building
Creating collaboration tools
Scaling culture remotely
Feel free to connect with him on LinkedIn or explore Roam’s vision at Roam’s Website.
✨ Recommended Reading:
👋 Want to Build Your Own Startup?
Startupr helps founders go from first idea to scaling fast:
