Ben Freeman, Co-Founder & CEO at Omnea on Building an AI Native Procurement Platform, Talent Density, and Founder Paranoia

Ben Freeman is the Co-founder and CEO of Omnea, an AI native procurement and supplier management platform used by companies from the mid-market through to enterprise, including Synthesia, Typeform, Spotify, Monzo, Albertsons, and The Adecco Group.Ben’s path to procurement was not obvious. From running a bootstrapped events business in Manchester (and dropping out of uni), to a stint in investment banking at Lazard, to scaling cybersecurity company Tessian in New York, he accidentally discovered just how broken procurement can be inside otherwise world class organisations.In this conversation, Ben breaks down how he found conviction for Omnea through hundreds of user interviews, why procurement is a horizontal problem that touches every employee, and how macro shifts are making procurement a board-level priority.We also go deep on what Omnea is known for internally: talent density. Ben shares how they hired their early team, what “mutual fit” really means, why they are willing to pass on an “8”, and how he thinks about building an enduring company with a flat, player coach org structure.We cover:How to do customer discovery properly (and when to walk away)Why procurement is a huge market hiding in plain sightThe trade off between speed and shipping the right product for enterpriseHiring for traits over skills and what Ben looks for in interviewsFounder paranoia, time management, and staying close to customersBen’s dinner party guests and the future unicorn he is backing