Karen Peacock, COO at Intercom, has a passion for helping companies grow and succeed. And she’s pretty darn good at it too.
At SaaStr Annual 2018, Karen took to the stage to discuss important lessons learned about revenue, customer success, team building, and more . Take a look at our quick, 30-second clips to see what she what she had to say.
Don’t Hire Your Polar Opposite As COO
When COO hires fail, it’s often because CEOs make this same big mistake: they look for someone who is going to do the things that they don’t want to do. But approaching a critical hire this way will only result in conflict because you’ll end up hiring someone who is your exact opposite. And like oil and water, says Karen, you’ll only end up pulling in different directions.
Be Smart About How You Approach Partnerships
A question Karen gets over and over again is, What should I, as a startup, focus on? Where do I spend my resources? A lot of startups look to partnerships to help them grow and thrive, but Karen suggests you approach these opportunities with caution. Make sure you know what exactly you’re signing up for, and don’t put all of your eggs in any one seemingly-promising partnership basket.
Provide Value and the Revenue Will Come
If you only focus on revenue and don’t figure out how you can really provide value and keep customers engaged, you’ll set yourself up to lose. Keep your eye on the real prize by making sure your product is something that a) solves real problems, and b) is built into your customers’ workflows. When you keep your focus on these two crucial components, the revenue will follow.
From exec hiring best practices to the importance of keeping customers happy, we’re definitely taking a few pages out of Karen’s business operations playbook. To gain even more wisdom from best-in-class SaaS experts, grab your tickets and mark your calendar for SaaStr Annual 2019.
