From time to time, a few words are introduced in a conversation, article, book, etc, and instead of slipping in and out of short term memory – it sticks. It becomes something that comes to mind nearly every day. As CEO, I’ve had to struggle with the challenge of being ultimately responsible for everything that happens to the company. However, as we’ve grown, I’ve given away more and more of...
We’ve been fortunate to have a steadily increasing flow of candidates applying to roles at Contactually. With our ambitious growth goals, much of our managers’ time is spent interviewing. As volume increases, and more specialization is required of our roles, the ratio of interviews:offers has changed. We’ve had to raise our standards, implement better process, and be more critical overall. We...
I originally wrote this for the Contactually Blog here, but I’m reposting this to my own blog. Our first and foremost core value is focus on the user. That’s mainly of course manifested in the product we sell and the always-be-helpful mantra of our customer-facing teams. But we know that we needed this a bit more baked into the DNA of the company than what we produce. First Attempts We’ve...
I originally wrote this for the Contactually Blog here, but I’m reposting this to my own blog. We believe relationships power great businesses. So our team at Contactually is always working on how we can help empower great relationships, through proven and new methods. We’ve heard of Basketball Diplomacy — how about Basketball Relationships? Hmm, maybe not as news-worthy or “diplomatic,”...
In Ben Horowitz’s Hard Things About Hard Things (arguably one of the best leadership books recently released), one of the early chapters really landed on me, especially as I reflect on the last year. I do think that gratitude is an important skill to have throughout the year – but as I look back, I’m just happy to have survived. While other team members, executives, and founders...
There’s been a great discussion in startup leadership/venture circles about a NYTimes article. Beyond bringing to light a company that made (in hindsight) a series of poor decisions, terrible fundraising terms, and a lack of transparency with employees, it also brought forth a key point for startup employees. The equity in the company, often times dangled as a reason to join a risky venture...
Since Contactually is all about relationship building, many initial conversations I have end up coming back to me and my own social skills. More often than not, it’s assumed that, with my startup’s focus, my role, my involvement as a connector and supporter of the local tech community, and general outgoing demeanor, that I’m a natural extrovert. So it’s surprising for most...
I originally wrote this for the Contactually Blog here, but I’m reposting this to my own blog. Inside Contactually: Our Failed Experiment with Mixed Team Seating In the 3.5 years since the company has started, we’ve had four offices. Our office prior to where we are now was a cluster of individual offices. As we grew and started putting more people into each office, the offices ended up...
“If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.” – Eldridge Cleaver My motus operandi has been to surround myself with the best talent possible – irregardless of any other defining characteristic they may possess (country, race, sexual orientation, affinity for hot sauce). So I never paid attention to any talk about workplace diversity, believing that that was a...
Contactually is currently in the, to quote Jason Lemkin, the Possible, but Painful phase. We’ve long since passed the initial $1M ARR phase, where we became “real.” We’ve nailed enterprise customers. We know how to hire. We have a clear idea of our product roadmap, vision, and strategy. But we’re in the long, slow slog to $10M ARR, where every month is focused not on...