DecisionDesk provides SaaS solutions for streamlining digital admissions processes for higher education institutions. After initial success with online portfolios, they pivoted to focus on larger deals, but struggled with a massive implementation that required rewriting their product. They learned that discovery is cheaper than late discovery, experience is better than being scrappy, and to focus on either SMB or enterprise markets, not both. They now have a process of specialized roles to properly execute large deals and target the right decision makers to avoid getting bogged down in price negotiations.
Create Success With Analytics: Living With Technical Debt - Balancing Quality...Aggregage
As a Product Manager, you probably have to deal with technical debt. Regularly. Whether you like it or not - because it can’t be avoided. Unexpected details pop up, as small as UX that needs clean-up, and as big as a previously unforeseen flaw in the infrastructure of a project. We have to accept that nobody gets away without some technical debt. And of course, the longer you take to deal with your technical debt, the more difficult it becomes to address fully.
Feeling frustrated? Fortunately, we can take a step back, gain clarity, and see how the decisions we make impact our technical debt. Then, we can make decisions about how we want to balance technical debt with other priorities. Are we willing to live with some level of technical debt in order to ship product and meet deadlines? Can we mitigate technical debt to get to an MVP faster?
Create Success With Analytics: Living With Technical Debt - Balancing Quality...Aggregage
As a Product Manager, you probably have to deal with technical debt. Regularly. Whether you like it or not - because it can’t be avoided. Unexpected details pop up, as small as UX that needs clean-up, and as big as a previously unforeseen flaw in the infrastructure of a project. We have to accept that nobody gets away without some technical debt. And of course, the longer you take to deal with your technical debt, the more difficult it becomes to address fully.
Feeling frustrated? Fortunately, we can take a step back, gain clarity, and see how the decisions we make impact our technical debt. Then, we can make decisions about how we want to balance technical debt with other priorities. Are we willing to live with some level of technical debt in order to ship product and meet deadlines? Can we mitigate technical debt to get to an MVP faster?
Create Success With Analytics: Living With Technical Debt - Balancing Quality...Hannah Flynn
As a Product Manager, you probably have to deal with technical debt. Regularly. Whether you like it or not - because it can’t be avoided. Unexpected details pop up, as small as UX that needs clean-up, and as big as a previously unforeseen flaw in the infrastructure of a project. We have to accept that nobody gets away without some technical debt. And of course, the longer you take to deal with your technical debt, the more difficult it becomes to address fully.
Feeling frustrated? Fortunately, we can take a step back, gain clarity, and see how the decisions we make impact our technical debt. Then, we can make decisions about how we want to balance technical debt with other priorities. Are we willing to live with some level of technical debt in order to ship product and meet deadlines? Can we mitigate technical debt to get to an MVP faster?
CIO Leadership: What We Can Learn from History to Drive Success in Today's Cl...Jim Vaselopulos
Each year magazines and pundits suggest that the role of the CIO is changing. In a time where we have seen vendor consolidation, the pace of new technologies slow and business growth stagnate - does the CIO role really need to change again? Why does it feel as though IT still has trouble keeping up with demand? What can we learn from history to help us cope with the increasingly technical demands of our employees, customers and marketplaces?
Objectives of this presentation:
* How to stay ahead of your customer
* How to stay relevant to your business
* How to build a forward-thinking, solution-oriented culture in IT
* How to manage costs and still be innovative
* How to mitigate risk and make safe technology bets
* How to be the victor and not the victim
Speed of the Game: Moving from Data to Insight to ActionValkre
Moving from Customer Value Data to Insight to Action presented by Jerry Alderman, CEO of Valkre at the Institute for the Study of Business Markets Winter Conference, 2013.
Presentation given by Fadi Stephan from Kaizenko at AgileDC2018 on 10/15/2018 in Washington DC. Also see blog series on Managing Technical Debt at https://www.kaizenko.com/managing-technical-debt/
Is your team constantly missing delivery dates? Is the velocity decreasing from sprint to sprint while the development costs are rising? Are customers complaining about the increasing number of bugs and the long time it takes to add new features? These are all signs that you are mired in technical debt and probably on your way to bankruptcy or a complete system rewrite. Technical debt is inevitable, whether intentional or unintentional. However, not managing technical debt can paralyze your organization. Fadi Stephan expands on the technical debt metaphor and introduces a technical debt management plan that enables executives and teams to make prudent decisions on code quality and technical debt. Come learn how to measure the quality of your code base and determine the amount of your debt.
Bundledarrows170 bit.ly/stanfordstartupscamp370
bit.ly/foundersguide415z
To identify the best amateur artisans savants, OAC built sophisticated technology to rate the skill of each market manager, using techniques employed by the most sophisticated evaluators of market managers.
Lscon16 414 Gaining Executive Buy-in For Your Learning EcosystemJohn Delano
As a learning leader, you want to build a world class learning model. But the problem is you need executive support, funding, IT support, etc. A learning ecosystem that satisfies today’s learner requires changing the conversation with all the stakeholders.
In this session, you’ll use the learning model canvas to create the story for changing the mindset and mechanics of the corporate learning model. You’ll learn the top two learning organization patterns and the top five learning organization models. You will be able to identify your organization’s current model, identify the dependencies needed for implementing a new learning ecosystem, and actionable next steps for implementing it in the workplace. You will gain the skills to: select the most effective learning model for the organization, determine actionable steps to gain commitment and resources for a new learning ecosystem, and facilitate consultant-like discussions at the executive level.
DAN Brand Accelerator: Client Pitch KeynoteJason Newport
Here is the Brand Accelerator pitch deck I began using to pitch current clients more than two years ago. I refined as we advanced through each phase once clients had signed on and we adjusted as necessary. I pitched this to more than twenty clients, all household brand names -- an converted each of them. Not a single brand declined to move forward.
Create Success With Analytics: Living With Technical Debt - Balancing Quality...Hannah Flynn
As a Product Manager, you probably have to deal with technical debt. Regularly. Whether you like it or not - because it can’t be avoided. Unexpected details pop up, as small as UX that needs clean-up, and as big as a previously unforeseen flaw in the infrastructure of a project. We have to accept that nobody gets away without some technical debt. And of course, the longer you take to deal with your technical debt, the more difficult it becomes to address fully.
Feeling frustrated? Fortunately, we can take a step back, gain clarity, and see how the decisions we make impact our technical debt. Then, we can make decisions about how we want to balance technical debt with other priorities. Are we willing to live with some level of technical debt in order to ship product and meet deadlines? Can we mitigate technical debt to get to an MVP faster?
CIO Leadership: What We Can Learn from History to Drive Success in Today's Cl...Jim Vaselopulos
Each year magazines and pundits suggest that the role of the CIO is changing. In a time where we have seen vendor consolidation, the pace of new technologies slow and business growth stagnate - does the CIO role really need to change again? Why does it feel as though IT still has trouble keeping up with demand? What can we learn from history to help us cope with the increasingly technical demands of our employees, customers and marketplaces?
Objectives of this presentation:
* How to stay ahead of your customer
* How to stay relevant to your business
* How to build a forward-thinking, solution-oriented culture in IT
* How to manage costs and still be innovative
* How to mitigate risk and make safe technology bets
* How to be the victor and not the victim
Speed of the Game: Moving from Data to Insight to ActionValkre
Moving from Customer Value Data to Insight to Action presented by Jerry Alderman, CEO of Valkre at the Institute for the Study of Business Markets Winter Conference, 2013.
Presentation given by Fadi Stephan from Kaizenko at AgileDC2018 on 10/15/2018 in Washington DC. Also see blog series on Managing Technical Debt at https://www.kaizenko.com/managing-technical-debt/
Is your team constantly missing delivery dates? Is the velocity decreasing from sprint to sprint while the development costs are rising? Are customers complaining about the increasing number of bugs and the long time it takes to add new features? These are all signs that you are mired in technical debt and probably on your way to bankruptcy or a complete system rewrite. Technical debt is inevitable, whether intentional or unintentional. However, not managing technical debt can paralyze your organization. Fadi Stephan expands on the technical debt metaphor and introduces a technical debt management plan that enables executives and teams to make prudent decisions on code quality and technical debt. Come learn how to measure the quality of your code base and determine the amount of your debt.
Bundledarrows170 bit.ly/stanfordstartupscamp370
bit.ly/foundersguide415z
To identify the best amateur artisans savants, OAC built sophisticated technology to rate the skill of each market manager, using techniques employed by the most sophisticated evaluators of market managers.
Lscon16 414 Gaining Executive Buy-in For Your Learning EcosystemJohn Delano
As a learning leader, you want to build a world class learning model. But the problem is you need executive support, funding, IT support, etc. A learning ecosystem that satisfies today’s learner requires changing the conversation with all the stakeholders.
In this session, you’ll use the learning model canvas to create the story for changing the mindset and mechanics of the corporate learning model. You’ll learn the top two learning organization patterns and the top five learning organization models. You will be able to identify your organization’s current model, identify the dependencies needed for implementing a new learning ecosystem, and actionable next steps for implementing it in the workplace. You will gain the skills to: select the most effective learning model for the organization, determine actionable steps to gain commitment and resources for a new learning ecosystem, and facilitate consultant-like discussions at the executive level.
DAN Brand Accelerator: Client Pitch KeynoteJason Newport
Here is the Brand Accelerator pitch deck I began using to pitch current clients more than two years ago. I refined as we advanced through each phase once clients had signed on and we adjusted as necessary. I pitched this to more than twenty clients, all household brand names -- an converted each of them. Not a single brand declined to move forward.
Pitching is a key skill of every successful entrepreneur. How do you communicate your business clearly to employees, customers, and investors? How to put together a pitch deck? What are some common pitching mistakes that make you look inexperienced? What is the best way to pitch your business?
Agile Requirements Agile Philly HandoutsDoniel Wilson
Agile Requirements Management is about mitigating risk and considering trade-offs that can be made early in the planning process.
While Agile improves many components of software delivery, one constant struggle for development is being able to accurately discern what the customer wants. This discussion will address common pitfalls in the requirements management cycle.
Don will highlight risks and present several strategies to mitigate these risks to improve the ability to deliver the desired results and the value an agile team brings to the organization.
As the Managing Director of Revolutionary Performance Management, Inc., Don Wilson has analyzed, planned, and implemented technology strategies for top tier companies such as Sprint, Marriott, AARP, and most recently the American Chemical Society. He is a Certified Project Management Professional, a Certified Scrum Product Owner and a Certified Scrum Master. He has a reputation for reviving “troubled” projects, achieving successful outcomes, and exceeding expectations. He is known as the “project-whisperer” for his ability to navigate effortlessly between business and technical groups to identify unspoken requirements.
Read more about Don Wilson on the Agile Philly website for this event at: http://www.agilephilly.com/events/2014-agile-requirements or www.thinkrpm.com
Salesforce delivers innovative experiences and vision to our customers every day. Learn from the Global Innovation Solutions team exactly how they build innovation into our process, product, and culture.
Tales of {Good Teams'} Failures - Case Studies, Root Causes & RecommendationsMirketa Inc
This article is a collection of short case studies where teams failed to meet the expected results. The underlying companies were of different sizes, culture and industries. The only thing common across the board was the quality of the people – all the teams had bright individuals that had a track record of success.
About the Author --
Rajeev Kumar is a senior partner at Mirketa Inc. Rajeev specializes in managing complex programs, developing lean processes & teams and setting up governance. He has over 18 years of experience working in executive, middle management and individual contributor roles at startups and fortune 500 companies from different industries and countries. Prior to Mirketa, Rajeev founded 2 startups in the financial planning and event management space.
Your company's identity (what you do) and implementation (how you do it) should be closely linked. Here are the precepts to keep in mind as you bring them together: Aim high. Build on your strengths. Be ambidextrous (sophisticated at both strategy and execution). Clarify everyone's strategic role. Align structures to strategy. Transcend functional barriers. Become a fully digital enterprise. Keep it simple, sometimes. Shape your value chain. And cultivate collective mastery. Do all those things, and your company will be on its way to effectively executing its strategy.
UX STRAT 2018 | Flying Blind On a Rocket Cycle: Pioneering Experience Centere...Joe Lamantia
After Oracle acquired Endeca, we all had to figure out what to do next. This case study describes building a learning-driven strategy capability to guide an adventurous product development group focused on the new domains of big data analytics and machine intelligence. I’ll share the outcomes of our efforts to launch new products chartered directly around customer experience value; outline the methods, tools, and perspectives that powered product discovery and strategic planning; share a framework and patterns for identifying and understanding emerging domains; and review the application of this toolkit to new situations.
Sanjib Sahoo, CTO of tradeMONSTER, tells the the story of his startup rising to become Barron's #1 ranked trading platform by using effective leadership, fearless organization culture, recruiting the right people agile development and open source technology.
Similar to Becoming an Enterprise SaaS Company | DecisionDesk @ TechPint (20)
Finding Your Blue Lobster - Deb Mills-Scofield - Wisr Leadership SummitJohn Knific
Mentoring 100
- Start simple and small
- Short-Term: Mentoring a person once or twice
- Focused: Mentoring for career or internship advice
- Benefits to Mentor, Mentee, University/College
- Get feedback from Mentor and Mentee
UChicago [Presentation] - Wisr's Role in a Successful Engagement StrategyJohn Knific
By Meredith Daw
Associate Vice President
Executive Director, Career Advancement
Successful engagement plays a key role in:
- Student career outcomes
- Leveling playing field for low-income students
- Alumni institutional affinity and involvement
Terms to Describe Student-Alumni Engagement by Benedictine UniversityJohn Knific
Three years ago, Director of Alumni Engagement Trente Arens was charged with creating 'B.U.M.P', the Benedictine University Mentorship Program. Immediately, the one on one, a year-long program presented challenges scaling beyond a few dozen students. The experience lead her team to ask, what really is mentoring?
Leveraging Wisr Beyond Mentorship at Cedarville UniversityJohn Knific
In her role as Director of Alumni Relations & Annual Giving, Stephanie Carroll wanted to bring the gap between alumni relations and career services, using these bridges:
1. Common Thought from Alumni: “We want to help the students”
2. Looking for a mentorship program that wouldn’t require a lot of staff time
3. Increase Alumni Affinity and Engagement
4. A desire to not have our alumni on multiple platforms
What You're Going to Learn
- How These 4 Leaks Force You To Work Longer And Harder in order to grow your income… improve just one of these and the impact could be life changing.
- How to SHUT DOWN the revolving door of Income Stagnation… you know, where new sales come into your magazine while at the same time existing sponsors exit.
- How to transform your magazine business by fixing the 4 “DON’Ts”...
#1 LEADS Don’t Book
#2 PROSPECTS Don’t Show
#3 PROSPECTS Don’t Buy
#4 CLIENTS Don’t Stay
- How to identify which leak to fix first so you get the biggest bang for your income.
- Get actionable strategies you can use right away to improve your bookings, sales and retention.
Best Crypto Marketing Ideas to Lead Your Project to SuccessIntelisync
In this comprehensive slideshow presentation, we delve into the intricacies of crypto marketing, offering invaluable insights and strategies to propel your project to success in the dynamic cryptocurrency landscape. From understanding market trends to building a robust brand identity, engaging with influencers, and analyzing performance metrics, we cover all aspects essential for effective marketing in the crypto space.
Also Intelisync, our cutting-edge service designed to streamline and optimize your marketing efforts, leveraging data-driven insights and innovative strategies to drive growth and visibility for your project.
With a data-driven approach, transparent communication, and a commitment to excellence, InteliSync is your trusted partner for driving meaningful impact in the fast-paced world of Web3. Contact us today to learn more and embark on a journey to crypto marketing mastery!
Ready to elevate your Web3 project to new heights? Contact InteliSync now and unleash the full potential of your crypto venture!
Explore Sarasota Collection's exquisite and long-lasting dining table sets and chairs in Sarasota. Elevate your dining experience with our high-quality collection!
2. DecisionDesk is a team of EdTech veterans and former admissions
professionals who excel at collaborative SaaS solutions by streamlining any
digital admissions process through intuitive submission, review, and
decisioning technology. This enables institutions to efficiently yield the best
applicants and retain that data for student retention, unlike static, legacy
systems that can’t adjust to a shifting technology landscape.
What is DecisionDesk (today)?
4. Founded by three college friends
Our journey began with a fairly common college startup combination…no experience, lots of
passion. While the company is run by a different team now, with many pivots and learnings
along the way, having a ‘hacker, hustler, hipster’ foundation was ESSENTIAL to execution
5. Social networks were all the rage
The initial ‘spark’ was not based on solving any practical pain points. We were trying to build a social network for creative
professionals. But the necessity to survive put us in front of universities, in an attempt to target college students. Now we
understand the term customer development, but then, we were just trying to ‘sell something’. It turned out the universities
we approached saw something we didn’t. They needed help managing the review of portfolios from applying students.
6. 2010
Online Portfolios
First business model
Avg. $7,500 ARR
We had great success during our first two years as an online portfolio provider, scaling to $500k+ in
recurring revenue. This was a SMB SaaS play, with short setup times, and a fairly ‘out of the box’
application and review process for our customers.
7. The first pivot
One problem… we were becoming kings of a molehill. Higher Ed is a great market, ripe for disruption, but
the market dynamics require you to drive lots of value per customer. There are simply not enough schools
to build a venture-backed company at SMB average deal sizes.
8. The first pivot
So we pivoted. It was a bad year. I had to take a machete to the organization. With weeks of cash left, we
cut half the staff, assembled a bridge round, and were faced with some tough decisions.
9. Lev Gonick
Former CIO at Case
Western Reserve
University, EdTech
thought leader
Jason Palmer
Deputy Director, Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation,
formerly Microsoft,
SchoolNet, Kaplan
James Werner, EVP Sales
10+ Yrs Education Sales
Blackboard, SunGard HE
Kate Volzer, VP BD
Director Admission, U
Chicago
MBA, Chicago Booth
Talent 2.0 - Industry Focus
Jon Boyle, (former) VP Products
2x Entrepreneur/
Product Lead
Tim Downs, VP Technology
HubSpot, Mongoose
Metrics
Then came something great. Focus. We recruited a series of high caliber executives and board members
with a much better understanding of the Higher Ed market place, and experience with larger SaaS deal
sizes. That year, we held OpEx stable, and doubled revenue.
10. 2013
Online Admissions
Avg. $35,000 ARR
Second business model
We targeted universities with a solution to manage the end-to-end application and review process for all
admissions, not just portfolios. Things were looking up.
11. Then a new problem surfaced. We may have had a better business model and focused execution, but
there was increasing competition in the EdTech marketplace. An important strategic question emerged…
how do we drive 6-figures of value per customer and avoid becoming a commoditized product?
12. 2015
Enterprise
Decision Management
Our Story
$Xm | 5-Year Contract
Through a combination of timing, having the right people, and luck, we were short listed for a massive
state system RFP. Then the impossible, we won, beating massive enterprise names in the market.
DecisionDesk had it’s first 7-figure enterprise-wide contract.
14. In the course of 6 months we attempted to…
• Implement a customer 6x larger than our next largest
• Rewrite our product from scratch
• Still grow revenue by 100%
• Not lose any customers
…then we took inventory of action items
15. Uh oh
Suffice to say, the heat was turned up and we felt like the ones in the explosion
16. What are the (hard) lessons we
have learned pivoting into
Enterprise SaaS?
17. Don’t rewrite your product from scratch
…and pray at the alter of incrementalism
Pivot lesson #1
Ok, this statement is a bit extreme. But rarely has a company said “well that went well” after initiating a
re-write. There are years worth of incremental decisions to keep customers delighted in a product.
These are often not factored into the decisioning process. Most times, the decisions to re-write can be
accomplished with less drastic measured, and can be phased.
19. Module Based Approach
ADMINAPPLICATION REVIEW Portfolio
API, Data Warehouse
Configuration, Users, Global Preferences
Connector ConnectorConnector Connector
After some trial and error, we landed on an approach that decoupled the various web applications we
were offering, and our data/integration/analytics IP, which has become fundamental to driving enterprise
value (and positioning us to do some very interesting things in the market)
21. Month
Week 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b
b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b
b b b b b b
d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d d
d d d d d d
d d d d d d d
s s s s s s s s
s s s s s s
s s s s
N2N Implementation
Review Handoff
UIS UAT
Test Connection
Review Handoff
UIS UAT
Configuration
Review Handoff
UIS UAT
Review Specs
Approve Approach Document
Implementation
Review Handoff
UIS UAT
Security Touchpoints
2
1
2 b b
5 b b b b b b
July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb
DecisionDesk Onsite (If Required)
Project Deliverables
BOULDER
Grad
Undergrad
Continuing Education
DENVER
Grad
Undergrad
Continuing Education
COLORADO SPRINGS
Grad
Undergrad
Continuing Education
INTEGRATIONS AND SECURITY
Campus Solutions
SSO Admin
Scope SSO Undergrad If required in scoping
Nelnet
Singularity
Security Audit and Final UIS UAT
Production Switch Over
CONTRACT DEADLINES
11/1/2015
Feature complete stage environment.
Feature UAT completed by select
campuses, approving Core Product portion
of Scope. Remaining functional team work
limited to Configuraiton UAT
3/1/2016
Latest deadline for full go live of remaining
schools, contingent on UIS final testing,
and one month window for production
switch over
Implementation Deliverables
Boulder
Grad
Review 1 General Grad Program Spec
1 Completed Program Handoff
Feature Focused UAT
Document remaining program specs
Far too much of our initial discovery was post contract, and that puts everyone at risk; you, the customer, and your team.
This is a screen shot of our project deliverables. While we can’t share the details, it’s clear the scope became far more
complex than originally anticipated. This was a very important lesson to be successful in the enterprise market, and create
repeatability in our approach.
22. Field Sales
Solu=on Engineer
The Deal Trio
Account Manager
SME
• Primary client contact
• Manages relationship
• Understands decision making unit
Or
• Interprets client requests into DD
terminology (“Ah, that would be a
Bin, and this is how it works”)
• Answers approaches to integration
and implementation
• Describes case studies and the
benefits of a solution
• Injects thought leadership into the
conversation
Super
Demos
Identify
Pain
Points
Verify
Solution
Draft
Solution
Proposal
Deal Trio
We crafted a much stronger sales and solutions process as a result
24. SMB Enterprise
84 Customers
~$10,000 ARR + 1 Yr
13 Customers
~$90,000 ARR + 3 Yrs
•30-day implementation
•3-month sales cycle
•Inside Sales
•120-day implementation
•6-9 month sales cycle
•BDR + Field Sales + SE
Our new focus required fundamental change throughout the organization, including marketing, sales,
and customer success. This was managed well, but has been no small undertaking.
26. I’ve heard the term ‘Navy Seal Team’ used when describing the select group of people who will navigate,
win, and execute really massive contracts. As a startup, still feeling its way into the market, an Ocean’s
Eleven operation was a more apt analogy.
27. Create role ownership
Subject Matter
Expert
Solutions
Manager
Product
Manager
Engineering
Manager
Enterprise Sales
Lead
Customer
Success
Platform
Manager
Understanding the balance of skills needed for enterprise contracts was a critical moment for the
organization. Startups usually have a mix of talents with strengths and weaknesses, all adapting to the
needs of their customers. While that won’t go away, you need to have ownership of key areas to
properly execute an enterprise contract. Missing one of these components will hurt, causing you to either
lose the deal, or worse, win a deal that will sink you because it’s not the right fit.
28. Create role ownership
Subject Matter
Expert
Solutions
Manager
Product
Manager
Engineering
Manager
Enterprise Sales
Lead
Customer
Success
Manager
Platform
Manager
Relationship/
Owns DMU
Interpret Needs/
Implementation
Integrations/
Security/
Relationship Post
Sale/ Growth
Here are a breakdown of the skills needed in each of these roles
29. The reinforcing products process, with a Subject Matter Expert (SME), Engineering Manager (Scrum
Master), and Product Manager (Product Owner) is what creates visibility and predictability. Enterprise
contracts are never done being implemented. They grow, change shape, and require constant
nurturing. Lacking a good product process can be very demoralizing to your team, as they will get lost in
the trees (field mapping, custom code, etc) and lose track of the forest (your vision and the customer
outcomes)
30. It’s ok to be picky (with deal flow)
Pivot lesson #5
31. You can waste tremendous time with leads at the wrong decision-making level. It ties up your resources, and
results in fewer sales qualified leads (SQLs) that will convert into material opportunities. Remember the note
about understanding your decisioning making unit (DMU)? Focusing on a smaller batch of targets with the
right decision makers is a game changer. A VP-level prospect, for example, will focus on long term outcomes
and be less price sensitive. Director-level will be more tactical, tending to nickel and dime over features.
Enterprise software requires discipline to avoid price feature trench ware fare. After taking the time to hone our
messaging and be more discerning over pipe, we saw a massive uptick in pipeline.
32. In Summary
• Be careful before executing a product re-write, there are generally more wrong
reasons than right ones
• Be vigilant about the customer/solution discovery process, and understand your
customer’s decision making unit
• Elevate your scrappy team with the right experience, an enterprise deal
requires you to build a navy seal (or Ocean’s Eleven) team
• Be picky over deal flow, never stop honing your targeting
Our customers are now much happier, we are better positioned to scale, and have a better view of the
‘forest’.