CHURN FM

Today on the show we have Erica Ayotte, VP of Customer Success at Privy. In this episode, we talked about the importance of having deep expertise in a Customer Success team and how every CS manager at Privy has their very own unique superpower. Erica also explains how Privy successfully manages to provide a high-touch model feel to their customers at scale.  Erica also shares the tactics she uses...

Today on the show we have Brian LaFaille, Global Head, Customer Success Strategic Programs at Google. In this episode, we talked about how Brian is navigating customer retention post the Google acquisition, how both Google and Looker benefited from joining forces, and how they managed and prepared their existing customers for the transition.  We also discussed Looker’s explosive growth since joini...

Today on the show we have Harrison Rose, co-founder and Chief Customer Officer at Paddle. In this episode, we talked about what it was like for Harrison to just finish school and dive straight into building a hyper growth company. We then chatted about category creation and how Paddle is defining their Revenue Delivery Platform that they are taking ownership of and working towards creating and bec...

Today on the show we have Mike Sakaki VP of Customer Success & Support, and Tyler Ramsey, Senior Customer Success Manager at Mitek.  In this episode, we talked about what Mitek is and what they do, why Mike and Tyler made the decision to shift their onboarding flow, and the steps they took to implement their new onboarding program in order to mitigate churn. We also discussed the single metric...

Today is a BIG day as Churn FM turns 100 episodes old!  It’s been an amazing learning curve and I’ve been super lucky to speak to and learn from some of the brightest minds in the business.  For this special episode I wanted to give back to you, and all the other listeners of the show, who have helped shape and make it what it is today.  So to do that I turned to our amazing guests and asked for a...

Today on the show we have Emily González-Cebrián, co-founder and CEO of Froged. In this episode, we talked about why Emily decided to make the jump and start a SaaS business, how Froged was born, who their main customers are and how they help them with churn and retention.  We also discussed the importance of onboarding and activation, their unique personalized and human onboarding experience, and...

Today on the show we have David Sakamoto, VP of Customer Success at GitLab. In this episode, we talked about how David remembers names leading a team of over 200 people, the biggest differences between company giants like Cisco and hyper-growth startups like GitLab, and what David’s vision is for Customer Success at GitLab.  We also discussed why a CS team should be orchestrating the customer expe...

Today on the show we have Mariah Hay, VP of Product at Help Scout In this episode, Mariah shares the product principles she lives by, and the importance of having a cross-functional group of teams working towards outcomes with an aligned goal to avoid building a Frankenstein product.   We also discussed how Help Scout’s product team uses OKR’s, what Support Driven Growth is and how you can impleme...

Today on the show we have Derek Steer, Co-founder, and CEO of Mode. In this episode, we talked about what drove Derek as an analyst to start Mode, what they do, and who their typical customers are.   We also discussed how Mode nudged competitors out of their customer’s workflow by having a hyper-focus on technical analysts and what differentiates them in the data analysis market. Derek also shares...

Today on the show we have Shanta Bodhan, Director of Customer Success at SupplyShift. In this episode, we talked about what drove Shanta to make the switch from HR to customer success, the different parallels between employee retention and customer retention, and how SupplyShift adapts and aligns their product roadmap to their customer’s current needs. We also discussed the relationship between Cu...

Today on the show we have Dan Burcaw, co-founder and CEO of Nami ML. In this episode, we talked about what drove Dan to build Nami ML, the unique involuntary churn scenarios with mobile apps on iTunes and Google Play stores. We also discussed the different risks and concerns that companies like Spotify and Netflix might face by charging their customers outside the mobile app ecosystem, and what ro...

 Today on the show we have Sydney Strader, Head of Customer Success at Catalyst. In this episode, we talked about what motivated Sydney to make the switch from a career in marketing to customer success, how you can align compensation between sales and customer success.  We also discussed her time at Invision and how they maximized value for their customers by taking renewals off the CS team’s plat...

Today on the show we have Javier Suarez, co-founder of Oliva. In this episode, we talked about what it feels like to start over again after building TravelPerk, a hyper-growth startup. Javier also shared how the anxiety that came with being a founder of a hyper-growth company motivated him to start Oliva just a few years later. We also discussed how TravelPerk viewed churn and retention and what t...

Today on the show we have Kristi Faltorusso, VP of Customer Success at IntelliShift.  In this episode, we talked about how Kristi moved from a career in marketing to customer success and why it was the best decision she ever made. Kristi also shared what she focused on to get up to speed with the industry 12 years ago, and how previously being a power user of the product she worked for helped in l...

Today on the show we have Dave Blake, founder, and CEO of ClientSuccess In this episode, we talked about what motivated Dave to start ClientSuccess and how their service helps their customers drive expansion and reduce churn, he also shares what it was like being at Adobe when they made the big switch from selling compact discs to a cloud-based subscription service business. We also discussed how...

Today on the show we have Luke Diaz, VP of Customer Success at Clearbit. In this episode, we talked about why Luke made a career switch from working at a Hedge Fund to diving into Customer Success, and how Optimizely shifted their go-to-market strategy to fix churn and retention. We also discussed how AppsFlyer identifies strategic opportunities to drive expansion revenue, how you can show the imp...

Today on the show we have Megan Murphy, VP of Product at Hotjar. In this episode, we talked about the importance of delighting customers in small ways no matter the stage or size of a company, how Megan took the “Jobs To Be Done” framework to the next level, and how she’s trying to build a more human product strategy at Hotjar.   We also discussed why growth at all costs can set you up for failure...

Today on the show we have Ryan Robinson, founder, and blogger of ryrob.com In this episode, we talked about how Ryan conducts revenue-generating keyword research, why revenue is his number one content metric to track, and how he helps companies with their overall content strategy. We also discussed how Ryan tracks and measures results for his customers, how he uses content marketing as an educatio...

Today on the show we have Megan Bowen, Chief Customer Officer at RefineLabs In this episode, we talked about what a revenue engine optimization agency does and how they help their customers grow with their demand generation framework. We also discussed how to measure churn and retention for technology software products that have a service delivery component and how Grubhub successfully retains cus...

Today on the show we have Derek Skaletsky, Founder and CEO of Sherlock. In this episode, we talked about how Derek came up with the idea to build Sherlock and why now, how Sherlock determines an engagement score, and how CS, Sales, and Marketing teams can use it. We also discussed how Derek’s Head of Customer Success self was arguing with his Head of Product self back at Kissmetrics whilst leading...

Today on the show we have Sançar Sahin, co-founder of Oliva. In this episode, we talked about the necessary elements you need to build a world-class marketing team, the impact a company’s go-to market strategy has on choosing the right team members, and the inspiration behind Oliva.  We also discussed Sançar’s move from building teams as a VP, back to the scrappy stage of a one-man marketing team,...

Today on the show we have Patrick Thompson, co-founder, and CEO of Iteratively. In this episode, we talked about why Patrick made the leap to start his own business, how 200 interviews over 6 months of customer discovery helped them find the biggest data-related pain point software teams have, and how Iteratively helps solve it.  We also discussed what it was like to work in the growth team at Atl...

Today on the show we have Adelina Peltea, VP of Growth at Holded. In this episode, we talked about the biggest differences between different growth stages of a startup, why you should always stay true to your startup’s DNA, how to iterate your way to product-market fit at the Seed stage and why Adelina believes you should never get feedback from free users.   We also discussed Adelina’s responsibi...

Today on the show we have Mark Tanner, co-founder, and COO of Qwilr. In this episode, we talked about what it was like for Mark taking the leap from a cushy job at Google to start his own business, why they built Qwilr, the motivation behind it, and what's the big plan for the future.   We also discussed Qwilr’s on and off relationship with a freemium plan of their product, how first impressi...

Today on the show we have David Apple, Head of Customer Success at Notion. In this episode, we talked about the conflict between Sales and Customer Success and how it can be avoided, what the leading indicators of retention are at Typeform VS Notion, and how Typeform’s CS team segments its customers based on their retention rate to help prioritize, appoint resources, and make decisions.  We also d...