Not Another CEO Podcast

In this episode of Not Another CEO Podcast, David sits down with Phil Fernandez, a SaaS legend with over 40 years of experience. Fernandez is the Co-Founder and Former CEO of Marketo, which has become part of the Adobe product lineup.  

Fernandez reflects on his journey leading Marketo to become one of the most successful marketing automation platforms in history. From pioneering brand-building strategies to navigating fierce competition and near-death challenges, Phil shares valuable lessons for entrepreneurs and leaders striving to make an impact in today’s fast-evolving business landscape.

Takeaways:

• Start with the Brand: Fernandez emphasizes the importance of building a strong brand presence and engaging customers early, even before launching a product. Marketo’s success was rooted in creating a community of advocates who believed in the company’s vision from day one.
• Customer-Centric Leadership: Fernandez shares his philosophy of focusing entirely on solving customer problems rather than fixating on competitors. This approach allowed Marketo to foster trust and loyalty, even during challenging times.
• Overcoming Challenges: Fernandez recounts a critical moment when Salesforce acquired a competitor and temporarily disrupted Marketo’s integration. By focusing on customer impact, the company was able to regain their Salesforce integration.
• Navigating Funding Hurdles: Despite a stellar track record, Fernandez faced resistance raising Marketo’s initial funding in 2006. He recalls the perseverance needed to secure their first $1.5 million and how he and his co-founders built momentum from there.
• Hiring for Culture: Fernandez reflects on the importance of assembling a team that shares the company’s values. He shares the story of recruiting Bill Binch over a year-long process, ultimately creating a sales organization aligned with Marketo’s mission.

Quote of the Show:

• “ All of our communications with the market was about customers, was about what we were seeing, how to be better, how to do better, how to think better.” - Phil Fernandez

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-fernandez-6902881/
• Twitter: https://x.com/philf1217
• Website: https://business.adobe.com/products/marketo.html

Ways to Tune In:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NQ9oAB2XKlgWeL8iEQXg0 
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/not-another-ceo-podcast/id1751581707 
• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7c6328f0-9b42-41db-8fe2-d263b4fbb261 
• Transistor: https://podcast.notanotherceo.com/ 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotAnotherCEOPodcast 

#NotAnotherCEO #BusinessSuccess #Marketo

Joining the show this week is a journalist turned executive leadership expert. Having interviewed over 1,000 CEOs over the course of his 30 year career, this guest is none other than the Senior Managing Director at The ExCo Group, Adam Bryant. 

Bryant shares his insights from over 30 years of interviewing leaders and exploring the paradoxes of leadership. From his framework for authenticity to understanding the "optimal band of busyness," Adam discusses what motivates effective leaders to lead and how they navigate the ever-increasing complexity of today’s challenges.

Takeaways:

• Simplifying Complexity: Effective leaders excel at breaking down intricate problems into clear, digestible priorities for their teams. Bryant emphasizes the importance of framing challenges in a way that inspires clarity and action, ensuring everyone knows where they’re going and how to get there.
• The Authenticity Framework: Authenticity is about aligning how people perceive you with how you intend to show up as a leader. It’s not about oversharing emotions but about communicating your values and the stories behind them to build trust and credibility.
• Leadership Paradoxes: Bryant explores the delicate balancing acts leaders must navigate, such as being confident yet humble or compassionate while holding people accountable. He highlights the importance of contextual decision-making to manage these complexities effectively.
• OBOB (Optimal Band of Busyness): Leaders thrive when they find their "optimal band of busyness"—a balance that keeps them engaged without overwhelming or under-stimulating them. Bryant shares how this concept applies to both leadership and post-exit planning.
• Team Trust Building: Building trust within teams starts with vulnerability and open communication. Bryant describes exercises like leadership user manuals and storytelling to help team members see each other as human beings, fostering deeper connections and collaboration.
• Why Leaders Lead: Many leaders are driven by transformative early-life experiences, whether adversity, immigrant stories, or the influence of extraordinary parents. Bryant reflects on how these motivations shape leaders’ decisions and their approach to challenges.

Quote of the Show:

• “ I always think about leadership as a series of paradoxes or contradictions or balancing acts. It's never about one thing. And I think to be an effective leader, you have to be comfortable in those paradoxes.” - Adam Bryant

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adambryantleadership/
• Twitter: https://x.com/adambbryant
• Website: https://www.excoleadership.com/

Ways to Tune In:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NQ9oAB2XKlgWeL8iEQXg0 
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/not-another-ceo-podcast/id1751581707 
• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7c6328f0-9b42-41db-8fe2-d263b4fbb261 
• Transistor: https://podcast.notanotherceo.com/ 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotAnotherCEOPodcast 

#NotAnotherCEO #BusinessSuccess #TheExCoGroup

Joining the show this week is a woman who's dedicated her career to giving employees access to knowledge and elevating women in business. Featured on Forbes 30 Under 30, 100 Women of Influence, and more, this guest is none other than the Co-Founder and CEO of Spekit, Melanie Fellay. 

Fellay shares her experiences as a female founder and her journey to raising millions to build her current business. She provides insights on early branding strategies, overcoming operational hurdles, and the challenges of building a high-growth company.

Takeaways:

• Branding Early: Fellay emphasizes the power of investing in brand identity from the start, using distinct colors, mascots, and unique marketing to differentiate Speckit in a crowded market.
• Creative Customer Acquisition: From leveraging LinkedIn and Twitter communities to booking a booth at Dreamforce before having customers, Fellay highlights unconventional methods that helped land Speckit’s first clients.
• Leadership Evolution: Fellay reflected on learning the importance of hiring leaders with self-awareness, vulnerability, and a growth mindset rather than overvaluing industry experience.
• Navigating Growth and Challenges: Fellay shares a pivotal period in 2022 when Spekit faced product performance issues, economic pressures, and team transitions during a period of growth, and how these hurdles shaped the company for the better.
• Iterating on ICP (Ideal Customer Profile): Fellay discusses the journey of narrowing down Spekit’s ideal customer profile, focusing on enablement leaders, marketing professionals, and RevOps teams to optimize impact.

Quote of the Show:

• “ You don't want to be sounding like you're just like a marketing ad for your product… talking about the journey, the lessons I'm learning, those tend to get the most engagement. ” - Melanie Fellay

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melaniefellay/  
• Twitter: https://x.com/melfellay  
• Website: https://www.spekit.com/  

Ways to Tune In:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NQ9oAB2XKlgWeL8iEQXg0 
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/not-another-ceo-podcast/id1751581707 
• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7c6328f0-9b42-41db-8fe2-d263b4fbb261 
• Transistor: https://podcast.notanotherceo.com/ 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotAnotherCEOPodcast 

#NotAnotherCEO #BusinessSuccess #Spekit

In this special year-end episode of Not Another CEO Podcast, host David Politis shares his reflections on 2024 and his plans for the podcast in the year ahead. He opens up about the challenges, milestones, and rewards of launching and growing the show. He also sets ambitious goals for 2025, including diversifying the roster of guests, expanding the podcast's global reach, and finding new ways to share the incredible insights captured in each episode.

Joining the show this week is a veteran of the Boston start-up community and leader in engineering management platforms. Having served as the VP of Engineering to a company that as acquired for $1B, this guest is none other than the Co-Founder & CEO of Jellyfish, Andrew Lau. 

Lau shares his journey from an engineer in startups to a CEO managing a high-growth company. He provides insights on aligning leadership and culture, fundraising, and work-life balance.

Takeaways:

• Co-Founder Alignment: The Jellyfish team created a detailed vision for Jellyfish before starting the company. They established core values that emphasized culture, people, and building a scalable business. This became their North Star for decision-making.
• Engineering for Growth: Jellyfish's platform helps engineering leaders align their teams’ work with broader business objectives. The company's vision is inspired by Salesforce’s transformation of sales management.
• Early Customers through Discovery: The team interviewed over 50 VPEs and CTOs to deeply understand pain points in engineering management. These conversations led to a service-driven approach to validate Jellyfish’s product vision.
• Startup for Grown-Ups: There was a conscious effort to build a "grown-up" startup that accommodates life responsibilities. They designed their business to work with their life stages, creating a sustainable culture.
• Leadership Evolution: Andrew reflects on his transition from engineering management to being a CEO. This journey required learning sales, fundraising, and storytelling while balancing the operational and strategic demands of scaling a company.
• Fundraising with Trust: Andrew describes the importance of aligning with investors who understand the domain and trust the founding team. Jellyfish's seed funding came from building relationships within the Venn diagram of trust and domain expertise.
• Adapting to Change: As the tech landscape evolves with AI and macroeconomic shifts, Jellyfish focuses on being adaptable. Andrew emphasizes that startups have the agility to tackle new challenges, creating opportunities for growth and innovation.

Quote of the Show:

• “It’s a marathon, it’s not a sprint. And we also live lives as humans here too… We have to make this thing work for us.” - Andrew Lau

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amlau/  
• Twitter: https://x.com/amlau  
• Website: https://jellyfish.co/  

Ways to Tune In:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NQ9oAB2XKlgWeL8iEQXg0 
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/not-another-ceo-podcast/id1751581707 
• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7c6328f0-9b42-41db-8fe2-d263b4fbb261 
• Transistor: https://podcast.notanotherceo.com/ 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotAnotherCEOPodcast 

#NotAnotherCEO #BusinessSuccess #Jellyfish

Joining the show this week is a seasoned CMO who has transitioned into a CEO role. Committed to creating a standout and lasting company in the cybersecurity space, this guest is none other than the CEO of Cyberhaven, Howard Ting. 

Howard shares his leadership journey, lessons on building a culture of innovation, and insights into tackling challenges ranging from product positioning to team dynamics.

Takeaways:

• Weekly Video Messages: Ting introduced five-minute weekly video updates early in his tenure at Cyberhaven. These videos keep teams aligned and foster engagement across the organization, showcasing his commitment to transparent communication.
• Changing from the Start: Upon joining, Ting made sweeping changes to product strategy, positioning, team structure, and culture. This grew the company's ARR by over 120x, positioning it as one of the fastest-growing cybersecurity companies today.
• Focusing on the Ideal Customer Profile: Ting emphasizes the importance of discipline in targeting mid-market companies with high IP turnover rather than pursuing large enterprises prematurely, accelerating product feedback and company learning.
• The Role of Investors: Ting prioritizes working with investors who share his ambition, understand market dynamics, and actively help scale the company through strategic guidance and connections, rather than just governing from the sidelines.
• Hiring for Growth: Ting values self-awareness, vulnerability, and hunger in hires. He digs deep during interviews, exploring candidates’ childhoods and motivations to assess their capacity for growth and alignment with company culture.
• Life Lessons for Career Rhythm: Ting's advice to his younger self includes finding a balance between high-intensity career growth and enjoying the journey. He shares how slowing down at times could have enhanced his personal and professional satisfaction.

Quote of the Show:

• “The people who are self aware and demonstrate enough vulnerability, I think they have the best chance of growing and scaling with the company.” - Howard Ting

Links:

• Personal LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/howardting/ 
• Personal Twitter: https://x.com/howardting 
• Company Website: https://www.cyberhaven.com/ 

Ways to Tune In:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NQ9oAB2XKlgWeL8iEQXg0 
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/not-another-ceo-podcast/id1751581707 
• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7c6328f0-9b42-41db-8fe2-d263b4fbb261 
• Transistor: https://podcast.notanotherceo.com/ 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotAnotherCEOPodcast 

#NotAnotherCEO #BusinessSuccess #Cyberhaven

Joining the show this week is someone who’s been trailblazing the meal prep industry. Revolutionizing pre-prepared meals and the equipment to cook them, this guest is none other than the Co-Founder and CEO of Tovala, David Rabie. 

Rabie joins host David Politis to discuss his journey redefining convenient and healthy meals. He examines the challenges, lessons, and pivotal moments that shaped Tovala’s success, including near-crisis fundraising stories and the company's rise during the pandemic. 

Takeaways:

• Weekly CEO Emails: Rabie has sent a reflective email every Monday for nearly a decade, offering updates and key priorities for the team. This practice has grown from personal insights in a small startup to comprehensive updates for a team of over 400.
• The Product Journey: Rabie shares how the vertically integrated model of providing both the meals and the equipment to cook them has proven essential to maintaining high quality and customer satisfaction.
• Overcoming Challenges: Rabie recounts a critical moment in 2020 when Tovala faced the collapse of a Series B term sheet at the start of the pandemic. With only weeks of cash on hand, Rabie had to bridge funding to ultimately raise the round.
• Hiring Philosophy: Over time, the company shifted to hiring for high potential to hiring for experienced professionals to scale the business while retaining key early employees who grew alongside the company.
• Pandemic Growth: While the pandemic posed challenges, it also catalyzed growth for Tovala as more consumers sought convenient, healthy meal options at home. The company’s ability to meet this demand helped triple its business in 2020.
• Balancing Family and Leadership: Rabie emphasizes the importance of maintaining a healthy work-life balance, making time for family and personal well-being. He candidly discusses how this approach evolved over the years and its impact on both his leadership and company culture.

Quote of the Show:

• “To me, it's a really powerful combination where you get the ambition and the drive and the hunger, but you don't get the ego.” - David Rabie

Links:

• Twitter: https://x.com/daviderabie
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrabie/
• Website: https://www.tovala.com/

Ways to Tune In:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NQ9oAB2XKlgWeL8iEQXg0 
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/not-another-ceo-podcast/id1751581707 
• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7c6328f0-9b42-41db-8fe2-d263b4fbb261 
• Transistor: https://podcast.notanotherceo.com/ 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotAnotherCEOPodcast 

#NotAnotherCEO #BusinessSuccess #Tovala

David begins every interview with a simple question:

What is one thing you’ve done, big or small, that’s had the biggest impact on your company and you’d do again if you’re CEO of another company in the future?

In today’s special episode, we will be looking back at the answers given to this question. Dive in with us as we hear how all 19 CEOs that David has interviewed discuss what they would do again in their next venture!

We will be starting from the top with the show’s first ever guest, Nick Mehta. Follow the chapters below to see when each CEO’s answer is.

0:00 Intro

2:14 Nick Mehta - Gainsight

3:51 Tony Safoian - SADA

7:56 Anthony Serina - Revivn

12:13 John Fazzolari - Revivn

14:16 Loren Castle - Sweet Loren’s

21:32 Jeron Paul - Spiff

22:46 Alex Theuma - SaaStock

32:30 Jukay Hsu - Pursuit

38:33 Nick Cromydas - Hunt Club

47:20 Godard Abel - G2

51:14 Dan Michaeli - Glia

1:01:53 Kathryn Minshew - The Muse

1:11:06 Ryan Westwood - Fullcast

1:18:04 Nate Rosenstock - Crafty

1:28:37 Ryan Simonetti - Convene

1:41:33 Craig Walker - Dialpad

1:48:54 Eran Gil - AllCloud

1:54:50 Nick Freund - Workstream.io

2:03:45 Dane Atkinson - Odeko

2:07:00 Thank You

Ways to Tune In:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NQ9oAB2XKlgWeL8iEQXg0 
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/not-another-ceo-podcast/id1751581707 
• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7c6328f0-9b42-41db-8fe2-d263b4fbb261 
• Transistor: https://podcast.notanotherceo.com/ 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotAnotherCEOPodcast 

#NotAnotherCEO #BusinessSuccess #CEOAdvice

In this episode, Dane Atkinson, Founder and CEO at Odeko, joins David to share his entrepreneurial journey. He covers the challenges of scaling a business, and his vision for small businesses in a rapidly changing world.

Dane offers his personal insights on various topics, from overcoming personal challenges like dyslexia and ADHD to managing growth, profitability, and navigating a shifting economic climate. He reflects on the importance of mentorship, community, and the role of personal growth in leadership.

Takeaways:

• Building a Purpose-Driven Business: Odeko is driven by a mission to support small businesses in a business landscape dominated by large corporations. He notes a growing societal trend shifting away from large chains and towards locally owned businesses.

• Growth vs. Profitability: There is a dynamic tension between growth and profitability when it comes to startups. Startups often experience pressure to grow rapidly at the expense of profitability. As a company matures the pressure shifts to become profitable rather than grow, as sustainability becomes more important. 

• Navigating Entrepreneurship with Disabilities: Dane reflects on his personal struggles with dyslexia and ADHD throughout his entrepreneurial journey. He chooses to see them not as obstacles in his way, but unique traits that help fuel his entrepreneurial spirit.

• The Role of Mentorship in Growth: Dane credits much of his business success to the mentorship he received early on in his career, especially to those that were willing to share knowledge and help guide him through complex decisions.

• Community and Shared Success: As entrepreneurs, it is vital to support and learn from one another, as well as celebrate the successes of others. Founders should reach out to connect with other founders who have had startups and learn from their experiences.

Quote of the Show:

• “I think founders so often get stuck on the idea that I have to have the perfect idea… and that's an incredibly hard criteria to get to without data coming back.” - Dane Atkinson

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daneatkinson/
• Website: https://odeko.com/

Ways to Tune In:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NQ9oAB2XKlgWeL8iEQXg0 
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/not-another-ceo-podcast/id1751581707 
• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7c6328f0-9b42-41db-8fe2-d263b4fbb261 
• Transistor: https://podcast.notanotherceo.com/ 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotAnotherCEOPodcast 

#NotAnotherCEO #BusinessSuccess #Odeko

Today we’re bringing you a very special episode of the Not Another CEO Podcast! Joining David this week is Nick Freund, the Founder and Former CEO of Workstream.io, and they discuss his entrepreneurial journey. Five years ago, Nick founded Workstream and successfully raised over seven million dollars before making the difficult decision to shut down the company.

In this episode, Nick shares his experiences, the importance of selecting the right co-founder, and the challenges of pivoting a business. He also talks about the emotional toll of shutting down a company and the subsequent launch of his Substack, 'Failing Forward,' where he aims to educate and support other founders through his lessons learned.

Takeaways:

• Building a Strong Team: As a founder, it’s important to know what you’re good at and be honest about what you’re not. Take your time to find the right person, and don’t skip the reference checks. They can really pay off in the long run.
• Founder Compatibility: Choosing a co-founder or core team member is a lot like entering a relationship. It’s more than just an employer-employee relationship. You need to think about personality fit and how your working styles mesh.
• Engaging Customers Early: Start talking to potential customers as early as possible—whether through interviews or feedback sessions. This helps validate your idea and gives you insights into what customers really need. Building early relationships with design partners can also help shape your product development.
• Mental Readiness and Resilience: Being a founder can be mentally tough. There will be stress, setbacks, and tough days— that’s just part of the journey. Having a clear sense of purpose and a strong support system can help you push through the challenges.
• Transparency in Failures: Don’t shy away from sharing your failures. Almost every startup faces obstacles, and being open about them can teach valuable lessons to others. Sharing these stories fosters a culture where failure is seen as part of the learning process, not something to hide.

Quote of the Show:

• “If you're hesitant to pivot, you probably have false positives that you might be pointing to that might be holding you back, but I do think there's another part to it which is the sunk-cost fallacy.” - Nick Freund

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-from-workstream/ 
• Website: https://substack.com/@nicholasfreund 

Ways to Tune In:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NQ9oAB2XKlgWeL8iEQXg0 
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/not-another-ceo-podcast/id1751581707 
• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7c6328f0-9b42-41db-8fe2-d263b4fbb261 
• Transistor: https://podcast.notanotherceo.com/ 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotAnotherCEOPodcast 

#NotAnotherCEO #BusinessSuccess #FailingForward