Podcasts about gainsight

This week's Department of Know is hosted by Rich Stroffolino, with guests Arif Hameed, CISO, C&R Software; Adam Palmer, CISO, First Hawaiian Bank; Jon Collins, Field CTO, GigaOm; and Jack Leidecker, EVP, CSO, Gainsight. Huge thanks to our sponsor, ThreatLocker Every security leader is being asked the same question right now: How do we enable innovation without creating unnecessary risk?   That's the challenge behind cloud adoption. Behind AI. Behind automation. And behind every major technology decision.   ThreatLocker helps organizations take a Zero Trust approach to that challenge—giving them greater control over what can execute, what can access their environment, and what users and applications are allowed to do.   That's why ThreatLocker is proud to support Cyber Security Headlines. Because security works best when innovation and control move together.

133 million learners. 100% of the Fortune 100. And the woman steering go-to-market behind those numbers will tell you to stop chasing churn. Monika Saha, CCO of Articulate, doesn't trade in best-practice platitudes. In this episode she takes the sacred cows out back: why "customer education is a cost center" is half-wrong instead of all-wrong, when fighting retention is a flat waste of energy, and why PLG companies are quietly light-years ahead while everyone else optimizes the wrong thing. Host Josh Schachter pokes the bear. Co-host Samantha Murray pushes back. Monika doesn't blink. If you run customer success, education, or GTM and you're tired of being told what you already know, this one's built to make you uncomfortable in the good way.Josh is writing a book on building customer relationships. Follow his journey and insights at www.joshschachter.com---What You'll Learn- Why "customer education is a cost center" is partly true- How to standardize and modularize content so you stop reinventing the wheel- When improving churn is actually a waste of energy- How to segment a long tail so you invest where returns are real- Why PLG companies dominate in-app and digital motion- A simple QBR exercise to find AI-ready process bottlenecks- How to structure a number across a core product plus early cross-sells---Want the playbook, not just the conversation? Subscribe for deep-dive, actionable breakdowns from every episode at unchurned.substack.com.---Timestamps0:00 - Preview and Meet Mac, Monika's dog1:08 - Meet Sam Murray, Gainsight & Monika Saha, Articulate2:11 - Articulate's Overview4:20 - Monika's remit as Chief Commercial Officer: trial to renewal5:37 - Lessons from her Gainsight CMO days9:00 - Customer education & internal enablement14:53 - Debate: is customer education a cost center?20:30 - Controversial take: when fixing churn is pointless23:43 - Why digital motion is foundational at a PLG company26:56 - Can non-PLG B2B companies experiment like this?28:48 - Embracing efficiency with AI32:30 - Hitting the number: core product vs cross-sell---Where to Find the GuestSamantha Murray: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-murray613/Monika Saha: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monikasaha/---Where to Find Josh:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jschachter/Unchurned Substack: https://unchurned.substack.com/

Most companies think selling software is enough, but the real shift is owning the outcome.In this episode of the [Un]Churned Podcast, Josh Schachter sits down with Chuck Ganapathi, CEO of Gainsight, live from Pulse 2026 at Caesars Forum in Las Vegas, to unpack why the next era of SaaS isn't about selling seats, it's about delivering results.Chuck shares the thinking behind Gainsight's biggest strategic shift in 15 years, why the build vs. buy debate is a false choice, and how agentic AI is finally making it possible to serve every customer, not just the top 20%.They also dive into:- Why outcome-based services are the future of enterprise software- The "build, buy, or hire" framework redefining customer success- How the long tail of customers has been silently ignored and why that's changing- What human-agent collaboration actually looks like in practice- Why your smallest customers today might be your most strategic accounts tomorrowIf you're leading a SaaS business, scaling customer success, or trying to understand where agentic AI is actually creating leverage, this episode is a front-row seat to the next evolution of this category.---Want the playbook, not just the conversation? Subscribe for deep-dive, actionable breakdowns from every episode at unchurned.substack.com.---Chapters00:00 – Intro to Chuck Ganapathi01:45 – Chuck Ganapathi on Taking the CEO Role at Gainsight04:10 – Why Chuck Is an AI Optimist in a Room Full of Doomers07:18 – The One Question Every CEO, CFO & Board Is Asking Right Now09:15 – The False Choice Between Build and Buy11:40 – Announcing Atlas: Gainsight's First AI Native Service14:05 – Why SaaS Has Always Struggled to Prove ROI18:45 – Build, Buy, or Just Hire Gainsight22:50 – The Long Tail Problem Nobody in SaaS Wants to Talk About27:00 – What Humans Actually Do in a Human-Agent Collaboration Model---Where to Find the GuestChuck Ganapathi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckganapathi/---Where to Find Josh:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jschachter/Unchurned Substack: https://unchurned.substack.com/

Send us Fan MailSreedhar Peddineni co-founded Gainsight - the world's first customer success platform - at a time when customer success didn't exist as a recognised function. After a $1.2 billion acquisition, he returned to build again, this time targeting a billion-dollar revenue enablement category he believes is fundamentally broken. His thesis: in the AI era, the go-to-market motion matters more than the product - and most founders are still building backwards.What You Will LearnHow to identify when your category label is suppressing your growth and what to do about itWhy the human sales role doesn't disappear with AI - and where it gets more valuableWhat Sreedhar changed about his company's positioning to move from "enablement" to "revenue activation"How AI is widening the gap between founders who use it strategically and those who don'tWhy investors now penalise companies for headcount - and what that means for your ARR storyTimestamps 00:00 — After a $1.2B exit, why start again? 03:24 — How Gainsight created the customer success category from nothing 10:03 — The billion-dollar revenue enablement category nobody talks about 16:49 — What's broken in sales tech — and why everyone's saying the same thing 21:35 — The role of human sellers in an AI-first world 24:22 — Why AI still feels like work — and why that gap is widening 32:00 — Sreedhar's advice for founders building in the AI eraAbout the GuestSreedhar Peddineni is a two-time founder whose exits include Host Analytics (acquired 2017) and Gainsight (acquired 2020 for $1.2 billion) - the platform credited with establishing customer success as an enterprise function. He is now building GTM Buddy, an AI-native revenue activation platform operating in the $1B+ sales enablement category. Connect with Sreedhar on LinkedIn and follow GTM Buddy at gtmbuddy.ai.Sreedhar's LinkedInGTM Buddy WebsiteConnect with HinaHina's WebsiteHina's LinkedInHina's InstagramHina's Youtube Channel Hina's Email Production Credit: Produced by @the32collective_ / https://www.the32collective.co/

Episode web page: https://bit.ly/4d9cvE4 Episode summary In this episode of Insights Unlocked, Nathan Isaacs sits down with Gainsight SVP and UnChurned host Josh Schachter to explore how AI is transforming customer success—from scaling feedback collection to redefining retention as an outcome-driven discipline. Drawing on his journey from product leader to “relational founder,” Josh shares why building authentic relationships is still a competitive edge, even in an AI-first world, and how teams can combine human insight with agentic workflows to better understand, prove, and deliver customer value. What you'll learn Why customer success is shifting from SaaS to “retention as a service” How AI enables teams to capture and synthesize customer feedback at scale What separates high-performing customer success teams from the rest Why strong customer relationships still matter more than ever in an AI-driven world How to build effective agentic workflows (and common pitfalls to avoid) What the “retention apocalypse” means—and how to stay ahead of it How product, UX, and marketing teams can directly impact retention Why high-quality customer conversations are the foundation of effective AI Resources & links Josh Schachter on LinkedIn ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/jschachter/) Gainsight ( https://www.gainsight.com/) Gainsight's Atlas ( https://www.gainsight.com/solutions/ai/) UnChurned podcast and newsletter ( https://unchurned.gainsight.com/) Nathan Isaacs on LinkedIn ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanisaacs/)

Hey CX Nation,In this week's episode of The CXChronicles Podcast #280, we welcomed Josh Schachter, SVP @ Gainsight, Creator of [Un] Churned Podcast & Writing Book on how the world's most exceptional founders build businesses centered around human relationships. On July 21st, 2025 Gainsight announced it acquired Update.ai: Accelerating the Age of Atlas Agents. This also brought forward Josh Schachter, founder of UpdateAI and one of the first to build in post-sales AI, stepping in as SVP & GM of Atlas. Josh is a product thinker through and through – someone who's lived the day-to-day pain of customer teams and built UpdateAI from that front-line perspective. In this episode, Josh and Adrian chat through the Four CX Pillars: Team, Tools, Process & Feedback. Plus share some of the ideas that his team think through on a daily basis to build world class customer experiences.**Episode #280 Highlight Reel:**1. AI is here to amplify human effort, not replace it entirely2. Defining & living your core business values3. Learning from podcast interviews & conversations 4. Building a business into an acquisition target for larger companies5. Learning from public companies & their NPS performanceClick here to learn more about Josh SchachterClick here to learn more about GainsightClick here to learn more about UpdateAIClick here to learn more about [UN] Churned PodcastHuge thanks to Josh for coming on The CXChronicles Podcast and featuring his work and efforts in pushing the customer experience & contact center space into the future. For all of our Apple & Spotify podcast listener friends, make sure you are following CXC & please leave a 5 star review so we can find new members of the "CX Nation". You know what would be even better?Go tell your friends or teammates about CXC's custom content, strategic partner solutions (Hubspot, Intercom, & Freshworks) & On-Demand services & invite them to join the CX Nation, a community of 15K+ customer focused business leaders!Want to see how your customer experience compares to the world's top-performing customer focused companies? Thanks to all of you for being apart of the "CX Nation" and helping customer focused business leaders across the world make happiness a habit!Reach Out To CXC Today!Support the showContact CXChronicles TodayTweet us @cxchroniclesCheck out our Instagram @cxchroniclesClick here to checkout the CXC websiteEmail us at info@cxchronicles.com Remember To Make Happiness A Habit!!

Heading to Vegas this May? Join Josh at Pulse 2026 and come say hi—your oversized fluorescent daiquiri is on him. No catch.Grab your ticket at gainsightpulse.com and use code UNCHURNED for a special rate.Knowledge used to be the CSM's edge. Not anymore.Diane Wu, Global Head of Customer Success & Experience at Google Cloud Security, operates where every touchpoint is mission-critical — and standing still is falling behind. In this episode, she sits down with Brady Bluhm & Josh Schachter of Gainsight to unpack what the CSM role actually becomes when AI handles the knowledge layer. The answer: context, curation, and hyper-personalization at scale.Diane shares how her team is using NotebookLM and Gemini to compress hours of customer research into minutes, why her best CSMs were the hardest to get onto new AI tools (and why that makes complete sense), and what two-phase AI adoption really looks like on the ground. Brady brings a builder's lens — talking about juggling AI agents, closing 2-year-old CTAs with one prompt, and why the traditional product UI might not survive the next two years.If you lead a post-sales team or work in customer success, this conversation will reframe how you think about productivity, coverage models, and the human role in an AI-first world.---Timestamps0:00 - Preview & introduction1:40 - Meet Brady Bluhm (Gainsight) & Diane Wu (Google)3:00 - Diane's role: Google Cloud Security & the post-sales mission5:25 - The shift from access to curation8:28 - Brady: how AI is changing CSM onboarding and memory10:55 - Are you saving time or just doing more? 12:34 - How AI changes coverage models and the 1:many CSM ratio18:00 - Diane's tactical playbook for running parallel customer analyses 22:05 - Brady's "can I do this with AI?" framework and skill-building loop24:00 - How much time should you spend tuning your AI setup?26:31 - Why your top CSMs are the hardest to get on new AI tools31:21 - LLMs will become the new workspace32:59 - Two-phase LLM adoption and why the UI is going away34:15 - Closing 2-year-old CTAs with one prompt37:47 - Hyper-personalization at scale for Google Cloud---What You'll Learn- Why knowledge is no longer the CSM's differentiator — and what replaces it- How Diane's team at Google Cloud Security uses NotebookLM as a living customer notebook- Why your best CSMs resist AI adoption the most- How AI is reshaping CSM coverage models and the 1:many ratio- Brady's two-question AI habit that keeps him ahead every week- What the Gainsight MCP unlocked — and what it means for the future of CS tooling- Why the traditional application UI may disappear — and what replaces it- How to create "wow moments" that actually drive AI adoption across your team---Want the playbook, not just the conversation? Subscribe for deep-dive, actionable breakdowns from every episode at unchurned.substack.com.---Where to Find the GuestsDiane Wu's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diane-wu/Brady Bluhm's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradybluhm/---Where to Find Josh:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jschachter/Unchurned Substack: https://unchurned.substack.com/

Guest post by Julian Lighton author of Navigating Your Next: Discover the Career You Want and the Path to Get There. There has been much debate since Paul Graham's provocative 2024 article coining the term 'Founder Mode' about its benefits vs 'Manager Mode' and how they impact success in the scaling transition. My own view is that a more balanced mindset and skills set is required – an entrepreneurial leadership approach. Navigating successful growth I've spent over twenty years working with over a hundred VC and PE backed early stage and scaling businesses in both tech and other industries, including some of the most successful businesses in their categories, such as Gainsight, Renaissance Learning, Corsair Gaming and SnapNurse. Based on this experience, the transition between founder and scaling is the single most important test of a CEO's adaptability and leadership. Most leaders underestimate how personally challenging it is and how much they need to change as they climb the staircases of growth. Here are five changes in mindset and skillset that are key for successful growth and building companies that are built to last: From identity as founder to identity as leader: From "I do it" and "I decide" to "We do it" and "We decide." The founder's initial motivation—often deeply personal—must now become collective. Why does the team care? Why should they go the extra mile? If you can help your people answer "Why do we want this?" (know why) and help them see themselves in the company's success (care why), you unlock discretionary effort and loyalty that no compensation package alone can buy. The CEO's job becomes less about being the smartest person in the room and more about building teams that can make great decisions without you, without constant intervention. The focus shifts to hiring and retaining great people and letting them be responsible, setting very clear direction (the what not the how), building culture, and putting in place the right incentives and feedback loops. It's about shifting from heroics to scalability. From implicit to explicit: Scaling requires clarity. Being implicit – carrying everything in the CEO's head does not scale. Scaling requires clarity about roles and responsibilities; plans that everyone can understand and follow – communicating simply and exactly what is required, why it matters, and who will do what; governance and decision making; metrics and more important than all of that clear culture. A study by Columbia Business School found that when you add more than 20% new joiners, priorities, and values get diluted and team cohesion and psychological safety can break down. Without clear definition and communication about who is responsible for what, teams become inefficient, drop balls, and experience internal friction. This undermines performance and accountability, trust and collaboration erode and performance suffers. From who got you here, to who will get you there: People who worked when your organization was smaller often break when you try to scale. No amount of ambition or capital can compensate for the wrong team members with the wrong skills or a lack of alignment. Scaling exposes weaknesses in team leadership, skills, and coordination. Ask yourself: do you have the right people in the right seats for this stage of growth? Are your team leaders and teams aligned, and does everyone understand the goals and the urgency? Invest in hiring and developing talent density in teams. Ensure the team's incentives (care why) and goals are in sync with the business's direction (know why). From measuring, to measuring what matters: What really drives success at what stage of growth? Ruthless prioritization is essential. In scaling organizations, it's common for teams to focus on metrics that were appropriate for the previous stage (staircase) of growth e.g. product adoption vs revenue; new business vs repeat business; revenue vs profits. But without visible progress markers and regular, discipl...

AI is rewriting the rules of SaaS — but not everyone is building it the right way.In this episode of Liftoff, Sreedhar Peddineni, CEO & Co-Founder of GTM Buddy, shares lessons from:Scaling through the dot-com crashCo-founding Gainsight and pioneering customer success- Now building an AI-native revenue activation platformWe explore:Why sales teams don't have a content problem — they have a context problemHow AI is collapsing product development costs toward zero- The rise (and risk) of AI wrapper productsWhy adoption is still the ultimate truth metricHow to avoid getting distracted by big enterprise “carrot” dealsWhy founders must build with AI — not just read about it- What real “agentic AI” might actually look like by 2026Sreedhar breaks down what practical AI really means:Not chatbots. Not hype.But delivering the right insight — inside the workflow — at the moment of need.A masterclass in disciplined product thinking in the middle of the AI noise cycle.Connect with Sreedhar Peddineni: Website: https://gtmbuddy.ai/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sreedharpeddineni Sponsor Info: We are strategic business advisors with decades of leadership experience and a proven track record of driving businesses' growth. We specialize in creating custom-tailored strategies to introduce your company, drive growth, build leadership teams, and ensure companies implement appropriate compensation programs. Our mission is to utilize our expansive network to benefit your company https://www.compass-strategic-advisors.com/ Subscribe for more founder insights and hit the bell for notifications! Follow us on our channels for exclusive startup content and behind-the-scenes insights from interviews like this one. - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3cFpLXfYvcUsxvsT9MwyAD?si=f5a14e779777487dApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/liftoff-with-keith-newman/id1560219589Substack: https://keithnewman.substack.com/Newman Media Studios: https://newmanmediastudios.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/liftoffwithkeith - TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@keithnewman74 For sponsorship inquiries, please contact: sponsorships@wherewithstudio.com#GTM #RevenueActivation #AIApplications #SalesTech #SaaSFounders #ProductLeadership #AgenticAI #StartupLessons #EnterpriseAI #FounderJourney

Adam Wicks is a top-performing seller at Gainsight who has achieved extraordinary results, including a 600% year by combining precision, discipline, and creativity. In this episode, he breaks down a simple but powerful idea: sales is both art and math. On one side, there's the rigor - qualification, pipeline quality, risk management, and deal economics. On the other, there's the craft - understanding people, reading situations, and adapting in real time. Adam's approach is about operating in both worlds at once. The result is a more complete model of sales success: one that prioritizes internal alignment, deep curiosity, and human connection just as much as metrics and process.

Getting your buyer's attention has never been harder. In this episode, Shahin sits down with Scott Albro, serial entrepreneur and GTM advisor to early-stage AI founders, to unpack what modern go-to-market actually looks like. Scott reframes the most common answer to "what's changed?" by showing how AI isn't just a trend; it's an accelerant for the three forces already making buyer attention scarce. From founder brand to manufactured moments, tight customer feedback loops to strategic narrative, Scott shares the GTM pillars he works through with his founder clients. He breaks down why the new breed of AI startups is out-marketing incumbents, what Lovable's live-streamed design competition can teach any B2B team, and why ServiceTitan's origin story is the best strategic narrative he's ever heard. Guest Introduction Scott Albro is a serial entrepreneur and go-to-market strategist who co-founded TOPO, a sales and marketing research and advisory firm acquired by Gartner, and advises early-stage AI founders on building their first go-to-market functions, drawing on 30 years of experience studying the GTM practices of the world's fastest-growing companies. Key Topics Why attention scarcity is the defining GTM challenge today, and how AI makes it worse across three fronts: information overload, professional busyness, and competitive noiseWhat incumbent vendors like Salesforce and Workday need to do to defend their position as AI-native startups grow more innovative in both product and go-to-marketFounder brand as a strategic GTM asset: why it goes far beyond LinkedIn posts, and how Nick Mehta made Gainsight synonymous with the customer success movementGrowth experiments and the "Mr. Beast for SaaS" mindset: how Lovable drove 40,000 live viewers and 3 million replays with a zero-budget design competitionBuilding tight customer feedback loops: why the company that iterates fastest wins, and how AI is finally making weekly feedback cycles achievableManufacturing moments: how Mark Benioff staged a fake protest at Siebel's user conference to launch the no-software movement and put Salesforce on the mapStrategic narrative done right: why ServiceTitan's "the trades stand frozen in time" story is the best B2B narrative Scott has ever encounteredThe danger of performative nihilism: why shock-value launches like Cluely's generate page views but destroy brand equity Resources & Links People Mentioned Nick Mehta, former CEO of GainsightMarc Benioff, Chair, CEO and Co-Founder of Salesforce Companies & Tools TOPO / GartnerGainsightServiceTitanLovableEvidenza - a synthetic customer research platformSalesforceG2 Contact & Credits Host: Shahin Hoda Guest: Scott Albro Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell Edited by: Alexander Hipwell Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder APAC's B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

Brent Krempges, Chief Customer Officer at Gainsight, joins the show to unpack the next evolution of Customer Success in an AI-first world.After 12+ years at Gainsight, from implementation to global pre-sales to CCO,  Brent shares how CS is shifting from seat-based software to outcome-driven operating models. We dive into AI-driven health scores, renewal agents, sentiment analysis, and the looming “retention reckoning” facing AI-native companies. Key Takeaways (Bullet Summary)AI will elevate — not eliminate — the importance of services.Floor-Deployed Engineers (FDEs) signal a return to high-touch value realization.Health scores are getting smarter, but “watermelon accounts” will always exist.Sentiment analysis from transcripts and email may replace traditional NPS.Many AI companies haven't hit their renewal reality yet.Retention pressure is coming — especially for growth-at-all-costs AI startups.Before deploying agents, companies must rebuild foundational lifecycle processes.Think of agents as “50 interns” — would they know what to do?

Ready to churn less and win more?

Text us your questions and thoughts!What's Next for Customer Success in 2026? That's the question we're answering today.Welcome back to another PowerUp Masterclass in partnership with our friends at Gainsight where we're going beyond the Pulse Europe conference recap and into what really matters: where Customer Success is heading in 2026.Together with Tori Jeffcoat, Director of Product Marketing at Gainsight, we're unpacking  the biggest trends and ‘aha' moments from Europe's leading CS event, and sharing our predictions for the year ahead.You'll walk away knowing:Why AI adoption is lagging and how teams are gearing up for agentic successHow CS is becoming a revenue driver through better post-sale visibilityWhat's actually working in digital-scale strategies right nowWhat CS, Product, and Revenue leaders should prioritise nextThis is your chance to turn Pulse's key takeaways into your 2026 game plan. Grab your notebook and tune in. FeaturingTori Jeffcoat, Director of Product Marketing at GainsightMarija Skobe-Pilley, Founder, Women In Customer Success

Melanie Paddock is Sr. Manager, Customer Marketing & Advocacy at Gainsight. Gainsight is the world's leading Customer Success platform. 1,100 ppl, $156M+ total funding, Series E.Here's what we cover:02:48 The Importance of Customer Love05:34 Building an Advocacy Program from Scratch08:24 Gamification and Customer Engagement11:16 Creating a Community for your Advocates14:20 Leveraging Customer Proof for Sales17:08 Top Challenges in Customer Marketing19:57 Building deep Relationships with Customers is such an opportunity22:41 Avoiding Transactional Relationships in Customer Marketing23:31 How to build trust29:08 Transforming Customer Marketing into your Strategic Advantage, not a "nice to have"29:24 The Role of Customer Research in Marketing34:30 Leveraging AI in Customer Marketing43:59 Melanie asks me her burning question (HINT: the future of customer marketing + the impact of AI)Melanie on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/melaniepaddockGainsight: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.gainsight.comSubscribe to Building With Buyers on Apple or Spotify or wherever you like to listen, let me know what episodes you're into, and don't forget to leave a review if you're lovin' the show.Music by my talented daughter.Anna on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠furmanovmarketing.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠One Insight

AI that sells, reasons, and closes like your top rep? It sounds terrifying—but it's not. Amanda Kahlow's Superhumans are proving that automation doesn't erase people; it elevates them. Her team rewards employees who replace their own jobs with AI by promoting them, not firing them. And her customers? They're seeing sales cycles shrink from 22 days to 2 and average deal sizes double.In this episode, Zapier CEO Wade Foster and Amanda dig into what “AI-led growth” really means—and why the smartest move in 2025 isn't resisting AI, it's learning how to lead with it. They unpack why 76% of 1Mind's pipeline now comes from their own AI, and how org charts are evolving around a new role: the agent manager.It's a grounded, surprisingly human look at the future of work—and a reminder that the best way to stay relevant is to build the AI version of your best self. As Amanda puts it: “Your sellers hallucinate—AIs do it less.”Learn more about Zapier! https://bit.ly/3IFKUiI************************Agents of Scale is a show about real stories of AI transformation. Hosted by Zapier CEO Wade Foster, each episode features a candid conversation with a C-suite leader who's scaling AI across their organization, turning early experiments into lasting change. From mindset shifts to automation breakthroughs, these are the untold stories behind the enterprise AI wave.If you're interested in real-world applications of AI, automation strategy, or how business leaders are navigating digital transformation, this show is worth a listen.If you like hearing how companies like Zapier, Klaviyo, Newfront, Gamma, and Gainsight are using AI to solve real problems and scale smarter, you'll find these conversations both practical and inspiring.This podcast is a great listen if you're searching for topics like AI in business, enterprise automation, how companies are using AI in the real world, artificial intelligence strategy at Klaviyo or Gainsight, or what digital transformation looks like at scale. You'll also find it helpful if you're looking for AI case studies, automation in the workplace, or examples of C-suite leadership driving innovation with AI.Zapier is a no-code automation tool that empowers you to automate your work across 5,000+ apps—so you can move forward at growth speed. Spend less time on busy work and more time focused on what matters most. Get started with Zapier for free at: https://zpr.io/XUiAHTJw2csjSubscribe to the Zapier YouTube channel so you don't miss other important tutorials and integrations: https://www.youtube.com/ZapierNeed customer support? https://zapier.com/app/get-help PRODUCED BY: https://aipodcast.ing

In this week's show Patrick Gray and Adam Boileau discuss the week's cybersecurity news, including: Salesforce partner Gainsight has customer data stolen Crowdstrike fires insider who gave hackers screenshots of internal systems Australian Parliament turns off wifi and bluetooth in fear of of visiting Chinese bigwigs Shai-Hulud npm/Github worm is back, and rm -rf'ier than ever SEC gives up on Solarwinds lawsuit Dog eats cryptographer's key material This week's episode is sponsored by runZero. HD Moore pops in to talk about how they're integrating runZero with Bloodhound-style graph databases. He also discusses uses for driving runZero's tools with an AI, plus the complexities of shipping AI when the company has a variety of deployment models. This episode is also available on Youtube. Show notes Google says hackers stole data from 200 companies following Gainsight breach Gainsight Status Trust Status CrowdStrike fires 'suspicious insider' who passed information to hackers Salesforce cuts off access to third-party app after discovering ‘unusual activity' Атаки разящей панды: APT31 сегодня Office of Public Affairs | Seven Hackers Associated with Chinese Government Charged with Computer Intrusions Australian federal MPs warned to turn off phones when Chinese delegation visits Parliament House Sha1-Hulud: The Second Coming of the NPM Worm is Digging For Secrets FCC eliminates cybersecurity requirements for telecom companies Trade Associations Cybersecurity Practices Ex Parte SEC voluntarily dismisses SolarWinds lawsuit Record-breaking DDoS attack against Microsoft Azure mitigated The Cloudflare Outage May Be a Security Roadmap – Krebs on Security Critics scoff after Microsoft warns AI feature can infect machines and pilfer data vx-underground on X: "I've had a surprising amount of people ask me about Copilot" Researchers warn command injection flaw in Fortinet FortiWeb is under exploitation Two suspected Scattered Spider hackers plead not guilty over Transport for London cyberattack Russia arrests young cybersecurity entrepreneur on treason charges This campaign aims to tackle persistent security myths in favor of better advice Oops. Cryptographers cancel election results after losing decryption key. Uncovering network attack paths with runZeroHound Model Context Protocol

CrowdStrike fires an insider who allegedly shared screenshots with hackers. Google agrees, it wasn't Salesforce. Cox Enterprises confirms Oracle EBS breach. Alleged Transport for London hackers plead not guilty. Hackers exploit new WSUS bug to deploy ShadowPad backdoor. Iberia discloses breach of customer data. Harvard discloses voice-phishing breach exposing alumni and donor data. We have our Monday Business Briefing. Our guest today is Brandon Karpf, friend of the show discussing maritime GPS jamming and spoofing. And the launderers who wanted a bank for Christmas. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you'll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest Today we are joined by Brandon Karpf, friend of the show discussing maritime GPS jamming and spoofing. Selected Reading CrowdStrike fires 'suspicious insider' who passed information to hackers (TechCrunch) Google says hackers stole data from 200 companies following Gainsight breach (TechCrunch) Cox Confirms Oracle EBS Hack as Cybercriminals Name 100 Alleged Victims (SecurityWeek) Teens plead not guilty over TfL cyber-attack (BBC) Attackers deliver ShadowPad via newly patched WSUS RCE bug (Security Affairs)  Iberia discloses customer data leak after vendor security breach (Bleeping Computer)  Harvard University discloses data breach affecting alumni, donors (Bleeping Computer)  Doppel secures $70 million in a Series C round. (N2K Pro Business Briefing)  Russia-linked crooks bought a bank for Christmas to launder cyber loot (The Register) Share your feedback. What do you think about CyberWire Daily? Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey. Thank you for helping us continue to improve our show. Want to hear your company in the show? N2K CyberWire helps you reach the industry's most influential leaders and operators, while building visibility, authority, and connectivity across the cybersecurity community. Learn more at sponsor.thecyberwire.com. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Cybersecurity Today, host Jim Love discusses several major cybersecurity events. CloudFlare faced significant outages affecting major platforms like Amazon and YouTube, along with continued issues for Microsoft 365 users. NordVPN warned of a surge in fake shopping websites as Black Friday approaches, with phishing attempts climbing 36% between August and October. An AI transcription tool caused a privacy breach at an Ontario hospital, leading to a privacy probe. Finally, Salesforce is investigating a data theft wave linked to Gainsight, illustrating the risks of OAuth token misuse. The episode is supported by Meter, a network infrastructure provider. 00:00 Introduction and Sponsor Message 00:44 CloudFlare Outages and Their Impact 02:34 Surge in Fake Shopping Websites 04:56 AI Privacy Breach at Ontario Hospital 08:41 Salesforce Data Theft Investigation 11:26 Conclusion and Sponsor Message

In this episode of The SaaS Revolution Show, Alex Theuma speaks with Audrey Soussan, General Partner at Ventech, about how the early-stage SaaS landscape is evolving and what founders need to understand if they're looking to raise. Audrey shares insights from 15+ years investing across Europe, including: - Why AI is no longer a vertical but an expected layer in every SaaS product. - The difference between truly “AI-native” startups and mature SaaS companies adapting their stack. - What VCs like Ventech look for now at seed and Series A. - How founders should think about tech debt, market shifts, and timing. - Lessons from the InSided journey, from bootstrapping to acquisition by Gainsight. - How Ventech supports founders beyond capital, what collaborative board work looks like, and the importance of community. Audrey also discusses competitive dealmaking in AI, why expertise and unique datasets matter, and practical advice for founders raising in the current environment, and how to pitch if you're not building a pure-play AI product. Guest links: Linked - https://www.linkedin.com/in/audrey-soussan-0309b818/ Website - https://www.ventechvc.com/       Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward: 

When Erica Kuhl joined Salesforce as employee #176, nothing about her role or title suggested she would go on to build one of the most influential customer communities in SaaS history. Given a broken website, no roadmap, no team, she hacked together the first Salesforce Community with duct-taped technologies, raw conviction, and a fierce belief that customers needed a place to help each other.That grassroots experiment eventually grew into a 17 million-member global community, became a blueprint for digital customer success, and reshaped the way enterprise SaaS companies think about adoption, retention, and product feedback loops.Today, Erica is EVP & GM at Gainsight, leading community, education, and in-app product experience—and shaping the emerging category of Digital Customer Success.This episode is a masterclass in community-powered retention, scrappy innovation, and how one person can build an entirely new motion inside an organization long before the market knows it needs it.---Timestamps0:00 – Preview 0:58 – Meet Erica Kuhl: EVP at Gainsight & Former Employee #176 at Salesforce3:39 – What Early Salesforce Adoption Actually Looked Like6:25 – Teaching Admins Before Admins Existed9:40 – Why Erica Pitched a Community Before “Community” Was a Thing11:25 – Building the First Salesforce Community13:43 – Scaling Without Support19:30 – How Community Became a Strategic Retention Lever 24:44 – Defining Digital Customer Success26:35 – Where to Start: Crawl–Walk–Run for Digital CS30:25 – Why Community Multiplies GRR31:28 – Closing Thoughts---What You'll Learn- How the first modern SaaS community was built—from scratch, without buy-in- Why peer-to-peer engagement scales support, adoption, and product feedback- How to tie community engagement directly to retention (and why it's essential)- Why COVID reshaped the priority of customer marketing and always-on programs- How community, education, and in-app experiences converge into Digital CS- Where digital CS programs should start and how to avoid fragmented experiences- The cultural mindset needed to build community programs that actually survive- Practical tactics for early-stage community building: seeding, puppeteering, protecting, and aligning---Check out the Key Takeaways & Transcripts: https://www.gainsight.com/presents/series/unchurned/---Where to Find Erica:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericakuhl/Podcast: In Before the LockWhere to Find Josh: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jschachter/---Resources Mentioned:* Gainsight Community* Brian Oblinger's Community Strategy Academy* Skilljar * Salesforce Community

Welcome to episode 100! I'm joined by Chuck Ganapathi, Gainsight's new CEO, for a wide-ranging, candid conversation about where customer success is headed and what leaders should do right now.We start with Chuck's career through four platform eras: mainframe to client/server to cloud to AI - and how those shifts shape strategy. He shares the little-known origin story of “Customer Success” at Salesforce, Gainsight's early days, and why integrations (Salesforce, SAP CX, Microsoft Dynamics) are never “done”—they're living systems that demand clean data and constant tuning.Then we dig into Chuck's concept of Retention-as-a-Service. In a world where retention is existential, the 80/20 mindset breaks. Every dollar matters, which means every customer matters. We talk agentic AI (augmentation vs autonomy), how a “renewal agent” can cover the long tail, and why the magic is orchestration—letting agents handle the repeatable while humans lean into judgment, relationships, and value.We close with practical automation stories, a few resources Chuck follows, and a reminder that the human-to-human piece isn't going anywhere.Links in Today's Episode:Ethan Mollik: One Useful ThingSaanya OjhaJamin Ball: Clouded JudgementAndrej Karpathy on the Dwarkesh Podcast: AGI is still a decade away Support the show+++++++++++++++++Like/Subscribe/Review:If you are getting value from the show, please follow/subscribe so that you don't miss an episode and consider leaving us a review. Website:For more information about the show or to get in touch, visit DigitalCustomerSuccess.com. Buy Alex a Cup of Coffee:This show runs exclusively on caffeine - and lots of it. If you like what we're, consider supporting our habit by buying us a cup of coffee: https://bmc.link/dcspThank you for all of your support!The Digital Customer Success Podcast is hosted by Alex Turkovic

What if the function you were about to join didn't really exist yet?In 2014, customer success was barely a function—it was an idea in the making. Omer Rabin took a bet on that idea at a time when the industry still needed convincing that managing customer relationships deserved its own tech stack. He went on to become Gainsight's Chief Evangelist when most people thought “customer success” sounded like corporate cheerleading.Fast forward a decade, and customer success has grown into a multi-billion-dollar industry. But somewhere along the way, many CS teams drifted from their strategic roots, becoming reactive order-takers buried in grunt work.In this episode, Omer Rabin (General Partner at TLA Ventures) and Chad Horenfeldt (VP of CS at Siena AI and author of The Strategic CSM) discuss the past, present, and future of customer success. They take us back to the early days—Pulse local events on Toronto rooftops, the hunter vs. farmer debate, and how Nick Mehta's pitch about “selling to existing customers” helped create an entire category.WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:• Why customer success emerged as a distinct function (and why it almost didn't)• How CS teams lost their strategic edge—and how to reclaim it• Why AI is bringing CS back to its strategic roots by eliminating grunt work• Why Omer believes the next generation of CEOs will come from customer success• Chad's framework for future customer intelligence• The one question every CSM should ask to align with their CEO's top priority---Check out the Key Takeaways & Transcripts: https://www.gainsight.com/presents/series/unchurned/---Where to Find Chad:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chadhorenfeldt/The Strategic CSM: https://www.strategiccustomersuccess.com/Where to Find Omer:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/omerabin/Where to Find Josh: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jschachter/--- In this episode, we cover:0:00 – Preview & Introduction1:24 – Meet Chad & Omer2:10 – Pulse Local Events and Building the CS Community3:52 – Chad's Origin Story: Being an Early CS Ambassador4:55 – From Customer Cheerleading to Value Creation12:45 – The AI Revolution and the Return of Strategic CSMs18:31 – How Outcome-Based CS Influences Revenue23:53 – Defining Success Is a Challenge25:25 – How AI Analyzes Survey Data to Find Customer Sentiment28:10 – Customizing Product Updates for Customers29:25 – Tactical Advice for CSMs30:35 – Aligning with Company Needs

Send us a textThe enterprise software ecosystem is undergoing another wave of AI-driven transformation, with vendors and service providers racing to redefine customer intelligence and automation capabilities. Gainsight's debut of Atlas, a suite of AI agents, and Similarweb's launch of its own AI agent collection both signal a shift toward modular, intelligent ecosystems that automate customer insights and engagement. Complementing this, Snowplow introduced Snowplow Signals—a real-time customer intelligence infrastructure designed to power next-generation, AI-enhanced products. On the acquisition front, Invoca's purchase of Symbl.ai strengthens its conversational analytics capabilities, while Salesforce's planned acquisition of Informatica underscores its commitment to deepening data integration and intelligence at scale. Meanwhile, TELUS Digital's acquisition of Gerent, a Salesforce-focused consultancy, highlights how implementation partners are becoming increasingly strategic in this evolving, AI-first landscape where intelligence infrastructure is the new competitive battleground.In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry analysts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to analyze current enterprise software stories. We covered many grounds including the direction and roadmaps of each enterprise software vendors. Finally, we analyzed future trends and how they might shape the enterprise software industry.Background Soundtrack: Away From You – Mauro SommFor more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs. rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform. 

Text us your questions and thoughts!WE ARE BACK with another Women in Customer Success limited edition episode, where we bring you an exclusive PowerUp Masterclass in partnership with our friends at Gainsight.In today's conversation, we'll explore how Agentic AI is reshaping CS roles and workflows, why it will not replace humans but instead change how we scale, and the practical steps you can take today to prepare your team.We discuss:How AI agents disrupt the old “growth = more headcount” modelWhere AI delivers meaningful value in CS, and where it still falls shortPractical, low-lift steps to prepare: cleaning your data, setting guardrails, and upskilling your teamYou'll walk away with actionable insights to future-proof your CS strategy and confidently embrace the age of AI and agents.FeaturingLiam Gilleran, RVP Solutions Consulting & Customer Success, GainsightGiorgia Pedenzini, Senior CSM, GainsightMarija Skobe-Pilley, Founder, Women In Customer Success

Send us a textThe enterprise software landscape in 2025 continues to evolve at a breakneck pace, marked by a surge of strategic acquisitions, partnerships, and AI-driven innovations. Acumatica's acquisition by Vista Equity Partners signals a new phase of investment and potential scaling for the mid-market ERP leader. Meanwhile, alliances like Capgemini's expanded collaboration with Mistral AI and SAP, and SAP's new partnership with Alibaba Group, underscore the growing importance of regional and AI-native synergies. On the AI front, DataRobot's open-source framework for agentic workflows and Deloitte's launch of a Global Agentic Network both highlight the race to operationalize autonomous digital workforces. Product innovation also remains intense: Snyk's AI Trust Platform, Gainsight's Atlas, and Similarweb's AI Agent collections illustrate how vendors are embedding intelligence across ecosystems. Complementing this trend, Invoca's acquisition of Symbl.ai and Salesforce's plan to acquire Informatica show how data and conversational intelligence are becoming central to customer engagement strategies. Even digital service providers like TELUS Digital are doubling down on CRM-centric growth through the acquisition of Gerent, reflecting how every layer of the enterprise stack is being redefined by AI and data infrastructure convergence.In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry analysts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to analyze current enterprise software stories. We covered many grounds including the direction and roadmaps of each enterprise software vendors. Finally, we analyzed future trends and how they might shape the enterprise software industry.Background Soundtrack: Away From You – Mauro SommFor more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs. rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform. 

In this episode, host Dan Sixsmith interviews Marilee Bear the CRO at Gainsight. Marilee reflects on her first year at the helm, discussing the company's impressive growth trajectory, recent strategic acquisitions, and the challenges and opportunities presented by a major leadership transition. Marilee shares actionable strategies for improving net revenue retention, such as leveraging data-driven insights, fostering cross-functional collaboration, and investing in customer education. The conversation also explores the impact of AI on sales processes. Marilee offers candid leadership insights, discussing the importance of transparency, adaptability, and building a culture of continuous learning. She also recounts her career journey, from her early ambitions and formative experiences to the pivotal moments that led her to lead a major SaaS company, offering advice for aspiring leaders in the tech industry.Timestamps:Welcome and Introductions (00:00:01) Dan welcomes Marilee Bear who reflects on her first year at Gainsight, company growth, and recent leadership changes.Company Growth, Acquisitions, and Leadership Transition (00:00:30) Marilee discusses acquisitions, repositioning Gainsight for growth, and the CEO transition from Nick Mehta to Chuck Apathy.Team Structure and Business Unit Model (00:02:04) Explanation of new hires, business unit model, and leadership structure within product and customer success teams.Integrating Customer Success into Revenue Organization (00:03:21) Describes shifting customer success under the revenue team and the industry trend of CS as a revenue driver.Defining Roles and Realigning the Revenue Team (00:05:25) Outlines the jobs-to-be-done exercise, clarifying roles across sales, CS, and other go-to-market functions.Customer Success as a Pipeline Engine (00:06:24) Details how CS now contributes to pipeline generation and the metrics used to measure CSM impact.Net Revenue Retention (NRR) Challenges (00:07:29) Discussion of industry-wide NRR declines and the need for strategic retention and value delivery.Retention Strategies and Multi-threading (00:08:21) Emphasizes proactive retention, business value demonstration, and multi-threading within customer organizations.Competitive Landscape and Expansion Focus (00:12:29) Explains how competition now includes internal build vs. buy, and the importance of expansion within existing customers.Convergence of Sales and Customer Success Roles (00:13:53) Observes the merging responsibilities of CS and sales, with CS teams adopting more sales-like approaches.State of B2B Sales and Impact of AI (00:14:25) Explores ongoing challenges in B2B sales, the impact of generative AI, and the need for business acumen.Reaching C-level Executives and Sales Best Practices (00:17:00) Shares the difficulty of accessing executives, the importance of detective work, and value-driven outreach.Effective Sales Outreach to Executives (00:19:12) Marilee describes what makes sales outreach compelling: offering choices, concise meetings, and understanding executive preferences.Marilee's Career Journey (00:21:31) Covers her early ambitions, work history from restaurants to Oracle, Akamai, Zendesk, and her path to Gainsight.Retention and Customer Success Experience (00:25:54) Highlights her experience with retention at Akamai, building CS teams, and her initial exposure to Gainsight.Key Career Lessons and Leadership Growth (00:28:54) Shares lessons on authenticity, operational rigor, and the importance of direct feedback and self-improvement.Leadership Philosophy and Team Management (00:33:58) Discusses leading diverse teams, empathy, balancing encouragement with accountability, and fostering a feedback culture.Definition of Success (00:36:00) Marilee defines success as delivering the best outcomes for customers, company, and self, in that order.Closing Remarks (00:36:43) Dan thanks Marilee, wraps up the episode, and previews future collaborations.

"How Agentic AI Is Replacing Subscription Revenue"Chuck Ganapathi, the CEO of Gainsight & Brett Queener, Managing Director at Bonfire Ventures, who previously ran product at Salesforce and helped destroy Siebel, the company where he and Chuck first met. Together, they've witnessed every major shift in enterprise software over three decades, and they believe the biggest one is happening right now.In this conversation, Brett unveils his forthcoming thesis on "the end of ARR," arguing that agentic AI will fundamentally break subscription business models. When products finally achieve what he calls "product purity", actually doing the job they promise without requiring armies of CSMs, endless onboarding, and quarterly business reviews, the entire economic foundation of SaaS collapses. Chuck and Brett discuss whether this is an existential threat or the evolution the industry has been waiting for.What you'll learn:- Why the "friction gap" between product and value created the entire CS industry- What "product purity" means and why it threatens traditional SaaS economics- How agentic AI fundamentally changes the unit economics of software- Why usage-based pricing is inevitable once products actually work- The product marketing playbook that still matters in an AI-first worldCheck out the Key Takeaways & Transcripts: https://www.gainsight.com/presents/series/unchurned/Where to Find the GuestBrett's LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brettqueener/Chuck's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckganapathi/Where to Find Josh: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jschachter/In this episode, we cover:0:00 - Preview & Introduction1:18 - Meet Chuck & Brett3:30 - How Brett and Chuck met at Siebel 9:28 - Transition to Salesforce: destruction of Siebel as a goal14:11 - Changing Nature of Product Marketing in the AI Era18:00 - Systems of Record vs. Systems of Action21:13 - Databases as “lossy” representations of reality29:00 - Brett's thesis: "The End of ARR (And I Feel Fine)"34:28 - How should agentic applications be priced?43:43 - Future Outlook: Market paying premium for top agents47:17 - 10x CSMs enabled by AI agentsReferences:- Brett Queener's blog: https://queener.substack.com/

A full founder's arc: starting small, building global SaaS companies from Hyderabad, taking one to IPO, another to a billion-dollar exit, and then choosing to begin again (and again).Kiran Darisi began at Zoho, founding team member of Freshworks at 25, and stayed twelve years till the company went public. Today he is building Atomicwork, reinventing service management in the AI era. Sreedhar Peddineni started with Host Analytics back when SaaS was still called application service provider, went on to create the customer success category with Gainsight, and is now on his third venture with GTM Buddy.In this episode, we talk about what it takes to build companies that last for decades. We discuss how startups can find the “Goldilocks zone”,why smaller teams are creating more value than ever, and the mistakes founders often make when moving from SMB to enterprise.Both founders share how AI is reshaping every layer of SaaS, why it's both eating the pie and expanding it and what's left for entrepreneurs when the biggest AI companies are chasing every vertical.This conversation looks back at some of India's iconic SaaS companies, shares lessons from two decades of building, and looks ahead to the future of SaaS from India.0:00 — Atomicwork x GTM Buddy1:17 — Why They Chose to Be Founders Again8:27 — How to generate pipeline predictability at a startup?16:46 — Becoming Freshworks' Co-Founder at 2519:43 — How Atomicwork Co-Founders Connected & Chose Their Problem23:25 — Building Companies That Last for Decades27:18 — Why Smaller, High-Quality Teams Win30:21 — 1st vs 2nd Founders: What They Get Wrong31:56 — Scaling: SMB → Mid-Market → Enterprise33:36 — Category Creation at Gainsight40:03 — Disrupting vs Expanding Large Categories44:08 — How to Choose the Right Market49:08 — Why Atomicwork Chose This Category53:11 — The 'Goldilocks Zone' for a Startup Category57:11 — Can Salesforce Be Replaced?58:26 — Neon Fund x Atomicwork1:01:27 — Neon Fund x GTM Buddy1:03:44 — If Big AI Goes Everywhere, What's Left for B2B SaaS?1:07:36 — What to Build in the AI Era?1:10:35 — Is AI Expanding the Pie While Eating It?1:17:03 — How Useful Are Custom GPTs for Companies?1:20:34 — Workflows vs AI Workforce-------------India's talent has built the world's tech—now it's time to lead it.This mission goes beyond startups. It's about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.What is Neon Fund?We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that's done it before.Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we're doing it all at Neon.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShowwConnect with Siddhartha on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7-------------This video is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the individuals quoted and do not constitute professional advice.Send us a text

In this episode of The Rainmaking Podcast, Scott Love interviews Sue Heilbronner, executive coach, speaker, and author of Never Ask for the Sale: Supercharge Your Business with the Power of Passionate Ambivalence. Sue explains why many professional services providers resist selling themselves and how to shift that mindset by embracing authenticity and confidence. She introduces the concept of passionate ambivalence—the ability to be genuinely excited about opportunities while remaining unattached to the outcome. This approach helps professionals appear more credible, command higher fees, and attract long-term clients. Sue also addresses common challenges such as imposter syndrome, over-eagerness, and desperation in sales. She emphasizes qualifying prospects, presenting yourself as the product, and building thought leadership through strong digital presence and meaningful contributions. With practical strategies for pricing, follow-up, and conference networking, Sue provides actionable insights for professionals looking to transform their approach to business development and rainmaking. Visit: https://therainmakingpodcast.com/ YouTube: https://youtu.be/va71ZBSew5s ---------------------------------------

Most marketers would be thrilled with 2x or 3x ROI from events. Gainsight consistently sees 7x.Emily Wilkes, Director of Field and Partner Marketing at Gainsight, joins Camille Arnold to discuss how they use events to drive pipeline and business growth. Emily shares how her team executes a variety of event types, each designed to engage prospects and accelerate the buyer journey. In this episode, you'll get an inside look at how Gainsight aligns event strategy with business goals, uses data to measure success, and creates powerful cross-department collaboration.Tune in to learn:Mistakes to avoid when measuring event ROIHow to choose the right event formats based on customer intentThe difference between sourced and influenced pipeline and why it mattersEpisode outline:(00:00) Meet Emily Wilkes(02:40) Key metrics for measuring event success(04:58) Gainsight's event mix(09:30) Event strategy and pipeline alignment(13:01) Success stories from regional roadshows(17:31) Reporting the value of events(20:39) Adapting event strategies over time(28:49) The future of event marketing___________________________________________________________________If you enjoyed today's episode, let us know. Support our show by subscribing and leaving us a rating. If you want to get in touch with our team or be a guest on our show, email us at podcast@splashthat.com. We'd love to hear from you.Learn more about Splash: https://www.splashthat.com Follow Splash on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/splashthat-comTell us what you thought about the episode

How Kalpana, our Enterprise CSM, Scaled Her Book of Business by 40% With AIKalpana Krishna Kumar, an Enterprise CSM at Gainsight, and Brady Bloom, Senior Product Manager at Gainsight, join the show to share how they're reimagining customer success with AI. From Kalpana's 40% increase in her book of business to Brady's unlikely journey from child actor to AI trailblazer, this episode is full of surprising stories about scaling, stress relief, and the human side of AI. Together, they reveal how AI is less about automation and more about unlocking the best version of yourself.What you'll learn:1. How Kalpana scaled her accounts by 40% without burning out.2. Why peace of mind is one of AI's most underrated benefits.3. The grassroots AI movement that transformed Gainsight.4. Brady's personal workflow hacks for integrating AI into daily work.5. Why AI isn't replacing CSMs—it's making them stronger.Check out the Key Takeaways & Transcripts: https://www.gainsight.com/presents/series/unchurned/Where to Find Brady Bluhm LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradybluhm/IMDb - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0089603/Where to Find Kalpana Krishna Kumar LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kalpana-krishna-kumar/Where to Find Josh: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jschachter/In this episode, we cover:0:00 - Preview1:00 - Meet Brady & Kalpana3:35 - First steps with AI 8:24 - Grassroots AI education at Gainsight10:50 - Scaling book of business by 40% 17:13 - Why AI gives CSMs peace of mind19:01 - Find a meeting recording tool24:34 - Predicting the future of CS25:05 - Building personal AI agents & say goodbye to busy work 35:03 - Closing reflectionsReferenced:- Staircase AI - https://www.gainsight.com/staircase-ai/- Gamma - https://gamma.app/- NotebookLM - https://notebooklm.google/- Claude - https://claude.ai/- Zoom AI Companion - https://www.zoom.com/en/products/ai-assistant/

A few days ago, Nick Mehta announced his transition from CEO to Board Director and Special Advisor at Gainsight. As CEO, he spent more than a decade transforming the company into a global leader in customer success, serving over 20,000 customers and surpassing $100 million in ARR. Before Gainsight, he led LiveOffice through its acquisition by Symantec and co-founded Chipshot in the 90s. Nick serves on the boards of F5 and PubMatic and holds a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and a Master's degree in Computer Science, both from Harvard. Known for leading with heart, humor, and humility, he's also the voice behind the blog Mehtaphysical Musings, a rapper, and a YouTube creator with over 50 parody videos.In this conversation, we discuss:How Nick Mehta balances vulnerability and optimism as a leader navigating uncertaintyWhy Gainsight's values like “childlike joy” matter more in an AI-driven worldWhat happens to identity and purpose in a post-work economy shaped by automationThe growing divide between capital and labor, and why Marxist ideas are resurfacing in the AI eraWhy we shouldn't assume past tech cycles will repeat and how to question AI's impact on jobsWhat Gainsight's AI initiative “Atlas” reveals about the rise of agentic tech in customer successResources:Subscribe to the AI & The Future of Work NewsletterConnect with Nick on LinkedInPast Episode with Nick [Season 5, #298]: On Building A Human-First AI CultureWatch this for a laugh: “I promise that you'll never find a CEO like Nick”Recommended by Nick:Three-Body Problem by Liu CixinPlayer Piano by Kurt Vonnegut 

AI is evolving so fast that it's hard to keep up—sparking both excitement and anxiety about the future of work. Will AI replace jobs, or will it redefine them?In this episode of [Un]churned, host Josh Schachter, SVP of Atlas at Gainsight, sits down with Jeffrey Bussgang, General Partner & Co-Founder at Flybridge Capital Partners and Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School, and Teresa Anania, Chief Customer Officer at Sophos, who's been leading from the frontlines of AI-driven customer engagement. Together, they unpack the gap between the theory of AI transformation and the reality of implementation in large organizations. Jeff discusses how leaders can foster an “AI native” culture—one that encourages experimentation while valuing human judgment. Teresa shares a candid look into Sophos' AI journey, addressing the fears, resistance, and cultural shifts that come with change. She also highlights practical strategies to empower teams and enhance customer experiences through thoughtful automation.Whether you're a tech leader, customer success pro, or just AI-curious, this conversation is packed with actionable insights on embracing the future without losing the human touch.Timestamps: 0:00 - Preview0:48 - Meet Jeff & Teresa2:40 - The Impact of AI on Business Innovation5:00 - Fostering an AI-Driven Culture to Elevate Workforce Value16:10 - How AI Enables Rapid Prototyping19:40 - Balancing Human and AI Workflows21:50 - Quality Assurance and Customer Experience at Scale27:50 - Internal “Agent Assist” Solutions35:07 - Dynamics in Adopting AI Solutions______________________

Byron Deeter is a Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, and one of the most renowned SaaS investors. Byron has led 19 unicorn investments, including IPO successes like ServiceTitan, Procore, Twilio, Box, Gainsight, Intercom, DocuSign, SendGrid. His portfolio includes eight companies that have gone public. Insane.  Agenda: 00:00 – Why are the stakes in AI higher than ever before? 05:20 – Is defensibility in AI gone for good? 07:40 – Do margins even matter when backing the next Anthropic or Perplexity? 09:50 – How does Byron think about future dilution when investing in AI today? 12:10 – With 40% of venture money going to 10 deals, is there any point investing elsewhere? 13:40 – Is vertical SaaS dead? Is there any point when the large players can own it? 18:00 – Will AI shift from the tech budget to the human labor budget and unlock trillions? 21:10 – Are we entering the era of billion-dollar businesses built by 10 people? 25:20 – Is treble-treble-double-double now too slow for AI companies? 33:10 – In today's AI gold rush, is it better to scream the loudest or just build the best product? 41:10 – What specific growth rates are best in class, good and not good enough today?  55:00 – Is venture now just a game of scale — Chanel vs. Walmart?    

Meet Chuck Ganapathi, the new CEO of Gainsight!In this special episode of [Un]Churned, host Josh Schachter sits down with Gainsight's outgoing CEO Nick Mehta and his successor, Chuck Ganapathi, to mark a pivotal leadership transition. Nick reflects on his 13-year journey building Gainsight into a category-defining company, the lessons he's learned navigating growth, and why now is the right time to hand over the reins. Chuck shares his gratitude for the opportunity, the deep trust he and Nick have built over decades of connection, and his vision for the company's next chapter—one shaped by AI, customer success innovation, and a human-first culture.Timestamps0:00 - Welcome & The Big Announcement2:25 - Why Nick Is Stepping Down3:54 - Lessons from Private Equity & Building a Lasting Company6:23 - Chuck on becoming the NEW CEO7:10 - How Nick & Chuck First Met (Stanford Days & Startup Stories)16:25 - Why Chuck Was the Obvious Choice for CEO21:12 - CEO Transitions as Turning Points25:40 - Human-First Leadership & Gainsight's Mission28:20 - What's Next for Customer Success in the Age of AI 34:12 - Will AI Replace CSMs? (Nick & Chuck's Take)36:42 - Looking Ahead: The Next Chapter of Gainsight38:52 - Fun Facts About Chuck (Heartthrob, Tennis & Shopping!)44:34 - Final Words: Legendary & Transformational Futures

In this insightful episode of the Startup CEO Show, host Mark MacLeod sits down with Nick Mehta, co-founder and CEO of Gainsight, to explore the journey of building a category-defining company. Mehta shares how Gainsight played a pivotal role in creating the customer success profession and job category, transforming how businesses approach customer retention in the SaaS world. The conversation delves into Gainsight's funding history, with Mehta offering valuable perspectives on navigating relationships with top-tier venture capital firms and aligning expectations. He provides a candid look at the challenges of scaling a startup while maintaining a strong company culture, discussing Gainsight's core values and how they've shaped the organization's growth. Mehta also opens up about personal growth and the evolving priorities of a long-term CEO, offering wisdom on balancing professional ambition with personal fulfillment. This episode is a must-listen for founders, aspiring entrepreneurs, and anyone interested in the human side of building a successful tech company.Nick Mehta00:53 Gainsight's Guru: Meet Nick Mehta02:14 Taylor Swift: Nick's Unexpected Muse05:01 The Many Faces of Nick13:29 Nick's Literary Legacy: Five Books17:48 Keeping Customer Focus at Scale24:16 Glassdoor Glory: Gainsight's Triumph28:44 Five Pillars: Gainsight's Core Values38:22 Ganesh's Wisdom: Letting Go46:28 Wrapping Up: Kudos to NickSince 1999, I have sat at the right-hand side of the leaders of high growth technology companies as either a CFO, VC or deal maker. I served as CFO for software companies including Shopify (NYSE: SHOP) and Freshbooks. As a CFO I experienced outright failures, wildly profitable exits, and everything in between.I was a General Partner in Real Ventures, Canada's largest and most active seed stage fund. My investments there include the fund's largest cash on cash and highest IRR returns to date. Most recently, I founded SurePath Capital Partners the leading investment bank for SMB SaaS companies where we did hundreds of millions in financing and exit transactions.Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/themarkmacleod/Contact Mark: https://markmacleod.me/

Follow me @samirkaji for my thoughts on the venture market, with a focus on the continued evolution of the VC landscape.Welcome back to another episode of Venture Unlocked, the podcast that takes you behind the scenes of the business of venture capital.In today's episode, we are joined by Nakul Mandan, who is the founding partner of seed-stage firm Audacious Ventures.Having known Nakul since the early days of his journey in starting the firm in 2020, I was excited to dive deep into his unique path, from his roots in India to venture capital, working at firms such as Battery and Lightspeed before starting his own firm. As venture capital has evolved and grown, the stakes of being a successful early-stage manager have increased dramatically.In our chat, we discussed how managers should think about navigating competitive markets and how a proper system around sourcing, picking, winning, and building a brand through delivering for founders requires a machine-like approach. Audacious has created its own system, which is unlike most firms, providing a nice juxtaposition of more traditional models. This was a fun and candid deep dive into seed stage investing, and we hope you enjoy my conversation with NakulThanks for listening to another episode of Venture Unlocked. We hope you enjoyed our conversation with Nakul. If you'd like to get venture unlocked content straight to your inbox, go to ventureunlocked.substack.com and sign up, or go to Apple Podcasts or Spotify and subscribe. Thanks again for listeningAbout Nakul MandanNakul Mandan is the founder and managing partner of Audacious Ventures, a pre-seed and seed-stage venture firm he launched in April 2020—right when the world was locking down. A student of greatness, Nakul is inspired by extraordinary journeys, whether in business or beyond. Previously a Partner at Lightspeed and Battery Ventures, he led early investments in category-leading software companies like Gainsight, People.ai, Multiverse, WorkOS, 6Sense, and Marketo. A graduate of IIT Kanpur, Nakul combines deep technical insight with a founder-first mindset—and a passion for helping entrepreneurial "force-of-nature" founders assemble A+ teams.Audacious Ventures is a next-generation seed-stage investment firm that reimagines venture capital as a systematic, founder-focused platform. Founded in 2020 with a $90 million fund, the firm distinguishes itself through a unique four-pillar approach: strategic sourcing, precise deal picking, competitive deal winning, and comprehensive founder support. Unlike traditional venture models, Audacious prioritizes talent recruitment and team building, with half the team dedicated to helping founders construct exceptional organizations. The firm's data-driven yet intensely human approach has quickly positioned it as an emerging leader in the seed investment ecosystem, attracting founders seeking more than just capital, but a true strategic partner in their entrepreneurial journey.In this episode, we discuss:* Nakul's Early Life and Ambition (2:16)* Entry into Indian Venture Capital (4:00)* Transition to US-Focused VC and Lightspeed (6:41)* Becoming a GP and Founding Audacious Ventures (7:35)* Identifying Gaps in the Seed VC Market (10:34)* Audacious Ventures' Differentiated Model (12:34)* Functional Organizational Design (16:12)* Traditional vs. Platform Seed Fund Models (19:24)* Ensuring Consistency in the Platform Model (24:41)* Hiring for Intensity and Culture (29:55)* Measuring Success and Feedback Loops (35:33)* False Positives and Markups in VC (41:30)* Ranking the Four Pillars: Sourcing, Picking, Winning, Helping (45:13)* Advice to 2006 Self: Focus on Asymmetric Upside (49:54)* Final Thoughts and Takeaways (51:44)I'd love to know what you took away from this conversation with Nakul. Follow me @SamirKaji and give me your insights and questions with the hashtag #ventureunlocked. If you'd like to be considered as a guest or have someone you'd like to hear from (GP or LP), drop me a direct message on X. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ventureunlocked.substack.com

In this episode of Sales is King, Dan Sixsmith interviews Keith Pearce, CMO of Gainsight, at the Gainsight Pulse Conference. They discuss the evolution of customer success, the impact of AI on the industry, and the importance of marketing in driving demand. Keith shares insights from his personal journey, leadership style, and his definition of success in the current market landscape.TakeawaysGainsight is a leader in customer success and AI integration.AI is enhancing rather than replacing customer success roles.The post-sale journey is crucial for customer retention.Marketing must align with customer success to drive demand.Brand trust is essential for business growth.Leadership requires meeting people where they are.Success is defined by pipeline goals and company evolution.The customer journey should be seamless across departments.Adaptability is key in a global business environment.Personal experiences shape leadership and marketing strategies.Chapters00:00 Welcome to Gainsight Pulse Conference02:56 The Evolution of Customer Success05:51 Marketing's Role in Demand Generation08:46 Personal Journey and Leadership Insights12:01 Defining Success in Today's Market

#updateai #customersuccess #saas #businessRachel Tsui, the ex-Head of CS at Komodo Health, joins hosts Jon Johnson and Josh Schachter to dive deep into the intricacies of customer success. Rachel highlights the innovative use of healthcare data to identify patient trends and enhance service delivery. The conversation explores how Komodo's customer success team navigates post-sales processes, strategically collaborates with account management, and the essential role of data-driven decisions. Jon and Rachel also delve into career growth challenges, touching on the balancing act of flat organization structures, professional development, and the evolving expectations of newer workforce generations. Join us for a captivating journey through customer success strategies, organizational dynamics, and how they shape the future of innovation at Komodo Health.Timestamps0:00 - Preview, & Intros7:30 - CS at Komodo Health 10:28 - KPIs for customer success at Komodo12:00 - Plans and Priorities 13:22 - Focusing on separating support from CS activities16:03 - Managing expectations around promotions20:06 - Navigating career growth23:50 - Cross-functional collaboration and tools for knowledge sharing___________________________

Text us your questions and thoughts!Welcome to another Women in Customer Success limited edition episode, where we bring you an exclusive PowerUp Masterclass in partnership with our friends at Gainsight. In today's conversation, we tackle AI's biggest myths, explore practical use cases, and discuss how leading CS teams are already leveraging AI to mitigate risk, personalize at scale, and drive revenue growth.You'll hear lots of practical examples of the daily use of AI in customer success. Buckle up and tune in.FeaturingEduardo Amorim, VP of Customer Success, SendcloudKate Neal, Senior Director of Customer Success, GainsightMarija Skobe-Pilley, Founder of Women In CS

#updateai #customersuccess #saas #businessWelcome back to Unchurned! In this very special annual tradition, host Josh Schachter, CEO of UpdateAI sits down with Nick Mehta, the ever-energetic CEO of Gainsight, for a deep dive into all things Pulse 2025 - Gainsight's CS conference, which this year is bringing its signature blend of learning and community to Las Vegas. Josh and Nick reminisce about Pulse's humble beginnings, reflect on the journey from a simple luncheon to a high-octane Vegas affair, and tease this year's theme (wardrobe predictions included!).You'll also get an exclusive inside look at Gainsight, with Nick sharing candid insights about new faces on the leadership team, the integration of exciting new products like Staircase, ModerateKit, and Skilljar, and how the company is weaving AI into both its offerings and internal processes. The conversation is equal parts fun and insightful, filled with plenty of laughs and a motivating message for customer success pros to embrace innovation and lean into the future.Timestamps0:00 - Preview & Introductions1:25 - Pulse Conference in Las Vegas8:36 - Reflections on New & Evolving Leadership 15:23 - Recent Innovations & Acquisitions24:10 - Operational Shifts and AI Integration30:12 - Looking Ahead & Closing Thoughts___________________________

Text us your questions and thoughts!Can you believe it's been five years since we launched the Women in Customer Success Podcast?What started as a conversation in your earbuds has grown into a global movement. Now, after hundreds of episodes, bringing these discussions into the physical world feels like coming full circle.We hosted our second Women in Customer Success live podcast recording in Berlin, where Marija Skobe-Pilley welcomed Cara Benecke, Sally Stoewe and Pia Schümann-Hoppe. We discussed:✨ Redefining what "having it all" means in today's professional landscape✨ Setting 'non-negotiables' for work-life integration✨ Building success on your own terms✨ Setting boundaries that stick✨ Leading authentically across diverse European culturesThis was a perfect night where our incredible audience engaged in deep conversations, asked thoughtful questions, and shared experiences with each other.And now, you get to hear it all. Whether you're an aspiring leader or looking to advance your career, this session offers invaluable advice and inspiration. Tune in and enjoy!***Special thanks to our sponsors Gainsight and Braze for making this happen!

Struggling to prove the financial impact of your CS initiatives or translate retention metrics into revenue? Watch this exclusive masterclass to learn how to build compelling, finance-driven business cases, align CS initiatives with revenue targets, and confidently lead conversations that secure executive buy-in.Don't miss this chance to transform Customer Success into a powerful revenue driver!Featuring:Marilee Bear, CRO at GainsightMarija Skobe-Pilley, Founder of Women In CS 

Send us a textLet's demystify the magic behind streamlined customer success operations. In this episode of the Customer Success Playbook podcast, Kevin Metzger sits down with Gilad Shriki from Scope to unpack their strategic integration of FunnelStory. They dive into privacy-first data management, lightning-fast time-to-value, and how AI is reshaping how teams interact with data. Plus, find out why Gilad believes FunnelStory might just be the one platform to rule them all.Detailed Description with Business Insights: In this engaging episode of the Customer Success Playbook, Kevin Metzger interviews Gilad Shriki, Head of Customer Experience at Scope, who offers a real-world case study of successfully implementing FunnelStory. With Roman Trebon off this week, Kevin navigates a thoughtful conversation that brings valuable technical and strategic takeaways to customer success leaders.Gilad breaks down how Scope maintains data privacy by leveraging a custom anonymization layer before syncing anonymized data into BigQuery. From there, FunnelStory becomes the centerpiece of their CS tech stack, tightly integrated with HubSpot and Segment. The result? A seamless, compliant, and highly performant system that delivers actionable insights with minimal setup.The discussion peels back the curtain on modern data stack integrations, emphasizing the importance of time-to-value and the benefits of designing for automation-first customer success platforms. Gilad candidly explains how FunnelStory outperformed expectations by offering an intuitive plug-and-play experience and how its engineering team's responsiveness created a frictionless implementation.Most notably, Gilad envisions FunnelStory not just as a visibility tool but as a centralized hub for both automation and human interaction. His goal? A single pane of glass where CSMs manage sentiment, risk, and engagement—without needing to bolt on other platforms like Gainsight.If you're scaling a CS org or rethinking your tech stack, this episode is your playbook for staying lean without sacrificing power. Tune in and learn how a privacy-first, AI-powered, integrated system can revolutionize how you scale customer success.Now you can interact with us directly by leaving a voice message at https://www.speakpipe.com/CustomerSuccessPlaybookPlease Like, Comment, Share and Subscribe. You can also find the CS Playbook Podcast:YouTube - @CustomerSuccessPlaybookPodcastTwitter - @CS_PlaybookYou can find Kevin at:Metzgerbusiness.com - Kevin's person web siteKevin Metzger on Linked In.You can find Roman at:Roman Trebon on Linked In.

SaaStr 794: The Top 10 Customer Success Metrics Investors Care About in 2025 with Gainsight CEO Nick Mehta   Nick Mehta is the CEO of Gainsight, the customer success platform that helps businesses deliver value to customers and drive scalable growth.   Over the past 12 years, Nick has met with more than 5,000 companies and hundreds of investors, becoming one of the foremost authorities on customer success strategies. In this engaging presentation, Nick discusses the crucial role of customer success in driving business growth and securing investments. He breaks down the top 10 questions investors grill companies about, covering key metrics like net retention, gross retention, and early warning indicators. Nick also highlights the importance of customer stickiness, value demonstration, and efficient customer success operations.   Additionally, he shares a personal story of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, drawing parallels between the entrepreneurial journey and the challenging yet rewarding climb to success.   ----------------------   Alright everybody in SaaS, this is it.  The biggest, best, most action-packed SaaS + AI event of the year—SaaStr Annual 2025—is coming this May. Three full days. 10,000+ SaaS and AI leaders and more tactical, no-fluff content than you'll find anywhere else.   If you want to scale faster—$10M, $50M, $100M ARR and beyond—you need the right playbooks, the right connections and the right people in your corner. And SaaStr Annual is where it all happens. We'll have 100's of Legendary speakers from companies like Snowflake, HubSpot, OpenAI, Canva, and more. More networking than you can handle—meet your next investor, co-founder, or biggest deal.  A New AI Demo & Pitch Stage— with your chance to win up to $5M in funding!  So don't wait—grab your tickets now at SaaStrAnnual.com with my code jason100 to save $100 on tickets before prices go up. That's jason 100 at saastrannual.com   See you in May!    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Do you know what would make your customer service helpdesk dramatically better? Dumping it and switching to Intercom.  But, youʼre not quite ready to make that change. We get it!   Thatʼs why Fin, the worldʼs leading AI customer service agent, is now available on every helpdesk.   Fin can instantly resolve up to 80% of your tickets,  Which makes your customers happier. And you can get off the customer service rep hiring treadmill.   Fin by Intercom. Named the #1 AI Agent in G2ʼs Winter Report.      Learn more at : inter.com/saastr   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  

Send us a textIn this compelling finale of a three-part series, Terinee Pooler explores the transformative potential of AI in Net Promoter Score (NPS) management and customer success strategies. The discussion delves into how AI tools are streamlining customer feedback analysis, automating risk assessment, and enhancing the overall efficiency of customer success teams. From leveraging platforms like Gainsight and Churn Zero to utilizing AI for creating QBR presentations, the episode offers practical insights into the future of customer success management.Detailed AnalysisThe episode provides a comprehensive examination of AI's impact on customer success management, particularly focusing on NPS implementation and analysis. Terinee Pooler, drawing from her extensive experience, highlights several key applications of AI in customer success:Risk Assessment and Early Warning Systems: AI's capability to analyze customer behavior patterns and NPS responses enables early detection of churn risks. The technology can process detractor feedback and predict potential churn risks based on historical patterns and lack of improvement over time.Automated Feedback Analysis: The discussion contrasts traditional manual methods of analyzing customer feedback using extensive Excel sheets with modern AI-powered solutions. AI can now automatically categorize feedback, identify themes, and generate comprehensive reports, significantly reducing the time and effort required for analysis.Integration with Customer Success Platforms: The episode explores how platforms like Gainsight and Churn Zero are incorporating AI functionality to enhance their customer success management capabilities. These tools provide integrated dashboards and automated risk mitigation features.QBR Enhancement: The conversation touches on AI's potential to automate the creation of quarterly business review presentations, allowing customer success managers to focus more on strategic discussions and value-added activities rather than manual presentation preparation.Communication Analysis: Tools like Gong and Talk Desk are highlighted for their ability to analyze customer interactions and provide insights into value drivers and areas for improvement in customer communications.The discussion also includes personal perspectives on AI adoption, with Terinee sharing her experience using tools like ChatGPT for both personal and professional applications. This practical insight provides listeners with a realistic view of AI integration into daily customer success operations.Please Like, Comment, Share and Subscribe. You can also find the CS Playbook Podcast:YouTube - @CustomerSuccessPlaybookPodcastTwitter - @CS_PlaybookYou can find Kevin at:Metzgerbusiness.com - Kevin's person web siteKevin Metzger on Linked In.You can find Roman at:Roman Trebon on Linked In.

Send us a textIn this engaging episode of Customer Success Playbook, Terinee Pooler, Atlanta Chapter Lead of Women of Customer Success, shares crucial strategies for developing and operationalizing effective Net Promoter Score (NPS) programs. Drawing from her extensive experience, Pooler emphasizes the importance of proactive customer engagement and provides practical guidance on implementing NPS initiatives that drive meaningful organizational change.Detailed AnalysisThe discussion delves deep into the fundamentals of building and maintaining successful NPS programs, with Pooler offering valuable insights into several key areas:Program Implementation StrategyPooler emphasizes that proactive customer engagement forms the cornerstone of any successful NPS program. She positions the customer success manager as a customer advocate, highlighting how this approach can transform quarterly business reviews (QBRs) and overall customer experience management.Technical FrameworkThe conversation explores the technical aspects of NPS implementation, including:Survey distribution mechanics using platforms like GainsightQuarterly feedback collection processesScore interpretation framework (1-10 scale)Classification of responses (detractors, neutrals, promoters)Measurement and AnalyticsPooler provides a detailed breakdown of NPS scoring:Promoters: Scores 8 and aboveNeutral: Score of 7Detractors: Scores below 7Net score calculation methodology: Promoters minus DetractorsThis systematic approach ensures organizations can effectively track and measure customer satisfaction while identifying areas for improvement.Now you can interact with us directly by leaving a voice message at https://www.speakpipe.com/CustomerSuccessPlaybookPlease Like, Comment, Share and Subscribe. You can also find the CS Playbook Podcast:YouTube - @CustomerSuccessPlaybookPodcastTwitter - @CS_PlaybookYou can find Kevin at:Metzgerbusiness.com - Kevin's person web siteKevin Metzger on Linked In.You can find Roman at:Roman Trebon on Linked In.

#updateai #customersuccess #saas #business Rachel Orston, Chief Customer Officer at Instructure joins the hosts ⁠⁠Jon Johnson⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠Josh Schachter⁠⁠ to discuss her strategic approach to aligning customer success with sales and revenue goals, the challenges of transitioning to a variable compensation model, and how Instructure fosters a culture of connection and collaboration. Timestamps 0:00 - Preview & Intros 5:15 - Discussing about CoThrive 8:07 - Diverse customer segments at Instructure 13:15 - Performance metrics that drive success 16:45 - Connecting with customers 22:36 - Emphasis on performance-based variable compensation 27:23 - CS and Sales 30:15 - Tools and processes for improved collaboration ___________________________

#updateai #customersuccess #saas #business Rachel Tsui, Head of CS at Komodo Health, joins hosts Jon Johnson, and Josh Schachter to gear up for Halloween with a light-hearted discussion about costumes and candy choices before diving deep into the intricacies of customer success. Rachel highlights the innovative use of healthcare data to identify patient trends and enhance service delivery. The conversation explores how Komodo's customer success team navigates post-sales processes, strategically collaborates with account management, and the essential role of data-driven decisions. Jon and Rachel also delve into career growth challenges, touching on the balancing act of flat organization structures, professional development, and the evolving expectations of newer workforce generations. Join us for a captivating journey through customer success strategies, organizational dynamics, and how they shape the future of innovation at Komodo Health. Timestamps 0:00 - Preview, Halloween & Intros 7:30 - Customer Success at Komodo Health 10:28 - KPIs for customer success at Komodo 12:00 - Plans and Priorities for the Q4 13:22 - Focusing on separating support from CS activities 16:03 - Managing expectations around promotions 20:06 - Navigating career growth 23:50 - Cross-functional Collaboration and Tools for knowledge sharing ___________________________