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Introducing... The Science of Scaling

2m 45s

Introducing... The Science of Scaling

The podcast highlights a surprising finding: the failure rate is the same for Series A companies earning around one to two million, Series B companies earning five to ten million, and Series C companies earning low tens of millions. This suggests the ecosystem struggles with scaling, a conclusion supported by extensive research. To address this, the host interviews leaders who have successfully scaled major sales teams. Kyle Parrish of Figma shares lessons about earning respect from support teams by demonstrating depth rather than relying on sales jargon. Oliver Jay of Asana describes the "PLG trap," where companies whose products haven't gone viral internally become irrelevant to other organizations, making security features unappealing. Kevin Egan of Atlassian explains how they doubled channel participation in enterprise opportunities through enablement, education, and making the process top neutral. The host, Mark, also pauses interviews to break down key moments as mini classroom sessions, offering tactical insights into the science of scaling. Listeners are encouraged to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other platforms, with new episodes starting June 21st.

Transcription

381 Words, 2094 Characters

English
Speaker 1I want to tell you something crazy. Well, crazy to me. So get this. The failure rate of a Series A company, around a million, two million in revenue, a Series B company, around five, ten million in revenue, and a Series C company, around low tens of million in revenue, is the same. The failure rate is the same. For me, that says we suck at scaling. So look, there's reams of research that show as an ecosystem, we're not very good at scaling. And so on this podcast, I'm talking with the folks who've scaled the most successful sales teams to give us the answers. Like Kyle Parrish, the VP of Sales at Figma.
Speaker 2I learned the respect of the support team members. They could tell, like, this guy is not just in here trying to turn a quick buck and be some sales jargon, doesn't understand what he's talking about, selling vaporware, and they could see my depth. I learned a lot about dedication and, quite honestly, got me even more passionate about what we were doing as a company. And Oliver Jay, the CRO at Asana.
Speaker 3What about all those other companies that your product hasn't gone viral internally yet? Your security figures don't appeal to them because you're irrelevant in that organization. And then they get into the something I call the PLG trap.
Speaker 1And Kevin Egan, the head of sales at Alassian.
Speaker 4We have doubled the participation rate of our channel in our enterprise opportunities. And the way you do that is, number one, a lot of enablement. And education, why it's important to have a partner. And number two, we make it top neutral.
Speaker 1Hey, folks, just Mark here. I stopped the tape for a moment. So I'm going to be hitting pause like this in our interviews to really break down the key moments in our conversations. You can think of them like mini classroom jam sessions, like you, me, hitting the books to get really tactical on how exactly these insights all factor in to the science of scaling. All right, let's get back to the trailer. So subscribe to the show now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and I guess literally everywhere else you listen to podcasts. New episodes start June 21st.

Podcast Summary

Key Points:

  1. The failure rate is identical for Series A companies with around one to two million in revenue, Series B companies with five to ten million, and Series C companies with low tens of millions.
  2. This equal failure rate across stages indicates the ecosystem is poor at scaling.
  3. Extensive research confirms that as an ecosystem, we are not good at scaling.
  4. The podcast features conversations with leaders who have scaled the most successful sales teams to find answers.
  5. Kyle Parrish, VP of Sales at Figma, discusses earning respect from support teams and showing depth beyond sales jargon.
  6. Oliver Jay, CRO at Asana, warns about the "PLG trap" where products that haven't gone viral internally become irrelevant to other organizations.
  7. Kevin Egan, head of sales at Atlassian, explains doubling channel participation in enterprise opportunities through enablement, education, and making it top neutral.
  8. Host Mark uses pause-and-breakdown segments as mini classroom sessions to explore how insights factor into the science of scaling.

Summary:

The podcast highlights a surprising finding: the failure rate is the same for Series A companies earning around one to two million, Series B companies earning five to ten million, and Series C companies earning low tens of millions. This suggests the ecosystem struggles with scaling, a conclusion supported by extensive research. To address this, the host interviews leaders who have successfully scaled major sales teams.

Kyle Parrish of Figma shares lessons about earning respect from support teams by demonstrating depth rather than relying on sales jargon. Oliver Jay of Asana describes the "PLG trap," where companies whose products haven't gone viral internally become irrelevant to other organizations, making security features unappealing. Kevin Egan of Atlassian explains how they doubled channel participation in enterprise opportunities through enablement, education, and making the process top neutral.

The host, Mark, also pauses interviews to break down key moments as mini classroom sessions, offering tactical insights into the science of scaling. Listeners are encouraged to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other platforms, with new episodes starting June 21st.

FAQs

The failure rate is the same for Series A companies (around $1-2M revenue), Series B companies (around $5-10M revenue), and Series C companies (around low tens of millions in revenue). This suggests the ecosystem struggles with scaling.

The podcast addresses the ecosystem's poor ability to scale, as shown by research and the equal failure rates across funding stages. It features leaders who have scaled successful sales teams to provide answers.

Guests include Kyle Parrish (VP of Sales at Figma), Oliver Jay (CRO at Asana), and Kevin Egan (Head of Sales at Atlassian).

Kyle Parrish learned the importance of respecting support team members, who could see his depth and dedication beyond sales jargon. This increased his passion for the company's mission.

The PLG trap occurs when companies assume their product will go viral internally, but for organizations where it hasn't, security features may be irrelevant. This can lead to failure if not addressed.

Kevin Egan doubled channel participation through extensive enablement and education on why partners are important, and by making the initiative top neutral.

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Transcription

381 words