Larry Warnock

Self-serve is not a channel. It is your first response. When we treated the help center as “docs over there,” it underperformed. When we turned it into the default first step in every workflow, deflection doubled and CSAT held. • Build help center entries like agent playbooks: problem definition, steps, edge cases, success check. • Surface those entries in-product and inside your ticket forms. Do not wait for a search. • Close the loop: if a doc failed, tag it and rewrite within 48 hours. • Measure deflection quality: did the customer complete the task without help? I used to think more articles equals better self-serve. It is actually better answers at the moment of need. If you are a Head of Support and want to build a scalable support system that handles more tickets, keeps customers happy, and hit cost targets, then grab my 5-Step Guide to Scaling Support Without Scaling Headcount. It is designed to give you 5 proven steps to cut backlogs, lower costs, and raise CSAT without adding headcount. Just follow the link in the comments below to grab your copy.

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Clear shift in the market for revenue leadership (specifically in lmm pe-backed software) in the past year and I don't think enough sponsors/boards have picked up on it. The top percentile of gtm leaders that know the cadence/pace of play of PE environment AND have demonstrable track record of success in that enviroment are dilegencing your portco harder before entertaining offers. I'm seeing it in searches right now. They're asking about - product-market fit - board alignment on GTM strategy - what the last Sales Leader got wrong and why - the strength of the marketing program - NRR, etc To a degree this has always been the case.. In fact, the pattern recognition signals to me that they know the playing field. The candidates with the most relevant experience have watched enough of these movies to know how they end. The big difference now is that the risk profile of your $50M enterprise software portco has changed for the execs. Why? Because what used to be a 4-5 yr stint is now more likely to be a 6-7 yr battle. That changes how they weigh the risk:reward for your opportunity. The risk is 2 fold: 1) A failed CRO/CMO appointment is visible, it plays out in front of their entire network over 14 months and then the person is back in the market explaining what happened. (this is not new) 2) They do a decent job and still can't get a win after year 6. And even if they do get the win after 6 or 7 years, the payout spread across their years of service to the company is lower. So when a CEO says "our process is moving slow because we want to be thorough" that's fine. But the best candidate in your pipeline is running their own processes at the same time and they're scrutinizing your opportunity just as hard. So, how do you compete now? Well for starters, perhaps you need to revisit the good/bad leaver definitions. Furthermore, you've got to treat top GTM candidates the way you'd treat a perspective buyer. Yes.. you need to close them. This helps: - Clarity on the opportunity.  - Speed through the process.  - No surprises on scope, or what the first 90 days actually look like. - Get your story/numbers straight.. act like your selling the company (you are). - Lastly, if you want top percentile talent be prepare to remunerate appropriately. Your process is either earning the candidate or losing them. There's no neutral.

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Two weeks ago on Swimming with Allocators, we sat down with David Clark, CIO at VenCap, to talk about what decades of venture data can teach allocators. One takeaway that stood out: discounts don’t matter as much as people think in venture secondaries. Because venture is such a power-law asset class, outcomes are driven by exposure to a few massive winners. Whether a stake is bought at a small discount, or even a premium, often matters far less than the quality of the underlying company and its upside. Great conversation on venture returns, manager selection, and the nuances of how allocators should think about secondary investments. 👇 Link in the comments.

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