New Here....Let's give you a proper welcome

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Jeff Breunsbach
Jeff Breunsbach Member Posts: 266 Gain Grow Retain Staff
5 Insightfuls Photogenic First Anniversary GGR Blogger 2022
edited August 2023 in CS Conversations
If you're new and want to introduce yourself, drop a quick comment on this thread. 

Tell us about yourself and what you're hoping to get out of the community. 


Thank you for being part of this growing community - we're thrilled to be on this journey with you!
#Career
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  • Natalia Chaudhry
    Natalia Chaudhry Member Posts: 3 Navigator
    edited October 2020
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    Hello everyone, I'm Natalia!

    I just joined GGR early this week and attended my first CSM Office Hours this past Tuesday. My primary goal is to network with CS professionals and hopefully get some assistance/guidance during my job search. My experience has been great so far and I have already connected with so many wonderful people from the CS community. I am happy to say that I can see myself finding value from GGR even after I land my next job.

    My past experience includes working as a BDM, AE, and obviously CSM. I am very interested in SaaS and getting into IT or healthcare. I would be open to hearing about other opportunities as well.

    Looking forward to connecting with everyone and learning!

    *Please check out my resume attached*

    Regards,
    Natalia
  • Caroline Peterson
    Caroline Peterson Member Posts: 1 Navigator
    edited October 2020
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    Hi everyone!

    I'm the new (and first) Head of CS at Reachdesk, a London-founded, NYC-based Series A startup. We are B2B SaaS, delivering a direct mail platform to our SMB, mid-market and enterprise clients. I'm tasked with building and scaling the CS department across EMEA and the US and all that comes with that :) I come from 5 years in CS at Wunderkind (formerly BounceX) and am excited to join this group's discussions. 

    Looking forward to connecting. If there's every anything I can help with don't hesitate to reach out.

    Caroline
  • Jessica Carroll
    Jessica Carroll Member Posts: 3 Navigator
    edited October 2020
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    Hi everyone, 

    I recently joined GGR and have enjoyed the Live sessions. Listening to everyone's point of view on an array of CS topics has been enlightening!

    I spent the majority of my career as an IT executive however, I took a bit of a sharp right turn 4 1/2 years ago to create a CS practice for a technology startup. We've been successful but it  has been a fascinating journey to get exposure on the vendor side of the table! 

    Recently published an article on the importance of "doubling down" on supporting the customer with their needs in mind, during this disruptive time. Would love to hear your thoughts and feedback:  https://www.institutefordigitaltransformation.org/double-down-during-disruption/

    Looking forward to joining in more actively over the coming weeks with all of you and sharing in the discussions!

    Jessica
    https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicacarroll04/


  • Brian Hartley
    Brian Hartley Member Posts: 185 Expert
    First Comment First Anniversary
    edited October 2020
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    Just took a demo with Reachdesk @Caroline Peterson .  Great product!
  • Devon Turner
    Devon Turner Member Posts: 1 Navigator
    edited October 2020
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    Hi everyone! I'm Devon, a long time fan and lurker of the Customer Success community and just recently made the switch from the Sales to the Customer Experience team at Omatic Software (based in Charleston, SC). 

    I'll be doing a brief stint in product support and transitioning to a CSM role in the new year, so I am looking forward to learning as much as I can beforehand to set myself (and my company and our customers) up for success. I have experience in sales, account management, support, operations, and really excited to jump into the world of customer success. 

    I've been following this community since it started, but just recently officially joined, so I am looking forward to stepping outside of my comfort zone and learning from you all.

    Have a wonderful weekend!

    Devon
    https://www.linkedin.com/in/devonturner/
  • Shakira Morgan
    Shakira Morgan Member Posts: 4 Navigator
    edited October 2020
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    Hi all,

    Recently new to Gain Grow Retain Community. After 20 years working as an Account Manager in advertising and my agency dissolving due to COVID, I decided to pivot my career and look into CSM. I will be starting my new journey in CSM as an Onboarding Customer Success Account Manager in a little over a week. I am looking to network, learn and grow within this rapidly evolving field. I am about to read The Customer Success Professional's Handbook as recommended by several CSMs. Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn as well. 

    Looking forward to learning and growing!
    Kira
  • Mike True
    Mike True Member Posts: 1 Navigator
    edited October 2020
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    Good morning. My name is Mike True. I am a CSM for a company called DTN. I work with farmers that are using our online and satellite services. Our services offer real time insights into commodity markets, weather, and industry news. I joined this group right after attending a virtual web conference last week that was hosted by Churn Zero. I like the idea of having a forum for CSM professionals. Looking forward to getting more involved with the group. Hope everyone has a great day!
  • Christian Vijn
    Christian Vijn Member Posts: 3 Navigator
    edited October 2020
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    Hi all!

    I'm Christian and looking to learn more about the CS space. I've always been fascinated by this topic since entering the B2B SaaS space in 2016. I believe that it is now more important than ever to focus on, understand, and drive value for your customers and am thrilled to see the rest of the world is noticing this too! Based on my experience as a sales rep, I've been responsible for (parts of) CS and have some ideas for it but I'm mostly here to learn from everybody else and have already been inspired a few times!

    In my new role (Oct 2020) as head of the Benelux for Planhat (CS software), I'm curious to see how other companies adopted CS and which tools they're using for this. I can help you with local insights on how our customers use Planhat or can try to help you find experiences/best-practices regarding improving your CS and sales strategy and alignment.

    Looking forward to connecting. If there's ever anything I can help with, don't hesitate to reach out.

    Christian
    Planhat
    Amsterdam
  • Thanusan Chelvarajah
    Thanusan Chelvarajah Member Posts: 1 Navigator
    edited October 2020
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    Hi all!

    My name is Thanusan and I've held CS roles within a couple of fintech startups (currently CSM at Toronto-based VersaPay). I joined this community so that I could have some brains to pick in terms of best practices / creative ways to solve the CS challenges I face in my current role. I used to be an accountant before pivoting my career towards startups and CS so this community is also my way of building my CS network from scratch and surrounding myself with the brightest minds in the industry.

    Looking forward to growing with you all!
    -Thanusan
    https://www.linkedin.com/in/tchelva/
  • Jeff Breunsbach
    Jeff Breunsbach Member Posts: 266 Gain Grow Retain Staff
    5 Insightfuls Photogenic First Anniversary GGR Blogger 2022
    edited October 2020
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    Glad to have you @Natalia Chaudhry - great to see you on our Office Hours calls!
  • Jeff Breunsbach
    Jeff Breunsbach Member Posts: 266 Gain Grow Retain Staff
    5 Insightfuls Photogenic First Anniversary GGR Blogger 2022
    edited October 2020
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    Thanks @Stephen Sherry - good to see the list you mentioned of potential overlap!
  • Jeff Breunsbach
    Jeff Breunsbach Member Posts: 266 Gain Grow Retain Staff
    5 Insightfuls Photogenic First Anniversary GGR Blogger 2022
    edited October 2020
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    Such a great accomplishment! Glad to have you and can't wait to watch your journey!
  • Jeff Breunsbach
    Jeff Breunsbach Member Posts: 266 Gain Grow Retain Staff
    5 Insightfuls Photogenic First Anniversary GGR Blogger 2022
    edited October 2020
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    Glad to hear about your pivot to start the customer success function at your organization @Jessica Carroll - lots of similar stories inside of Gain Grow Retain!
  • Jeff Breunsbach
    Jeff Breunsbach Member Posts: 266 Gain Grow Retain Staff
    5 Insightfuls Photogenic First Anniversary GGR Blogger 2022
    edited October 2020
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    @Devon Turner glad to see you in here old friend! So exciting to hear about your progress and looking forward to helping you get acclimated to customer success!
  • Jeff Breunsbach
    Jeff Breunsbach Member Posts: 266 Gain Grow Retain Staff
    5 Insightfuls Photogenic First Anniversary GGR Blogger 2022
    edited October 2020
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    Awesome to have you @Shakira Morgan - I too made the transition from an Agency Account Manager over to the B2B SaaS customer success world. Can't wait to see you active and learning with us.
  • Jeff Breunsbach
    Jeff Breunsbach Member Posts: 266 Gain Grow Retain Staff
    5 Insightfuls Photogenic First Anniversary GGR Blogger 2022
    edited October 2020
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    @Mike True Glad to have you on CSM Office Hours yesterday - really excited to see what we can do in this community. 
  • Jeff Breunsbach
    Jeff Breunsbach Member Posts: 266 Gain Grow Retain Staff
    5 Insightfuls Photogenic First Anniversary GGR Blogger 2022
    edited October 2020
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    Awesome to have you @Christian Vijn - exciting times around the CS Technology space and we've got a number of folks who're looking to share.
  • Jeff Breunsbach
    Jeff Breunsbach Member Posts: 266 Gain Grow Retain Staff
    5 Insightfuls Photogenic First Anniversary GGR Blogger 2022
    edited October 2020
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    @Thanusan Chelvarajah - glad to have you here with us. Love the pivot from an accountant over to customer success - and especially staying in the FinTech world, I bet that can become useful when speaking with customers.
  • Kelly McGillis
    Kelly McGillis Member Posts: 3 Navigator
    Photogenic First Anniversary
    edited October 2020
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    Hi everyone!

    I joined GGR earlier this fall, but have mostly been observing so far.

    I taught high school English for 4 years before making the switch to CS back in February at Riipen, which is an ed tech platform. We had a crazy summer, and I learned a lot about our company! Luckily, there were a lot of overlapping skills that translated over, as the school that I worked for was part of an international organization, and I taught most courses over Zoom.

    Now that I've settled in to my new role, my goal is to expand my focus and learn more about CS as a practice so that I can proactively use effective strategies rather than relying on instinct and reaction in order to problem-solve.

    I'm really looking forward to learning more through this group!
  • Stefanie Wood
    Stefanie Wood Member Posts: 6 Seeker
    edited October 2020
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    Good morning everyone, my name is Stefanie Wood, so glad to be a member!  

    My personal journey has taken me from being a leader in hospitality management to customer success with a hospitality software platform and now on to...???

    I have enjoyed reading posts and comments over the last few months and look forward to being able to be more involved with weekly calls and networking with the members of the group, everyone here is such a great resource!

    Hope everyone has a productive rest of the week.

    Stefanie
  • Phil Martino
    Phil Martino Member Posts: 1 Navigator
    edited October 2020
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    Hi All, 

    My name is Phil Martino, and I was first introduced to CS earlier this year when my company gave me the opportunity to manage our first ever CS team. It was such an exciting opportunity, but also a huge challenge moving from an individual contributor to a leadership role! My background was mainly in Operations Management, Sales, and Analytics so I am very excited to wrap all of those into one throughout my CS journey. 

    I'm hoping to absorb as much knowledge from GGR as possible. All of the advice, strategies, and best practices that is being shared in this community has already helped in my efforts of growing my team and implementing new procedures! The podcasts are great! 

    Best, 
    Phil 
    https://www.linkedin.com/in/philip-martino
  • Nick Mehta
    Nick Mehta Member Posts: 10 Contributor
    edited October 2020
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    So excited to be here! I'm the CEO of Gainsight. Thanks to Jeff and team for all you do to create this community.

    Obviously I'm a little bit crazy passionate about CS... :)

    I'm always learning. One of our values at Gainsight is Shoshin (Beginner's Mind). We are all beginners.
    "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few"

    So I'm excited to learn from all of you. In particular:
    * How can CS evolve to the next level of strategic impact
    * How to solve hard problems (e.g., customer communication engagement, per my last question)
    * What we can all do to help the careers in CS
    * How we can unite to focus on important issues like D&I
    * How tech should evolve to meet the needs of CS in 2020

    Thanks for having me here!
    Nick
  • Greg Khaikin
    Greg Khaikin Member Posts: 1 Navigator
    edited October 2020
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    Hi Everyone! 

    My name is Greg and I'm in Implementation for a SaaS company with an email and community product.  I've been lurking in the community for a little while and this is my first post.  Implementation is a big part of the customer journey and I'm here to learn as much as I can about how others are approaching common issues in the Customer Success and how I can apply that experience to my own work. 

    Great to be here!
  • Dave Howard
    Dave Howard Member Posts: 3 Navigator
    edited October 2020
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    Hello everyone - pleased to be starting my learning journey with this community.

    With 40+ years in the learning and development world I am working to gain a deep understanding of the Customer Success/Customer Education world so I can apply my skills to helping develop great Customer Educators. I've worked in L&D for large and small organizations, taught at educational institutions and founded successful video production and e-learning companies. If any of that experience sounds helpful in answering your questions or addressing your goals, please connect. I'm always happy to share ideas.

    My ultimate goal is to ensure that CE folks don't just understand their role, but also have real strategies for personal and professional success. For themselves and the customers they serve. To that end I plant trees in whose shade I may never sit.

    I look forward to learning from all of you regardless of where you are on your career journey.

  • Jason Hardisty
    Jason Hardisty Member Posts: 2 Navigator
    edited October 2020
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    Hi Stephanie

    We have the same history, started in hospitality and then ended up on the software side.
    I wish you good luck and success!

    Cheers Jason
  • Elliot Hullverson
    Elliot Hullverson Member Posts: 1 Navigator
    edited October 2020
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    Hi everyone, my name is Elliot and I am currently a Client Outcomes Manager at Gainsight (almost 3 yrs).  I am looking forward to learning from everyone and expanding my network. Before Gainsight I was a CSM at Allbound and Integrate.
  • Bob London
    Bob London Member Posts: 54 Expert
    5 Insightfuls Photogenic First Anniversary
    edited October 2020
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    Hi...I'm very excited to join this vibrant community. Kudos to Jay, Jeff, et al. I specialize in customer discovery, brand, positioning and value prop strategy for B2B tech / SaaS companies. I've interviewed more than 2,200 B2B decisions makers for my clients.

    So, why am I in a CS community?

    It turns out that some of the work I do (and write and speak about) resonates with the CS world, particularly how to have more strategic customer conversations, asking disruptive questions and listening between the lines. Here's my recent webinar (courtesy of ChurnZero) on How to Have More Strategic Customer Convo's:

    Very appreciative of feedback and engagement so far. And looking to learning, connecting and adding value!

    Please reach out if you have questions or need guidance regarding learning your customers' truth so you can move up the value chain.

    BTW, although some consider me an expert listener professionally, my family would beg to differ :-)

    Bob London
    Chief Listening Officer
    +1 240-994-7644
    bob@chieflisteningofficers.com
  • Jordan Silverman
    Jordan Silverman Member, CS Leader Posts: 109 Expert
    First Comment 5 Likes Photogenic First Anniversary
    edited October 2020
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    Hello everyone! My name is Jordan and I currently oversee the post sales team at a SaaS startup called MarketMan. 

    I joined the company a little over 4 years ago and have been part of the exciting journey of building up a team and playbook. 

    Prior to MarketMan I ran my own startup and oversaw a sales team at another SaaS company. 

    I am excited to learn from some great people here on best practices around scaling up. This includes building out first iterations of customer service, improving tech touch/one to many outreach, and overall how to improve customer happiness. 

    Excited to be joining and looking forward to getting more involved!
    Jordan Silverman
    jordan.silverman@usestarfish.com
    (914) 844-5775
    https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordansilverman/
  • Craig Jackson
    Craig Jackson Member Posts: 23 Thought Leader
    edited October 2020
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    Hi Everyone, Im Craig.


    Im brand new GGG and I think the platform is awesome! Great to see a place dedicated to our skill set.

    A little about me, I've spent my entire career in a sales/ account management function with the last 5 years as a senior leader in Customer Success in a SaaS Fintech environment. I have recently joined The Accountancy Cloud, tasked with building out a Customer Success team. We are pre seed and getting ourselves in a position for series a. 

    My goal for joining is a simple one, i'm looking to share as much of my experience a possible to help anyone along the CS journey and learn as much as I can from everyone else. 

    Looking forward to catching up with you all. 

    Craig


  • Matt Kwan
    Matt Kwan Member Posts: 2 Navigator
    edited October 2020
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    Hi everyone! My name is Matt and I oversee the Customer Success team at Riipen, an early-stage EdTech marketplace. I joined 3 years ago and have since helped to scale the team and our operations. Prior to that I worked in media production for Higher Ed institutions. 

    I would love to learn more about:

    1. Transitioning and scaling tech-touch models.
    2. How to grow a marketplace. 
    3. Creating memorable SaaS "unboxing" moments. 

    Looking forward to connecting with you all!
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