“When you go from putting out fires day-to-day in the general grind of a startup, to actually seeing results? It’s massively rewarding, especially when you begin to notice actual momentum and change in your company.”

- Jenna Chau, Head of Customer Success at Invelo

Most companies face challenges when sculpting out a customer success function – let alone startups. So where should you start?

In this episode of CS School, we're joined by Jenna Chau, Head of Customer Success at Invelo, who reveals the best steps to take when building a CS function from the ground up.

Key discussion points

  • When do you know the right time to start a CS function?
  • Are startups more product-led than customer-led?
  • The qualities to look for when hiring your CS team members.
  • What tech should a startup choose?
  • The CS metrics you should start with.
  • How processes shift and develop over time.
  • How to balance the expectations of the C-suite/senior leadership with your own CS team.
  • The importance of conferences and networking when building a CS function from the ground up.

A little bit about Jenna

Jenna Chau got into customer success through a combination of her background in both software development and customer service.

When Jenna joined Invelo, she was only their third official hire, so she knows a thing or two about getting started with a company's bare bones. Jenna’s role involves overseeing the overall customer success strategy for the company. In her time so far at Invelo she's built out Invelo's customer success function from scratch, expanded her team, and realized that CS is truly where her heart lies.

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