Show notes
On this episode of the Traction podcast, host Lloyed Lobo of Boast.AI welcomes Alok Tyagi, CEO at Boast.AI. You raised a big round of funding and hired a pedigreed big company CTO but now, a few months in, you’re concerned that the team is not shipping as fast as they used to. Startups are built in stages, from idea to product-market fit and scale. The kind of product and engineering playbook you implement for your stage will make all the difference between hypergrowth and missing the boat. Alok was ranked #2 in the list of Top 25 Software Product Executives of 2021 by The Software Report. He brings deep product and technology experience from leadership at several prominent enterprise SaaS companies including DealerSocket, RealPage, Oracle, Peoplesoft, JD Edwards, and Sage. In this session, Alok shares the playbook for high-performing software teams that consistently ship blockbuster products. Specifically, Alok discusses: 4:16 - The key learnings from operating diverse businesses 7:11 - Preserving the startup mentality during massive growth 12:08 - Starting product development efforts with a press release 14:25 - How to approach R&D investments 18:00 - Balancing important and strategic decisions versus urgent decisions 23:00 - How to go about agile 28:32 - Defining success for enterprise SaaS products and what KPIs should be measured 34:12 - Why software is a people business 38:17 - Ideal team size and structure 40:38 - First few hires Alok would make if he started from scratch 42:27 - How to recruit and keep top talent 44:47 - How to solve trust, communication, and engagement challenges 47:32 - Key traits of frontline managers 53:13 - How leaders can show more empathy 55:46 - What Alok wishes he did more of and less of when looking back at his career 56:59 - Book recommendations 58:03 - Unconventional advice that founders ignore, but shouldn't Learn more at https://tractionconf.io Connect with Alok Tyagi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aloktyagi/ This episode is brought to you by: Each year the U.S. and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don’t get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AI. Launch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.ca Content Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://ContentAllies.com
