Grit

Head of Revenue and BD at Asana, Oliver Jay: The Cutting Edge of Product-Led Growth

Aug 30, 2021

46:11

When Oliver Jay worked for venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates in the late 2000s, he found that the most rewarding aspect for him was working with portfolio companies and watching the beginnings of sales operations.

“But as an associate, let’s be honest, I was there to crunch numbers, and write memos, and source deals,” Oliver said. “That’s why I decided to leave. Even though I loved the job intellectually, I just wanted a piece of the action.”

Soon after, Oliver earned an MBA from Harvard Business School, and flexed his sales knowledge at companies like Dropbox. Now, Oliver works as Head of Global Revenue and Business Development at Asana, a company developing a work management platform.

On this episode of Go to Market Grit, Joubin and Oliver talk about Oliver’s upbringing, the benefits of implementing “checks and balances” into the hiring process, and how to blend product-led growth and value enterprise sales.

In this episode, we cover:

How Oliver educated himself about go-to-market operations by embarking on a 'campaign' to meet and learn from successful sales leaders. (3:03)
'I learned a ton': Oliver's thoughts on the value of business school. (9:04)
Oliver's experience as an immigrant in the United States — and how he wants to teach authenticity and grit to his children. (12:18)
How Oliver learned that he had an eye for identifying talent — and how he motivates and inspires teams with long term goals. (17:31)
Building 'checks and balances' into the hiring process. (21:56)
Uber vs. Grab: Oliver's firsthand experience on the board of Grab as it competed with Uber for the Asian rideshare market. (24:19)
'Seed, land, and expand': What Oliver's experience working at Dropbox taught him about structuring sales organizations at product-led companies. (28:06)
Oliver's current business, Asana, its work management platform — and building a ‘balanced’ company culture. (38:28)
Uncovering whether a job candidate understands excellence during an interview — and the value of helping people grow and develop. (41:28)
What the word grit means to Oliver. (44:41)

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