GTM 47: Elena's "Pinch Me" Moment Going Public with Medallia

Elena Hutchison has over 15 years of B2B SaaS experience, including a 10-year run at Customer Experience leader Medallia where she supported the company's growth from Series B through IPO.As Medallia's Chief Strategy Officer, Elena led Product Marketing, Analyst Relations, and PreSales functions, and contributed significantly to the company's M&A and product strategy. Elena has particular expertise in scaling global PreSales functions - she joined Medallia as one of its first Sales Engineers and eventually led the 150-person org.S he has also built a reputation as an elite Analyst Relations practitioner, with multiple leading Forrester Waves and Gartner MQs under her belt.

Prior to Medallia, Elena spent 5 years in Professional Services and Customer Success roles. (She also earned some phenomenal stories from her days as a political pollster and focus group moderator).

What You Will Learn:

• How to stay motivated and stick with a company for 10+ years.
• Defining the role of Analyst Relations.
• Learning to step into an era of “yes” and an era of “no” equally in business.
• The importance of a peer group that gives you strength.
• Distinguishing which companies need Sales Engineers and which don’t.

Highlights:
(3:48) How Elena built her way up from Sales Engineer to C-Suite at Medallia.

(7:22) How to fill the gaps when starting a new role.

(13:10) Elena’s transition from engineering to analyst relations at Medallia.

(18:24) Defining analyst relations.

(25:16) Analyzing the concept of “Pay to Play”.

(30:00) The metrics that matter for analyst relations.

(31:41) Elena’s biggest mistake sitting at the executive table.

(35:00) The power of outside mentorship.

(37:20) The importance of bringing on Sales Engineers early on.

Guest Speaker Links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elenahutchison/
Elena's Consulting: uprightar.com

Host Speaker Links:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.