Ep 12 - Powering SaaS Scale-ups as a Fractional CTO / COO

This episode features an enlightening conversation with business transformation change agent Michael Richardson , founder and managing director of Tech Azur, a consultancy providing support for digital business transformation initiatives, scale-up operations and c-suite advisory. 

His advice? You don't have to learn everything the hard way. What does that mean? Operationalizing the organization to be able to scale is often a blind spot for CEOs. "What got you funded won't get you scale," according to Richardson. 

As a founder, CEO or CTO, you should be proud of what you've built, early customer success and impressing investors. The skills to operationalize are not necessarily the same as what got you to your first big VC round. You have to grow the organization across many areas of expertise.

For founders, why would you seek an outside expert? The CEO when he/she presents wants to seem like a superhero, but the investors know there's no such thing as perfection and no exec can know anything. In fact, they look for continuous improvement and realism in how you plan to scale. Act in a foreground role or in a coaching mode. Don't mask the issues but deal with them.

The virtual c-suite exec can help you deliver on the pitch you made - and post-funding you're just 90 days from your first meeting with your new bosses. Take the weekend off post-close but now the hard work really begins. With a virtual c-suite augmentation you can keep the core team focused on the really hard work that is right here, right now - and amplify what the core team can do.

Examples - young SaaS firms dealing with large companies can be a mismatch in terms of process and procedure, and if it's your first big money raise, you might not know what is expected from your investors and get off to a bumpy start. Outsourcing a senior operating role can help you grow these skills in your SaaS.

Michael and I drill-down deep into what it takes to build a scaleable SaaS and there's a lot here for scale-up CEOs, CTOs and CMOs to learn from this deeply skilled and experienced exec.

Take a listen and let me know what you think!

Resources for SaaS Execs

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