How Pete Lamson Took The Reins As CEO of JazzHR And Grew It To $15M In ARR

In this episode, we have Pete Lamson, the CEO of JazzHR, an SMB-focused recruiting software/applicant tracking system company designed to streamline the hiring process. Unlike most of their competitors who are focused on the mid- and enterprise market, JazzHR serves small businesses of anything between 50 and 500 employees, offering a solid product that they continue to improve as well as delivering industry-leading customer support. Pete discusses why customer retention is such a high priority for them and how, during the height of the COVID pandemic, they remained laser-focused on getting results for their customers and investors. As part of their customer experience strategy, they offer free onboarding services that allow their customers to get comfortable and confident with their software so that they can get the most out of it – just one of their many strategies for offering top-class customer support. Switching the topic to his role as CEO, Pete discusses his recruitment by JazzHR four years ago and how the founder Don Charlton managed to strike the perfect balance between supporting him while also giving him enough space to develop his own ideas, and he advises listeners on the most important considerations for any new CEO. For more on recruitment software, founder-CEO relationships, and customer experience, be sure to tune in! 

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

• [00:21] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast!
• [00:49] Pete talks about his entrepreneurial career and his biggest influences along the way. 
• [02:19] Learn what kind of business JazzHR is and how Pete and his team make money. 
• [03:11] How their solution simplifies and improves the recruiting process for their customers.
• [04:11] Hear some impressive metrics on their ARR, number of employees, and growth rate.
• [05:04] What makes JazzHR different from other recruitment software companies. 
• [06:53] Some of the positive feedback they are getting and their focus on customer retention. 
• [07:45] Advice for driving good customer experience, including offering onboarding services. 
• [10:53] Pete talks about their approach to onboarding new customers and the time it takes. 
• [11:35] Being recruited as the CEO four years ago and how the board equipped him to succeed. 
• [13:58] Get a sense of how effectively the founder Don Charlton supports Pete as the CEO. 
• [17:10] The actions Pete and his team have had to take to keep afloat when the pandemic hit. 
• [20:03] Overcoming the downturn by continuing to prioritize results for customers and investors. 
• [21:03] The most important PMF-related questions to consider as a new CEO. 
• [23:10] Pete talks about Sisense as his most trusted tool, especially in the context of COVID. 

 

Resources From The Interview:

 

• Pete Lamson on LinkedIn
• JazzHR
• Carbonite
• Indeed
• ZipRecruiter
• Taleo 
• Greenhouse
• Don Charlton on LinkedIn
• Kommute
• Sisense
• Must-read book: The Hard Thing About Hard Things

 

Leave Some Feedback:

 

• What should I talk about next? Who should I interview? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments below.
• Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review here
• Subscribe to Leveling Up on iTunes
• Get the non-iTunes RSS Feed

 

Connect with Eric Siu: 

 

• Growth Everywhere
• Single Grain
• Eric Siu on Twitter