Beyond the Dynatrace Partnership with Chip Virnig and John Van Siclen
Jan 25, 2024
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Thoma Bravo Partner, Chip Virnig, and former CEO of Dynatrace, John Van Siclen, reflect on the challenges and rewards of their careers, including building a customer base, navigating a public company, and the emotions surrounding their listing on the NYSE. They also discuss valuable career lessons like patience, active listening, and mentorship, as well as giving a glimpse into their personal lives.
The different phases of a career bring unique challenges and rewards, with each phase requiring a different skillset and approach.
Having a sustainable and predictable revenue model can make it easier to make the decision to leave a successful company and focus on personal priorities.
Deep dives
The Most Rewarding Phases of John Van Sicklin's Career at Dynatrace
John Van Sicklin, the former CEO of Dynatrace, discussed the different phases of his career and the rewards each phase brought. He highlighted the venture business as being straightforward due to his experience and knowledge of VC expectations. He emphasized the challenge of the compuware phase, where he was in charge of products and market but not the overall business operations. He also mentioned the excitement and problem-solving nature of each phase, which kept him interested in his role at Dynatrace.
The Decision to Step Away from Dynatrace
John Van Sicklin revealed that his decision to step away from Dynatrace came after 13 years of leading the company towards approaching a billion dollars in revenue. With two additional grandchildren on the way, he felt it was time to shift his attention towards his family. He expressed satisfaction and confidence in the sustainable and predictable revenue model they had built at Dynatrace, making it easier for him to make the decision to leave on a high note.
In this Beyond the Deal mini-sode, Thoma Bravo Partner Chip Virnig and former CEO of Dynatrace John Van Siclen talk about some of the more rewarding challenges they’ve faced, the long steady process of learning patience, the excitement that comes with an IPO, and how to know when it’s time to step away.