Calling Operator with Laura Nicol Ep 55. Anna Prell on Building Forage, Being Acquired and Building Again
Laura Nicol dials into Anna Prell, VP Operations at Ivo.
Anna reminds us why being an operator is a) so damn exciting and b) the ultimate leadership testing ground:
"In a startup, you can be your own version of a founder. You’re the founder of whatever it is you’re in charge of. You keep testing, learning, and scaling until it works."
Inside this conversation:
- Moving to the US in 2020—and operating inside ANZ companies state-side
- Shifting from Chief of Staff to leading a function (Ops > Customer Success)
- Learning how to manage people
- EAB acquiring Forage—Anna’s role in the story
- Finding a home in EAB post-acquisition
- The operator-founder partnership. Pure MAGIC
- Building again at Ivo as VP Ops
- How she found the “right fit”
- Building the infrastructure that helps teams scale
Want to connect with Anna? Find her on LinkedIn.
Also mentioned:
Pre-interview chats:
Guest ideas?
Do you have an operator on speed dial who could be perfect for the show? Please share your suggestions with me via LinkedIn.
A note from your host, Laura:
My goal for Calling Operator is to open-source stories from startup operators across various functional areas and learn how they excel at building and scaling companies. As a Chief of Staff, I often find myself in (virtual) rooms with people facing similar challenges and reinventing the wheel. I want this podcast to open a line for operators across Australia and New Zealand to learn from fellow operators. Each episode shares personal stories, the execution behind big ideas, career-defining moments, successes, failures, and lessons.
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