RVNU #002: Mapping Operational Excellence In Start-up Growth
Unlocking action and growth with the power of visualization.
AI Audio Discussion of this Newsletter:
As the long weekend (here in the US) comes to an end, I wanted to share the journey of how I was introduced to the RVNU SaaS growth framework and the ‘aha’ moment that led me to RVNU.
Let me set the scene.
It was 2013. I was 30 and after 8 years of living in Austin, Texas I quit my job, sold my car, condo and decided to move for a new adventure in Seattle, Washington. Why? It was time for something new.
Arriving in Seattle, I started looking for my next role, and it was through my tech network that I stumbled into an interview and my next role with a small unknown start-up called Tableau Software. That moment put me on a path into my first tech leadership role, building a Public Sector vertical, opening the Tableau DC office, standing on the stock exchange balcony for our 3rd IPO anniversary, creating the first sales operations function, learning and building the first AMER sales enablement team and eventually seeing Tableau sell for $15.7B to Salesforce.
In my almost 9 years of building at Tableau from $250M to a $1B SaaS company, two things really stood out to me:
Tableau took no investment capital - bootstrapping to their way to massive growth
The relentless focus on Tableau’s mission: To Help People See and Understand Data.
Yes, the first one above is impressive - but what I learned most - was the power “visualization” has on our ability to quickly interpret and understand complex information. The speed at which humans can see and understand visual stimuli is remarkably fast. Research indicates that the brain can process images in as little as 13 milliseconds.
Not only was Tableau built around simplifying the complex nature of seeing and understanding data, but it was the broader benefit of ‘visualization’ in unlocking human growth.
The value of visualization is to improve decision making, to be dynamic, and to facilitate coordination. As a result, people and groups are more productive. - Pat Hanrahan, Tableau Co-founder at Tableau Customer Conference 2011
It wasn’t until I joined a start-up, until the power of visualization came to light again.
Fig 1. Laura video testimonial of seeing framework
As an revenue operator, my ‘aha’ moment was when I was introduced to Wayne Morris’s SaaS growth framework.
Immediately, the chaos we had been operating in, came to focus. I started to visually see the gaps we had missed in our business and understand how I could have helped align resources, metrics and challenge confidently when anti-patterns were showing up that we were blind to. Unfortunately, I had already left the start-up, but I wish I had this resource a year earlier.
It didn’t stop me, though. I started overlay tactics, metrics, strategy and the experience I had just gone through - into the framework.
Fig 2: Laura’s operational brainstorm in the RVNU Startup Growth framework
Here were some of my takeaways:
Operations is a discipline that starts during Idea Market Fit
Don’t just define your ICP, make it a driving attribute across the funnel
Everyone thinks they have Product Market Fit, but only a few truly do
Create a culture of data curiosity to find your ‘north star metric’
Customer usage data needs to translate into ‘realized value’
And now that I can see and understand how operations lives in the framework, the question is how do I help share these insights with more founders and GTM teams - so they don’t make the same costly mistakes.
Alongside our free GTM Debt self-assessment, Wayne and I used our RVNU SaaS growth framework to build an external RVNU Knowledge Base (launching end of September)🚀 combining step-by-step guidance, videos and downloadable resources to educate and guide users to escape velocity. Join the waitlist here for early access!
This product is one step closer in our mission in democratizing access to expertise and help more early stage start-ups succeed past $20M in ARR.
For the next 4 newsletters, Wayne and I will break down the 4 Phases of SaaS growth from strategy, real-life stories & practical application. Each week will expose some of the great content included in the RVNU Knowledge Base. Thanks for being on this journey with us!
Happy Operating 👊🏼
Laura, Co-Founder & COO