Main Drumroll: We’re excited to welcome Jim Smittkamp as our Chief Income Officer as we embark on the following part of our development journey!
Jim joins us from Fivetran, considered one of our esteemed companions, the place he was their Chief Income Officer and notably helped scale the corporate’s ARR from $5 million to $250 million. His profound affect at Fivetran underscores his distinctive functionality to drive substantial income development and foster important strategic partnerships.
However that’s not what makes Jim particular.
And on this weblog publish, we wish to share with you what does. As founders, this may need been one of the crucial troublesome searches we’ve ever carried out. After we started our seek for a Chief Income Officer, we had been conscious about the heavy weight of accountability that got here with the function.
At Atlan, we’ve got been extremely lucky to construct a product that individuals love (and need). We achieved almost 3X development in 2023, exiting the yr as one of many few firms to speed up development regardless of a difficult macroeconomic local weather. Our aggressive win fee stands at 75%—a testomony to our product’s worth, as three out of each 4 information leaders select Atlan when in comparison with rivals. To not point out that, 85% of our clients attempt Atlan earlier than they purchase.
The previous Chief Income Officer of ServiceNow, Dave Schneider, as soon as stated to me,
When you have got lightning in a bottle and buyer traction such as you do—it’s your obligation to take your software program to each single potential potential buyer, so that they make the suitable shopping for resolution.”
This recommendation crystallized the significance of discovering a pacesetter who may assist us fulfill our obligation to information groups world wide.
“Obligation” is an evocative phrase at Atlan, one we maintain with the utmost seriousness. In our seek for a Chief Income Officer, it was essential to discover a chief who not solely resonated with however would additionally protect the distinctive DNA that defines Atlan. Beginning out as a knowledge crew ourselves, we penned a manifesto even earlier than promoting our first product. This manifesto wasn’t simply phrases—it was a dedication to be the form of associate we ourselves had wanted throughout our early days as a knowledge crew.
This dedication has formed each side of our operations—we stayed in stealth for a lot longer than most firms do, until we had been certain that we had the suitable product — one which drives real adoption in information groups. We now have a bigger buyer expertise crew than a gross sales crew, which is just about extraordinary in SaaS firms. We consider our job as serving to clients achieve success with their program, not simply promote them software program — resulting in the launch of Atlan College, Atlan Group and even management applications just like the DataOps Leaders program.
Our method to measuring success goes past typical metrics and we observe natural “love moments” on our #wall-of-love on Slack. And these core beliefs: do what’s proper to your clients, and they’ll enable you to construct an important enterprise, are coming true.
After we surveyed our clients final yr to find what really units us aside, the response was unanimous and clear: “Accomplice, not vendor.” Over 90% of our clients come to Atlan inbound (sure, they discover us and wish to purchase Atlan).
Not Only a Chief, however a Steward of Tradition
All through our intensive search, I personally spoke with over 30 income leaders, every with a formidable background. Nonetheless, from our very first dialog, Jim stood out distinctly.
Why? As a result of Jim is greater than a gross sales chief; he’s a seasoned enterprise chief and a real firm builder. Sure, he belongs to that elite cadre of income leaders who haven’t solely demonstrated world-class operational rigor but additionally led income organizations via numerous go-to-market phases—from scaling groups in early phases to main advanced partnership motions in mature enterprises, as evidenced by his impactful tenures at Fivetran and Gigya (acquired by SAP) — throughout quite a lot of enterprise fashions, from PLG to enterprise gross sales — and consumption primarily based pricing to SaaS subscriptions.
However what really units Jim aside is his extraordinary emotional intelligence. He has cultivated a novel gross sales tradition that’s based on belief and empathy. Throughout our reference checks, the accolades had been overwhelming.
Have your again sort management.”
I might go work for him once more in a heartbeat.”
This suggestions got here not simply from his direct stories, but additionally from account executives and front-line managers.
Furthermore, Jim extends his affect past simply main income groups; he builds firms. His direct stories shared insights into his management type, a testomony to his means to foster belief and development inside his groups
He offers us studying assignments earlier than our offsites.”
Jim has a guide advice for every part.”
And most significantly, Jim champions a first-principles method and he’s prepared to alter his thoughts when he’s unsuitable. At Atlan, considered one of our core values is “Downside first, answer second.” This philosophy compels us to completely perceive the challenges earlier than proposing options, setting apart trade norms and previous biases. This rigorous give attention to the issue can lead us to overtake our product roadmap and even problem our clients’ views in the event that they aren’t addressing the core points successfully.
Simply final month, Bryan and Andrew from our crew suggested a potential shopper, who had accomplished a proof of worth with us and was able to buy, to carry off on shopping for Atlan. They identified that the shopper's customers didn’t face important sufficient challenges to warrant our answer at the moment. The instant consequence was a loss in income, however the long-term end result was much more precious. This shopper now trusts us implicitly, realizing that our dedication is before everything to their success, not simply to our backside line. And sometime, they'll grow to be a life-long buyer.
We wanted a pacesetter who’d protect that tradition. Jim is exactly that chief.
The “A-ha Second”
I nonetheless bear in mind the second when all of it clicked for me—that Jim was really meant to be at Atlan. It was March twelfth, throughout a buyer dinner on the Gartner Summit, and it was removed from atypical. At one desk, a bunch of knowledge lovers had been partaking in a spirited “information brawl,” laughing loudly as they debated the definition of “buyer.” Amidst this, a CIO I had by no means met earlier than pulled me apart.
We typically keep away from vendor occasions and dinners, however you aren’t only a vendor to us; you’re a associate. Your crew is outstanding, and we’ll go wherever to assist you.”
One other chief took apart my cofounder, Varun, and me, expressing his concern,
I’m actually paranoid that you will screw this up. What you’re constructing is really particular. Don’t screw it up.”
As I seemed across the room, taking within the passionate debates and the sense of neighborhood amongst these leaders, I felt a profound sense of belonging. This “particular” factor we had constructed felt like residence. In that second, I used to be sure—Jim would match completely into this image.
Welcome residence, Jim! Let’s construct the house that information groups deserve.
