General Catalyst Talent Partner: Katie Hughes

On this week’s episode, Patrick joins Carolyn to discuss building a hybrid work culture at LiveOps “before hybrid was cool,” how talent is everywhere, why companies shifted to hybrid work faster than he expected, cost of living compensation adjustments, bringing remote teams together, how investors have changed which companies they invest in, and how remote work builds meritocracy.

Tim tells us about his journey from being homeschooled in Illinois to becoming a sales executive in Silicon Valley, learning how to manage people that were more senior than he was, changing Hired’s business model, why he joined Sama, working for an impactful organization, and empowering people to be successful.

Calling all SDRs! You don’t want to miss this one. Seth joins Carolyn to talk about being passionate about sales development and training other people leaders, making a career out of the SDR role, working with Aaron Ross at Predictable Revenue, building a successful career without a college degree, working at Google, and how to hire the right people.

Jake discusses working at CareerBuilder and Glassdoor, his midwestern background, ticket sales with the TB Rays, bringing business plans to interviews, getting fired, effective sales leadership, keys to getting promoted, sales team bonding in a remote world, learning the startup game, why he started Skaled, and the future of sales.

Katie joins Carolyn to chat about being the first employee of Betts, becoming the first head of talent at DFJ, her extensive experience in venture capital, DE&I hiring strategies, the future of remote work, and her advice for other people who’d like to work in venture capital.

John talks about starting Yodle right after college, yellow pages, inside sales at Yodle and ProfitFuel, growth companies and almost taking Yodle public, Yodle’s acquisition by web.com, founding OJO, how he’s using his learnings from Yodle to lead OJO, his father’s construction business, and his advice to other entrepreneurs.

Amy sits down with Carolyn to discuss how she creates an inclusive company environment in which people can thrive, founding AnswerLab, how they shifted their strategy to conduct user research remotely, AnswerLab’s commitment to inclusivity, the origins of her passion for user research, growing up in Tennessee, and moving to Japan.  1:38 Amy discusses her background and growing up in a small town outside of Knoxville, TN 4:07 Amy talks about learning Japanese and moving to Japan 10:13 The origins of Amy’s passion for creating experiences that everyone loves 14:28 Why Amy decided to found AnswerLab and how she came up with the idea 17:03 AnswerLab’s strategy and how they first brought on enterprise clients  20:02 Amy talks burnout and perfectionism 24:45 Why AnswerLab creates an inclusive culture in which people can thrive 28:09 How AnswerLab converted 89 in-person research projects to remote, and how they avoided losing any revenue in Q2 2020 35:42 AnswerLab’s human centered work project and their million dollar commitment 46:44 Amy’s closing DE&I advice to other leaders 

Carlos tells us about helping take MongoDB public, what’s next for TripActions, growing up in Miami, his first sales jobs, working at PTC, moving to Barcelona, tech in the late 90’s, his key to building successful sales teams, and his career advice. 1:25 Carlos talks growing up in Miami and his first sales jobs3:20 His experience at PTC and why they have a great sales organization6:38 Carlos reflects on moving to Barcelona7:47 Leaving PTC to start a company10:58 Reflecting on tech in the late 90’s14:10 The key to building successful sales teams16:54 How Carlos joined MongoDB and his experience taking them public as CRO28:36 Why every salesperson at TripActions builds at least some of their own pipeline33:18 How Carlos builds a great sales culture37:33 How TripActions has found opportunity during a global disruption43:19 Career advice from Carlos

Nick joins Carolyn to discuss Gainsight’s acquisition by Vista, growing up in Pittsburgh, the importance of community in the growth of the customer success field, how he runs a human-centric company, his passion for creating equal opportunities for all people, and his advice to other entrepreneurs. 1:12 Nick talks about growing up in Pittsburgh and being a Steelers fan 3:07 The importance of community in the growth of the customer success field 7:25 Nick discusses founding his first company, chipshot.com, while at Harvard, and how it almost IPOed 11:31 Why Nick is known as being a “fun CEO” and how he’s motivated to create a human-centric company 18:50 How Gainsight handles tough situations 23:33 Nick’s passion for creating equal opportunities for all people at Gainsight and in the customer success field 31:20 Gainsight’s future and it’s acquisition by Vista 36:50 Nick’s advice to other entrepreneurs 

If there’s anyone who knows how to dream, it’s Ron DeShay. After arriving in Los Angeles with his Ford Explorer on a U-Haul, he quickly rose through the ranks of Hollywood to become a producer on American Idol, the revolutionary show that “broke television.” On this week’s episode, Ron joins Carolyn to discuss his arrival in Hollywood, the beginning of his career in entertainment, including acting in Pamela Anderson’s TV show, his transition to behind the scenes work, and his influential role in creating American Idol. He also discusses leaving the #1 show on television to found World of Dreams and his upcoming production, A Better World Project, which aims to bring people together and end racism. In addition, he talks about how he’s revolutionizing the way content is created, and how inspiring others to dream is at the core of his mission at World of Dreams.1:34 Ron talks about growing up in Bastrop, TX, his early interest in entertainment, and arriving in Hollywood with his Ford Explorer on a U-Haul. 4:35 Ron discusses the beginning of his Hollywood career which included acting in several commercials and having a role on Pamela Anderson’s show, V.I.P. 5:45 After taking a 6 month break, Ron gets a behind the scenes entry-level position as a logger on a show called American Fighter Pilots. 6:42 Ron meets the executive producer his first day on the job and he gets promoted to associate producer on day 4. 8:03 Fighter Pilots is canceled after 3 weeks on the air, but he becomes an associate producer on the show that became American Idol.  9:00 Ron talks about the challenges of transforming the U.K. version of American Idol for American audiences and A-list celebs who passed up the chance to host American Idol. 12:34 Ron tells us about his defining moment of screening a first cut of the show for UK producers, Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick, and how it influenced the creation of the show. 17:31 The reasons why American Idol had universal appeal, had something that everyone could relate to, and became the show that “broke television.” 25:04 Why Ron left the #1 TV show in America to start his business. 30:12 The importance of seeing opportunities in difficult situations. 35:20 How Ron came up with the idea for World of Dreams and the importance of being a sponge and learning everything you can. 43:39 The 4 lines of business within World of Dreams Entertainment Group and how he created a technological platform in which content creators can get feedback from the people who are watching the content like millennials and Gen Z. 49:05 Ron discusses A Better World Project and the show’s mission to bring people together and end racism by partnering with the National Student Council Association. 58:24 The World of Dreams shoe line and Dubai’s influence on Ron.