Acting and adapting quickly with CaptivateIQ’s Mark Schopmeyer
This week on How to Win: Mark Schopmeyer, co-founder and co-CEO at CaptivateIQ, a commission management platform built to help teams power their incentive programs. Founded in 2017, CaptivateIQ has since expanded to 250 employees. They have just closed their Series C Funding with $100M, now sitting at a total of $165 million total throughout all rounds, raised at a valuation of $1.25B. In this episode, Mark explains why they sped into launching a version of the product that has since seen two more versions aimed at increased scalability, how they have aligned as a company through a deep understanding of the job to be done, and what early hiring bets have played off for them in the long run. I share my thoughts on why it's okay to launch with a version of your product that isn't quite ready yet, why you should consider hiring people who are smarter and better than you in their areas of expertise, and why innovation is an important strategic element for any company looking to stick around for the long run.
Key Points:
- Mark explains how CaptivateIQ's co-founders came from the problem (01:03)
- Mark explains why CaptivateIQ went through three distinct versions early in the company's life (06:25)
- My thoughts on why it is better to launch a product before it is ready, rather than be too late (07:00)
- Why CaptivateIQ had such early success with an outbound sales movement (08:17)
- I explain why you should invest in people who have skillsets you don't, with a quote from Alibaba's Jack Ma (10:10)
- Mark talks through CaptivateIQ's inbound sales efforts (12:18)
- I weigh in on why content marketing is so important, and why companies can no longer rely on review sites to fuel sales (13:09)
- Mark explains CaptivateIQ's dedication to innovation in order to stay ahead of the competition (16:54)
- My thoughts on why companies need to bet on things far into the future, with a quote from Harvard Professor David Collis (18:54)
- Mark advises founders just starting out to focus on the core problem and avoid distractions (24:09)
- Wrap up (27:17)
Mentioned:
My Links:
