Niklas Skog
On product
Niklas Skog
On product
Niklas Skog
On product
Niklas Skog
On product
Planhat is by far the most ambitious company I’ve ever worked for, and certainly the most ambitious company I’ve ever run.
We’re trying to disrupt a market - CRM - that has birthed some of the largest and most successful companies that have ever existed. Simultaneously, we’re trying to build a product that serves every department historically siloed apart by their CRMs: a single platform for acquiring, servicing and growing customers. And to achieve this, we’re trying to create modular technology that feels as usable as a PLG-era WorkOS tool, but has the power to scale with your entire team, all the way from startup to IPO and beyond.
There’s still a long way to go before we deliver on our mission of empowering every company to create exceptional, lasting customer relationships. But we’re trying.
Planhat is by far the most ambitious company I’ve ever worked for, and certainly the most ambitious company I’ve ever run.
We’re trying to disrupt a market - CRM - that has birthed some of the largest and most successful companies that have ever existed. Simultaneously, we’re trying to build a product that serves every department historically siloed apart by their CRMs: a single platform for acquiring, servicing and growing customers. And to achieve this, we’re trying to create modular technology that feels as usable as a PLG-era WorkOS tool, but has the power to scale with your entire team, all the way from startup to IPO and beyond.
There’s still a long way to go before we deliver on our mission of empowering every company to create exceptional, lasting customer relationships. But we’re trying.
“a rulebook is something I’ve never had, and something I’m not particularly interested in having, either.”
“a rulebook is something I’ve never had, and something I’m not particularly interested in having, either.”
Sometimes its useful to look at the world in a binary way. And in this case, we forget about net revenue retention, profitability, scale, and all that - and we think of the world as having great companies, and not great companies. We all know of great companies with mediocre products, and mediocre companies with great products. Product isn’t going to make-or-break it. Same goes for certain activities, like fundraising early or staying bootstrapped to profitability. People undeniably matter, but exceptional people also build unexceptional companies. And we can go on forever and ever proving that there's no silver bullet for taking a company from good to great. But there is something considerably slower and less shiny that, at the very least, guarantees that you won’t leave empty-handed. Put simply (honestly, there’s no other way to put it): show up.
Sometimes its useful to look at the world in a binary way. And in this case, we forget about net revenue retention, profitability, scale, and all that - and we think of the world as having great companies, and not great companies. We all know of great companies with mediocre products, and mediocre companies with great products. Product isn’t going to make-or-break it. Same goes for certain activities, like fundraising early or staying bootstrapped to profitability. People undeniably matter, but exceptional people also build unexceptional companies. And we can go on forever and ever proving that there's no silver bullet for taking a company from good to great. But there is something considerably slower and less shiny that, at the very least, guarantees that you won’t leave empty-handed. Put simply (honestly, there’s no other way to put it): show up.
“Put simply: show up.”
“Put simply: show up.”
Show up today. Show up tomorrow. Show up when you feel like it. Show up when you don’t. Show up when you’re winning. Show up when you’re losing. You get the idea.
Basically: show up until it’s done, or you’re done. And as great companies go, I guarantee you’ll be done before it is. It takes decades to build exceptional products, teams and businesses, which is why the greatest litmus test of success is a company that outlives its founder many times over.
Whenever I give this answer, it feels completely obvious and uninteresting. I almost expect whoever asked me to say “Kaveh, come on! Tell me something I don’t know.” and walk off, thoroughly uninspired. The thing is, no matter how many people know this to be true, in 99.99999% of cases (or more), nothing’s ever going to happen. Not because they don’t know what to do, but because they’re not willing to put the time in day after day (after day, after day…).
Show up today. Show up tomorrow. Show up when you feel like it. Show up when you don’t. Show up when you’re winning. Show up when you’re losing. You get the idea.
Basically: show up until it’s done, or you’re done. And as great companies go, I guarantee you’ll be done before it is. It takes decades to build exceptional products, teams and businesses, which is why the greatest litmus test of success is a company that outlives its founder many times over.
Whenever I give this answer, it feels completely obvious and uninteresting. I almost expect whoever asked me to say “Kaveh, come on! Tell me something I don’t know.” and walk off, thoroughly uninspired. The thing is, no matter how many people know this to be true, in 99.99999% of cases (or more), nothing’s ever going to happen. Not because they don’t know what to do, but because they’re not willing to put the time in day after day (after day, after day…).
At Planhat, the long game means we optimize for experience above everything else. Regardless of whether a new hire comes to us fresh out of school, or after decades in business, we make no assumptions. They start at the bottom. They learn our product, they might get on some sales calls, manage some small accounts, spec out some new features - or whatever it is they’re here to do. They don’t start out managing anyone or coordinating teams or planning projects.
If they’re in sales, they need to demonstrate that they can sell successfully. If they’re in engineering, they’ve got to write solid code. And so on. If they’re creating exceptional value, they’ll move up the value chain until we find the steepest learning curve for them. And then they’ll stay there until there’s clearly somewhere they can learn faster or create more value. Being senior at Planhat has nothing to do with tenure and everything to do with proving that you can not only do the work better than anyone who reports to you, but step in for them at a moment’s notice.
At Planhat, the long game means we optimize for experience above everything else. Regardless of whether a new hire comes to us fresh out of school, or after decades in business, we make no assumptions. They start at the bottom. They learn our product, they might get on some sales calls, manage some small accounts, spec out some new features - or whatever it is they’re here to do. They don’t start out managing anyone or coordinating teams or planning projects.
If they’re in sales, they need to demonstrate that they can sell successfully. If they’re in engineering, they’ve got to write solid code. And so on. If they’re creating exceptional value, they’ll move up the value chain until we find the steepest learning curve for them. And then they’ll stay there until there’s clearly somewhere they can learn faster or create more value. Being senior at Planhat has nothing to do with tenure and everything to do with proving that you can not only do the work better than anyone who reports to you, but step in for them at a moment’s notice.
The long game has two big implications for Planhat. The first is that signals and titles and brand names mean very little to us. In my experience, where you worked before, or what title you have, says almost nothing about the only thing that matters in the long game: your stamina. The second is, assuming you’ve got stamina, you can do and become anything you want. Not just at Planhat, but in life. Seriously. Forgetting binary classifications - once you’re committed to showing up, there’s millions of ingredients a company like Planhat needs to become successful. I strongly believe that no matter what you love, whether its coaching, storytelling, designing, coding, or anything else, if you’re at it long enough, you’ll inevitably become the best person Planhat has to do that thing.
The long game has two big implications for Planhat. The first is that signals and titles and brand names mean very little to us. In my experience, where you worked before, or what title you have, says almost nothing about the only thing that matters in the long game: your stamina. The second is, assuming you’ve got stamina, you can do and become anything you want. Not just at Planhat, but in life. Seriously. Forgetting binary classifications - once you’re committed to showing up, there’s millions of ingredients a company like Planhat needs to become successful. I strongly believe that no matter what you love, whether its coaching, storytelling, designing, coding, or anything else, if you’re at it long enough, you’ll inevitably become the best person Planhat has to do that thing.
Niklas and I started Planhat, our long game, almost ten years ago. Sure, we’ve got something to show for it, but I hope we never have cheap silver bullet answers to questions like “What’s the secret to your success?”. We’ve got a hell of a long way to get where we’re going and we’ll need to bring a whole lot more than two hundred people along for the ride. But if there’s one thing I know, its that we’ll get there as long as we keep showing up. And we will keep showing up.
Niklas and I started Planhat, our long game, almost ten years ago. Sure, we’ve got something to show for it, but I hope we never have cheap silver bullet answers to questions like “What’s the secret to your success?”. We’ve got a hell of a long way to get where we’re going and we’ll need to bring a whole lot more than two hundred people along for the ride. But if there’s one thing I know, its that we’ll get there as long as we keep showing up. And we will keep showing up.
Niklas Skog
Niklas Skog
Chief Technology Officer & Co-Founder
Chief Technology Officer & Co-Founder
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By submitting this form I agree that Planhat may collect, process and retain my data pursuant to its Privacy Policy.
Customers
© 2024 Planhat AB
Thought-leading customer-centric content, direct to your inbox every month.
By submitting this form I agree that Planhat may collect, process and retain my data pursuant to its Privacy Policy.
Customers
© 2024 Planhat AB
Thought-leading customer-centric content, direct to your inbox every month.
By submitting this form I agree that Planhat may collect, process and retain my data pursuant to its Privacy Policy.
Customers
© 2024 Planhat AB