Pylon

Why Product Velocity Matters in Our Partners 🚀 At Sardine, one of the key things I look for in our partners and vendors is product velocity. Even if an early product has fewer features than incumbents, a sharp spike in solving the key use case makes all the difference if team can ship fast. Because you know soon they will be better than incumbent and you will have a 10x better solution with the startup.This only happens when the founding team lives and breathes the problem they’re solving—and you can feel it. And they treat product velocity as a moat. We’ve had the privilege of being early customers of two companies that consistently embody this and have scaled product quickly: 1️⃣ Pylon – Customer support reimagined, led by Marty Kausas 2️⃣ Unify - For warm outbound outreach, led by Austin Hughes 🤝 Seeing their products grow and solve real challenges reminds us of how many of our earliest customers took a chance on Sardine and grew with us. Rooting for these fast-growing companies and teams—who ship fast, listen to customers, and continuously improve—feels like the right bet every time.

Colby Orona is in the 🔆 Spotlight 🔆! Colby is currently the Director of Customer Experience at SkillGigs. He has over a decade of experience in the customer success, recruiting and account management space. We are excited to spotlight Colby today! 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀? I stumbled into a customer success role with a SaaS startup, where my background in sales, business development, and recruitment aligned well with the company's needs. It was somewhat by accident that I discovered the opportunity, but I’ve gained a lot of valuable experience in the process. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁? One trend I’m noticing, and hearing more about within the industry, is the continued growth of customer success. The field is relatively new and filled with a lot of talented individuals. As more professionals recognize the transferable skills they have for roles in customer success, we’re likely to see even more innovation and talent emerge. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁-𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗜? I believe that post-sales teams have the potential to become more effective and efficient. In my opinion, AI can significantly reduce the cost of non-human tasks within the customer success space. By streamlining these functions, AI can create more room for delivering a truly exceptional "white glove" onboarding experience for customers. 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲? There are numerous role models in the customer success space, but one individual who stands out to me is Carly Agar. She’s currently making a huge impact in the industry. I follow her free resources for customer success professionals, listen to her podcast, The Customer Success Career Coach, and follow her on LinkedIn, where she speaks at panels about getting into the field and how to land the right opportunity.

Maranda Dziekonski (she/her) is in the 🔆 Spotlight 🔆! Maranda is currently the VP of CS at Id.me, and she has an extensive 20+ years in the CS space. We are excited to spotlight her today! 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁/𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀? I actually fell into it by chance and luck - because I love it! My first ever customer success job was over 20 years ago now. It wasn't called Customer Success, but that's what it was. I managed a customer portfolio, ensuring they had what they needed to be successful, looking around corners for any risks and so on. While I have owned multiple functions in an org, some further away from Customer Success, like HR, some closer like Support, I have always made Customer Success my home. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗮 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗶𝘁? Not learning more about the business, which is why I tell folks to dig in deep. When I say business, I am referring to both the ones you work in and the ones you support. You cannot be a trusted advisor if you don't understand your customers day to day, and you also cannot control your destiny if you don't understand the whys behind what you do. I didn't get clear on that early. I just checked the boxes. When I finally realized how important that was, my career truly took off, and my role had more purpose for me. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁/𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀? Learn about the business you are working in and supporting. You should know what NRR is, what impacts it from the business standpoint, and what levers you have to impact it. You should know what renewals are coming up for your book of business, not just a quarter out, but a few quarters out - because the further you think and strategize, the greater the chance you can positively impact that renewal event. Oh, and don't be afraid to own a number. It may be scary at first, but ultimately will help your career. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁/𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀? People who still use NPS as their primary metric and folks who completely discount the value that NPS can bring. It's rarely the end-all-be-all for any organization, but when done right, it can be a great data point for any organization.

"What's Pylon's SLA?" Tabs pinged our Slack channel so I flew out to NY and answered in person 😳 There's our SLA. Proof in pic below* JK. We're built different but not that different. Having solid relationships with customers is sick because you can just hit up GS S. and ask to co-work for the day 😎 Got to see the Tabs team in person and witness how they work. A lot of smiling, energy, and getting shit done. Hit them up, they're on to something and hiring 💪🏽

Introducing... 📖 Knowledge Gaps 📖 Gaps surface what topics are missing in your KB. They join our AI-KCS suite of tooling which includes: 1. AI Article Generation 2. Templates 3. Similar Article Detection 4. Knowledge Base 5. Conversational Agents Your new support flow becomes... Customers ask questions → you answer them → periodically check for new gaps → use AI article generation to draft new articles into pre-defined template formats → similar article detection keeps your knowledge base clean → the content feeds your conversational agents to answer that question the next time. This works only for knowledge-centered questions which is fewer in B2B, but still highly impactful. This is a BFD. Enjoy!

Andrea Bumstead is in the 🔆 Spotlight 🔆! Her most recent role was VP of CS @ Kindsight and she has built several high-performing customer success teams across both B2B and B2C industries. It's an honor to spotlight her today! 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀? I began my career in marketing and then spent several years as an account executive. My transition into customer success was sparked by the industry’s shift toward subscription-based models and cloud-based solutions. I saw an opportunity to be at the forefront of a rapidly evolving industry and profession. Additionally, I’ve always had a passion for building relationships and working closely with customers, so moving into customer success felt like a natural and exciting fit for me. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀? A common misconception is that customer success doesn’t require sales skills. This couldn’t be further from the truth—upsells, cross-sells, and renewals are often integral to the role. In fact, customer success is a key revenue driver for most organizations. The ability to navigate commercial negotiations, identify opportunities to add value, and advise customers on new products or services is essential for any Customer Success Manager. These skills ensure both the customer and the business achieve their goals. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀? Start by connecting with Customer Success Managers to learn about their daily responsibilities, challenges, and rewards. Take a few courses, such as those offered by Success Hacker, and join customer success communities like the Customer Success Network, Women in Customer Success, or the CxXchange. Don’t worry about lacking direct experience in customer success—many successful professionals come from diverse backgrounds. As a leader, I’ve hired individuals with experience in fields like event planning, hospitality, fitness, and small business ownership. What truly matters is a customer-first mindset, strong problem-solving skills, and a genuine interest in helping others succeed. Having some sales skills also doesn't hurt ;) 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗩𝗣 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀? The most fulfilling aspect of my role is working with people—both within my organization and with our customers. Internally, I thrive on collaborating with teams to solve complex challenges and refine go-to-market strategies. Externally, I love partnering with customers to understand their definition of success and designing journeys that deliver meaningful value. For me, the human element is both the most rewarding and the most challenging part of customer success, and it’s what keeps me deeply passionate about this profession.

I’m calling it. Pylon will be the next Zendesk - and that’s their floor, not their ceiling. They have a dream Founder team. 2 Caltech alums (Robert Eng and Advith Chelikani) and a customer obsessed CEO (Marty Kausas) who lives, breathes, and sleeps Sales & Product. It's incredible to see how much they've shipped in a little over 2 years. They've won over tastemakers in their own fields: Deel, Framer, Modal, PostHog. At mLab, I managed 3,000+ Zendesk support tickets. Pylon's agent view gives support reps multiple ways to organize work, tailored to individual preferences. No more one-size-fits-all workflows. Slack channels have become an incredibly popular way to provide support. It’s a first class concept in Pylon - you can create tickets directly from Slack messages, so you don’t forget to follow up on important threads. And of course, AI. They’ve found a natural, no-brainer fit for AI in their product. You can auto-generate knowledge base articles directly from support tickets. How much wisdom is lost in support conversations? No more "we should document this"... only for it to never happen. No more losing institutional knowledge in ticket black holes. I hope they find a way to measure and quantify the amount of time & resources saved from this feature - it’s a game changer. 🫡 to the Pylon team, can’t wait to watch you change the future of CX.

Shimon Perry is in the 🔆 Spotlight 🔆! He's currently a mentor at QUAY Acceleration, helping B2B entrepreneurs with their post-sales strategy. Prior to this he has been in many CS leadership roles such as VP of Customer Success & Support at Sellics It's an honor to spotlight him today! 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁/𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀? I started my career in Sales and later transitioned into Account Management in the gaming industry. I loved engaging with clients, maintaining long-term relationships, and always following up to check on their progress. Over time, I realized my passion lay in advocating for clients, guiding them to success, and mentoring teams. Becoming a Customer Success and Support Leader felt like the natural next step. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁/𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀? Many organizations see Support as a reactive function, focused solely on resolving issues quickly and achieving customer satisfaction. However, this approach overlooks a crucial opportunity to identify risks and uncover growth potential proactively. Early in my career, I recognized this gap and developed playbooks to train Support teams to spot these triggers, act on them, and drive added value for clients. It's about transforming Support into a value-growth engine. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁-𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗜? AI will revolutionize post-sales teams by shifting their focus from their reactive and repetitive tasks to proactive ones. With AI insights, CS teams could further personalize interactions and dedicate more time to relationship-building activities with clients that in turn drive value and strategic insights. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁/𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀? Work on your listening skills—it’s the foundation of success. Stay curious and adopt a learner’s mindset. Ask thoughtful, open-ended questions and show genuine empathy by inviting clients to “tell you more.” These conversations often reveal unexpected insights that can help you deliver exceptional value.

Very excited!!!!! Can't wait.

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