Unscripted with @jrichlive ft. Erica Schultz (Confluent) | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

Erica Schultz shares her background in the tech industry and discusses the importance of curiosity, competitiveness, and coaching in her career. She also emphasizes the need for building key systems in a growing company, such as pipeline generation, hiring and ramping, customer success, sales execution, and planning. Schultz further discusses the impact of remote work on the company and offers insights into the cloud infrastructure space.

Key Insights

• 🖐️ Curiosity, competitiveness, and coaching have played significant roles in shaping Erica Schultz's career in the tech industry.
• 🤩 Building key systems, such as pipeline generation, hiring and ramping, customer success, sales execution, and planning, is essential for success in a growing company.
• 💦 Remote work presents challenges, but a remote-first and hybrid model can provide flexibility while prioritizing connection, collaboration, and productivity.

Transcript

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Questions & Answers

Q: How has curiosity played a role in Erica Schultz's career in the tech industry?

Curiosity has been a driving force for Schultz, from her studies in Spanish and Latin American studies to her continuous learning about new technologies and different industries in her role in enterprise tech. It has allowed her to adapt and thrive in a rapidly evolving industry.

Q: What are the key systems that Schultz believes should be in place in a growing company?

Schultz highlights five key systems: pipeline generation, hiring and ramping, customer success, sales execution, and planning. These systems are crucial for delivering performance quarter after quarter, scaling the company, ensuring customer success, and driving growth.

Q: How has remote work impacted Schultz's company and its employees?

Remote work presented challenges in terms of connection, productivity, and work-life balance. Schultz's company has adopted a remote-first and hybrid model, allowing flexibility while prioritizing in-person collaboration and creating intentional team gatherings and activities.

Q: What is the current state of the cloud infrastructure space?

Schultz describes the cloud infrastructure space as still in its early stages of public cloud adoption. She notes that companies are leveraging managed services, including data streaming platforms like Confluent, to modernize their architectures and build competitive advantages in the digital age.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Erica Schultz discusses her journey in the tech industry, emphasizing her background in Spanish and liberal arts and how curiosity, competitiveness, and coaching shaped her career.

• Schultz highlights the importance of building key systems in a growing company, including pipeline generation, hiring and ramping, customer success, sales execution, and planning.

• She acknowledges the challenges of remote work during the pandemic and shares her company's approach of being remote-first and hybrid, prioritizing connection, productivity, and flexibility.

• Schultz provides insights into the cloud infrastructure space, noting the ongoing adoption of public cloud and the increasing demand for managed services to modernize architectures.