Why Hiring a Business Coach Was a Game Changer with Elias @ Drift.com - Escape Velocity Show #34

TL;DR

Elias Torres discusses scaling Drift and building a strong engineering culture.

Transcript

Not have an ability to sell, it's crucial. Everybody sells. So engineers need to understand that. They need to sell their ideas, they need to sell their projects. [MUSIC PLAYING] Mission sequence [INAUDIBLE] 3, 2, 1. Elias, what's up, man? Dude, I appreciate you coming on. Thank you for having me. So CTO co-founder Drift. What's the scale of Drift ... Read More

Key Insights

• Elias Torres emphasizes the importance of engineers learning to sell their ideas and projects, highlighting that everyone in a company needs to understand sales.
• Drift experienced hypergrowth, scaling from 2 to 300 employees in five years, with significant hiring in a single year.
• Drift's engineering culture focuses on speed, momentum, and bias for action, with a structure that includes small, agile teams.
• The company believes in geographical distribution of teams, ensuring each office owns a complete product stack to foster accountability and innovation.
• Elias Torres discusses the importance of role modeling and the evolution of his leadership style, emphasizing the need for engineers to understand the customer.
• Drift's team structure includes a product manager and designer for every six engineers, with support staff integrated to provide customer insights.
• The company uses a unique demo process, requiring all demonstrations to be from live environments to ensure completion and functionality.
• Elias Torres shares the impact of having a coach, which helped him transition from telling to asking, significantly improving his leadership skills.

Questions & Answers

Q: How did Drift scale its team so rapidly?

Drift experienced hypergrowth by focusing on speed and momentum, scaling from 2 to 300 employees in five years. They hired 150 people in a single year, emphasizing the importance of having a strong engineering culture that supports rapid development and innovation. This was achieved by structuring small, agile teams that are responsible for complete product stacks.

Q: What is unique about Drift's engineering culture?

Drift's engineering culture is centered around speed, momentum, and a bias for action. They focus on building small, agile teams responsible for complete product stacks, ensuring accountability and innovation. The company also emphasizes the importance of role modeling and understanding the customer, encouraging engineers to learn sales skills and integrate customer insights into their work.

Q: How does Drift ensure product demos are effective?

Drift has a unique demo process where all demonstrations must be from live environments, such as app.drift.com, rather than local setups. This ensures that the product is complete and functional, reinforcing the importance of completion and functionality in product development. This process helps maintain a high standard of quality and accountability within the team.

Q: What role does coaching play in Elias Torres' leadership?

Coaching has played a significant role in Elias Torres' leadership development. It helped him transition from a directive approach to a more consultative one, where he learned to ask questions and listen to his team. This shift improved his ability to lead effectively, fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation at Drift. Coaches provided valuable feedback and perspective, helping Elias grow as a leader.

Q: How does Drift integrate customer insights into its teams?

Drift integrates customer insights by including a support person in each team, who provides information on top customer issues and feedback. This ensures that the voice of the customer is always considered in product development. The support person attends team meetings and presents the top three issues from a support perspective, ensuring alignment and focus on customer needs.

Q: What is the structure of Drift's engineering teams?

Drift's engineering teams are structured into small, agile units with a product manager and designer for every six engineers. Each team has a tech lead and two engineers, and they work closely with the product manager and designer to ensure alignment and focus on customer needs. This structure allows for rapid development and innovation, fostering a culture of accountability and speed.

Q: How does Drift approach geographical distribution of teams?

Drift believes in geographical distribution of teams, ensuring each office owns a complete product stack. This approach fosters accountability and innovation, as each office is responsible for a specific product or feature. It allows for better integration of product leaders, designers, and engineers, creating a cohesive and effective team environment that is focused on delivering value to customers.

Q: What insights did Elias Torres gain from reading and coaching?

Elias Torres gained valuable insights from reading and coaching, which helped him evolve as a leader. He learned the importance of asking questions and listening to his team, rather than simply directing them. This shift allowed him to foster a more collaborative and innovative culture at Drift. Books and coaching provided him with new perspectives and strategies, enhancing his ability to lead effectively.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Elias Torres, CTO and co-founder of Drift, discusses the rapid scaling of the company from 2 to 300 employees in five years, emphasizing the importance of engineers learning sales skills. Drift's engineering culture focuses on speed and momentum, with small, agile teams responsible for complete product stacks.

• Drift's team structure includes a product manager and designer for every six engineers, with support staff integrated to ensure customer insights are considered. The company emphasizes role modeling and the importance of understanding the customer to drive innovation and maintain product focus.

• Elias highlights the impact of having a coach on his leadership, transitioning from a directive to a more consultative approach. Drift's unique demo process ensures all demonstrations are from live environments, reinforcing the importance of completion and functionality in product development.