The exciting next chapter
I couldn't be more stoked to share that I've officially boarded the LaunchNotes rocketship and will be joining Tyler, Tony, and Jake as we redefine product change management for SaaS teams everywhere!
But, before I get ahead of myself and share more about that, some background on how this amazing opportunity came to be...
A quick trip down memory lane
When I moved from Australia to San Francisco in 2016 to join the Statuspage team as a Sales Development rep, it was like joining two companies at once, as Statuspage had just been acquired by Atlassian. But even so, one of the things I immediately noticed about the Statuspage team was how tight-knit they were. It was obvious the hiring managers had very thoughtfully screened for company culture and fit, and this feeling of belonging was even further compounded by how warmly Atlassian had welcomed Statuspage into their family. The strong values that both companies embodied manifested themselves in two distinct ways: a palpable sense of team camaraderie and genuine pride in the product experience the team was building.
At the time Statuspage was a small, mighty team of about 20 people, and it was here that I met Tony and Tyler for the first time. They were two of the original Statuspage team members and integral to getting me up and running. Being on a small team gave me the opportunity to wear many hats outside of pure Sales Development, and my role quickly evolved to cover an area around SDR-AE-Pre-sales solutions.
Fast forward 1.5 years and it’s hard to believe the opportunity to work with Tyler and Tony dropped in my lap as serendipitously as it did. Having moved on from Statuspage/Atlassian a year prior, in March my wife Lucy and I were nearing the end of a 2-year stint in New York and I had just left my role as an SDR Manager in preparation for a move back to California. We had enjoyed our time in New York, but were missing the California sunshine. But, just as we were packing our bags for the West Coast, COVID hit.
Both Lucy and I were very fortunate in that we were still able to move out of the city, but instead of heading west we decided to head to upstate New York for a month or two to weather the COVID storm. At the time upstate New York felt like a safer place to be than California. And it was there, in our cabin in upstate New York, that one morning I ran across an announcement from LaunchNotes - which I’d been following closely since Tyler and Tony left Atlassian to work on it full-time - that Jake was joining the team. I’d only met Jake once or twice at Atlassian, but knew he was held in the highest regard throughout the company. When I saw the announcement I remember thinking: “Wow, Tony and Tyler are building a dream-team. I need to be a part of this!”. And so, two months and a very lengthy cross-country drive later, here I am!
The exciting journey ahead
I’m thrilled to share that I’ve joined LaunchNotes as their first Sr. Solutions Manager, which will see me laser focused on our customers and ensuring each and every one is set up for success. In this role I’ll be overseeing Sales, as well as Customer Support. And before you ask: yes, I’m already heavily using LaunchNotes to stay in the loop with our Eng and Product teams so each and every one of you is always in sync with what we’re working on and what’s shipping when!
I also wanted to take this opportunity to share the top three aspects of LaunchNotes I’m most excited about:
- The people. Tyler’s a true master of all trades when it comes to Sales to Engineering (I still don’t know how he knows so much about every tool/program/language). Mix that with Tony’s incredibly thoughtful and passionate approach to building Product and supporting customers, and you’ve got a rock-solid foundation for a world-class product. Then throw Jake, the former Head of Marketing for Jira (yes, the Jira!!), and his intimate knowledge of the collaboration and dev tool spaces, into the mix, and you’re really cooking with gas. And if all of that isn't enough, simply layer on the amazing advisors and investors that Tyler, Tony, and Jake have partnered with to help guide LaunchNotes as it grows. All in all, I would call that a very formidable lineup for success, and one that I’m thrilled to be a part of.
- The product. LaunchNotes not only has an opportunity to help define a new category of internal product communication tools, but also drive a paradigm shift in how modern SaaS companies release updates and launch products. I’m not only passionate about both of these topics, but they each lean on my experience working closely with developer communication tools. By increasing internal cohesion and alignment across internal teams, LaunchNotes helps our customers deliver the greatest possible value to existing and potential customers. I can’t wait to help more teams realize and harness this value.
- The values. Putting the customer at the centre of everything you do, day in and day out, is hard. It’s especially hard during a rapid and fundamental shift in the nature of work across the globe. But I’m a firm believer that the teams and businesses who are genuinely customer-obsessed are the ones that stand the test of time. And I’ve witnessed firsthand that Tyler, Tony, and Jake not only put the customer at the heart of everything they do, but do so with a passion and excitement to dive in and solve our customers’ most challenging problems. And when an opportunity to join a team like this presents itself, how can I possible say no?
Join us
If you’d like to learn more about how LaunchNotes is already helping bridge the communications gap between technical and non-technical teams at companies such like Atlassian, Loom, and Sentry, as well as how we can help you effectively get product change information in front of your customers early and often, please get in touch with any time at michael[at]launchnotes.io. I look forward to hearing from you!
Oh yeah, and don’t forget to subscribe to our product updates to stay up-to-date on what we’re working on next :)
Additional Resources
