By all accounts, Sigstr had an incredible year in 2016. Revenue grew 5x, and we tripled the team to 25 amazing people. So the team was a bit surprised when I shared that Sigstr was bringing in a new CEO! As if unwrapping a present, the looks of surprise quickly shifted to expressions of sheer excitement as they learned who we had hired and also that I would remain fully engaged at Sigstr.
A driving force behind the new leader is the rare market opportunity Sigstr has. We can serve every company in the world. Every employee using email becomes more productive with Sigstr.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Nothing great was ever accomplished without enthusiasm.” I would add that enthusiasm is the critical first step to attract others to our mission. Truly remarkable opportunities are rarely realized by individuals. The enthusiasm Sigstr has generated to date has attracted a world class leader who will propel Sigstr to the next level!
A little history
Let me take you back to when the idea began to take shape. As 2016 was ending, I started thinking about how to accelerate Sigstr even more quickly. I am a builder and I love taking things from 0-60. I’m sales-driven. Given the massive market opportunity, I became certain we could go even faster with a product-driven CEO. Someone whose skills were complementary to mine and who could cover my blind spots while allowing me to focus where I am best. Someone with deep email expertise and experience scaling a product for a massive market opportunity.
I presented the idea of hiring a product-driven CEO to the board late last year. After a lot of conversation and questions, we agreed to explore the idea and consider options.
At critical junctures in my career, the perfect person has walked through my door at exactly the right time. When Bryan Wade expressed interest in Sigstr, I knew immediately that this was a one-in-a-million opportunity for Sigstr.
I am so thrilled to announce that Bryan is joining as the Sigstr CEO!
Bryan is the ideal blend of product, go-to-market and vision. He’s been where we are going, having been a key leader for two wildly successful SaaS companies, ExactTarget and then Salesforce. Bryan is an email evangelist. He’s the perfect leader to elevate this new channel. Enterprise marketers know and trust Bryan. He immediately lifts our brand, and most importantly, he’s a good person who I trust with Sigstr.
I love the team and culture we have built and feel a deep connection to what we’ve started. Bryan and I are complementary, and I get to serve Sigstr in a full-time role as a Founder, President. I get to focus on levers for growth in our go-to-market strategy and will always help Bryan grow the team and culture.
This has been an enlightening exercise in self-awareness. I am so much happier and more productive when I get to do what I am best at doing: testing new ideas, finding what works and building early teams around the biggest opportunities. At the same time, I don’t have first-hand experience in scaling a company and a product for thousands of customers. With Bryan, I know we have an incredible leader for where we are headed, and I get to do what I love. And I can’t wait!
A core value for us at Sigstr is Believe Big. We added an absolute all-star to the team to turn our beliefs into facts. Thank you to all the Sigstars; the entire Sigstr family of our team, our customers, partners, investors and advisors who have helped Sigstr along the way. You placed your trust in me to make the right decisions for Sigstr, and this adventure just got a lot more exciting. Please join me in welcoming Bryan to the team!
For more information on today’s big news, view the full press release here.
