What it Means To Be a Chief of Staff (CoS) at Uniqode
If you’ve been a Powerpuff Girls fan, I’m sure you’ll remember the bright opening of every episode, “It’s a new day in the city of Townsville and today…”. Well, pretty much that’s also the life of a Chief of Staff.
“Any questions for us?”, Sharat asked.
“Did you pay anyone for those Glassdoor reviews? They seem too good to be true!”, I said.
And so, amid this jest, on March 14, 2023, I accepted the simultaneously ambiguous and enigmatic title of Chief of Staff to the CEO at Uniqode.
Coming from a deep consumer products experience, my familiarity with the world of PLG-led SaaS was limited and I felt a mix of emotions as I signed up to explore this new journey of unknowns — a role that was slowly evolving globally to be critical and an industry that would take India beyond its strength of being an IT powerhouse.
Day 1
On my way to our EGL office, I got a call from Raveena, our Talent Acquisition lead, who casually mentioned that Sharat had to travel for two days and Ravi, our co-founder and CTO, would be onboarding me.
My first ever meeting at Uniqode with Ravi, known for his penchant for whiteboard sessions, was a deep dive into our foundational SaaS tech stack: exploring the reaches of Intercom (Ravi’s favorite), Clari co-pilot, Amplitude, Metabase, Stripe, Profitwell, Salesforce, G2, Zoominfo, and more.
Being an adept note-taker since childhood, I filled half my notepad, relieved that this seemed like an easy one-way monologue to navigate.
Suddenly, Ravi threw at me a seemingly innocuous question: “You know what Fivetran means, right?”. In that heartbeat, I felt a wave of perspiration and a desire to vanish into thin air, fearing judgment for not knowing something seemingly fundamental.
Like always, the classic “Indian nod” (neither a yes nor a no) came to the rescue and Ravi continued bringing to light the merits of Fivetran and Redshift. And thus began my journey into the mysterious world of SaaS, where even the acronyms had acronyms!
I walked out of the meeting to meet more of my colleagues who had all sorts of questions coming my way, “Will you be managing the staff?” “Are you a mini CEO?”, and “Will you be managing Sharat’s calendar?”.
I realized I needed a lot more armor to elucidate this role to the world than what I’d used to explain it to my mother-in-law, who had curiously asked me a few days back, “What does a Chief of Staff do?”.
Day 30
Within the first month I was given what I was promised: a comprehensive horizontal view of the business. With our Head of Finance a while away from his first day, I immersed myself in compiling insights for my inaugural board meeting. Sharat ensured I was empowered through support across the leadership team while trusting me to deliver in a short time span.
If you’ve been a Powerpuff Girls fan, I’m sure you’ll remember the bright opening of every episode, “It’s a new day in the city of Townsville and today…”. Well, pretty much that’s also the life of a Chief of Staff. While dotting the i’s in our board deck, I was also handed the project management of the diligence for our first strategic investment, spanning product, legal, finance, and business.
Day 90
One of our unique strengths is the extensive journaling of a talent’s journey throughout their time here. I was on-boarded with Day 15, 30, 45, and day 60 catch-ups blocked with Sharat. We had a laid-out agenda to discuss our working styles, what is working well about our partnership, and what needed time to evolve.
Uniqode follows a structured quarterly review and bonus mechanism for all employees. To be honest, at first, I was skeptical of its relevance, effort required, and scalability. I only stand corrected.
Our “Small Improvements” platform collects tidbits from employees and managers on what went well during the quarter and what needs improvement. This helps us build a culture nestled in continuous improvement with short-cycle structured feedback: job knowledge, interpersonal communication, design thinking, strategic prowess, and meticulous execution.
Day 180
Well, it was time for Diwali (India’s festival of lights) and our fireworks took off as we marked the coveted feat of $10M ARR!
This momentous occasion coincided with Uniqode’s revamped pricing and packaging strategy, facilitating users to leverage our multi-product approach. Collaborating closely with Ravi, I revamped and rolled out these changes over a course of three weeks.
Each new achievement unlocks new challenges, and a team needs to be equipped to solve them. However, while we are still hiring the expert to lead a project, the CoS serves as the “Chief Gap Officer ‘’ and uses their generalist hat to conquer something totally out of their domain.
Sharat spent a lot of time building trust between us to help me sharpen my decision-making and hone my leadership acumen to pull in the right members across the company on a need basis. Until our Head of Sales joined, I supported Sharat on our newly built Enterprise sales GTM. As one of our Directors left, I also took over our performance marketing function, adding a new KPI to my quarter’s feedback that read RoAS.
Present and beyond
As I stand at the one-year milestone of my tenure, I am reminded of the initial trepidation I felt stepping into this role: navigating unfamiliar terrain, the fear of being unprepared, of facing judgment for gaps in knowledge, and of shouldering responsibilities beyond my comfort zone.
Frequently, it’s challenging to gauge your contribution against tangible KPIs, requiring continual self-reflection to discern the impact you’ve made. Can I effectively influence outcomes without wielding formal authority?
Navigating the intricacies of organizational dynamics, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside strong leaders who have entrusted me with their aspirations and challenges. The efficacy of the role is intricately tied to the CEO with whom you collaborate.
A pivotal factor in this dynamic is the CEO’s willingness to provide visibility into the CoS’s contributions and impact across various initiatives. This relationship hinges on deep trust, as the CoS often becomes the CEO’s primary confidant, exercising significant influence over decisions.
Building trust and credibility among senior leadership is paramount, as the CoS acts as a conduit for conveying the CEO’s perspectives in a clear and actionable manner, thus propelling organizational progress.
Looking ahead to the horizon of 2024–25, I am filled with a sense of purpose and excitement! As we embark on the next phase of Uniqode’s journey, my focus remains unwavering — to redefine and deepen our connections with our Ideal Customer Profiles (ICPs) and to catalyze our ascent towards the next $25M ARR milestone.
Amplifying the vision of the CEO, the essence of this role lies in the art of influence, the power of collaboration, and the strength of conviction.
Wrapping up,
Uniqode’s first Chief of Staff.
