This post was co-authored by Allison Pickens, Will Robins, and Mickey Alon.
It’s been three weeks since we acquired Aptrinsic, and we’re just now getting our heads above the waves of conversations and opportunities that the announcement spurred. One question that surfaced a number of times: as a company that’s branded around Customer Success, what is Gainsight doing to preserve Aptrinsic’s high velocity and orientation towards Product?
The question behind the question is: “The Aptrinsic product, team, and message resonates with me. Is that going to change now that they’re part of Gainsight?”
No, it’s not. In fact, we chose Aptrinsic because their product, team, and message is something we want to amplify, not change.
As we completed our due diligence on Aptrinsic, we were blown away by the quality of their team and product. It is a lean group of high achievers:
- Engineering and Product team members average over 10 years of relevant experience, carry deep domain knowledge, and have followed Mickey through multiple companies.
- Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success have found viral traction in just a year in-market.
This is a team that’s kicking butt. We’re excited to double down on that. While Gainsight and Aptrinsic both see an opportunity for something greater by coming together, we’re keeping the teams structured in a way that the encourages the same agility and agency that got Aptrinsic to where it is today.
What we’re doing:
- Hire, across the board. As soon as the Aptrinsic acquisition was announced, we opened 17 headcount in roles across Sales, Marketing, Customer Success, Product, and Engineering. The current Aptrinsic team is helping to lead this hiring effort. You can see the postings here.
- Listen to the Aptrinsic team (about the buyer, market, technology). We know Customer Success really, really well. But when it comes to Product Management, the Aptrinsic team are the experts. They will lead our strategy and message to the Product world.
- Encourage startup mentality. From Day 1, it’s been a top priority that Aptrinsic stays the fast moving, innovative team that it is. We intend to keep it that way.
- Commit to Aptrinsic’s existing customer base and prospects. We’re excited to market and sell Aptrinsic as a standalone product and drive success for it’s existing install base, including its free tier. Product teams will continue to be a primary focus.
- Invest in the right product integrations. As a multi-product company, we’re excited to develop seamless integrations between both Gainsight and Aptrinsic.
What we’re not doing:
- We’re not changing the team. Every employee from Aptrinsic has a home at Gainsight. The people are incredibly important to us, and each team will be getting a major injection of resources to supercharge their efforts.
- We’re not disrupting product development. Mickey, formerly the CEO at Aptrinsic, is now the CTO of Aptrinsic at Gainsight. The team has continued to ship releases on their regular cadence.
- We’re not changing the product strategy. The words used in market messaging may change, but the mission of the product will remain the same. You’re product is your most efficient growth engine, and Aptrinsic is the platform to make it a reality.
We’re excited for what the future holds with Aptrinsic, and hope that you are too.
