Kristi Faltorusso

The best vertical SaaS companies treat customer success as their primary growth engine. Last month I ran a workshop on how to build a CS org that drives NRR above 120%. Most CS teams are stuck optimizing the wrong layer. They focus on engagement tactics (more check-ins, better QBRs, prettier dashboards) when the real leverage is structural. The session covered: → Onboarding that creates lock-in → Health scoring that predicts expansion → Upsell playbooks that feel inevitable I've built these...

I've worked for a handful of companies over the years, some good, a couple truly great, and plenty that were entirely forgettable. When I look back at what separated the great ones, it wasn't the product, the perks, or even the pay. It was one decision, repeated over and over, that most companies talk about and very few actually protect. They invested in their people. Not as a slogan on a careers page. But as an operating principle. They invested in growth. At the companies that got this...

Every Customer Success leader has a version of this story. You're in a meeting, a decision gets made that undercuts everything you've been building, and you walk out convinced your leadership team just doesn't get it. I lived that story for years. I was certain the problem was them. It wasn't. The problem was that I never once asked what "Customer Success" meant to the people I was reporting to. I assumed we were all working from the same definition. We weren't, and that gap was quietly...