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cover of episode Scaling, AI, and Leadership after Big Tech: Lessons from Highspot's Bhrighu Sareen

Scaling, AI, and Leadership after Big Tech: Lessons from Highspot's Bhrighu Sareen

2025/2/12
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Founded & Funded

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Bhrigu Sareen: 我从微软转到Highspot,是为了寻求新的挑战和学习机会。微软是一个很好的平台,但创业公司能提供更深入的学习和更快的成长速度。我负责的产品从零月活用户增长到3亿月活用户,这让我积累了丰富的经验。在Highspot,我直接向CEO汇报,能更全面地了解公司运营,并提升速度和敏捷性。Highspot的团队优秀,领域新颖,并且有潜力发展成为一家多产品公司,这吸引了我加入。 在与Highspot的三位创始人合作的过程中,我受益匪浅。他们积极参与,但同时也给予我充分的信任和空间。我们建立了良好的沟通机制,例如每周的午餐会议和团队会议,这有助于建立信任,避免误解。 为了提高产品速度和控制成本,我们实施了一些举措,例如将团队划分为更小的单元(crew),并定期举行“边缘会议”,以解决团队间的依赖和障碍。我们还改进“边缘会议”机制,允许团队之间互相参与,从而在会议之前解决大部分跨团队依赖问题。 为了拓展人才库,我们决定在温哥华和印度建立了开发中心。温哥华的开发中心已经成功运行,为我们提供了宝贵的经验,这让我们更有信心在印度建立更大的开发中心。印度拥有大量的人才,并且在过去几十年里,人才质量不断提升,这为我们提供了巨大的优势。 经济环境的剧烈变化是我面临的最大挑战之一,但这也加速了我的学习和成长。我们决定继续进行产品创新,而不是仅仅节省成本,这最终带来了回报。 Highspot一直以来都是基于机器学习的公司,我们不断利用AI技术改进产品,并为客户提供实际价值。我们开发了AI驱动的培训和辅导功能,帮助企业提高销售人员的培训效率,并获得了客户的认可。我们还开发了其他AI功能,例如内容推荐、自动文档生成等,这些功能都为客户带来了实际的价值。 未来,Highspot将继续利用AI技术提高生产力,并为客户提供更便捷、高效的服务。我们将专注于为客户创造价值,并提升用户体验。 Tim Porter: 作为Madrona的管理董事,我与Bhrigu Sareen进行了深入的交流,了解了他从微软到Highspot的职业转变,以及他在Highspot领导AI驱动产品创新方面的经验。Bhrigu的分享为那些考虑从大公司转向初创公司的领导者提供了宝贵的经验和建议。

Deep Dive

Chapters
Bhrighu Sareen's journey from Microsoft, where he led the Microsoft Teams product to its massive growth, to Highspot, an AI-driven sales enablement platform. He discusses the challenges and rewards of transitioning from Big Tech to a startup, highlighting the importance of finding the right team and the unique learning opportunities in a fast-paced environment. The decision was driven by a desire for a new challenge, a chance to learn in a different way, and the compelling opportunity at Highspot.
  • 17 years at Microsoft, including leadership roles in Bing, MSN, Windows, and Microsoft Teams.
  • Transition to Highspot driven by a desire for new challenges and learning opportunities.
  • Highspot's potential for significant growth and impact in the sales enablement space.

Shownotes Transcript

Thinking about leaving Big Tech for a startup? In this episode of Founded & Funded, Madrona Managing Director Tim Porter sits down with Bhrighu Sareen, who took the leap from Microsoft to Highspot and has been leading AI-driven product innovation ever since. They talk about the realities of transitioning from a massive company to a high-growth startup, scaling AI-driven teams, and how Bhrighu’s helping transform sales enablement through automation and intelligence. 

His insights on navigating change, working with founders, and executing at speed are a must-listen for any leader considering the leap from stability to startup chaos. Tune in now for practical strategies and an inside look at how AI is reshaping go-to-market execution. 

Transcript: https://www.madrona.com/big-tech-to-startups-highspot-bhrighu-sareen Chapters:

00:00 Introduction 03:01 Bhrigu Sareen's Journey at Microsoft 06:52 Transition to Highspot 10:00 Working with Founders and Building Trust 16:31 Increasing Product Velocity and Efficiency 21:12 Cross-Team Dependencies and Offshore Strategies 23:02 Starting the Journey at Highspot 23:31 Navigating Economic Uncertainty 24:21 Expanding Talent Pool in Vancouver 25:37 Establishing a Development Center in India 27:54 Challenges and Surprises in Transition 29:50 Innovating Through Economic Challenges 31:01 HighSpot's AI and ML Innovations 33:03 AI-Powered Sales Training and Coaching 36:14 Future of AI in Sales and Marketing 43:31 Balancing Data and User Experience 47:28 Looking Ahead: AI Agents and Productivity Gains