Sarah Chen -- TechCorp
VP of Operations
techcorp.io
Series B Creates Urgency Window
What it is: TechCorp closed $45M Series B in Nov 2024. Investors expect operational leverage and efficient scaling -- not more headcount solving process problems.
Why it matters: Post-funding companies have 6-12 months to show operational efficiency gains before the board starts asking questions. This is your urgency lever.
What to do: Frame your solution as the operational infrastructure their investors expect. Reference the gap between headcount growth and process maturity.
Confidence: HIGH -- Series B confirmed via Forbes Cloud 100 and company announcements.
European Expansion Will Break Current Processes
What it is: TechCorp is expanding to Europe in Q1. Their current stack (Asana + custom tools) was built for one timezone and one market.
Why it matters: Multi-timezone operations expose every manual process. What works at 150 people in SF will collapse at 250 across three time zones.
What to do: Use Europe launch as the forcing function. "If your processes are struggling now, what happens when half your team is 9 hours ahead?"
Confidence: HIGH -- European expansion mentioned in multiple company updates and job postings.
New CTO Is Consolidating Tech Stack
What it is: David Park joined from Stripe in Sep 2024. CTOs from high-growth companies typically audit and consolidate within 6 months of arrival.
Why it matters: He could be your champion (modernization) or your blocker (consolidation means fewer tools, not more). You need to know which one fast.
What to do: Position as consolidation play, not addition. "We replace 3 tools, not add a 4th." Get intel from Sarah on his priorities before the demo.
Confidence: MEDIUM -- CTO hire confirmed, consolidation stance is inferred from Stripe background.
Champion Needs Help Building the Business Case
What it is: Sarah is VP of Ops, not C-suite. She likely sees the problem clearly but needs ammo to sell internally -- especially to a data-driven CEO.
Why it matters: If you don't arm her with ROI data and a clear narrative, the deal stalls at "I need to run this by my CEO."
What to do: Offer to build the business case WITH her. "I can put together a one-pager with the ROI calculation you can share with Marcus. I've done this for other ops leaders."
Confidence: HIGH -- VP-level champion needing executive buy-in is a common and reliable pattern.
Current Solution Is Duct Tape, Not Infrastructure
What it is: They're running on Asana + custom internal tools. This works until it doesn't -- and at their growth rate, "doesn't" is coming fast.
Why it matters: Custom internal tools have hidden maintenance costs. Every new hire means more duct tape. Sarah probably already knows this but hasn't quantified it.
What to do: Help her calculate the real cost: engineering hours maintaining custom tools + onboarding time + error rate. Make the invisible visible.
Confidence: MEDIUM -- Tech stack confirmed, pain level inferred from growth rate and company stage.
Executive Summary PRO
TechCorp is a Series B SaaS company growing at 200% YoY with a 150-person team about to double. They're running on Asana and custom internal tools that were built for a company half their size. European expansion in Q1 will break what's already straining. The new CTO from Stripe is likely consolidating the tech stack. Sarah Chen (your champion) is a data-driven operator who needs ROI ammo to sell internally. This is a high-urgency opportunity with a clear pain, a definable timeline, and a champion who wants to move -- if you help her build the case.
Authority Snapshot
You've built TechCorp into a workflow automation leader -- my lane is making sure your internal operations scale as fast as your product, so your "scaling wall" doesn't become the thing that slows down everything else.
Prospect Psychology PRO
SUCCESS METRICS
Processes that scale without adding headcount. Clear metrics. Board-ready operational dashboard.
FEARS
Implementation disrupts the team during growth. Adoption fails. She championed a tool that nobody uses.
WHAT THEY NEED TO HEAR
"This won't add work. It replaces work. And here's the data to prove it."
WHAT MAKES THEM SAY YES
Concrete ROI with timeline. Peer company proof. Low-risk entry point (pilot, not company-wide).
PRIMARY PROBES
PRIMARY
Walk me through what happens when a new employee joins TechCorp today -- how does onboarding actually work?
→ What breaks when you're doing that 10 times a month instead of 3?
PRIMARY
You mentioned "scaling wall" -- what does that look like in your day-to-day? Where do you feel it most?
→ If that continues for another 6 months while you're also launching Europe, what happens?
PRIMARY
How much engineering time is going into maintaining your custom internal tools right now?
→ What else could those engineers be building if they weren't patching workflows?
PRIMARY
If you could wave a magic wand and fix one operational headache, what would it be?
→ What's the downstream impact of leaving that unfixed through Q2?
PRIMARY
How does your team handle cross-timezone work today? What happens when something urgent comes up at 3am SF time?
→ What does that look like with a European team that's 9 hours ahead?
SECONDARY PROBES
SECONDARY
Who else would need to be involved in evaluating something like this?
→ What does David (CTO) care about most when it comes to new tools?
SECONDARY
Have you tried to solve this before? What happened?
→ What would need to be different this time for it to work?
SECONDARY
What does success look like for your team in the next 12 months -- what does Marcus expect from Ops post-Series B?
→ How are you measuring that today?
Emotional / Identity Probe
“You built TechCorp's operations from the ground up. When you think about what this team looks like at 300 people -- is the version you're imagining one you're excited about, or one that keeps you up at night?”
What They'll Google PRO
WHAT THEY'LL SEARCH
"workflow automation for scaling companies" "Asana alternative for operations" "operational efficiency tools Series B"
WHAT YOU WANT THEM TO FIND
Your case studies with similar companies. Comparison pages positioning you vs. Asana/Monday for ops workflows. ROI calculator.
SEEDS TO PLANT
Mention a specific case study during the call: "The team at [company] was in your exact situation -- Series B, 150 people, Europe expansion. I can send you what they did."
Opening 60 Seconds PRO
AUTHORITY FRAME (15 sec)
“Sarah, I work with Series B ops leaders who are hitting the scaling wall -- where the processes that got you to 150 people start breaking as you head toward 300.”
REASON FOR CALL (15 sec)
“I saw TechCorp just closed your B round and you're expanding to Europe. That's usually the moment when ops goes from "we should fix this" to "we need to fix this now."”
PERMISSION QUESTION (10 sec)
“Is that resonating with what you're seeing, or am I off base?”
TRANSITION (10 sec)
“Great. Help me understand where it's hitting hardest -- walk me through what a typical week looks like for your team right now.”
"We're too busy to implement something new right now."
“That's exactly why companies in your position reach out to us. The longer you wait, the more manual work compounds. What if I showed you how a similar company implemented in 2 weeks with zero disruption to their team?”
"We already have Asana -- why would we add another tool?"
“Most of our customers started with Asana too. The question isn't whether Asana is bad -- it's whether it can handle what you need at 300 people across 3 time zones. Can I share what the breaking points usually are?”
"I need to run this by my CEO first."
“Absolutely. Would it help if I put together a one-pager with the ROI calculation you could share with him? I've done this for other ops leaders -- happy to make your life easier.”
"Maybe after our Europe launch."
“Makes sense. Actually, the Europe launch is exactly why I'd suggest getting ahead of this. Multi-timezone operations is where manual processes really break. What if we scoped a pilot that started planning now but launched alongside Europe?”
Call Objective & Success Metrics
PRIMARY GOAL
Confirm operational pain, map the buying committee, and secure a second meeting with CTO involvement.
SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE
Sarah articulates the problem in her own words, names at least 2 stakeholders, and agrees to a follow-up with a specific date.
MINIMUM VIABLE OUTCOME
Sarah agrees to review a one-pager and schedule a follow-up within the week.
RED FLAGS
She says "we're not looking at anything right now" or "our current tools are fine." If conviction is low, the deal is dead.
What We Don't Know PRO
INFORMATION GAPS
- • Exact budget authority and approval process
- • CTO's stance on new vendor additions vs. build-in-house
- • Whether there's an active evaluation of other solutions
- • Internal politics between Ops and Engineering teams
ASSUMPTIONS TO VALIDATE
- • Sarah has enough influence to drive an evaluation
- • Series B creates budget availability for operational tools
- • European expansion timeline is firm (Q1)
- • Custom internal tools are a recognized pain point, not a source of pride
RED FLAGS TO WATCH
- ⚠ If Sarah can't articulate specific operational pain -- the problem may not be urgent enough
- ⚠ If CTO is actively building internal tools -- you're competing with engineering, not a vendor
- ⚠ If the Europe launch gets delayed -- your urgency lever disappears
Post-Call Actions PRO
Immediately after call
Send follow-up email with specific next-step date, reference her exact language from the call.
Within 24 hours
Send the case study from a similar company (Series B, scaling ops, Europe expansion).
Within 48 hours
Draft the one-pager ROI document for her to share with CEO. Make it easy for her to champion internally.
Before next meeting
Research David Park (CTO) -- LinkedIn, any talks or blog posts. Prepare a technical brief addressing integration and security.
Week of next meeting
Send calendar invite with agenda. Include pre-read materials. Show you're organized and respectful of their time.
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