Mapping the company, putting the right people in the right seats, and codifying processes to get unstuck
Yaroslav Lazor · Railsware
Published September 6, 2024Explore the lesson. Sign in to access the slide download.
Topics covered: My name is yaros Lazer I'm CEO of railsware…; The we have a very rigorous way of hiring…; Function and and that's basically that's something in between….
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“my name is yaros Lazer I'm CEO of railsware builds three products um with this this is about a collective experience so um it's about how we scaled 5x and what were the operations behind it and how we we stand it so over next 20 minutes we'll we'll go through how do we go there uh before scaling and”
“the we have a very rigorous way of hiring the people but hiring doesn't solve all the problems so this is our actual uh screenshot from uh the hiring metrix we look uh through 11.3 thou uh 11,000 300 people in the last 18 months which is a brutal amount for a company of 200 people size but we're a bit crazy about it um and there's a reason for that um out of those 11,000 we hired just 107”
“function and and that's basically that's something in between uh hiring and growing the people you kind of do both and then you use the both uh the best from both worlds and uh this is how you you know push it through and then the third step is projects and processes so um typically meetings don't lead to understanding of what the company should do uh you need to spend efforts into”
“a thing called codify processes um so you extract the steps of the so companies have lots of processes someone has to put the toilet paper into the toilet someone has to clean the coffee machine in the particularly this is the uh process our process where we clean the coffee machine and then we have a fourth office manager being switched over a role in in CCO but the coffee machine stays clean over the years”
“Most of the processes required either me or my partner Sergiy Sergiy focused on marketing and sales, I covered the rest.”
“Understand projects Understand processes Develop people step by step Clear communication Build map Leadership understanding Rigorous testing Frankenstein Fear of failure/being-silly 2. How to get out I’m going to show you the way out Map your company Right people,right seats Projects & Processes”
“Right people, right seats Hiring is CEO’s most important job Mind People A>Z problem Network to learn how others do it, but don’t get too attached”
“Projects & Processes Understand projects Understand processes Develop people step by step Clear communication 2. How to get out”
“Map your company 3. How you can do it Extract steps Optimize or change Deploy to team, new members Codify Processes/SOP”
Video
Scaling Execution of A SaaS Business: How to Scale Your ARR 5X - Slide Deck
Yaroslav Lazor is the CEO & Founder of Railsware. With three decades in the tech industry, he excels in identifying talent, driving innovation, and solving complex problems, blending data-driven decisions into various organizational contexts.
Yaroslav Lazor · Railsware
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Each slide with a short explanation of what it shows. Open the slide text for its exact wording.
23 passages
SaaSOpen, September 2024 Scaling Execution of a SaaS Business How to Scale Your ARR 5X Yaroslav Lazor CEO, Railsware
The talk runs in three parts: how the company got stuck, how it got out, and how a founder can apply the same steps. The middle part centers on mapping the company, right people in right seats, and projects and processes.
Over the next 20 minutes I’ll tell you… How we got there We got stuck Huge uncertainty Idealism Mapping the company Right people, right seats Projects & Processes See what and how happens in your company Get everyone on the same page Incept–codify- repeat How to get out How you can do it
The company was stuck because a working model did not produce growth. Uncertainty about what to do and who could do it, plus idealism about hiring perfect people and a management hole, kept it there.
What should be done? Who/How can do it? ✅ Model ❌📈Growth Hire perfect people? Grow inhouse dilemma Management hole How we got there … and wrong people off the bus We got stuck Idealism Huge uncertainty
For five years the estimated valuation stayed flat even though the business model worked. The chart circles 2015 to 2019, where bars sit between 18.00 and 23.32 million dollars, before growth starts in 2020.
Years went by, and nothing changed We got stuck ✅ Model ❌📈Growth 1. How we got there
The uncertainty over what to do, who should do it and how looked like walls of sticky notes and hand-drawn diagrams. The collage of whiteboards and a tired-looking founder shows the planning effort without a clear answer.
Huge uncertainty What/Who/How to do it? 1. How we got there
Most processes needed either the speaker or his partner Sergiy. Sergiy handled marketing and sales, and the speaker covered everything else.
Most of the processes required either me or my partner Sergiy Sergiy focused on marketing and sales, I covered the rest.
Idealism meant assuming founders could hire perfect people or grow talent in house. The founders were good at product management, engineering, design and sales, but had issues with marketing, hiring, pay, legal, finance and other operations.
Idealism ✅ good at product management engineering design sales Hire perfect people? Grow inhouse dilemma Management hole ❌ issues with marketing craft salary and bonus hiring events & fun offices procurement travel legal finance
The same valuation chart is reused to pose the question of how to move from the flat years to the growth years. Estimated valuation climbs from 46.79 million dollars in 2020 to 113.18 million in 2023.
Our Valuation Growth So what to do to movefrom this to this?
This section previews the way out in three parts: map your company, put the right people in the right seats, and handle projects and processes. Each part lists the specific topics covered next.
Understand projects Understand processes Develop people step by step Clear communication Build map Leadership understanding Rigorous testing Frankenstein Fear of failure/being-silly 2. How to get out I’m going to show you the way out Map your company Right people,right seats Projects & Processes
Mapping the company started with a handwritten sketch of areas such as marketing, leads, sales, people, products and environment. It puts the company's activities and their links on one page.
Build map, people Map your company 2. How to get out
This build swaps the handwritten sketch for a photo of a whiteboard map full of connected loops. A legend in the corner says an arrow means A depends on B or A creates B.
Build map, people Map your company 2. How to get out
The company map became a tree in software, with groups for Consultancy, Products and Railsware itself. Items can be rated with a star and a skill level such as Expert or Intermediate, which gives leadership a view of who knows what.
Leadership understanding Map your company 2. How to get out
The hiring funnel becomes more demanding as candidates advance. The highlighted stages progress through a 30-minute screen call, a 90-minute stage, a 30-minute culture-fit stage and an eight-hour full day.
Rigorous testing 30m 90m 30m 8h Right people, right seats 2. How to get out
Hiring is the CEO's most important job, and the slide asks founders to mind the People A>Z problem. It also advises networking to learn how others hire without getting too attached. A careers page for the company appears alongside.
Right people, right seats Hiring is CEO’s most important job Mind People A>Z problem Network to learn how others do it, but don’t get too attached
The Frankenstein example shows a tool entry for a system, Odoo, with repeatable processes attached. A team panel shows the people assigned, each tagged with a role or interest label.
Frankenstein Right people, right seats 2. How to get out
A recap of the third part of getting out: understand projects, understand processes, develop people step by step, and keep communication clear.
Projects & Processes Understand projects Understand processes Develop people step by step Clear communication 2. How to get out
This section promises to show how to break the chain, in three steps: map the company with a portfolio product, describe projects and processes with BRIDGE and SOPs, and develop people through recruiting, onboarding, playbooks, IDPs and OKRs.
Portfolio product BRIDGE Projects Codify Processes/SOP 3. How you can do it I’m going to show you how to break the chain Map your company Describe projects & Processes Develop people Rigorous recruiting Standard Onboarding Playbook IDP OKR AllHands
A portfolio product lets leadership see what happens across the company. The screenshot lays out consultancy, products and company-wide areas such as recruiting, people policies and events as nested trees.
Portfolio product Map your company 3. How you can do it See what happens everywhere
BRIDGE projects put years of information on one page, which lowers fear. The example is a Problem Space map for a ride-hailing company, with driver, passenger and company problems on colored cards, next to a photo of a team workshop.
BRIDGE Projects Map your company 3. How you can do it One page Years of info Lower fear
Codifying a process means extracting steps, optimizing or changing them, then deploying to the team and new members. The examples are a checklist for a recurring office task with linked tickets, and a template manager for content work.
Map your company 3. How you can do it Extract steps Optimize or change Deploy to team, new members Codify Processes/SOP
Developing people covers rigorous recruiting, standard onboarding, a playbook, IDP and OKR AllHands. The screenshots show spreadsheets listing skills and each person's interest level, and a larger sheet of projects with priority and status columns.
Develop people 3. How you can do it Rigorous recruiting Standard Onboarding Playbook IDP OKR AllHands
A summary of the talk with real examples: how the company got stuck, how it got out, and how a founder can do the same. It repeats the agenda items for each part.
How we got there We got stuck Huge uncertainty Idealism Mapping the company Right people, right seats Projects & Processes See what and how happens in your company Get everyone on the same page Incept–codify- repeat How to get out How you can do it Over the last 20 minutes, I showed you: …with real examples!
The speaker thanks the audience and points to existing resources and products, a way to record interest in upcoming releases, and connecting on LinkedIn. The slide also gives his email and a QR code.
SaaSOpen, September 2024 Thank you! Yaroslav Lazor CEO, [redacted email] Existing resources and products Record interest for upcoming releases Connect in LinkedIn
