Krystel Leal is the Head of Customer Success at OneText and a member of Vitally’s Success Network.

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My journey through the fast-paced world of early stage startups has been both challenging and rewarding. But it’s also offered me some valuable lessons in building a Customer Success function from scratch that continue to serve me well throughout my career.

Here are a few things I’ve learned about growing CS from the ground up at a startup.

The Appeal of Startups

My transition into startups began two years ago.

After working as a Web Project Manager at a large university, I realized that rigid structures and pre-defined processes were not for me. I thrive in environments where I can influence strategy, build processes from scratch, and think from the customer’s perspective. In large organizations, the impact on the end user can often feel diluted.

I wanted to be at the forefront of decision-making, shaping the trajectory of a company, and having a direct impact on customers.

My first startup experience was with an education startup in Palo Alto, where I worked on the product side. This role taught me that startups require you to wear multiple hats. 

Whether it’s handling customer issues, business development, product management, or even engineering tasks, you have to be ready to step in wherever needed. This holistic approach to problem-solving and strategy was exciting to me, and underscored the versatility required to thrive in a startup environment.

Joining OneText

I joined OneText during their Y Combinator batch, transitioning from the MVP stage to an early-stage startup. At that point, Customer Success wasn’t the main priority — the focus was entirely on product development. My job description was straightforward: take care of the customer, ensure they don’t churn, and build whatever processes or teams were necessary to achieve that.

When I joined, OneText was still figuring out its product-market fit. The founders and the team were deeply involved in understanding what features would resonate most with our target customers (and we're still constantly working on it, it's always a top priority). My entry point was at a critical juncture where customer insights were invaluable for shaping the product’s direction.

Being part of a Y Combinator batch also provided a unique opportunity to learn and grow within a community of like-minded startups, sharing challenges and solutions in real-time.

Laying the Foundation for Customer Success

When I started at OneText, Customer Success wasn’t yet defined. My initial task was to ensure customers were onboarded and using the product effectively. With no predefined processes, I had the opportunity to shape the Customer Success function from scratch. This involved setting up tools, creating processes, and ultimately, building a team.

Now, with Customer Success Managers (CSMs) working alongside me and a more structured company, I can recognize the significant impact we’ve had not just on our customers, but also on the product itself. In an early-stage startup, every role is interconnected, and the impact is immediate and visible.

Establishing Communication Channels

One of the first steps I took was establishing effective communication channels. It was crucial to ensure that our customers could easily reach out to us with feedback, questions, or issues.

I began by asking customers about their preferred methods of communication and tailored our approach from there. Whether it was communicating through Slack, email, or even WhatsApp, we made it easy for customers to contact us, ensuring a steady stream of feedback.

Related reading: Vitally’s State of Knowledge Sharing Report — What Communication Channels Do Customers Prefer?

Creating Processes

Next, I focused on creating processes that could scale as we grew.

I mapped out the customer journey from onboarding to daily interactions, ensuring we had clear steps in place to guide customers through each phase. This process-driven approach helped us maintain consistency in our interactions and provided a framework that could be expanded as our team grew. And this never ends: we're always reviewing and changing it!

The Role of Customer Success in an Early-Stage Startup

In the early stages, the primary focus of Customer Success should be on gathering feedback and ensuring customer satisfaction.

Traditional metrics like NPS, CSAT, and churn rate are secondary to the goal of understanding and meeting customer needs. Our main objective was to ensure customers were using the product and providing valuable feedback to guide product development.

Gathering Feedback

Feedback is the lifeblood of an early-stage startup. Our goal was to understand the pain points, preferences, and suggestions of our customers to refine our product continually. 

We set up regular check-ins, feedback sessions, and used every interaction as an opportunity to learn and improve. This iterative feedback loop was crucial in helping us develop a product that truly met our customers’ needs.

Ensuring Customer Satisfaction

Ensuring customer satisfaction meant being available and responsive.

We established a culture at OneText where customers knew they could reach us anytime, and we would be there to assist. This level of dedication helped build trust and loyalty, which were essential in those early days when every customer interaction could significantly impact our reputation and growth.

Effective Tactics for Early-Stage Customer Success

Personalized Onboarding

We designed a personalized onboarding process that catered to the unique needs of each customer. This involved detailed walkthroughs, customized setup assistance, and regular follow-ups to ensure they were comfortable and confident in using our product. 

Personalized onboarding not only helped in reducing churn but also laid a strong foundation for long-term customer relationships.

Building a Feedback-Driven Culture

Creating a feedback-driven culture within the company was another vital tactic. We made it a point to share customer feedback across all teams, ensuring everyone was aligned with the customers’ needs and expectations.

This transparency helped in prioritizing features and improvements that would have the most significant impact on customer satisfaction.

Defining and Scaling Processes

Identifying the right moment to scale and add sophistication to your CS operations is critical. For us, it was when one-on-one interactions became unmanageable, and customers had to wait over 24 hours for responses. At that point, I knew we needed to scale our operations.

Mapping the Customer Journey

The first step was defining a scalable process. I took a day off from regular activities, sat down with a blank sheet of paper, and mapped out the ideal customer journey. This process helped us understand the necessary steps to scale effectively and guided our subsequent hiring and tool adoption decisions.

Implementing Tools and Technology

Once we had a clear process in place, we began implementing tools and technology to support our operations. Tools like Vitally helped us manage customer interactions more efficiently, track feedback, and automate repetitive tasks. These tools allowed us to maintain high levels of customer support while scaling our operations.

Hiring for a Startup Mindset

Hiring the right people is crucial in a startup. We needed people who were not only skilled in Customer Success but also adaptable enough to handle diverse tasks from product feedback to marketing. The cultural fit was paramount, as a small startup like OneText couldn’t afford misalignments in either of these areas.

Versatility and Adaptability

Our hires needed to be comfortable switching between different roles and tasks, whether it was working on product development, collaborating with engineering, or supporting marketing efforts. This adaptability ensured that we could respond quickly to changing needs and priorities.

Customer-Centric Mindset

We sought people who genuinely understood the power of the customer. Our company mantra, inspired by Y Combinator, was to build something people want. We needed team members who could gather insights from customer interactions and translate them into actionable improvements for our product.

The Challenge of Thinking Small

One of the biggest challenges in an early-stage startup is resisting the urge to implement complex processes and tools prematurely.

While it’s tempting to track every possible metric and build elaborate playbooks, the focus should remain on core activities: communication, feedback collection, onboarding, and activation. These elements are crucial for building a strong foundation and ensuring customer retention.

My Last Bit of Advice

In an early-stage startup, every decision and action should be driven by the needs of the customer. It’s essential to think strategically, act swiftly, and remain adaptable.

Building a Customer Success function from scratch at OneText has been a challenging but immensely rewarding experience. It’s about finding the right balance between immediate needs and long-term growth, ensuring that every process and hire aligns with the overarching goal of delivering value to the customer.

If you’re in a similar position, my advice is to focus on the basics: clear communication, effective onboarding, and continuous feedback from your customers. These elements will provide a solid foundation upon which you can build a successful Customer Success function.

Related reading: When Should Your Company Start Using a Customer Success Platform?