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​Lessons from Watching a Great CEO Operate​

From every startup I work with, I learn about the different ways of building a company. It’s one of the best parts of the job. By their nature, founders hold strong world views about how to craft their companies.

Though it’s early in the company’s life still, Barr Moses, the founder and CEO of Monte Carlo, is an extraordinary leader.

Many startups face a strategic question early on of whether to create a new category. It’s a heavy lift. A former executive at Gainsight which created customer success, Barr jumped in. Monte Carlo is creating the data observability space.

At conferences, on podcasts, in blog posts, Barr has beat a consistent drum for years and at scale, all with the same refrain: data observability eliminates data downtime. It’s even in her Twitter handle, @BM_Datadowntime. That’s commitment.

A few years ago, most heads of data didn’t think to allocate funds for observability. But three years after the company’s inception and due in large part to Barr’s doggedness (she often speaks at multiple events per week), Gartner has defined a Magic Quadrant for the space.

One day about a year ago, I asked Barr what she looks for in candidates. What are her decision criteria? “Immediate impact.” She responded just like that, matter of factly. Her focus on execution velocity transcends the organization and sets the culture in the business. Barr lives hustle as strategy

Another example - one of the first slides in every board meeting deck is the Keys Factors to Success. The KFS lists the necessary criteria for the company to succeed. This list differs from company values or vision or OKRs: What must the company accomplish to be the winner?

And a last one. I’ve never seen a company before track the percentage of new bookings that belong to the ICP the way Monte Carlo does. Barr’s narrow scoping of the customer persona limits the product roadmap scope setting up the team for success, focuses the GTM teams’ efforts, and spins a flywheel of more repeatable processes ever faster.

Barr is an inspirational leader. She and the amazing team at Monte Carlo continue to inspire others. Today, the company announced a $135m Series D to continue creating this category with relentless focus.

MC is hiring in most roles. If you’re interested to join the movement, take a look here. It’s a great place to learn how great businesses are run.

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