Updated CKO Day 1 slides with full bullets Flashcards
1) Introduction: The AI Marketing “Space Race” has begun
Excited to kick off CKO with the team.
AI is revolutionizing marketing—this is a must-win race.
Comparing this shift to the 1950s Space Race.
USSR (Russia) launched first person into space, US was falling behind.
JFK’s bold mission: land on the moon by end of the decade.
NASA formed, pulling together best minds, resources, and urgency.
AI revolution today mirrors that urgency—we must act fast.
Our mission today: deliver true 1:1 personalized messaging with AI.
2) Revolutionary companies set ambitious Goals
Building a revolutionary company starts with ambitious goals.
2025: Break $750M ARR, $100M+ from new products.
2026: Reach $1B ARR—our moon landing.
Building a revolutionary company and accelerating growth is not easy.
JFK: “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”
3) Phase 1: Building Our Rocket Components
To get to the moon you first need to assemble your rocket. This is Phase 1 of AI multi product journey
Nasa had to make tough choices: focus on key components, not everything.
Like NASA: navigation, propulsion, life support.
Each product tested independently before integrating.
Building SMS, Email, AI—each product piece by piece.
Ensured products were strong alone before unifying.
4) Navigating the Flat Part of the S-Curve in 2023 and 2024
(Last CKO) S-curves: slow start, rapid growth, then leveling off.
Flat part = hard, progress feels slow, tedious work.
Early Email struggles: 13/15 WKND customers churned.
Forced us to get better quickly
5) Building momentum: Flywheel
Extra difficult to get new products going
Flywheel = self-reinforcing system gaining momentum.
1) Hard to get moving 2) no single factor drives it (bunch working together)
a) Prototype b) Pricing and packaging c) Customers and partners become advocates
Every team contributes: EPD, Sales, Marketing, CS, etc.
AI: $0 revenue last year → $20M ARR today, on track to 3X.
Refined product, took feedback, improved.
Won Deckers—one of WKND’s biggest customers.
Won Shoe Carnival 2 years after
Once through atmosphere, headwinds become tailwinds.
6) 2024: Phase 1 success
Immense progress, real momentum with new products.
Winning breakthrough deals—leaders in messaging & AI.
Email sign-ups surged, with over 800 customers launched on our solution in 2024– a near 100% increase from 2023.
Carter’s: $3.6M Email TCV, Salesforce replacement.
LG: $600K+ Email & AI Pro upsell, churn risk turned win.
AI-driven solutions saw ARR growth skyrocket from $0 in 2023 to $21M in 2024
H&M: $830K AI Pro TCV, biggest AI deal yet.
Google RCS event for NRF in NYC = Leadership
Crocs: 1 of 5 approved for RCS beta—major milestone.
7) Winning Phase 2 is the real prize
Less than 1% of startups get to $500M revenue, fraction to $1B
Last couple years didnt always feel like winning - important to zoom out
Our trajectory is set to lap iconic multi-product companies like Hubspot.
Outpacing even the best—proof our strategy works.
8) Phase 2: Unifying our Components to break through the atmosphere
2025 mission: break $750M ARR by unifying products. This is Phase 2
Operate as a true multi-product company.
2024 challenge: bringing components together.
Tested: SMS, Email, AI, AI+Email, RCS.
Unified selling approach helps reduce churn, drive NDR 120%+.
Carter’s is an example
9) Customer-Centric Approach (Part 1)
Now Multi-product = new customer journeys.
SMS is no longer the only starting & ending point.
Customers start from many jumping-off points.
Need to master discovery, take customer-centric approach.
Shift from product selling to holistic customer thinking.
10) Customer-Centric Approach (Part 2)
When done well, customer path becomes clear.
Align products with customer challenges & goals.
Builds strong, trusted relationships.
Drives impactful results, exceeds expectations.
11) Finish the Mission
NASA succeeded through innovation, risk-taking, collaboration.
Attentive mirrors these qualities: creativity, ambition, pushing boundaries.
Success = technology + partnerships, aggressive opportunity pursuit.
Mindset gives confidence to hit milestones.
Like NASA, we tackle challenges with innovation & urgency.
If we do this, we’ll break through the atmosphere and land on the moon.
