First off, our team can’t begin to tell you how elated we are to introduce you to our new series, Aspiring Ops. Built for aspiring Strategy and Operations Leaders looking to scale themselves and their companies, this is a series we think is long overdue.

We start our series the only way we know how with an amazing guest from one of the fastest growing SaaS companies in the world. For our first show, please welcome the Head of Finance and Operations from Calendly, Russell Lester.

Russell is one of the best in the business, and offers his insights into how he helped Calendly more than double in revenue over his first year at the company.

From the lessons learned while hiring 60+ remote employees in less than a year to the mission statement Russell believes should be ingrained in every operations leader, the first episode is jam packed with insights for any and all in operations.

All that’s left to-do is press play below and start taking notes from one of the best in operations.

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Here's a full rundown of what you can expect to learn in our first episode of Aspiring Ops:

🛣️ Russell’s Journey to Calendly: 0:00-5:51

🦠 Calendly Challenges in 2020: 5:52-7:11

💼 Changing the Hiring Process @ Calendly: 7:12-9:00

💓 Leading w/ Radical Honesty: 9:01-12:12

🧩 Being Intentional about Every Piece of the Puzzle: 12:13-14:54

🧠 Curiosity as a Superpower for Fueling Growth: 14:55-16:35

📋 Lessons that Shaped Russell’s Hiring Process: 16:36-19:30

🧵 How Ops Threads the Needle Between Data and the Story it Tells: 19:31-24:35

🤔 Things that Should be Top of Mind in 2021 for Operations Leaders: 24:36-26:25

🔮 The Key Pillars for Operations in 5 to 10 Years: 26:26-32:59

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One last thing. Russell, if you’re reading this, we cannot thank you enough for helping us kickoff the Aspiring Ops series. We are so excited to be able to shine a light on those that are often forgotten about at start-ups. You could not have been a better guest to get us started.

Be on the lookout for episode two next week, where we showcase a budding operations superstar at another rapidly growing tech company in Atlanta… more on that coming soon!

Interested in learning more about Calendly? Get started with their free trial.

Interested in learning more about Elate? Request a demo here.