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June 15, 2022 @ 9:30 am - 11:30 am PDT
FreeThe Power of Customer Centric Startups with Raja Mukerji
No matter what kind of business you’re operating, prioritizing customers is a sound strategy. However, research shows that customer centric startups in particular tend to have an advantage over their competitors.
According to a recent report, 66 percent of customers expect companies to understand their unique needs and expectations. Additionally, the report indicates that more than 80 percent of customers will switch to a competitor after a few bad experiences. And 86 percent of customers will pay more for a better customer experience.
“There’s only one purpose of a company and that’s to provide value to its customers,” says entrepreneur Raja Mukerji, co-founder and chief customer officer of ExtraHop Networks, a cybersecurity solutions provider. “If a company does not provide value to its customers, it cannot survive. As founders, we think we set value. We don’t set value. We set price. The customer defines value and unless we work very closely with our customers from day one, we can’t possibly know what product market fit is because we don’t know what the actual market is. Technology ecosystems aren’t markets; buying customers are markets.”
In a global keynote event for Founders Network members on June 15, 2022, Mukerji will explain the value of customer centricity and how customer centric startups have a unique advantage. He’ll also explain how customer centric startups can use customer insights and feedback to make better decisions related to product development and customer experience.
In his global keynote, Mukerji will also explain:
- Why providing value to customers is the point of a company
- What customer centricity actually looks like
- How prioritizing customers can satisfy key stakeholders
- The importance of selling to customers overt analysts
Opening Remarks & Chapter Launch @ 9:30am PT
Join us for opening remarks with Kevin Holmes, Founder & CEO @ Founders Network, to get the latest updates from the Network and opportunities for getting involved.
Keynote Speaker @ 9:40am PT
Raja Mukerji is the Chief Customer Officer (CCO) and co-founder at ExtraHop Networks where he is responsible for Customer Services, Solutions Architecture, Business Development, and Technical Alliances. Raja drives customer success, leveraging his operational background in the financial-services industry.
Raja co-founded ExtraHop in 2007, after a seven-year tenure at F5 Networks where he was a Senior Software Architect and co-inventor of the TMOS platform. Raja was a lead developer behind the BIG-IP v9 product and the major accounts liaison for critical customer-facing issues within Product Development. Before F5, Raja worked as a Technology Architect at Strong Capital Management.
Raja is a renowned expert in application delivery and network protocols. He was involved in the FreeBSD project and contributed several enhancements to its TCP stack. Raja holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from the Milwaukee School of Engineering.
Stage-Based Roundtables @ 10:30 am PT
Community Partners
Dec’13 Cohort Blake Caldwell is the CEO & Founder of FoundersBoost. He has 350 alumni, 100 new startups a year, 8k newsletter readers. He’s driven by his passions to create and build community. He’s also the founder of 2332 Collective (music production & festivals with the goal of bringing music to West LA) & The MoGuard (consumer product cup attachment protecting glorious mustaches).
FoundersBoost is a free pre-seed & seed stage mentorship driven pre-accelerator helping promising tech-startups with accelerators, investment, and revenue.
Attendees will get a deadline extension if they (1) simply start an application by 11:59pm PST tonight tonight, and (2) email Aldo@FoundersBoost.com requesting the extension.
Max Shapiro founded PeopleConnect in 2000 to help early-stage high-tech companies find the talent they need to succeed. PeopleConnect’s clients are in technology, biotech, cleantech, apps, services, medical devices, and consumer products.
Their team of outstanding recruiters finds C-level executives, talented managers and experienced leaders who will bring their client companies to the next level. They provide traditional contingency searches as well as their one-of-a-kind ‘Employees Without Paychecks’ program, which he created after the dotcom bust to help promising companies find top-level talent willing to work for equity only until the company gets their funding.
As you can tell by the name of his company, Max likes to connect people and would love to know if there is any way that he and his team can help you add some fantastic, startup experienced people to your team, like PeopleConnect has been doing for 20 years.
Jeff leads the Partnerships Team at Forecastr — a leading FP&A software company that helps startups create kick-butt financial models to impress investors, confidently raise capital, and effectively run their businesses better.
Jeff serves on the advisory boards of several startup companies and is an active angel investor. He’s passionate about startups and enjoys working with founders and mentoring entrepreneurs.
Jeff is an experienced entrepreneur and was the founder and CEO of a successful consumer goods company that he rapidly grew from $1M in sales its first year to over $40M in annual revenue in its fourth year of operations and was ranked #138 on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing companies.
Prior to founding his own company, Jeff was a partner at Beanstalk Partners where he led the sales and business development activities. He also served as the National Sales Director for a venture-backed tech startup where he generated over $45M in client contracts and developed the company’s channel partner program.
Jeff has a degree in accounting and graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Utah. After receiving his MBA in Finance from the University of Utah he served as the Vice President of Investments for Sentry Financial Corporation.
Complimentary Ticket:
Are you a full-time tech founder? Be our guest! During COVID, we’re making our events available to tech founders everywhere. Enjoy a complimentary ticket to come learn from fellow tech founders, partners and investors. Already used your complimentary guest pass? Request an invite to see if you qualify for membership.
About Founders Network:
Founded in 2011, Founders Network offers lifelong peer mentorship to over 600 tech startup founders globally. Our platform, programs and high-touch service facilitate authentic experience sharing, warm introductions and long-term professional relationships. Additional benefits include over $500k in startup discounts and promotion to 2,000 newsletter readers. Members are located in San Francisco, New York City, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Toronto, London and other tech hubs. Each month our Membership Committee admits a new cohort of full-time tech founders who are nominated by an existing member. Learn more about us here
Confidentiality Policy
All information shared within Founders Network is strictly confidential. We are built on a foundation of trust, and the community takes confidentiality seriously. Investors, members, and staff all share experiences and opinions off the record. In this roundtable forum, we continue to model our fnValues of Reciprocity, Humility, Authenticity and Inclusivity. Read more about our Privacy Policy here.
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