Fergus Paton, VP Sales at Arbolus

Speaker: Fergus Paton, VP Sales & Marketing, Arbolus

Fergus Paton: So, before I started or when I started working with Pete, the challenge that I had was that I was a first time VP Sales. I was kind of not that long out of business school, which is also quite an unconventional route for a first time VP Sales. I was working in a business that had grown significantly in the first six months that I'd been there. And we were sort of reaching a point of having some momentum. And we also had two co-founders who were first time founders. And the challenge I had was that I wanted to keep the growth going. I wanted guidance and experience that I didn't feel that any first time founder would be able to bring to me. And ultimately, I wanted to remain as the most senior commercial person in the business.

Fergus Paton: So what did I like about working with, the way I worked with Pete was, first of all, I think it was a very open and approachable environment. So I felt like I was like, you know, I had complete trust in anything that I said would be fully confidential. And there was nothing that was kind of off limits even if that were a personal issue. You know, all these things have a big impact on your work life. And I felt like I could discuss anything. and linked to that, I think Pete was very helpful in being able to discuss very big strategic issues as well as, you know, at that stage, you know, I was managing a big team and there were situations that I hadn't come across before. So being able to help give me a perspective on smaller issues and ways to handle specific situations as well as the big strategic stuff. And ultimately, I think you don't want to go to those calls, feeling like under pressure to have something to discuss. And whether I went with an agenda or with kind of what I thought was nothing to discuss, I always left with different perspectives, and new ways of looking at things and maybe identifying challenges that I hadn't perceived before. And ultimately, I think that comes down to the fact that Pete asks quite simple and thought provoking questions and is very good at leading a conversation.

Fergus Paton: So I think there's probably two sides to the results that I got. I mean, my stated objective was to remain the most senior commercial person in the business and eventually that didn't happen. A CRO was hired above me, but during the time that I worked with Pete, my personal development accelerated at a rate that would not, that it would not have done otherwise. And I think I learned more and more quickly than I would have done and handled many situations differently as a result of the input and guidance that Pete had. And eventually, when that CRO was hired, I was able to form an integral part of that team, where I remain now and taking on more responsibility still. And you know, these types of businesses that many of you will be working for are similar to the one that I'm in. And I think where Pete's particular experience lies is in that sort of 1 to 15 million of ARR journey. And Pete worked with me through a two year period where we went on that journey from about $1M to $12M of ARR. And I think that's very relevant.