Wisdom Wednesdays: Leading Through Turbulence: Strategies for CEO Success with Katy Trost

Katy coaches and advises CEOs and founders at Series B and beyond. She helps them become more effective leaders and navigate the challenges of scaling people and operations.   Her clients include some of the fastest-growing companies in the US and UK tech ecosystem, backed by leading investors, including SoftBank, First Round, Felix, Octopus, Inflexion, and more.   Katy is also a coach and judge for Tech Nation Future Fifty and Upscale, Octopus Ventures, Founders Forum, Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs, PwC Fintech, the Mayor of London Mentoring Program, and a member of the board of advisors for various startups.   Her work has been featured in publications such as Forbes, Success Magazine, The Org, and Thrive Global. She shares her insights on CEO leadership, developing high-performing executive teams, and building healthy organizations at scale.   Born and raised in Germany, Katy spent four years traveling the world before moving to New York City. After multiple years in the US startup ecosystem, she expanded her business to the UK, bringing a global perspective to her work with innovative and purpose-driven organizations.   LinkedIn Instagram   Quick recap Next steps • CEOs should focus on maintaining a human approach to leadership, especially during challenging times like layoffs. • Executives cultivate a problem-solving mindset and view daily challenges as opportunities for growth. Tech Ecosystem Advisor Role and Approach A tech ecosystem advisor, Katy shared her role and approach with Michael. She works with CEOs and executive teams, focusing on leadership, branding, operations, and scaling organizations. She differentiated her role from that of a consultant, emphasizing the importance of creating buy-in and seeing the pain points for solutions. She also highlighted her background in executive coaching. Michael acknowledged her deep understanding of an organization and the importance of her approach in integrating with the system's flow. He agreed with her that advisors should be a crucial part of the organization's DNA. Tech Industry Impact and CEO Behavior Amid Pandemic Katy and Michael discussed the impact of the pandemic on the tech industry. Katy noted that many companies, especially those with large tech spikes, had little substance behind their valuations and were ultimately forced to cut costs and let people go. Katy emphasized this as a daily challenge that CEOs face, but the pandemic accelerated it significantly. Michael agreed and asked Katy for her perspective on the behavior of CEOs and leadership during this time. Impact of Pandemic on Startups, VC Katy and Michael discussed the impact of the pandemic on startups and the venture capital landscape. The pandemic led many companies to overhire and pursue products without market fit. Katy emphasized bootstrapping, validating products before scaling, and using cost-effective marketing channels. Due to a slowdown in the VC ecosystem, many companies now face difficulties raising funds and need to shift toward profitability. This poses challenges for founders who have given up significant equity but cannot achieve desired growth. Katy highlighted the need to keep teams motivated despite lacking a potential "big exit." Attracting Talent Amidst Competitor Pressure Michael highlighted the tendency for companies to lose key personnel to competitors like Google and Facebook when their stock underperforms. He shared a personal experience where a potential partnership with a company ended prematurely, hinting at the challenges of maintaining long-term business relationships. Katy agreed, noting that when organizations face numerous options and distractions, it can be challenging to navigate through them effectively. She emphasized that simply adding more people to a company does not increase efficiency, implying that a change in approach is needed when a company grows. Managing Growth, Strategic Exits, and Contingencies Katy discussed the challenges and strategie