Why I left Chargebee?
I spent 5 years, 3 months, 30 days at Chargebee. I joined as a Presales consultant when Chargebee had 250 employees. I was the seventh consultant hired in the team. There were folks who were hired from premier B-schools in India. I felt out of place for the first few days until I found my footing in the organisation.
I joined a startup to answer the question, "Can I be successful in a customer-facing role?"
My manager from BNY Mellon (My second job), where I worked for 18 months, felt I was not good enough to play the customer-facing role. We were part of a proposal coordinator team that helped BNY Mellon Pershing respond to RFPs. We were part of the "Deal Desk" in the startup parlance. Talking to the customer-facing team without permission was looked down upon. I spoke to an Account Manager once, and my manager made a huge fuss about it. I knew that I wouldn't be there for long.
The startup world was new to me, but I loved the opportunity. I lapped it up. I remember the first customer assigned to me and the thrill of going on a call with them and representing Chargebee through their evaluation and Implementation. It was a reasonably technical implementation involving Payment Gateway's components and fields for checkout and CRM integration with Chargebee. I was amazed at the complexity of the Implementation considering the space they were in - Productivity Tools.
I continued to play the role of presales consultant for the Namer region at first and then for the APAC region. The two regions couldn't be more different. The responsibility expanded from helping win deals to helping Implement the customer. As we grew, we spent more time in Implementation and less assisting sales to win new deals. It was time to split the team into two: Presales and Implementations.
I became the first Implementation Consultant and did that role for a few months before my boss decided to form a team around me. He asked me to play the manager role, and I said Yes!
We began the Implementation team with six consultants and grew the team through the pandemic's peak. The current Implementation Consultant team is 60+ and divided across three regions. The first few Implementations took 150+ days, and when I left my role, we were able to complete the Implementations for small businesses in less than 30 days and 120+ days for large enterprises. The journey from 150+ to 30 has been enriching.
I got promoted thrice in five years, and my last role at Chargebee was as a Director managing EMEA and APAC Implementations and also leading a team of four incredible Implementation Architects. The journey, though rewarding, was also stressful during a pandemic and filled with mistakes and learnings. During the growth phase, I deprioritised my personal life, and it took a toll on my health and personal relationships. As the team grew, we hired more leaders, and my portfolio was rebalanced. In hindsight, it was great, but it felt like my capabilities were being questioned during the process.
The company also grew, and we started going upmarket. What helped us grow until then wouldn't have helped us grow further. It makes sense when you look at it from an outside perspective. However, this change feels ominous when you are in the middle and seek comfort in the known. I was ready to roll up my sleeves and learn what was needed to help the team transition. However, the team's strategic direction meant they needed to get people from outside who had accomplished successful transitions to upmarket. It felt that our capabilities had hit their limits, and we now needed 'big players'. Through the transition, I was committed to the cause of Chargebee. Disagree but commit is value we at Chargebee practiced.
In the new scheme of things, I was offered another opportunity that would have added to my resume. However, when I visualised if I would love to play the new role, it was apparent that I wouldn't. The answer was clear: I would not be motivated and would pull the organisation down. It had also been five years in the org, and our team had become heavy at the top. Although this was not a primary reason, making space for others to grow within the team made sense. I don't want to come across as an altruist by saying the previous statement, but it crossed my mind while deciding to quit.
I could have taken up the new role and tried to play it to the best of my abilities. However, I decided to take the plunge, do 0-1 again, and see how I would fare. I found the new opportunity exciting, and that was enough to pull me across the line.
Through the decision process, I also asked myself tough questions and sought clarity on what I wanted to do in my career. The decision to join a pre-Series A startup fits nicely into that framework. I am grateful for the Chargebee opportunity, and due to the learning and experience, I can take the leap of faith and bet on myself.