Nahed Khairallah
06 May 2025
27m 37s
Ep. 20 - From Service to Strategy: Elevating the People Function in Fast-Growing Startups
00:00
27:37
Organized Chaos
In this episode of Organized Chaos, host Nahed Khairallah welcomes Melissa Theiss, Head of People Ops at Kit. With a decade of experience scaling companies from 20 to 1000+ employees, Melissa shares invaluable insights for startups and people leaders. This episode is essential listening for founders, startup leaders, and anyone leading the people function in a growing organization.
Episode Highlights:
- Melissa's unique journey into People Ops through a rotational leadership program that exposed her to international sales operations, product management, and HR
- Common scaling mistakes startups make, including improper calibration of processes and the pitfall of being "people first" instead of "business first, people centric"
- The People Ops Organizational Diagnostic - Melissa's proprietary methodology for assessing a startup's readiness to scale, covering 12 key areas with over 130 diagnostic points
- Strategic advice for People leaders on understanding business fundamentals, avoiding the "ticket taker" trap, and creating efficient systems for administrative work
If you'd like to connect with Melissa, reach out on LinkedIn.
Resources Mentioned:
- The Business of People Newsletter - Melissa's newsletter focusing on helping people leaders think like business leaders
- People Operations Organizational Diagnostic - Melissa's proprietary methodology for assessing a startup's readiness to scale, covering 12 key areas with over 130 diagnostic points
- SaaS CFO Newsletter - Resource for understanding financial statements
- HBX Core Credentials of Readiness - Harvard Business School class recommended for developing business acumen
Visit www.organizedchaos.fyi to subscribe to the podcast newsletter and access additional content.