Jen (Benson) Brooks Principal, Customer Success

I remember drafting my first executive title at a then $5M start-up software company called Rapid7—now a publicly traded cybersecurity and DevOps company. At the time, the core objective for my role was to keep customers renewing maintenance contracts, so I was the Head of Renewals. Within months of launching a renewals program, it became clear that the true purpose of my role was to create customer value, drive revenue growth, and increase enterprise value—which we all now recognize today as Customer Success.

Over a decade later, nothing has changed. Within every software company lies a customer base with latent potential for growth, but most organizations need help capturing it. That’s where our team comes in, with repeatable playbooks, strategies, and tactics to activate customer growth.

I learned the fundamentals of Customer Success by building, operating, and optimizing each phase of the customer journey while working at various Fortune 50 enterprises. It’s where my love for operational strategies and tactics began.

But I learned that I love the adventure of fighting for the underdog even more. Which eventually led me to leading start-up and growth stage technology companies. Growing up the daughter of a successful, self-made Marine veteran, I learned the value of hard work and perseverance where the little guy can rise up and win. Most of our portfolio company founders are exactly that—innovators, problem-solvers, and hard workers who beat the odds. I am grateful they allow me to be part of their team.

Since my first start-up experience in Network Security, I’ve worked with several other SaaS companies in various industries, including eCommerce, Marketing Automation, Social Listening, and Finance Automation. With each experience I’ve learned that Customer Success, when built for scale, is a universal system that transcends industry, customer type, use case, and technology stack. 

As the Customer Success practice lead, I think of our team as a Swiss Army knife. We have all the tools and functions a company needs to scale, and the agility to move and adjust quickly. All of our services can be applied to multiple use cases, and depending on the needs of your company, we can be coaches, day-to-day operators, high-level strategists, and even interim executives. 

As a recent empty-nester, you’ll find me in my pottery studio on the weekends, covered in clay, enjoying life in the California Gold Country.