“As a startup CEO, you know you don't have enough time. Even when you do everything you need to do, there's always more you wish you could do. That's where the right VP of Everything Else comes in.

When Jen first joined Raven[Ops], I wasn't sure exactly what I needed her to do. All I knew was that as the only person not coding, there was so much more that was worth doing that I couldn't fit into the day. Work that could have huge payoffs overs months got squeezed out by things that had to happen within hours.

Who can take some of the "right nows" off your plate so you can stay focused on longer-term tasks? They need to do more than just put out the fire. They have to communicate with you effectively and know when to call you in. That requires a lot of trust. But the right generalist can do it.

Sometimes you need the opposite. What about that project that can have huge payoffs but requires sustained effort every day? As a founder, these are the things you really want to do, but they take up too much mindshare and continuously interrupt your flow. Again, the right generalist can help.

That's where Jen hit her stride at Raven. Our industry didn't have a good community that we could engage with to understand their needs or to find customers. Jen set out to build it. It took months of work. It didn't require every minute of every day, but somebody had to think about it constantly. That's what a founder will always have a hard time doing for anything that doesn't absolutely need to be done by them.

As a talented generalist, Jen built the community to hundreds of members, found fantastic speakers, and organized events that drove tons of value for everyone involved. Raven learned about the market, connected with top experts, found its ever-so-important first customers.

That's what the right VP of Everything can bring to the table.”

— Josh, co-founder and CEO of RavenOps