Meet Tracy Young, CEO and Co-founder of TigerEye
FemWealth Founder's Story
Hi FemWealth Friend,
In a new edition of Founder’s Story, meet two-time entrepreneur Tracy Young, CEO and Co-founder of TigerEye. The US-based company finds revenue risks and opportunities so sales leaders, RevOps and C-Suites can make good decisions and move faster. TigerEye opened up early access. Visit www.tigereye.com for a demo.
Read all about Tracy’s entrepreneurial journey, including how she exited her first company to Autodesk, and how she navigated pregnancy and early motherhood as a venture-backed founder.
FW: When and how did your entrepreneurial journey start?
TY: I cut my teeth in the construction industry as an assistant to a foreman, then worked for a chief estimator bidding jobs, and spent another four years in the field managing construction of large hospital projects. From these experiences, I saw first hand how complex construction projects are - they require sophisticated coordination between many different organizations. And yet, data was shackled in legacy, paper blueprints. In 2010, Steve Jobs announced the first generation iPad. My co-founders and I knew it was the perfect device for a construction site - we were in the mobile revolution early. You have to remember that at the time, no one was using software in the construction field and we knew we could build it. It was the right time with the right idea. When we started PlanGrid in 2011, we grew from five co-founders to over 500 global colleagues. We gave everything to get our company from $0 - $100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR). It was acquired by Autodesk in 2018, and two years later, we ended our watch.
FW: What were some of the biggest challenges you encountered as a first-time entrepreneur, and how did you overcome them?
TY: I didn’t hire or fire by our core values at PlanGrid. We had them, but we didn’t live by them. Let me give you an example – we had a core value that said we wouldn’t hire jerks except that I did hire them, and worst, kept them. And what that signaled to the team was that if you perform for Tracy you can get away with anything.
And so this is just one example of what we’re doing differently at TigerEye. Our core values are defined, and we have a document of commitments to one another that clarifies them in black and white. And this doc contains commitments like “I will walk it like I talk it” or “I will be humble” to keep us all centered on what is important.
FW: You sold your first company, PlanGrid to Autodesk in 2019. What were your top three learnings from founding to exit?
TY: Takeaway #1: Organizational Structure and Communication
Don’t experiment excessively with organizational structures. Prioritize clear roles, titles, and career paths to retain talented employees.
Takeaway #2: Managing Internal Conflict and Growth
As the company grows, maintain unity by adhering to core values and using them as a basis for hiring and firing decisions. Hitting Dunbar’s number (150 people) can lead to chaos due to the increased complexity in communication and hierarchy. Address tensions between teams early and recognize that the people who helped the company succeed initially might not be the best fit for future growth. That’s a hard truth.
Takeaway #3: Navigating Product-Market Fit and Competition
You can have product-market fit one day, and lose it the next. It changes over time due to evolving markets and competition. Companies can adapt by shifting to focus on addressing the most pressing problems. And remember that enterprise users have different needs from end-users, often involving security and administrative features which can be very costly. You’ll need to move quickly to execute strategies and launch new products to maintain competitiveness and prevent loss of market share.
FW: How do you approach company building now, as a second-time founder?
TY: Company-building is the most challenging, stimulating, and dynamic thing I could be working on. It’s very hard. There are so many dimensions to building a company - product, market, people, team, and timing is a huge factor. You have to get it all right without running out of money.
This time around I am focused on two main things when I hire:
Humility. This is also a core value at TigerEye. We are all experts at something and we are amateurs at everything else, and so there is no room for big egos or showboating.
Effective communication is also critical. We’re fully remote so we need to be excellent communicators.
FW: Why did you decide to found TigerEye and what is the company’s mission?
TY: I got the privilege to work for Autodesk, PlanGrid’s acquirers, for about 15 months. It was the first time I got to work at a public company and I got to use all the enterprise winners. And I can tell you there is so much room for improvement. You see the problems clearly when you’re learning a new piece of software built by a company that was probably founded 10-20 years ago, and you deploy their software to your org, and first-hand watch 500+ people become less productive… and angry. My team was left wondering why we gave them such bad tools to do their jobs.
Which is the inspiration behind TigerEye. All I know how to do is build tools that make my last job better. PlanGrid was a tool I wished for as a construction engineer, while TigerEye is what I needed as a founder/CEO to accelerate growth. I strongly believe that if sales software like TigerEye had existed years ago, it would have prevented the need to sell PlanGrid, and we could have preserved our independence. TigerEye helps companies make faster and better strategic decisions.
FW: In a recent LinkedIn post, you shared your personal story and practical advice on navigating your pregnancy announcement with your board. How can investors and board members better support female startup CEOs through this life-changing event?
TY: I would not do business with someone who isn’t going to support me as a mother and human. Communication is important and setting expectations on what you will (and will not) be doing before and during leave is also critical. The only thing I prepared was who would serve as interim CEO. I feel that the founder/CEO should lead that interim CEO decision. It is possible that your board might have a difference in opinion on that, but ultimately the founder needs to be able to pick and trust who they put in place.
FW: How has your personal background made you a better founder and CEO?
TY: Building TigerEye is activism for me. There is no substitution for representation. I would not be who I am today without having watched my parents, who are refugees of war, put their noses to the grindstone for decades so that my siblings and I could have a better life than they did. My goal is to inspire more female entrepreneurs to solve real problems and start their own companies. If even one woman starts a company because of me, it’s all worth it. For my children’s generation, I want them to be activists. And the only way I know to teach them is to dare to dream, and work hard at being one additional statistic towards the future that I wish for my sons and daughter.
FW: What tips do you have for women just starting out on their entrepreneurial journeys or preparing to fundraise in the current macro environment?
TY: Time kills all deals, so timebox your fundraising. If you hear a no from investors, move on. If you hear a yes, know that the deal is not done until the money is in the bank. After you set a predetermined amount of time to fundraise, go back to real work even if there is no term sheet in hand. Fundraising is not an indication of success or failure. It signals externally that you now own less of your company. Remember that raising capital is just a financing event, so don’t fall in love with it, and don’t go into a pit of depression over it.