SPOTLIGHT: Untangling Tech Debt and Finding Product-Market Fit with Russ Mikowski of SurePeople | Russel Mikowski, CEO @ SurePeople

Russ Mikowski, CEO of SurePeople and longtime revenue leader in tech, never planned to become a CEO. Recruited to lead a 10-year-old company into its next stage of growth, he faced technical debt, an unfocused ideal customer profile (ICP), and the challenge of turning the company's potential into a scalable business.

In this episode of Topline Spotlight, Russ joins Sam Jacobs and AJ Bruno to discuss the decisions behind SurePeople's transformation, including rebuilding parts of its product, narrowing its target market, and resisting custom requests that could pull the business off course.

Russ talks about:

- How to identify and focus on the customers your product serves best - When rebuilding is a better option than refactoring - Why saying no to the wrong opportunities can protect long-term growth - How to keep a team aligned through organizational change - Why great leaders attract and retain talent by removing obstacles

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Topline Spotlight 01:54 Meet Russ Mikowski, CEO of SurePeople 03:00 SurePeople and the PRISM Assessment 05:51 Russ's Journey to CEO 08:55 Tackling Technical Debt and Rebuilding the Product 12:01 Narrowing the ICP and Finding Market Focus 14:50 Communicating Change and Aligning the Team 17:53 Leadership Lessons from a Mentor 24:00 Where to Find Russ Mikowski and SurePeople Try SurePeople: surepeople.com