Peter Gassner: The thing that most people thought why it wouldn’t be good was that they’d say, “Hey, there are no big companies doing pharmaceutical CRM. Therefore, it’s not possible to build a big company doing it. What do you mean you will build your product on somebody else’s platform? Nobody had done that before.
Sramana Mitra: Did you go work for Dell? Joe Kinsella: I did. I like to tell people that I spent three years at Dell, two of which I can explain because I was under a contract. I wasn’t sure why I stayed the third year. Dell is a great company, but I’m a software person. Sramana
Sramana Mitra: Where did you find traction? In building the product for the pharmaceutical industry, how did you scope the product? Did you have some anchor customers? Peter Gassner: This wasn’t that complex really. This was pharmaceutical CRM. We just decided to go there. It’s a known area and these companies had systems for it.
Joe Kinsella: From there, I decided that I wanted to start a business. I started a company called Tarragon. I wanted to build out a tools business. It ended up being more of a consulting services business. I wasn’t able to balance the consulting and software side. I built a small team of people. We
Sramana Mitra: When you came back, how did you re-engage with the working life? Peter Gassner: It was just a matter of deciding. That was the first decision. I also wanted to do something I was good at. I didn’t want to open a coffee shop and compete with a 23-year-old who knew as much
If you haven’t already, please study our Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page. Joe founded CloudHealth as an EIR at a Boston VC firm. Last year the SaaS company had 300 customers. The story explores how he achieved product market fit and found its stride. Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the very beginning of your personal journey. Where are
Sramana Mitra: What was the trigger to leave Peoplesoft? Peter Gassner: The management team had changed at Peoplesoft. I had started as a developer there. At the end of nine years, I was handling a team of 500 people. I worked hard there. I loved the team I assembled. Then, the management team changed. Culture changed
Sramana Mitra: How did IBM figure out, given that you have a strange background from their perspective, that you would be good at this stuff? Peter Gassner: My first internship was at IBM. Sramana Mitra: They noted you then. Peter Gassner: Yes, “That’s a kid that can work hard. He gets work done. He’s got