TL;DR — Katherine Kostereva built Creatio into a $1.2B enterprise by prioritizing sales from day one, leveraging partnerships, and maintaining a disciplined approach to scaling. She bootstrapped the company for six years, secured $200M in funding, and focused on building strong teams and systems. Learn from her playbook on sales execution, leadership, and knowing when to delegate. Listen on Apple or Spotify.
Hi Reader,
Scaling a company to $1.2 billion isn’t about luck—it’s about smart decisions, relentless prioritization, and surrounding yourself with the right people. Katherine Kostereva, CEO of Creatio, turned an initial idea into a global enterprise software company by focusing on structured sales, building strong partnerships, and constantly refining her go-to-market strategy.
Here’s what stood out:
1. Sales is Everyone’s Job—Especially at the Start. In the early days, Katherine and her team didn’t wait to perfect the product before they started selling. Instead, they tested their product with real users, listened, and refined it. This approach allowed them to find product-market fit much faster.
- ✅ Action: Whether you’re just starting or scaling, get your team involved in sales. Your engineers, marketers, and customer success reps can all contribute by gathering insights and making connections.
2. Partners Can Help You Scale Your Business Faster. 50% of Creatio’s revenue now comes from partnerships. From the start, Katherine involved system integrators who could expand the company’s reach without relying solely on internal sales efforts.
- ✅ Action: Look for strategic partnerships that align with your mission and can help you scale faster. Ensure that your sales team knows how to collaborate effectively with partners.
3. Build Systems, Not Just Sales Teams. Katherine invested in a structured sales playbook early on and continuously refined it as the company grew. This ensured that new hires ramped up quickly and followed a proven process.
- ✅ Action: Document your sales process. A well-structured playbook can help your team scale without losing momentum.
If you’re thinking about how to scale your company effectively, don’t miss this episode.
🎧 ➡️ [Click Here to Listen Now]
To Your Sales Success,
Alice Heiman