Ep. 20 - From Service to Strategy: Elevating the People Function in Fast-Growing Startups

06/05/2025 27 min Episodio 20

Listen "Ep. 20 - From Service to Strategy: Elevating the People Function in Fast-Growing Startups"

Episode Synopsis

In this episode of Organized Chaos, host Nahed Khairallah welcomes Melissa Theiss, Head of People Ops at Kit. With a decade of experience scaling companies from 20 to 1000+ employees, Melissa shares invaluable insights for startups and people leaders. This episode is essential listening for founders, startup leaders, and anyone leading the people function in a growing organization.Episode Highlights:Melissa's unique journey into People Ops through a rotational leadership program that exposed her to international sales operations, product management, and HRCommon scaling mistakes startups make, including improper calibration of processes and the pitfall of being "people first" instead of "business first, people centric"The People Ops Organizational Diagnostic - Melissa's proprietary methodology for assessing a startup's readiness to scale, covering 12 key areas with over 130 diagnostic pointsStrategic advice for People leaders on understanding business fundamentals, avoiding the "ticket taker" trap, and creating efficient systems for administrative workIf you'd like to connect with Melissa, reach out on LinkedIn.Resources Mentioned:The Business of People Newsletter - Melissa's newsletter focusing on helping people leaders think like business leadersPeople Operations Organizational Diagnostic - Melissa's proprietary methodology for assessing a startup's readiness to scale, covering 12 key areas with over 130 diagnostic pointsSaaS CFO Newsletter - Resource for understanding financial statementsHBX Core Credentials of Readiness - Harvard Business School class recommended for developing business acumenVisit www.organizedchaos.fyi to subscribe to the podcast newsletter and access additional content.Got a Question or Topic Suggestion?Connect with me on LinkedInReach out by email