As would be expected, the road to joining the Get Satisfaction team was an interesting one.  It all started one day when Eric Case and I were discussing a range of business ideas, and he introduced the idea of joining Get Satisfaction.  He raved about the founders Thor and Amy Muller and Lane Becker. He simply said, “maybe they are ready for a CEO,” and left it at that. Intuitively, Eric knew we would have good chemistry and that I would find the business compelling.

At that stage the seed was planted, but it wasn’t until several months later that I found myself in a meeting with David McClure and the seed began to grow.  We came together to discuss Eventvue (we are both investors and I chair the board). I asked David if he knew the Get Satisfaction team.  The answer was yes, and it was then that I asked for an introduction.  The rest is history.

Thor, Lane, Amy and I had several long lunches where we talked about the excitement – and the challenges - of the business.  One sunny day in early November, sitting on an outdoor picnic table in South Park, Lane popped the question, “will you join us?”  The answer came incredibly easily.

Since then we’ve been busy taking all the necessary deep dives to go beyond the obvious to understand the potential of each other, and the business. Through many hours of planning we began the preparation for the next stage of growth for the business and for us as founders, thought leaders and executives.

Get Satisfaction is a Web 2.0 customer service and support platform that combines customer management tools with the power of online community to reduce repetitive support costs while ensuring strong loyalty and retention with customers. Since its launch in 2007, the platform has served more than 12,000 companies and 1.5 million monthly customer visitors. Our company roster is a who’s who of the world’s top brands.

With a long history in customer relationship management (marketing, sales and partnering), and a special affinity for founding entrepreneurs who bet their reputations and future success on ideas/businesses that will measurably matter to companies and consumers, I’m beyond excited to have found my dream job with Get Satisfaction.

TED is all about learning for me– adding intellectual and emotional color and depth to my hyper curious self. World class thinking, innovative ideas, and controversial perspectives in science, technology, entertainment, environment, architecture, and philanthropy too. Big names, new names, and plenty of unknowns too are identified by Chris Anderson and his team. The TED team then gives these amazing thinkers, doers, and builders a big stage (and a digital platform) to express themselves and share their genius. There are no “track” options. We’re all exposed at the same time to the same content. The highlights for me this year were:

• Saul Griffith – wind farm entrepreneur (the idea is brilliant and his knowledge, resilience and passion was contagious);
• Willie Smits – conservationist from Indonesia (his success to reforestation brought us all to the edges of our seats);
• Barry Schwartz – psychologist (his research of the renormalization of the professional was timely);
• Elizabeth Gilbert – author (her view of creative genius struck a chord with me); and
• Ray Anderson – sustainable-business pioneer (results to reduce carbon output just amazing).

My friend Lakshmi Pratury is leading TED India. You should check it out. My friend Nancy Duarte put her magic spin on many of the presentations. The work stood out. The presentations were clear, compelling and beautifully supportive of the content and style of the presenter. Nancy is also sitting on the board of the new TED Fellows program, which will broaden TED’s reach to the next generation of more amazing “doers and builders.”

TED 2009 topped up my mind tank. It’s expensive gasoline, but gets excellent mileage. I hope you enjoy the bit of it I’ve shared today.

Chrisann is an inspired creator of personal mandalas.  Her work is a multi-dimensional activity of unique living vessels through which spirit and soul weave the sacred into everyday life.   The rich symbolism in her work is magical, creating a deep level of transformation.

The mandala she created for me is titled:  A Merge Divided.  It’s an amazing piece of art, embedded with exquisite energy and encoded with special symbols, patterns and artifacts from my home.  I sense it’s dissolving inessential dualities in my life, while gently pushing me into a more attuned, integrated state of being.  Its impact is both subtle and powerful.

Large and colorful, its beauty is amplified as it’s hung directly in front of a walled mirror in my office.  Can you sense its power?

Chrisann is an amazing woman. Her work connects her clients to their poetic return to the Center. I am grateful for her friendship and honored to own one of her masterpieces. .

If you want to learn more about the power of mandalas, see http://www.mandalaproject.org/What/Index.html.

The decision to launch WendyLea.com and this blog are steps to that end and they have been fun to do.  I wanted to pull together all the pieces of my work story (you’ll see how eclectic it is) so I could figure out the best path forward. I’m not one to let go with both hands to get a better grip.  I prefer graceful transition , but even so, I’m eager now for a new work assignment that’s more aligned with my gifts (skills, knowledge and passion).  The assets I’ve accumulated from my last 7 years in “startup” school need to be activated!

A little history.  I took an initial peek into early stage technology startups after the sale of my own business (OnTarget) to Siebel Systems in 1999.  I turned to Jeff Muir, Fulcrum Venture Capital for help.   He had been our CFO and drove the transaction with Siebel (along with hundreds of other transactions in previous positions).  He helped me look at a storage business opportunity (based in the Cayman Islands) and patiently walked me through the cap table and art of valuation, etc.  Since OnTarget was self-funded (bootstrapped) the concept of using “other people’s money” was new to me. And yes, I was the “angel” being asked to put most of the money down for this particular venture. The story has a happy ending, but I ended up passing on the deal.

My deep dive into startups kicked into high gear when I moved to Boulder, Colorado and met Brad Feld, Managing Director at Foundry Group (then Mobius Venture Capital).  Thanks to Brad (and in particular to Chris Wand and Seth Levine, two of his partners) I was given lots of juicy projects to study (new markets/products and business models), concepts to learn (governance, term sheets, board dynamics), and hard-core, wicked-smart entrepreneurs (like Niel Robertson and Rajat Bhargava) to work with.  From enterprise software (security to change management) and now to Web 2.0 businesses, I have taken the roller coaster ride through an entrepreneurial “intensive” for venture-backed startups. It’s very compelling and risky work — and yes I’m officially addicted.

Now I live in Silicon Valley and find myself surrounded with amazing entrepreneurs with interesting ideas.  I have engaged with a number of companies at different stages of growth in several roles.  I participated in consulting projects, accepted executive roles (sales/marketing), became an investor (very early stage stuff), mentored several entrepreneurs and joined (and still serve) on private boards.  I also worked as an interim CEO (between rounds of financing) (that was the most challenging work and my favorite role). (Learn about the specifics in Chatham).

The problem with the work so far has been the role I have taken, not the work itself. Most were (by design) “arms length”, time-based , even temporary spots.  My “arms length” work roles have been packed with learning (yes I keep repeating that), but over time a level of dissatisfaction set in.  My realty with arms length roles began to drain my motivation.  The emotional connection was lacking. The “bright line” that I drew between strategic oversight (my defined role) to operational execution (my natural tendency) was taking its toll and creating fatigue.  I became eager to get my hands dirty again, rather than fly in once a month for a strategic overview of progress (or a lack thereof).

So, the rest of the story is probably obvious to you.  In March I started talking to friends and close advisors  that I was ready to find a focused leadership spot that I could put my head around and heart in.   A few early CEO opportunities presented themselves,  but none of them were a good fit.  Now six months later, I’m going public with my intentions in a very direct way.

No regrets for the last 7 years.  It was exactly what I needed.  Now though I’m ready to focus, engage, commit and lead business and a team that dreams big, thinks strategically, works hard and has plenty of fun.  I want to be in the thick of it every day (just the opposite of “arms length”).

Even with the crazy macroeconomic environment, I remain optimistic and know that the possibilities are endless, especially now that I have declared. Don’t you agree?