Mastering CS: Candid Leader Insights

Custify | Customer Success
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Welcome to Mastering CS – Candid Leader Insights, where I, Irina Cismas, Head of Marketing at Custify, take you on a journey into the depths of Customer Success. Each episode, I sit down with some of the most influential minds in the CS world, from seasoned managers and renowned influencers to dynamic team leaders, to uncover the challenges and opportunities that shape our profession. Our conversations are rich with insights, drawing on personal experiences and innovative ideas to offer practical solutions. Join me as we make every interaction count in the dynamic world of Customer Success!

  1. 5D AGO

    Ep 55 | Hana Gruzman

    In this episode of the podcast, Irina Cismas, Head of Marketing at Custify, sits down with Hana Gruzman, CS Operations and Enablement Lead at Agora. They discuss what it takes to build CS operations from scratch while scaling a team from 4 to 30+ people, how to structure a CS department into specialized mini-teams, and why health scores alone are not enough to predict churn. Hana also shares how AI is reshaping processes from sales handoffs to churn analysis in a fast-growing, complex environment. What You’ll Learn: ☑️ What CS Operations and Enablement looks like in a fast-growing company ☑️ How Agora scaled its CS team from 4 to 30+ people while maintaining alignment ☑️ Why splitting CS into specialized mini-teams improves quality and efficiency ☑️ How to build a health score system—and why it can still mislead ☑️ How AI improves Sales → CS handoffs and churn prediction ☑️ What enablement looks like in a complex, domain-heavy product environment ☑️ What skills to build when transitioning from CSM to CS Operations ---- With Custify, you can: ☑️ automate daily tasks through Playbooks ☑️ build individual customer #HealthScores ☑️ create customer segments ☑️ improve your customer communication strategy ☑️ streamline your onboarding process ☑️ track customers’ journeys every step of the way ☑️ get a 360 view of their progress Want to do great things with your customer success initiative? Keep in touch with us below: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Custify Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Contact Us⁠

    24 min

  2. APR 16

    Ep 54 | Advi Bishnoi

    In this episode of the podcast, Irina Cismas, Head of Marketing at Custify, sits down with Advi Bishnoi, Head of Consulting and Customer Success at SocialPlus. They discuss what customer success looks like when the product is a set of building blocks that each client assembles differently, why infrastructure-as-a-service requires a more consultative approach, and how to define success when every customer has a different North Star. Advi also shares how his team scaled to 100+ customers without sacrificing quality. What You’ll Learn: ☑️ Why infrastructure-as-a-service requires a consultative CS approach ☑️ How SocialPlus structures its CS and consulting teams—and where they overlap ☑️ Why Advi moved from tier-based teams to regional structures for growth and development ☑️ How CS and product share OKRs and collaborate on roadmap priorities ☑️ What frameworks helped SocialPlus scale to 100+ customers while maintaining quality ☑️ How Advi sees the future of CS evolving in an AI-driven world ---- With Custify, you can: ☑️ automate daily tasks through Playbooks ☑️ build individual customer #HealthScores ☑️ create customer segments ☑️ improve your customer communication strategy ☑️ streamline your onboarding process ☑️ track customers’ journeys every step of the way ☑️ get a 360 view of their progress Want to do great things with your customer success initiative? Keep in touch with us below: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Custify Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Contact Us⁠

    25 min

  3. APR 8

    Ep 53 | Dominik Nenicka

    In this episode of the podcast, Irina Cismas, Head of Marketing at Custify, sits down with Dominik Nenicka, CS Team Lead at Resistant. They discuss what customer success looks like when your product’s job is to prevent problems before they happen, how to prove value when success means silence, and what it takes to scale a CS team in a company doubling revenue year over year. Dominik also shares why usage metrics can be misleading in fraud prevention and how to build trust with clients in security-sensitive industries. What You’ll Learn: ☑️ Why Dominik moved from sales and account management into CS leadership ☑️ How Resistant structures CS and account management as complementary functions ☑️ Why usage metrics can mislead in fraud prevention—and what to measure instead ☑️ How to build trust and gather insights in security-sensitive environments ☑️ What changes structurally when a company doubles revenue year over year ☑️ What skills matter most when hiring CSMs for complex, compliance-driven products ---- With Custify, you can: ☑️ automate daily tasks through Playbooks ☑️ build individual customer #HealthScores ☑️ create customer segments ☑️ improve your customer communication strategy ☑️ streamline your onboarding process ☑️ track customers’ journeys every step of the way ☑️ get a 360 view of their progress Want to do great things with your customer success initiative? Keep in touch with us below: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Custify Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Contact Us⁠

    27 min

  4. APR 2

    Ep 52 | Pietro Restivo

    In this episode of the podcast, Irina Cismas, Head of Marketing at Custify, sits down with Pietro Restivo, Manager of Customer Success at Mia Platform — a company helping enterprises scale their digital platforms across APIs, microservices, and DevOps environments. Pietro shares how his background as a product owner shaped his transition into Customer Success, how he built a CS function from the ground up, and why outcome-oriented thinking connects both roles. This episode is especially relevant for anyone working in CS, leading a CS team, or considering a move from product. What You’ll Learn: ☑️ How a product owner background translates into a stronger CS practice ☑️ Why Mia Platform organizes CS teams by industry vertical ☑️ What a structured Sales → CS handoff looks like in practice ☑️ How to advocate for customers without overwhelming the product roadmap ☑️ Why internal team education is one of the first processes to formalize ☑️ What becomes more complex as a CS function scales in a technical organization ---- With Custify, you can: ☑️ automate daily tasks through Playbooks ☑️ build individual customer #HealthScores ☑️ create customer segments ☑️ improve your customer communication strategy ☑️ streamline your onboarding process ☑️ track customers’ journeys every step of the way ☑️ get a 360 view of their progress Want to do great things with your customer success initiative? Keep in touch with us below: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Custify Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Contact Us⁠

    30 min

  5. MAR 25

    Ep 51 | Daniela Shikova

    In this episode of the podcast, Irina Cismas, Head of Marketing at Custify, sits down with Daniela Shikova, Manager Customer Success at TrialHub, a platform helping pharma and CRO teams plan smarter clinical trials. Daniela shares how she built a Customer Success function from scratch in one of the most regulated industries in the world, and what makes CS in clinical research fundamentally different. What You’ll Learn: ☑️ How a background in patient organizations and EU policy translates into CS ☑️ What customer success looks like in a highly regulated industry ☑️ Why TrialHub tracks jobs-to-be-done interviews and value stories as core metrics ☑️ How to build long-term trust with enterprise pharma clients as a startup ☑️ How to turn client feedback into product improvements without overcomplicating the roadmap ☑️ What changes when moving from a solo CSM role to managing a CS team ---- With Custify, you can: ☑️ automate daily tasks through Playbooks ☑️ build individual customer #HealthScores ☑️ create customer segments ☑️ improve your customer communication strategy ☑️ streamline your onboarding process ☑️ track customers’ journeys every step of the way ☑️ get a 360 view of their progress Want to do great things with your customer success initiative? Keep in touch with us below: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Custify Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Contact Us⁠

    29 min

  6. MAR 19

    Ep 50 | Andrea Zen

    In this episode of the podcast, Irina Cismas, Head of Marketing at Custify, sits down with Andrea Zen, Customer Success leader at Fairly Made. Andrea breaks down how CS operates at the intersection of sustainability, complex product data, and evolving regulations in fashion traceability. He shares how his background in fashion shaped a deeply customer-centric mindset, how his team manages diverse clients from luxury to mass market, and why success depends not just on retention metrics—but on customer maturity. He also explores how to manage a CS portfolio using revenue and margin logic, fix data gaps between Sales and CS, and balance customer advocacy with strong boundaries in a fast-moving startup. What You’ll Learn: ☑️ How Andrea transitioned from fashion buying and merchandising into customer success ☑️ Why customer centricity must extend across the entire business—not just CS ☑️ What makes CS in fashion traceability more complex than standard SaaS ☑️ How Fairly Made supports luxury, premium, and mass-market customers with different needs ☑️ Why messy product data is a major operational barrier in fashion tech ☑️ How Andrea uses ARR, churn, renewals, and NRR to assess customer maturity and growth ☑️ Why portfolio management requires balancing revenue, effort, and client margin ☑️ How low-touch experiences can still feel high-value when designed intentionally ☑️ Where customer data is lost between Sales and CS—and how to fix it ☑️ Why CS at Fairly Made depends on regulation knowledge and change management ☑️ How Andrea helps his team balance customer advocacy with strong boundaries ☑️ What non-traditional CS leaders must learn early: SaaS language, business context, and when to say no ---- With Custify, you can: ☑️ automate daily tasks through Playbooks ☑️ build individual customer #HealthScores ☑️ create customer segments ☑️ improve your customer communication strategy ☑️ streamline your onboarding process ☑️ track customers’ journeys every step of the way ☑️ get a 360 view of their progress Want to do great things with your customer success initiative? Keep in touch with us below: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Custify Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Contact Us⁠

    28 min

  7. MAR 12

    Ep 49 | Cameron Hogg

    In this episode of the podcast, Irina Cismas, Head of Marketing at Custify, sits down with Cameron Hogg, Customer Success Manager at OneTrace, a construction technology platform that helps subcontractors track work, maintain compliance, and gain visibility across projects. Cameron shares what surprised him most when moving from licensing tech into construction SaaS, how CS teams drive adoption among field-based users, and why simplicity and fast onboarding are critical when customers need to start using software immediately. What You’ll Learn: ☑️ What changes when moving from traditional SaaS into construction tech CS ☑️ What strong adoption looks like for both small subcontractors and enterprise construction teams ☑️ Why adoption in construction ties directly to compliance, cash flow, and project visibility ☑️ How to drive stickiness with users who don’t consider themselves technical ☑️ Why NRR and revenue retention are the clearest success metrics in this environment ☑️ What a health score looks like when project risk comes from low visibility—not just low logins ☑️ Why unstructured QBRs fail to create real customer value ---- With Custify, you can: ☑️ automate daily tasks through Playbooks ☑️ build individual customer #HealthScores ☑️ create customer segments ☑️ improve your customer communication strategy ☑️ streamline your onboarding process ☑️ track customers’ journeys every step of the way ☑️ get a 360 view of their progress Want to do great things with your customer success initiative? Keep in touch with us below: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Custify Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Contact Us⁠

    19 min

  8. MAR 9

    Ep 48 | Gillian Stringer

    In this episode of the podcast, Irina Cismas, Head of Marketing at Custify, sits down with Gillian Stringer, Senior Client Partner at Enrich. They discuss how Customer Success evolves from platform enablement to true business partnership, why protecting the relationship can sometimes backfire, and how CS teams can align with Sales to drive retention and growth. What You’ll Learn: ☑️ Why change management becomes central as CS roles grow more strategic ☑️ Why selling features rarely drives expansion ☑️ The misconception many CSMs have about being “commercial” ☑️ When protecting the customer relationship can backfire ☑️ Why churn mitigation rarely works once churn is announced ☑️ The foundations of strong renewals: ICP fit, onboarding, and milestone-based success ☑️ How forecasting churn improves control over a book of business ☑️ How CSMs build stronger relationships with Sales teams ☑️ Why agreeableness alone does not define great Customer Success ---- With Custify, you can: ☑️ automate daily tasks through Playbooks ☑️ build individual customer #HealthScores ☑️ create customer segments ☑️ improve your customer communication strategy ☑️ streamline your onboarding process ☑️ track customers’ journeys every step of the way ☑️ get a 360 view of their progress Want to do great things with your customer success initiative? Keep in touch with us below: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Custify Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Contact Us⁠

    29 min
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About

Welcome to Mastering CS – Candid Leader Insights, where I, Irina Cismas, Head of Marketing at Custify, take you on a journey into the depths of Customer Success. Each episode, I sit down with some of the most influential minds in the CS world, from seasoned managers and renowned influencers to dynamic team leaders, to uncover the challenges and opportunities that shape our profession. Our conversations are rich with insights, drawing on personal experiences and innovative ideas to offer practical solutions. Join me as we make every interaction count in the dynamic world of Customer Success!

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