Your people are the most important factor and your greatest asset, but the hardest thing to get right.
In this exclusive interview with ValiantCEO Magazine, we are thrilled to present Neha Sampat, the dynamic CEO of Contentstack, a leading Composable Digital Experience provider.
With a passion for driving innovation, Neha has spearheaded Contentstack’s mission to revolutionize digital experiences. Through their composable architecture, Contentstack empowers businesses to create flexible and scalable websites, mobile apps, and e-commerce platforms.
Neha’s leadership is characterized by a deep commitment to care and integrity. Rooted in a culture of community and driven by customer success, Contentstack sets itself apart in the industry.
In this captivating conversation, Neha shares her insights on the power of composable DXPs, the importance of challenging the status quo, and the role of purpose in storytelling.
She also addresses the ongoing shift in employee expectations and offers valuable advice on fostering a supportive and engaging workplace culture.
Join us as we delve into Neha Sampat’s entrepreneurial journey, her vision for success in 2023, and her unwavering dedication to empowering businesses to thrive in the digital landscape.
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Table of Contents
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Neha Sampat: My name is Neha Sampat, and I’m the Co-founder and CEO of Contentstack, the leading Composable Digital Experience provider (DXP).
If you were in an elevator with Warren Buffet, how would you describe your company, your services or products? What makes your company different from others? What is your company’s biggest strength?
Neha Sampat: My team and I at Contentstack help companies around the world create digital experiences, things like websites, mobile apps, e-commerce sites and endpoints, like digital kiosks.
We’re helping enterprise customers move from expensive, hard-to-use, monolithic systems to composable architecture.
Without composable stacks, their businesses won’t be flexible and scalable enough to respond to changing customer and market demands. Contentstack also has the highest innovation velocity in the industry with over 350+ releases per year. In a SaaS delivery model, customers benefit from these product updates instantly which means no more tech debt.
What sets us apart as a company is our ‘Care without Compromise’ DNA which comes from having originated as a services company where we don’t let any of our customers fail.
Even more so, our company culture is comprised of good humans who constantly stay ahead of the market and do the right thing, even when no one is watching. Our culture is built on strong values rooted in community, integrity and care.
What advice do you wish you had received when you started your business journey and what do you intend on improving in the next quarter?
Neha Sampat: The advice I wish I had received was to identify the things that I doubt about myself as what sets me apart from everyone else. There are multiple paths to the finish line — for me, I am a woman, non-techie in a technical world and I didn’t go to an Ivy League, but now, those are all things that set me apart and empower me to keep challenging the status quo.
Regarding things to keep improving on, it’s important to remember that every stage of the founder journey changes. I have to continue to evolve as a person and leader, my skill set and attention span, and overall adapt to the different people I work with.
Every six months I meet with my career coach and talk through whether I’m still the right person for this journey or not. Always focus on improving yourself, your open-mindedness and evolution as you move on to the next stage in your journey.
Here is a two-fold question: What is the book that influenced you the most and how? Please share some life lessons you learned. Now what book have you gifted the most and why?
Neha Sampat: For business, the book I reference most often is titled “High Growth Handbook” by Elad Gil. It has great examples of what companies go through at different stages of growth and really helps provide some calm in what otherwise feels like a chaotic journey. It’s a book I give to my executives when they join Contentstack.
For a more personal one, I still love Dr. Seuss’s “Oh the Places You’ll Go!” This is one of my favorite graduation gifts!
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as THE real challenge right now?
Neha Sampat: The biggest challenge our customers are working to overcome is the concept of ‘accepting the status quo.’ No individual, team, or organization should accept that; we should all be striving towards breaking the barrier of what we’ve accepted as the status quo to create better, more efficient solutions.
The progress we’ve made in empowering our enterprise customers to challenge the status quo has been phenomenal, and we’re just getting started.
In your experience, what tends to be the most underestimated part of running a company? Can you share an example?
Neha Sampat: The most underestimated part of running a company is the people aspect. Your people are the most important factor and your greatest asset, but the hardest thing to get right.
Leaders can’t use the same approach with every person, so they have to work hard to really understand the people they work closely with, what motivates them, and what helps them do their best work.
For me personally, my people push me to adapt, pivot and identify new ways to empower them to succeed. For example, when Contentstack was first created and my small team and I were bootstrapping, payroll was non-negotiable.
If we had a slow month and money was tight, I still had a responsibility to get my people paid, even if it came out of my own pocket. I learned at that moment, and so many moments later down the line, that as a leader, you shoulder so much for your people, but it pays off.
What does “success” in 2023 mean to you? It could be on a personal or business level, please share your vision.
Neha Sampat: Success in 2023 means up-leveling every aspect of Contentstack. My ‘Dreamguard’ – Contentstack’s executive leadership team – and I are focusing our time and energy this year on leveling up every sector of the business; from technology and growth to overall company culture.
For example, how do we unlock our diverse backgrounds and talents to become stronger leaders? Following that, how can we invest in our employees to help up-level them, as well?
Additionally, I see success as focusing on customers and creating as many customer heroes as possible. If a customer wants to uplevel their tech stack or process but doesn’t know how, I see success as our team getting them there and helping the customer achieve their goals.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Neha Sampat for taking the time to do this interview and share her knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Neha Sampat or her company, you can do it through her – Linkedin Page
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