Guy Nirpaz is the CEO of a software company, son of a farmer, former tank commander, and HanaHaus regular. He has a formidable presence, as you might imagine, having served in the Israeli army for six years. He authored the book “Farm Don’t Hunt” and is currently leading Totango, a customer success software company. It is an exciting time for Guy, as Totango recently announced the integration of its customer success solutions with SAP. Sitting at one of the HanaHaus high-tops and sipping a Blue Bottle macchiato, he spoke about his book and his thoughts on the workspace.
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Name: Guy Nirpaz
Origin: Tel Aviv, Israel
Job Title: Chief Executive Officer
Author: Farm Don’t Hunt
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Guy started visiting HanaHaus the year it opened in 2015 and has enjoyed its flexibility. His primary work in the space has been on “Farm Don’t Hunt”, his piece about customer success that aims to shift the conversation in “relationship management” from merely closing a deal to digitizing and managing a client’s needs throughout the lifetime of that relationship, hoping to maximize value for both parties.
A customer-centric approach
Companies need a great deal of empathy for each customer’s unique circumstances and challenges. Guy argues enterprise providers are beginning to realize the maintenance of customer retention, as the market gravitates to subscription-based revenue models, altering the power dynamic in the customer-provider relationship. With this realization comes the need to align the provider’s perspective with the customer’s goals.
A part of this customer-centric movement and the conversation around customer success is Guy’s software company Totango, started in Tel Aviv and now headquartered in San Mateo. Through the integration of its customer success platform with the SAP® C/4HANA suite, Totango aims to provide enterprise customers with a path to maximizing customer lifetime value.
Guy has experience with “tending to his grove” in a literal sense having grown up on a farm himself. He draws several parallels throughout the book, tending orange trees and how one successfully meets the needs of each tree in different stages of their lifetime and development. Guy sees “farming” a customer as the way to create a sustainable business model while serving and providing the most value to the customer for long-term growth. He looks to create actionable data on customers for clients moving forward.
Why did Guy choose HanaHaus to work on his book?
Something that separates the space’s concept from a library, or typical coffee shop is an intangible commitment to productivity. When asked what value HanaHaus provided him, Guy alluded to the atmosphere and energy. “I’m a creative person, I need inspiration, I need change of color, scent, mindset, pace.” He likes the energy that HanaHaus provides with the bustling café next to the workspace and everyone working to be productive.
Guy believes in keeping the pace fast, and creative juices flowing in his writing process. He enjoyed the light background noise from the café as it allowed a change of pace from a traditional office, and business chatter throughout the room allowed him to focus with his co-writer. Many HanaHaus regulars approach the day with completing a task in mind, they have clear objectives. As Totango’s software aligns company with customer, the HanaHaus space aims to cultivate a community of like-minded people. These guests are united by a passion for innovation.
Another priority for Guy is the flexibility and convenience the workspace provides. The hourly booking allows him to work on his own time, and to make progress over the weekend. The ease of walking in at any time of the day and booking online made it the perfect place to pick up right where he left off on his book. HanaHaus is glad to see that what it strives to provide is benefitting someone like Guy in moving forward with both his commercial and personal endeavors.
In our blog series, People of HanaHaus, we present the folks that fill our workspace cafe with life: Start-Uppers, entrepreneurs, artists, founders, innovation managers, students, unicorns, venture capital investors and the people who make HanaHaus unique. We want to learn about their journeys and what brought them to Silicon Valley. We ask them to speak about their current projects and why how they leverage HanaHaus for their business.