Triathlons, Startups, and Success: A Playbook for Entrepreneurs | Kathryn O'Day, Ep 19
Episode Summary
Katherine O'Day, partner at Atlanta Ventures, discusses her journey from employee number nine at Pardot through two successful acquisitions (ExactTarget, then Salesforce) to becoming an early-stage investor and venture studio operator. She shares lessons on bootstrapping companies, building culture through core values, and why consistent execution over time—like training for an Ironman—matters more than short bursts of effort in entrepreneurship.
Pull Quotes
“You cannot train for an Iron Man. You can't cram. You have to do it consistently day after day for months and years, and it's the same with the company. You cannot, it doesn't matter how hard you work. You can pull an all-nighter or work for a weekend, but it doesn't build a company. You have to be consistent over time.”
On confidence gaps between men and women in business
“I think that little boys, the culture, they grow up kind of bluffing or saying they can do something and figuring it out on the back end. The default mode for women is like, oh, I can't do that. I've never done it before. So I think there's a lot of energy and encouragement we can spend on pushing women to just say that you can do it and then figure it out on the back end.”
On why Salesforce acquired Pardot
“One of the things that Salesforce said in the due diligence process was like, oh, we had looked in your space and we hadn't found anybody that we thought would be a good fit. Meaning they hadn't found somebody who they thought would be a personality fit. There were other good companies, but they really wanted somebody that they felt like they could work with and have a long-term partnership with.”
On Rigger's acquisition by Splunk
“Because we had stayed lean and scrappy, Rigger was a home run and it was a great outcome for everybody. And I always share that story because I think it's important for people to know that raising a lot of money can be amazing and do right things, and there's many wonderful stories where that's exactly right and it works out great for everybody. But you can also have great outcomes without raising a lot of money.”
“The best way to raise money is to not need it. Well, actually the best way to raise money is to have your customers pay you. This is the most old-fashioned way to raise money.”
Transcript
Hi, welcome to Tales From The Sky Lounge, it's a podcast about business consulting and venture investing. We get out there in the world, we talk to people who are making it happen, and we get their stories. If you could like and subscribe, it really helps us get our message out. Today's guest in the Sky Lounge is Katherine Oday. Hi Katherine.
Hey Todd, it's great to be here.
Yeah, it's awesome having you. I'm really looking forward to this. Why don't you tell us a little bit about who you are and what you're working on?
Sure. So I have been in the startup world for the last decade and a half building companies, including multiple exits to large tech companies. And then I joined the dark side a few years ago as an investor. Now I'm a partner at Atlanta Ventures where we do early stage investing and we also have a venture studio.
Wow, very cool. So many things to kind of dig into there, but first I know you've got a secret talent. You are an athlete and can we talk about triathlon for just one second?
Want to go deeper?
Work With MeRelated Episodes
The CEO Is the Salesperson: Why Founders Can't Hand Off the Pitch | Jen Bonnett, Ep 49
Jennifer Bonnett, a longtime tech entrepreneur and former ecosystem builder at ATDC and Invest Atlanta, discusses her transition back into technology through AI experimentation. She shares lessons from building a search engine in 1997, her current work vibe coding consumer apps with Claude, and her philosophy that CEOs must personally sell for at least the first year before delegating. The conversation explores how AI is lowering barriers to entrepreneurship while emphasizing that founders still need strong networks, customer discovery skills, and the discipline to market early.
Decades of Financial Strategy Across 70 Companies and Still Going | Neal Miller, Ep 39
Neil Miller, a partner emeritus at Tech CXO with nearly 20 years of fractional CFO experience across 70+ companies, shares his career journey from public accounting through multiple CFO roles at public companies to pioneering fractional executive work. He discusses value creation stories including Cloud Sherpas (acquired by Accenture) and Boomtown (90M+ revenue exit), the current venture capital environment, and how AI tools are compressing startup development cycles while raising the bar for execution speed.
Innovation, Timing, and Leadership for Entrepreneurs and Intrapreneurs | Louis Gump, Ep 38
Louis Gump, fractional CEO/COO and author of Inside Innovator, discusses his career building mobile businesses at CNN and The Weather Channel, the critical differences between entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs, and how founders can successfully transition into larger organizations post-acquisition. He emphasizes that innovation requires leadership commitment, cross-functional collaboration, and understanding when to adapt entrepreneurial instincts to corporate environments.