A Comms Journey from Startup to IPO with Lindsay McKinley

What’s it like to take a comms team from the first hire in the door (you) all the way through an IPO and beyond? Lindsay McKinley did just that at Samsara. 

In this episode of The DTC Podcast, Ronda Scott sits down with Lindsay to learn how she first cut her startup comms chops at ed-tech pioneer ClassDojo, where she earned international recognition for the company. She then parlayed that experience and the drive to expand her skill set to lead comms at Samsara through the pandemic, an IPO, and international expansion. 

McKinley shared five things you need to know when you’re the first comms hire in the door: 

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Find the “P-zeros” – When you’re the first comms person in, there’s going to be pent up demand for your time. Everyone will have an opinion on what the comms priorities are at a company. You’re the expert here, and your first task is to set the real comms P0s. At Samsara, Lindsay was hired to spin up external comms, but she quickly discovered that internal comms was the immediate P0. 

Earning buy-in – In comms, being able to win friends and influence stakeholders is an invaluable skill. It’s nice to be needed but you can’t satisfy everyone’s asks right away. Providing a vision and roadmap for how comms will meet needs as you build out your team and capabilities creates shared understanding and purpose.

Build your team – Samsara was 900 people strong and growing quickly when Lindsay joined. She needed to build a team and fast. She talks about mapping new positions to company priorities, her view of “hire for spikes versus against deficits” when considering candidates, and the importance of building a team that’s a balance of egg breakers and diplomats. 

She also shared the two interview questions she asks every candidate to get an understanding of how they work. 

Prepare for an IPO – Start planning as early as possible. From engaging outside experts, running mock earnings calls, to developing a lockstep relationship with your legal team, Lindsay gets tactical on comms’ leading role in the IPO process and the one goal above all for every IPO: get out clean. 

Take Risks – One of the benefits of being the first comms hire in at an early-stage company is the ability to take risks and truly challenge yourself. Lindsay did that at ClassDojo with a content campaign that won the company of fewer than 40 people international acclaim.