After 14 years with Microsoft, Caroline Goles embarks on a new opportunity as Vice President of Digital Sales Strategy with Pax8. With her vast experience in the worldwide channel, she is excited to join the Pax8 team to provide critical insights into the complexities of operating a global operations, as well as share her love and passion for the partner community.
Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation sits down with Caroline Goles to discuss on her excitement in joining the incredible team at Pax8.
Video Transcription
Harry Brelsford
Hey nation nation, Harry here with a long time friend with big news, Caroline Goles How you doing?
Caroline Goles
Good morning, Harry. It's wonderful to see you.
Harry Brelsford
Yeah, absolutely. So yeah, you and I share a longtime friendship and working relationship at Microsoft, you were there nearly 14 years. Before that. I see you're at Adobe. And you also like to work out as do I, for example, out here in Dripping Springs. Yesterday, just outside Austin, I got about an hour bike ride in it, it finally got over 50 degrees. We're having a cold spell. So how about yourself? You still running ski and hiking?
Caroline Goles
We I am indeed and I love I love that you've taken to Texas, where you're where you're calling below 50 of the cold spell. The Native Alaskan has this turn Texan? I see. So
Harry Brelsford
lost it. Yeah, big news on your side. So soft fly by you're the vice president of digital sales strategy over at PAX8 So what's the story? Why did you leave Microsoft? What are you moving to Denver? What's going on?
Caroline Goles
Well, thanks. So I'm really excited on this new opportunity, as you say, longtime at Microsoft, and, you know, just looking for an appendix B opportunity was was looking around and and, and speaking to people at PAX8, and I think, you know, there were a couple of things. One, you know, I got really excited about the PAX8 vision, and what they're bringing to partners and in that community, so that the clarity of vision and their understanding of the partner mission really well. You know, certainly Harry, you know, that well, and no, no, it when you see it, and I just I love their vision and the understanding of partners and what they need to be successful, you know, the innovation, how they were taking sort of a, an idea of being at the center of the channel and sort of flipping this on his ear, and just this remarkable pace of innovation and partnership that they were doing. And I think, you know, third, but certainly not not least, was just the the incredible people, you know, the, what I was trying to describe it the other day, it's just the alchemy of talent, and passion and purpose of every single person I met at PAX8 along the journey of talking to them and, and I just I got excited about bringing some of the things that we were doing at Microsoft and, and in the broader ecosystem of sort of, you know, digital selling, and, you know, machine learning and data insights, and bringing all of that capability into the partner ecosystem, I got really excited. And so the opportunity was just a great pass up and, and, you know, partner, I started my career in technology, a partner, so it's my first love. And so getting back into this community with MSPs and small businesses, I just got really excited about it. So I'm excited to be here, and certainly, still very much connected to Microsoft, but excited to have this new opportunity.
Harry Brelsford
Yeah, yeah, no, I get it. And I think it's important, at least I believe, plus or minus every decade, you should reinvent yourself. And I've done that, you know, we have SMB Nation here today, here tomorrow, but I have all these side hustles, which I'm just loving, you know, the data center space. And, and you know, Caroline, the, the cool thing is, is when you start a side hustle, or in your case, a main hustle. But you know, I've become a better worker, I've seen different work habits and reported to different people. So I've actually become a better worker, does that make sense? It does get out of your own way.
Caroline Goles
It does. I think you're right, and the freshness of starting a new year, and just looking at things through new eyes. And as you know, perhaps ate a little bit, we just incredible breadth of new talent and new ideas. And so I'm excited about getting down to Texas once we get through the overcrowded thing and meeting with the young salespeople, because I, I always learned from people who are engaged every day from the frontlines and have new perspective and purpose around this. And so I've already in the three weeks that I've been here, learn to heap so I'm really excited about being serve under the tutelage of some of the great new people down there. And also just getting back into you know, the channel and learning from the great partners who are sitting with SMBs every day and, and understanding these new you know, what's happening in the market. You know, that the challenges that we're seeing both economically and in the market and how innovation can help drive you know, efficiency and innovation for them. So you know, I love that idea of side hustles and new things and I learned from you as well Harry, I don't I don't know where you find the 42 hours in the day to do all that you do but but it's it's great. And I'm I'm enjoying this new challenge.
Harry Brelsford
Okay, well finally, it looks like you're staying on the ranch is a digital sales strategy. Person VP at Pax8 enterprise lead at Microsoft, is that fair? And what's that job do?
Caroline Goles
Sure, yes, you know, digital in my blood and really, I'm about you know, I think if I look at the red thread, you know, empowering and enabling, you know, salespeople and partners to deliver What they need for customers. And so you know what, what know, one is a lot, taking a lot of the things I've done over the years around, AI guided selling, sort of connecting, you know, data and insights and marketplace in firma graphics, and what we know, and bringing that into both our sales teams and our partners so that they can, you know, make, make better decisions faster and meet the needs of partners and customers in a different way. So looking at, you know, AI guide to selling data and insights, hooking that up and delivering the best in class tools, and sort of that technology, you know, and sort of that machine learning space of where can you make best decisions where you can you can partners, you know, innovate and bring different delivery to their customers? And how do you do that in a really smart way? Because a lot of these partners, you know, they put their lifeblood, in resources for their customers. And so how can we at PAX eight, you know, innovate on new tools and technology, so that they can deliver ROI for their customers? And as you know, I'm excited about the, the Forrester survey, you know, packs eight, talking about ROI delivering two and a 49% ROI, and, you know, a million dollars back in three years, you know, we are excited about controlling vision, and how do we help empower partners to deliver on the needs of customers. So I'm going to sit in that space, you know, learn what partners need and iterate and what our salespeople need, but but just really hooking up that intelligent insights and intelligent selling. And just learning along the way.
Harry Brelsford
Well, final final question, you're going from a very large fortune one company to I believe, Pax eight is about 1300 employees, I track them. How do you feel about that? That that's an adjustment.
Caroline Goles
It you know, it isn't it isn't? I mean, I think, um, you know, it's, it is, in one way, it's different. I think it's it's that reinventing yourself and keeping agility, you know, surrounding yourself in new conditions. So you can keep agile, at the same point, I think we were, you know, when I was in corporate accounts, and SMB in Microsoft, we were, we were small, agile team. And so I think, you know, it's sort of learning how to connect the dots and be around purpose and just know, you know, get is going to point into the business being as as close to the customer as you can. And then iterating has always been my lifeblood, and I think, even at Microsoft, we were constantly sitting as close as we could to our sellers and understanding, what are you seeing what do you need? And how do we quickly iterate and so I think, a first of all, Pax eight moves with purpose and speed of some of the best companies I've seen. So I'm going to have to keep going. And then number two is just, you know, getting as close as we can to, to the, to the crux and the atomic unit of that business. I think, no matter where you are, that that pace is quick, so I'm, I'm, I'm learning a lot. I'm taking my pace, you know, Mike, my cadence from, from the salespeople in the partners, and it's an adjustment but I've got some great coaches around me and I think we've got, you know, our passion and what we're about to keep us, keep us honest, keep me honest. And and I'm going to, I'm going to, I'm going to listen and learn and try and keep up with the amazing pace of innovation that the Pax eight has, so I've got a lot to learn, but I'm excited about it.
Harry Brelsford
Yeah, well, great. Well, hey, best of luck to stay in touch.
Caroline Goles
Thanks, Harry. And good luck, hope the weather's fine and it's it's good cruising weather for you in your in your cycle.