The company is currently in a difficult period and, from my experience, is in a downward trajectory.
Despite being 2+ years into my tenure at the business, there remains a lack of clarity around the core proposition. Many employees still struggle to clearly articulate what Qodea does and how it should be positioned with customers. This has been consistent feedback from Google, Qodea’s primary (and effectively only) strategic partner.
Qodea has remained heavily dependent on Google, but the relationship appears strained. Feedback from Google has been relatively clear for some time:
1. Be very clear on the proposition
2. Bring opportunities rather than relying on Google to provide them
Unfortunately, neither of these areas has materially improved. The marketing function has not effectively generated demand, and the sales organisation is not set up for success in terms of consistent pipeline generation.
The leadership team also feels unstable. In the past six months, two executives have exited the business despite previously being publicly praised for their contributions. From what I understand, at least one of these departures was driven more by personality dynamics than performance, which creates uncertainty and damages morale.
While I believe the CEO is doing his best in a difficult situation and recognises that M&A may be the most viable growth path, one decision has had a particularly negative impact: the appointment of the CRO.
From my experience, the CRO has been highly damaging to the organisation in several ways:
• Culture: The environment within revenue functions has become increasingly toxic. The CRO regularly suggests others are undermining him and uses language that feels threatening rather than constructive (e.g. “we may need to have a little conversation”), which discourages open discussion.
• Emotional volatility and inconsistent decision-making: Decisions are frequently made and then reversed shortly afterwards, or forgotten entirely. A clear example was moving from a stated position of never mandating office attendance to enforcing three days a week within a month. This creates confusion and frustration, and employees are sometimes criticised for following previous direction.
• Backtracking on commitments (including written communication): The CRO will often reverse or deny previous commitments, including those made clearly in writing. This creates significant operational risk and undermines trust, as teams are left unsure which instructions will ultimately stand
• Weak management of basic day-to-day operations: There is a lack of consistency and reliability in how everyday operational leadership is handled. This includes frequently declining or cancelling meetings at short notice, occasionally not attending scheduled meetings at all, and limited responsiveness when teams are trying to progress work.
• Lack of genuine support: While verbal assurances of support are often given, actions (including feedback shared indirectly through others) frequently contradict this, eroding trust.
• No clear sales strategy: There appears to be little proactive sales leadership. Sellers are expected to present deals, with limited strategic input beyond requests to “do it faster” or “make it bigger.”
• Limited understanding of professional services sales: There is a heavy focus on Google commit numbers, which aligns with the CRO’s background, but this overlooks the fact that professional services revenue is far more critical to Qodea’s commercial success.
