Tsang is the founder and CEO of ChurnZero, developer of a customer success platform designed to help subscription-based businesses retain and more effectively serve clients through a variety of customer analytics and tools. The software aims to help customer success teams understand how clients are using products, predict subscription renewal likelihood, and share expansion opportunities. “We saw a lot of great technology being built for sales and marketing teams, but the technology that you would bring to sell a customer was not brought to service the customer,” Tsang told Lifewire in a phone interview. “If anything, you ought to be investing the most money in the best technology on your customers, not forget about them once they become customers.”
Leading a Growing Team
Tsang moved to Washington, DC, about 10 years ago, but he first ventured into tech entrepreneurship when living in the Bay Area. He said he saw the opportunities brought about by the internet, so he took a risk and started his businesses. ChurnZero, which has been in business since 2015, is Tsang’s fourth company. He said he’s most invested in this venture because of its roughly 75 employees—a team that continues to grow as more subscription businesses arise. “Starting a company is in part a good idea, good execution, and good timing. You have to have all of those things,” he said. “We benefit from some really good timing the most since the world is moving toward subscription businesses, and subscription businesses now have to compete to manage their customers.” Despite the growth, ChurnZero’s team was able to adjust during the pandemic. Tsang already had implemented an option in the company’s perks called “rotational remote,” which allows employees to work remotely 50% of the time and come into the office on a rotating schedule. This benefitted everyone since the company’s WeWork space in Washington, DC couldn’t hold the entire staff at once. When the team had to go fully remote, Tsang said that transition wasn’t a problem. Tsang said he did slow the company’s growth last year because of the uncertainty caused by the pandemic, but began hiring again toward the end of 2020. “2020 was still a very strong growth year for us,” he said. “Not what we thought when we started the year, but definitely, we are proud of what we did.”
Challenges and Growth Plans
Tsang is a first-generation immigrant, and one of his biggest challenges when he started as a tech entrepreneur was not having a network of people to tap into when he needed help. Despite adversities, Tsang said he was able to overcome these challenges by the time he launched ChurnZero. “I think at my age, those challenges are behind me. When I was younger, being a minority founder took a longer time to get networked in,” Tsang said. “For minority founders starting these careers, you’re going to have more challenges. You’re not going to be a part of the clubs and networks that others may have, so you have to get past that.” Since its launch, ChurnZero has raised $35 million in venture capital, including the recent closure of a $25 million Series B funding round. Tsang said this is the most that he’s ever raised since becoming a tech entrepreneur, and it motivates him more to know that there are investors out there who believe in his product. This year, Tsang said ChurnZero’s focus is on growing to 125 employees and becoming a thought leader in the customer success industry. “When you are a growth-stage company, every year is about growth,” he said. “ChurnZero has the ability to become the leader in customer success. We should be the ones who make sure people understand what customer success is and what it can do for you.”
