Laura Nicol dials into Anna Prell, VP Operations at Ivo.

Anna reminds us why being an operator is a) so damn exciting and b) the ultimate leadership testing ground:

"In a startup, you can be your own version of a founder. You’re the founder of whatever it is you’re in charge of. You keep testing, learning, and scaling until it works."

Inside this conversation:

Moving to the US in 2020—and operating inside ANZ companies state-side
Shifting from Chief of Staff to leading a function (Ops > Customer Success)
Learning how to manage people
EAB acquiring Forage—Anna’s role in the story
Finding a home in EAB post-acquisition
The operator-founder partnership. Pure MAGIC
Building again at Ivo as VP Ops
How she found the “right fit”
Building the infrastructure that helps teams scale

Want to connect with Anna? Find her on LinkedIn.

Also mentioned:

Pre-interview chats:

Katie Noonan (Listen to Katie's Calling Operator episode)
Tom Brunskill

Guest ideas?

Do you have an operator on speed dial who could be perfect for the show? Please share your suggestions with me via LinkedIn.

A note from your host, Laura:

My goal for Calling Operator is to open-source stories from startup operators across various functional areas and learn how they excel at building and scaling companies. As a Chief of Staff, I often find myself in (virtual) rooms with people facing similar challenges and reinventing the wheel. I want this podcast to open a line for operators across Australia and New Zealand to learn from fellow operators. Each episode shares personal stories, the execution behind big ideas, career-defining moments, successes, failures, and lessons.

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