[Un]Churned – The No. 1 Podcast for Customer Retention

Cassie Vaughn, RVP of Customer Success at monday.com who scaled from CSM to leading 100+ people, shares bold shifts in modern CS. She talks about making CSMs revenue owners with variable comp. AI’s changing who does the work and why human time with customers is expanding. She explains agent-manager playbooks, the value-measurement gap, and why AI fluency is a 2026 must-have.

Ready to churn less and win more? 🏆 Subscribe for a simple, once-a-month rundown of the episodes at gainsight.com/unchurnedMost companies treat AI rollouts like software deployments. But according to Christina Meng (OpenAI), AI adoption isn’t a technology problem — it’s a human transformation challenge.In this episode of Unchurned, Josh Schachter sits down with Christina, the leader behind the OpenAI Champion Program, to explore how OpenAI empowers the people inside organizations who are driving AI adoption from within: champions.Christina explains how OpenAI structures its champion ecosystem with executive champions, champion leads, and internal champions, and how these groups work together to drive real AI transformation across enterprise organizations.She also shares how she built the OpenAI Champion Program from the ground up, why many companies struggle to sustain AI usage after the initial hype, and why customer success teams need to rethink how they measure adoption.Finally, they discuss how champion communities can become one of the most powerful engines for product adoption, customer engagement, and long-term growth in SaaS.---Timestamps0:00 - Preview & Introduction1:30 - Meet Christina Meng (OpenAI)3:05 - Christina’s Experience at Slack4:50 - What a Champion Program actually is7:27 - How Slack ran a 4,000-member champion community10:00 - Who the champions are at Slack & OpenAI11:40 - The 3 types of champions (executive, lead, internal)12:50 - Executive champion engagement strategies19:58 - How champion roundtables work27:50 - What internal champions actually do30:00 - Christina’s background and musical theatre31:00 - A week in the life of a champion program leader32:10 - Working with CS & product teams at OpenAI34:20 - Measuring champion program success37:20 - Why companies need customer education & champion programs40:25 - How Christina uses AI and Codex in her workflow---What You’ll Learn* What champion programs actually are and why they matter for SaaS companies* The difference between customer advocates and customer champions* How OpenAI structures its Champion Network across enterprise customers* The 3 types of champions driving AI adoption in organizations* Why AI adoption fails when treated as a simple tech rollout* How companies are building internal AI champion networks* How OpenAI gathers product feedback from champions* How to measure activation and sustained product adoption---Want the playbook, not just the conversation? Subscribe for deep-dive, actionable breakdowns from every episode at unchurned.substack.com.---Where to Find Christina MengLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christina-meng-78858725/---Where to Find Josh:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jschachter/Unchurned Substack: https://unchurned.substack.com/

Ready to churn less and win more? 🏆 Subscribe for a simple, once-a-month rundown of the episodes at gainsight.com/unchurnedWhat does it actually take to move from human-first customer success to digital-first at scale?In this episode of Unchurned, host Jenny Calvert sits down with Jo Massie, COO at Slido, to unpack how her team is transforming customer experience using AI, community-led support, and product-led growth.Jo shares how Slido’s lean team manages marketing, customer success, and most of sales under one customer organization—and how aligning these functions unlocks faster execution, stronger feedback loops, and better customer outcomes.They dive into how Slido is using AI chatbots to deflect 70% of support tickets, how their community became the center of their digital hub, and how experimentation and MVP thinking are key to surviving rapid AI innovation.Jo also explains how Slido evolved after being acquired by Cisco, adapting from startup speed to enterprise scale while maintaining agility and experimentation.If you're building digital-first customer success, PLG motions, or AI-enabled support, this episode is packed with practical insights.---Timestamps0:00 - Preview & Introduction0:41 - Meet Jo Massie & Jo's Role at Slido2:21 - Breaking down silos with a digital team4:00 - How AI chatbots reduced support escalations5:48 - Using AI to scale the customer voice program7:20 - Community-first support strategy9:50 - Hiring for diversity of thinking vs specialization11:30 - Slido’s acquisition by Cisco and the enterprise shift13:05 - The pace of AI innovation and what excites Jo most14:36 - Digital teams running weekly sprints for speed16:43 - Advice for companies starting digital-first strategies---What You’ll Learn* How Slido transitioned from human-first to digital-first customer success* Why the community is becoming the new support channel* How AI chatbots reduced support escalations to just 30% of tickets * The role of AI in customer voice programs* Lessons from scaling inside Cisco after Slido’s acquisition---Want the playbook, not just the conversation? Subscribe for deep-dive, actionable breakdowns from every episode at unchurned.substack.com.---Where to Find Jo MassieLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jomassie/---Where to Find Jenny:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennycalvert/---Where to Find Josh:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jschachter/Unchurned Substack: https://unchurned.substack.com/

Ready to churn less and win more? 🏆 Subscribe for a simple, once-a-month rundown of the episodes at gainsight.com/unchurnedCustomer Success is changing fast, and many CS leaders are realizing that staying visible to customers between meetings is becoming essential.In this episode of Unchurned, host Josh Schachter sits down with social selling expert Darren McKee to explore how LinkedIn can become a powerful engine for building relationships, staying top of mind with customers, and driving revenue growth.Darren shares how he went from traditional sales to building a massive LinkedIn following through consistent posting and authentic storytelling — and how companies can turn employees into a distributed marketing and relationship engine.The conversation dives into why CS leaders must become teachers in their industry, how social presence builds customer trust, and why authentic content often drives more business than traditional outreach.If you're in Customer Success, Sales, or GTM leadership, this episode will give you a practical playbook for building relationships and staying relevant in an increasingly digital world.---Timestamps0:00 - Preview & Introduction1:23 - Meet Darren McKee3:40 - Growing a LinkedIn audience through daily posting7:00 - Why CS leaders should be active on LinkedIn9:23 - Why human connection matters more than ever online11:00 - How social selling drives real revenue (for startups & even billion-dollar companies)16:00 - The 4 pillars of LinkedIn content (with examples)28:21 - The Power of “Dwell Time”29:30 - Authentic posts vs polished marketing posts34:05 - Should employees be paid for posting on LinkedIn?38:12 - The 5-3-1 LinkedIn engagement framework---What You’ll Learn• Why Customer Success leaders should be active on LinkedIn• How social visibility can help drive retention, expansion, and stronger relationships• Why authentic storytelling outperforms polished marketing posts• Darren McKee’s 5-3-1 daily engagement framework for building relationships on LinkedIn• How companies can turn employees into a distributed marketing and relationship engine• How to engage customers online between QBRs and formal meetings to stay relevant---Want the playbook, not just the conversation? Subscribe for deep-dive, actionable breakdowns from every episode at unchurned.substack.com.---Where to Find Darren McKeeLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrenmckeesales/---Where to Find Josh:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jschachter/Unchurned Substack: https://unchurned.substack.com/

Ready to churn less and win more? 🏆 Subscribe for a simple, once-a-month rundown of the episodes at gainsight.com/unchurnedIn this episode of Unchurned, Jenny Calvert sits down with Carsten Schütz, VP & Global Head of Scaled CS at SAP, to talk about how modern CS teams must evolve to serve thousands of customers without losing the human touch.Carsten shares how his journey from startup CSM to SAP executive reshaped his thinking about scale, specialization, and the real role of AI in customer success.The conversation dives deep into why the traditional “hire more CSMs” model doesn’t work anymore, how AI agents can support the long tail of customers, and why product usage data—not just sentiment—is the future of customer health.One of the biggest takeaways: AI isn’t replacing customer success. It’s enabling teams to finally support the majority of customers who currently receive little to no human interaction. ---Timestamps0:00 - Preview & Introduction0:55 - Meet Carsten Schütz 4:25 - The real answer to the generalist vs specialist debate6:20 - What customers actually want from their CSMs7:57 - What makes a truly valuable QBR9:18 - Why AI is essential for the 80% of customers at scale 11:08 - The importance of keeping the human touch12:02 - Using AI to drive adoption, detect risk, and churn prevention13:55 - Why product usage data is critical for customer health16:28 - What CS leaders should look for when hiring today19:04 - How AI is changing how younger professionals work20:55 - “This is the worst AI will ever be.”21:48 - Q4 renewal strategy and human connection23:33 - Why in-person conferences still matter---What You’ll Learn* Why 80% of customers require a scalable CS strategy* Why the generalist vs specialist debate is the wrong question* How product usage data reveals hidden churn risks* Why CS teams must think beyond 1-to-1 engagement* How to scale digital engagement without losing human connection* Why the future of CS is human-first, AI-powered---Want the playbook, not just the conversation? Subscribe for deep-dive, actionable breakdowns from every episode at unchurned.substack.com.---Where to Find Carsten SchützLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carstenschuetz/---Where to Find Jenny:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennycalvert/---Where to Find Josh:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jschachter/Unchurned Substack: https://unchurned.substack.com/

Ready to churn less and win more? 🏆 Subscribe for a simple, once-a-month rundown of the episodes at gainsight.com/unchurnedCustomer Success doesn’t become mission-critical because you say it is. It becomes mission-critical when it owns revenue.In this episode of Unchurned, Josh Schachter sits down with Manish Chawla, CCO at PowerSchool, to talk about what it actually takes to make CS essential — to customers and to the company.Manish doesn’t come from traditional CS. He’s been a CRO. A GM. He learned that the only truth that matters is what the customer believes.Now he’s applying that lens to CS.At PowerSchool, CSMs don’t just manage relationships. They carry GRR and expansion targets. AI isn’t a premium add-on — it’s table stakes. And cost-to-serve must go down while customer experience goes up.This isn’t theory. It’s operational.If Customer Success isn’t tied directly to profit, it risks becoming optional. And optional doesn’t survive.This episode is for operators who want CS at the revenue table — not watching from the sidelines.---Timestamps0:00 - Preview & Introduction1:25 - Meet Manish Chawla & Overview of PowerSchool3:35 - From consulting to CRO to CCO6:13 - Why execution matters more than strategy8:35 - Bringing a commercial mindset to Customer Success10:52 - Should CSMs carry revenue? (GRR & expansion targets)16:20 - Making CS mission-critical inside the company17:42 - Cost-to-serve: Driving efficiency without hurting CX18:50 - Scaling through digital CS. partner & ecosystems21:25 - Designing CS for K-12 and vertical SaaS28:30 - AI is table stakes (and customers won’t pay extra)30:51 - Using AI internally to increase productivity32:25 - Building a CS engineering team35:45 - Becoming essential to customers---What You’ll Learn* Why CSMs carry GRR and expansion targets — not just NPS* Why AI is table stakes (and why customers won’t pay extra for it)* How to lower cost-to-serve without lowering experience* How to tie CS directly to the CEO’s revenue equation* Why vertical SaaS demands deep domain fluency in CS hiring* How to position the CSM as the COO to the AE’s CEO---Want the playbook, not just the conversation? Subscribe for deep-dive, actionable breakdowns from every episode at unchurned.substack.com.---Where to Find the GuestsManish's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manishchawla1/---Where to Find Josh:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jschachter/Unchurned Substack: https://unchurned.substack.com/

Eleanora White, Global Head of Customer Success & Solutions Architects at Supermetrics, outlines a three-phase agentic AI roadmap for CS. Short, punchy takes on internal AI wins, customer-facing automation, and training CSMs to be curious AI-powered generalists. Also covers the “stay-alive” retention strategy and timing tactics to protect renewals and LTV.

Brian Oblinger, community strategist who scales B2B communities, and Jon Wishart, VP of Community Strategy at Gainsight with decades measuring community impact. They compare old vanity metrics to business-driven cohort analysis. They discuss AI shrinking pageviews but not value. They explain shifting community ownership, measuring retention and expansion, and how communities will focus on connection and collaboration.

Brett Queener, a VC and former Salesforce exec who writes on AI and software, returns to defend his 75% prediction. He explains how traditional SaaS moats have vanished. He introduces agentic software and the idea of hiring tools. He highlights the Judgment Layer and the shifting buy vs build decision.

Jared Collins, Senior Director of Customer Success at Dell Technologies who builds consumption-based post-sales operations for Apex. He discusses how hardware logistics force months-ahead planning. He explains unifying enterprise data into triggers and playbooks. He covers partnering tightly with sales and preparing data foundations for AI-driven signals.