CSO Leads
Date: March 2, 2026 Source: Granola Meeting ID: 92a239d0-2bff-414d-9247-15a1fb123a2c URL: https://notes.granola.ai/t/92a239d0-2bff-414d-9247-15a1fb123a2c
Participants:
- Uttam Kumaran (Brainforge)
- Clarence Stone (Brainforge)
- Rico Rejoso (Brainforge)
- Elizah Pineda (Brainforge)
- Gregory Stoutenburg (Brainforge)
- Zoran Selinger (Brainforge)
- Demilade Agboola (Brainforge)
- Pranav Narahari (Brainforge)
- Kaela Gallagher (Brainforge)
- Brylle Girang (Brainforge)
Summary
Client Retrospectives
- Lilo project churned - communication failures led to termination
- Started rocky in December, client laid out many priorities
- Issues understanding client requirements
- Should have managed up more effectively from start
- Key learning: be vocal about work scope and timeline upfront vs leaving for discussion
- Pranav takeaways on Lilo
- Should have synced with Uttam earlier in January about velocity
- Missed tracking hours usage early - caught at 60% ad hoc work vs 10-20%
- Need better SOW understanding when jumping into CSO role
- Will implement weekly Gantt chart reviews on Friday demo calls
- Magic Spoon renewal secured but smaller contract
- Started same time as Lilo, ended with longer-term MSA
- Missed opportunities for larger engagement
- Technical delivery issues with FE/ENS data documentation
- Client may be testing stability before expanding budget (previously 20k/month with Orchard + Warren, now 6k/month)
Process Improvements
- Sales process change: CSOs must join all calls after discovery
- No more handoffs from Uttam/Robert without CSO involvement
- CSOs present from early client interactions
- Weekly communication standards
- Send weekly plans and completion summaries
- Remove doubt through consistent updates
- Daily/weekly rituals to maintain monthly visibility
- SOW alignment tools needed
- Cross-check new requests against SOW scope
- Resource usage monitoring vs contracted hours
- Risk/health reporting for client management
March Client Plans
- Element: Omniplane work starting, Greg taking ownership after generic doc completion
- CTA: Full plate of work, adding data team support
- Default: Phoenix delayed 2 weeks, difficult monthly planning for non-existent product
- Greg and Demi to sync on Omni intersections and Nandka training needs
- ABC: Pranav transitioning from Amber
- No current SOW (outdated year-old version)
- Success-based fee structure tied to Andy usage
- Goal: drive tool engagement to unlock more budget
- Q1 roadmap already exists with internal team support
Automation & Playbook Development
- EP Audit command in Cursor launched
- Scans client transcripts and unassigned meetings
- Cross-checks Linear for existing tickets, creates new ones or updates descriptions
- Provides weekly summary for team updates
- Two-command process for complete Linear project management
- Reusable playbooks initiative
- AI analysis of past transcripts to extract standardization opportunities
- Domains: delivery, sales, internal processes
- Examples: amplitude ramp-ups, DBT setups, Omni migrations, linear board audits
- Goal: templated playbooks in Linear for consistent execution
- Marketing will convert internal plays to client-facing offerings