On this week's episode of Minimum Viable Podcast, I had the pleasure of chatting with Evan Walden and Maveric Real, the dynamic duo behind Getro, a network management platform that's made waves in the venture capital and private equity world. Evan, the company's CEO, is a seasoned pro when it comes to all things sales and growth, while Maveric, Getro's President, is the engineering and product development guru. Together, they've grown Getro from a scrappy startup to a serious player over the past eight years, all while navigating the tricky balance of scaling fast and building an awesome product.
Evan and Maveric were super open about the lessons they've learned as leaders with different strengths and priorities trying to collaborate and communicate effectively. Listening to them, a clear through line emerged: the key to their partnership's success is a genuine commitment to understanding where the other is coming from. Whether they're hashing out Getro's big-picture strategy or going back and forth on which customers to prioritize, these two have built a relationship grounded in mutual respect and a shared vision for where they want to take the company. They've also managed to create a culture that puts a premium on human connection, even while running a fully remote operation. Honestly, any startup founder looking to build a company that can roll with the punches and come out stronger could learn a thing or two from Evan and Maveric.
Check out my full conversation with Evan and Maveric here:
For now, here are some of the moments that stuck with me from our conversation:
Maveric highlights how having a different background than Evan equipped them to naturally divide responsibilities early on:
"Evan's background comes from sales while mine comes from engineering. There were some responsibilities that were more appropriate for Evan to take on than myself, and the same applied to my side."
Having diverse skill sets and clearly defined roles allowed Evan and Maveric to play to their individual strengths from the start. To collaborate effectively, leaders have to understand each other's domains and the priorities that drive their decision-making. This foundation of mutual understanding and respect is crucial for navigating the challenges that inevitably come up when balancing growth and product development.
Evan and Maveric learned the hard way that without frequent, direct conversations about company strategy, misalignment can fester:
"John helped us figure out how to address our problems by focusing on the vision, direction, and strategy of the business. He asked, 'How often do you guys talk about strategy?' We couldn't answer the question. He said, 'That's the problem.'"
It's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day execution and lose sight of the big picture. Setting up regular strategy syncs is critical to ensure development and growth efforts are working in harmony. These conversations create space to surface disagreements, challenge assumptions, and ultimately get everyone on the same page.
Evan reflects on the pivotal moments throughout Getro's history when they had to make tough calls about which customer segments to focus on:
"We've had these kind of like come to Jesus moments in the history of the company to say, okay, we have to completely focus on this one user. And even if we have customers in other segments, we have to say no to new things. And then other times in the company where we say, okay, it's time to try to widen the aperture and increase the addressable market that we can work with."
As a startup, there's always the temptation to be everything to everyone. But trying to please everyone can lead to a scattered, unfocused product. Evan and Maveric have learned to be deliberate about when to double down on their core user and when to expand their reach. This requires a deep understanding of both the near-term needs of the business and the long-term product vision, which ensures Getro stays on a sustainable growth path.
Evan has learned to step back and let the team handle the details, focusing instead on high-level outcomes:
"As a younger CEO and founder, you can read the advice, but you just have to feel the repetition of nitpicking details that don't end up mattering much. You spend so much time on it."
It's natural for founders to want to have their fingerprints on every aspect of the business. But as the company grows, that level of involvement becomes unsustainable and even counterproductive. Evan tries to strike a balance between providing input and giving autonomy, resisting the urge to micromanage decisions. Trusting your team to execute while keeping your eye on the prize is a crucial skill for any leader.
Even as a remote team, Evan and Maveric make an effort to spend quality time together outside of work:
"Outside of work hours, we try to hang out or do things. I imagine it as if we had an office in the same city. We're working in the way that we would on a normal day, and then we're just doing stuff outside of that."
In the midst of the daily grind, it's easy to forget that your colleagues are more than just their job titles. Investing in your relationships and seeing each other as whole humans helps build the trust and rapport needed to weather the inevitable storms. For Evan and Maveric, this means carving out time to connect on a personal level, even if it's just chatting over a virtual coffee. These small moments of bonding add up to a stronger, more resilient partnership.
