From Tennis Courts to Revenue Dashboards: My Journey Into RevOps
Chapter 1: Coaching Was My First Playbook
Before I ever opened Salesforce or mapped a sales funnel, I spent thousands of hours on court helping people improve — not just their tennis, but how they approached improvement itself.
I was obsessed with understanding how people learn. That curiosity eventually led me to complete an MSc in Skill Acquisition, where I researched the science behind learning, feedback loops, and performance environments. Looking back, it was my first introduction to systems thinking — which is the heart of what I do in RevOps now.
Coaching also taught me how to:
Build processes that scale across different skill levels
Use feedback to iterate quickly
Align communication styles to match the person in front of me
Track the right performance metrics, not just the easy ones
I didn’t know it at the time, but I was already building a RevOps mindset — just in a tracksuit instead of a hoodie.
Chapter 2: Why I Made the Switch
Eventually, I hit a ceiling. I loved coaching, but I wanted a new challenge — something more strategic, more data-driven, and with more long-term growth potential.
That’s when I discovered tech.
I enrolled in Le Wagon’s Full Stack Web Development bootcamp. It was intense. But it rewired how I thought about building, solving problems, and working with systems at scale. I didn’t come out wanting to be a developer — but I did come out fascinated by how businesses actually work behind the scenes.
That curiosity naturally led me to RevOps. It felt like the perfect mix of coaching (getting people to perform), strategy (fixing broken systems), and data (making it measurable).
Chapter 3: My First RevOps Role
Breaking into RevOps wasn’t easy — especially coming from outside the typical Sales or Marketing background. I didn’t walk into a senior role overnight. I started as a RevOps intern, eager to learn the ropes and prove I could add value.
That internship gave me my first real exposure to go-to-market systems. I was doing a bit of everything — cleaning up CRM records, building basic reports, and sitting in on Sales and Marketing meetings to understand the moving parts of the funnel.
But I treated it like a full-time opportunity. I asked questions, offered ideas, and looked for gaps no one else had time to fix.
That approach paid off. Within a few months, I was trusted with bigger projects:
Auditing the CRM to clean legacy data and duplicate records
Building dashboards that actually helped Sales reps (not just managers)
Creating playbooks for smoother handoffs between Marketing and SDRs
Standardising definitions for key metrics like “SQL” and “win rate”
I quickly realised that no one really “owns” the full funnel — and that’s where RevOps fits in. It became clear that my job was to connect the dots across teams, processes, and tools.
The learning curve was steep — but it was exactly the challenge I was looking for.
Chapter 4: Where I Am Now
Fast forward to today — I’ve now been in RevOps for over 3 years, working with SaaS companies ranging from Series A startups to $100M+ scale-ups.
I specialise in full-funnel performance reporting, building RevOps infrastructure, and creating operational strategies that align go-to-market teams. I’ve worked across Salesforce, HubSpot, Notion, and every spreadsheet hack you can imagine.
And I still pull from my coaching background every day. Whether it’s simplifying metrics for a CRO, getting buy-in from Sales teams, or training Marketing on new lead scoring models — communication, clarity, and iteration remain at the core of my approach.
What I’ve Learned (So Far)
If you’re thinking about switching careers into RevOps (or anything in tech), here’s what I’ll leave you with:
You don’t need to come from Sales or Marketing — but you do need to understand how they think
Great RevOps isn’t about tools, it’s about clarity and trust
Coaching, teaching, and simplifying complexity are superpowers in this role
You learn faster by building, not just reading
What’s Next
This blog will be where I share everything I’ve learned — and everything I’m still figuring out — about Revenue Operations. Expect posts on dashboards, reporting, process design, tooling, and the occasional career reflection like this one.
If you’re in RevOps, transitioning into it, or just obsessed with fixing broken systems — you’ll find something here.
Let’s get to work.
— Spencer