The interview process at Homebase was thorough, but ultimately revealed a fundamental disconnect in what the company thinks it needs versus what actually makes a customer-facing function successful. Homebase places an extremely heavy emphasis on analytics skills while undervaluing the leadership, judgment, and customer instincts required to run a high-performing support or success organization. Data matters—no question—but data alone doesn’t build trust with customers, develop teams, or solve real-world onboarding and support problems. Those outcomes come from leadership, experience, and the ability to translate insights into action. Throughout the process, it became clear that the team is searching for a hybrid role that essentially doesn’t exist: someone who is a full-scale analyst, a hands-on operator, a strategic leader, and a frontline subject-matter expert all at once. Companies that understand customer experience know that operational excellence comes from pairing strong analytics with an equally strong customer lens. Homebase hasn’t found that balance yet. The experience started out hopeful. The product is solid, and the mission is compelling. But the deeper the conversations went, the more obvious it became that the company hasn’t defined what leadership actually looks like in Customer Success or Support. They are chasing a profile instead of building one—and overlooking the reality that customer-facing excellence is a skill set that can be developed when the right leader is given the mandate and resources. Good companies understand that analytics enhance leadership; they don’t replace it. Homebase hasn’t gotten there yet.

Homebase seems to be chasing a unicorn candidate who simply doesn’t exist. They want the analytical rigor and strategic acumen of a C-level executive combined with the hands-on, service-driven mindset of an operations leader — but they’re offering neither the autonomy nor the investment that kind of talent would need to succeed. The interview process was professional, but it quickly became clear that they’re seeking someone to “fix” a strategic problem that stems from leadership vision, not execution gaps. They’re asking for “support-as-a-product” and “AI-first transformation,” but the expectations reflect a misunderstanding of what those models actually require — namely, cross-functional buy-in, long-term data investment, and trust in an operator to build it. If Homebase truly wants to elevate Support and Implementation into a product-driven function, they should hire for potential and invest in developing those skills, not hold out for an impossible hybrid of a data scientist, COO, and empathy-driven leader who also happens to live locally. The result is a revolving door — the last leader was walked out, and it’s hard to imagine the next lasting long under this model. I left the process believing that I (and many others) could have been great in the role if the company understood that transformation requires partnership and development — not perfection. My advice: look for fit, not fantasy. My advice to Homebase relook at your candidate pool and adjust your expectations.