What does it take to scale not just a company, but the people, leaders, and teams inside it?
In this episode of Luxe Leap, host Reland Logan sits down with Kristen Hayer, Founder and CEO of The Success League, for a deeply grounded conversation on leadership, customer success, brand evolution, and what it truly means to build a lasting legacy in business.
Kristen brings more than 25 years of experience as a sales, marketing, and customer success executive in the tech and SaaS world. After leading award-winning customer success teams for fast-growing companies, she launched The Success League in 2015 to help organizations scale with customer impact at the center. Today, she is a recognized authority in customer success, a board advisor to early-stage tech companies, a podcast host, and the author of more than 100 thought leadership pieces in the field.
In this conversation, Kristen shares the pivotal moment that led her to start her business, how she identified a market gap early in the customer success movement, and why operator-led expertise matters more than theory in modern consulting. She explains how customer success has shifted from a reactive support function to a revenue-driving, leadership-critical discipline and why many companies are still structured in ways that work against the customer experience.
Reland and Kristen explore what happens when sales, marketing, and customer success operate in silos, how those silos quietly erode trust and growth, and why the future belongs to cross-functional leaders who understand the full customer journey. They also discuss why founders sometimes need to reclaim sales, how credibility changes when leadership stays close to revenue, and what brand evolution looks like as a company matures.
This episode also touches on visibility, thought leadership, and why social media is no longer the most reliable driver of meaningful growth. Kristen shares what has actually worked for her, from books and speaking to training programs that have created long-term impact across teams and companies.
Throughout the conversation, success is redefined not as revenue alone, but as the ripple effect of better leadership. Kristen reflects on training more than 10,000 professionals, working with hundreds of companies, and watching former individual contributors grow into leaders who now shape cultures of their own.
This episode is for founders, executives, SaaS leaders, customer success professionals, sales and marketing leaders, and anyone questioning how to scale with integrity, clarity, and long-term impact.
If you are standing at the edge of your own leap, building something meaningful and wondering how to lead it well, this conversation offers perspective, honesty, and practical insight from someone who has lived every stage of the journey.
Connect with Kristen Hayer
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristenhayer/
Email: kristen@thesuccessleague.io
If this episode made you rethink how your brand shows up or how your leadership is experienced, explore Reland’s Brand Breakthrough Video Audit, a strategic review designed to uncover what is working, what is misaligned, and what needs to evolve to attract the right opportunities.
I hope you enjoy this episode!
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– Reland and The Luxe Leap podcast team
For those inspired to take their brand to the next level, Réland Logan invites you to start with a Brandmuda Brand Breakthrough. Discover how you can elevate your brand and secure your dream dollars by booking a digital presence review at https://graydigitalmktg.co/brandmuda-review
Discover the action you need now for your brand with The Luxe Brand Litmus Test
https://content.leadquizzes.com/lp/Z6qrbIRG_w
Connect with Reland on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reland-logan/
Visit the Gray Digital Marketing website here: http://graydigitalmktg.co/
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The Luxe Leap, hosted by Reland Logan, is the go-to podcast for luxury brand founders, creatives, and entrepreneurs ready to make bold moves. Each episode spotlights inspiring journeys, strategic pivots, and the mindset shifts it takes to elevate a brand in the high-end market. From brand storytelling to purposeful growth, this show helps you take the leap into your next level of luxe with clarity, confidence, and community.