Building Support from Scratch: How to Hire, Lead, and Scale the Right Way

Every thriving support org starts the same way — with one brave person, a shared inbox, and no documentation. But how do you turn that chaos into a foundation that lasts?

In this episode of CX Roundtable, host Sarah Caminiti sits down with two leaders who have lived every version of “building from scratch”: Kenji Hayward (Director of Support, Front) and Priscilla Brooke (Head of Podcaster Success, Buzzsprout). Together, they unpack what it really takes to build — and sustain — great support teams.

You’ll hear them discuss:

• What to prioritize (and what to ignore) when you’re the first or second hire.
• How ownership, documentation, and autonomy shape a team’s DNA.
• Why hiring for humanity matters more than experience.
• The role of psychological safety in speed, accuracy, and trust.
• How to raise the bar — and resist the temptation to settle for “fine.”
• Why metrics like CSAT and time-to-resolution don’t tell the full story.
• How emotional labor evolves as your team scales, and why rest is a leadership skill.

This isn’t just a conversation about starting small — it’s a masterclass in building culture, credibility, and resilience from the ground up.

If you’re hiring your first support rep, rebuilding a burned-out team, or redefining what “good” looks like in CX, this episode will help you build your Support DNA — one intentional decision at a time.