Melissa Theiss — HR Manager
I’ve led people and revenue functions at bootstrapped, VC-backed, and post-IPO SaaS companies as they scaled from 20 to 1,000+ people. But, my journey to get there started with two rejections. In college, I studied what I loved — psychology and education. My plan was to do a Fulbright, then go to Harvard Business School (HBS). And, it would've worked except... I didn't get a Fulbright and I got rejected from HBS. So, I had to pivot. I joined a public tech company in a rotational program where I learned product management, human resources, and sales operations. From there, I joined a startup as employee #22 and was a one woman show leading people and finance. Not too long after, I took over the customer success team as well. The next few years were some of the most formative of my career. I had been given a job I had no idea how to do, but was really committed to figuring it out. So, I did. I used my background studying psychology and education to teach myself how to be a leader and to really excel at this little thing called "business." I worked long hours and made a lot of mistakes. I learned a lot the hard way. But I also learned a ton from those ahead of me—through books, newsletters, podcasts, and following top tech leaders. That knowledge was a game-changer. Now, I want to be that resource for others. If you’re a People person learning to navigate the business world and don’t want to figure it all out the hard way—I can help. I help People leaders learn to think like business leaders to land and succeed in their next role. 📩 Subscribe to The Business of People: https://fledgehq.kit.com/ 📞 Book a 1:1 Ask Me Anything (AMA) session: https://calendly.com/fledgehq 📊 Bring me in to do a one-time People Ops Diagnostic: https://calendly.com/fledgehq/initial-consultation 📝 Apply to open roles at Kit — where I’m currently the Head of People Operations
Stackforce AI infers this person is a SaaS People Operations expert with a strong focus on scaling and talent development.
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina, United States
Experience: 10 yrs 6 mos
Skills
- Start-up Consulting
- Hr Consulting
- People Operations
- Talent Development
- Human Resources (hr)
- Customer Success
- Account Expansion
- Software As A Service (saas)
Career Highlights
- Led scaling from 20 to 1,000+ employees.
- Established award-winning total rewards program.
- Advised SaaS startups on people operations challenges.
Work Experience
Fledge
Career Coach (1 yr 1 mo)
Startup Advisor (4 yrs 5 mos)
Kit
Head of People Operations (1 yr 2 mos)
Resilia
Head of People and Customer Success (9 mos)
Vice President, People (11 mos)
Column
Head of People Operations (1 yr 6 mos)
Quorum
Vice President of Operations (People and Revenue Operations) (1 yr 6 mos)
Vice President of Customer Success (2 yrs 5 mos)
Director of Operations (3 mos)
Axon
Senior Associate, Leadership Development Program (2 yrs)
Education
Bachelor of Arts with Honors at Harvard University