◆ Follow-up game plan — for Mark
Biggest leverage: He's a CFO who just got handed the company — the previous CEO was removed ~a month ago and he's running operations through a restructure. He needs the CEO operating system now, not eventually. The urgency is real and the timing is perfect; make him feel that this program meets the exact moment he's in. (Bonus: you're already partnered with him on Ozobot — this is the warmest relationship in the pipeline.)
Opportunities to open:
- SuperCues pilot at Ozobot. He wants to roll Gallup StrengthsFinder to his managers post-reviews and is open to SuperCues as a superior alternative. Running it with his leadership team as a 360 is a strong early win and live product feedback — position SuperCues as the upgrade to Gallup.
- The communication/decision-making framing already landed hard (he spent 1.5 years decoding Julian's investment-banker style and wished he'd had a tool like this). That's his emotional "yes" — build on it.
- Deliver the La Jolla Country Day intro (just closed a $15M campaign for a design/innovation building, has a robotics team). Easy goodwill and real revenue for his K-8 refocus.
Watch-outs:
- The only blocker is board approval — he verbally committed ("I'm in, I just need the approvals") but hasn't heard back. Don't wait passively.
- He's a finance guy stepping into people/culture leadership — that's the growth edge and also where he's least confident. Reassure that's exactly what the program builds.
The ask: Arm him with a one-page board justification (ROI framing + 5x guarantee) so he can get sign-off fast, and confirm the ~Aug 15 start to set his second payment date.
Jeff Conner: Background and Ozobot Context
- CFO at Ozobot, finance background (Disney, then small PE group operating distressed/early-stage companies)
- Partners with Julian (investment banker, Raymond James background) and Mark Rampolla
- Ozobot acquired out of COVID bankruptcy, relaunched May 2021; rode CARES Act school funding wave
- Strategy drift: chased funding (e.g. CTE robotic arm) instead of staying true to core brand
- Core brand: K-8, easy-to-use, out-of-the-box, intuitive classroom robotics
- Decided to exit high school segment entirely; competitors moving up, leaving K-8 open
- Recent CEO transition: previous CEO removed \~1 month ago; Jeff now running operations through restructure
- Pulling back R&D, refocusing sales team, doubling down on curriculum for K-8
Program Fit and Jeff’s Goals
- Motivated by stepping into a broader operational leadership role from a finance background
- Wants to be more strategic, less in the weeds on ops and finance
- Interested in culture-building and team development tools
- Resonated strongly with the communication/decision-making framing
- Shared his own experience navigating Julian’s investment-banker communication style (took 1.5 years to figure out)
- Sees SuperCues-style tool as something he wished he’d had earlier
- Interested in rolling out Gallup StrengthsFinder to managers post-reviews
- Open to SuperCues as a superior alternative or complement; worth exploring a pilot at Ozobot
- Board approval required before committing; Jeff said he’s submitted the request, hasn’t heard back yet
- Verbally committed: “I’m in, I just need the approvals”
Next Steps
- Send Jeff the onboarding link, agreement, and payment details (Joshua)
First payment secures the spot; second payment due 30 days after start date (target \~15th August).
- Sync with Mark on SuperCues pilot at Ozobot (Joshua)
Jeff is open to running it with his management team as a 360; could be a strong early use case.
- Intro Jeff to La Jolla Country Day School (Joshua)
School just completed a $15M capital campaign for a design/innovation building; K-12, has a robotics team, strong fit for Ozobot.