From Outsider to Industry Leader: How Crosschq Turned Industry Inexperience into a Competitive Advantage

Most founders would see entering a new industry without any prior experience as a liability. But in a recent episode of Category Visionaries, Mike Fitzsimmons shared how Crosschq’s outsider perspective became their secret weapon in revolutionizing hiring practices.

Starting From Zero

“I knew nothing about this category,” Mike admits candidly. As a serial entrepreneur who had previously built companies in different sectors, the HR tech space was completely new territory. But it was personal experience with bad hires at his previous company that drove him to tackle this challenge.

The Outsider’s Advantage

Coming from outside the industry actually provided unexpected benefits, particularly in product development. Without being constrained by traditional industry assumptions, Crosschq could approach problems with fresh eyes. As Mike explains, being new to the space meant “being feature constrained by legacy expectations.”

This freedom from conventional thinking allowed them to question fundamental assumptions about hiring that industry insiders might have taken for granted. For instance, Mike was shocked to discover that “we have no accountability to hiring in any of our companies and there’s no other part of the business where we spend this much money, not even close, and invest this much capital and don’t hold it to the same ROI expectations that we do with anything else.”

Navigating the Learning Curve

However, entering a new industry wasn’t without its challenges. Mike notes that understanding the ecosystem took considerable time: “Just route understanding the ecosystem, understanding where the bodies are buried, what channels you’re going to need to figure out what partners you’re going to need to align with, all that kind of stuff… it takes a little bit of time.”

The challenge extended to networking as well. “I didn’t have a network of talent acquisition or HR leaders. That was not the world I had played in for the last 15 years of my career,” Mike shares.

Building Credibility

To overcome these challenges, Crosschq focused on delivering concrete value rather than relying on industry relationships. This approach has led to unexpected discoveries that have benefited their customers. For example, they’ve helped companies:

• Evaluate the true ROI of their recruitment spending
• Identify when assessment tools are actually recommending less successful candidates
• Connect hiring decisions to business outcomes

The Evolution of Their Approach

Initially, Crosschq approached the market with a confrontational message about poor hiring practices. But they quickly learned this wasn’t effective. As Mike explains, “We’re way out in front with this whole idea of quality of hire and connecting outcomes and coming into companies with a big bat, telling them that you’re not doing a good job of this, you’re not doing a good job of your hiring.”

The team realized this approach wasn’t resonating: “We realized pretty quickly that’s not the right message to your buyer. This buyer is doing the best they can do. They’re doing the best they can do with what they have at their fingertips.”

Lessons for Outsider Founders

Crosschq’s journey offers valuable insights for founders entering unfamiliar industries:

1. Use your outsider perspective to question industry assumptions
2. Focus on delivering concrete value to build credibility
3. Take time to understand the ecosystem thoroughly
4. Be empathetic to existing practices while introducing innovation
5. Let your product innovations speak louder than your industry expertise

The key is balancing the fresh perspective of an outsider with the humility to learn about the industry you’re entering. As Mike’s experience shows, being an outsider can be a powerful advantage if you channel it correctly.

For B2B founders considering entering a new industry, Crosschq’s story demonstrates that lack of industry experience doesn’t have to be a barrier to success. Sometimes, it can be the very thing that allows you to see and solve problems in ways that industry veterans cannot.