How Element Hired a Revenue Operations Manager to Build a Scalable SaaS GTM Function

Element Revenue Operations Manager Case Study

Oakstone International partnered with Element to appoint a Revenue Operations Manager capable of building the operational foundations for its next stage of growth. The highly specific search required a rare combination of early-stage SaaS experience, strategic Revenue Operations expertise and hands-on Salesforce capability. Despite a narrow talent pool and the late withdrawal of an initial preferred candidate, Oakstone maintained the original hiring criteria and successfully identified a candidate who had previously built RevOps within a sub-£10m technology business. The appointment gave Element a strategic partner to its VP of Sales who could also work hands-on to improve Salesforce, commercial processes, data and infrastructure as the business developed a more scalable, recurring-revenue go-to-market model.

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About Element

Element is a new type of communications platform. It combines consumer messaging apps, collaboration tools and video conferencing to replace email, address shadow IT and improve security. Element offers sovereign, secure and interoperable communications, all based on the Matrix open standard.

Element provides services for custom development, prioritised roadmap development, support contracts and commercial products for Matrix. 

Element was founded in 2017 by the creators of Matrix and the FOSS Synapse homeserver, Element Server Suite is a professionalised backend that delivers outstanding performance. It includes enterprise-grade features such as powerful admin control, advanced identification and access management, auditing and compliance.

Element provides organisations with their own solution in their own infrastructure so any information and messages stays 100% secure and users retain all ownership and control over their data.

Search Background

Oakstone International had an established relationship with Element, having previously supported the business with several hires six years earlier. Those appointments proved successful, with one individual remaining with the company and becoming the top-performing salesperson, while others stayed for several years. This previous delivery meant Oakstone was already highly regarded when Element entered its next phase of commercial development.

After appointing a new VP of Sales, Element began restructuring its commercial organisation to focus more on recurring revenue and build a more scalable, repeatable go-to-market model. As part of this transformation, the business identified the need for a Revenue Operations Manager who could become a strategic partner to the VP of Sales while building the operational foundations required for future growth.

The position needed to bridge the gap between strategy and execution. Element needed someone who could identify commercial challenges, recommend solutions, and then be hands-on enough to implement them.

Requirements

Element needed someone with experience building a Revenue Operations function within an early-stage technology company, ideally in a sub-£10m, Seed or Series A environment where processes and infrastructure were still being established.

The successful candidate needed to combine three distinct areas of expertise: commercial strategy, Revenue Operations leadership and hands-on Salesforce capability.

Element's Salesforce environment required someone technically capable of working directly within the platform, including building workflows and improving the quality and structure of existing data. At the same time, they needed the seniority and commercial understanding to work closely with the VP of Sales, understand broader business challenges, and proactively recommend solutions rather than waiting for instructions.

This created a particularly narrow talent pool because many early-stage businesses use HubSpot rather than Salesforce. Element needed someone who had operated in a smaller business and remained genuinely hands-on with Salesforce while being senior enough to influence commercial strategy.

Why Oakstone?

Element's decision to work with Oakstone was supported by a relationship and track record built several years earlier. Oakstone had previously helped the business make several successful appointments, including one salesperson who stayed with Element and became a leading performer. At the same time, other hires delivered several years of service before moving on.

When the new VP of Sales began planning the next stage of Element's commercial growth, Oakstone demonstrated relevant experience working with companies in open-source and Open Core technology businesses, alongside our broader understanding of hiring for specialist SaaS and technology environments. The combination of previous successful delivery and relevant market knowledge gave Element confidence that Oakstone could support a highly specific Revenue Operations search.

Approach and Solutions

Given the brief's specificity, Oakstone initially tested a carefully selected range of profiles to establish which elements of the specification mattered most to Element. Element interviewed five candidates during the initial stage of the search, allowing both teams to quickly refine the profile and develop an increasingly precise understanding of the required experience.

Rather than significantly broadening the criteria to increase candidate numbers, Oakstone continued to work within the demanding specification. The search focused on professionals who could demonstrate genuine early-stage Revenue Operations experience, strong Salesforce knowledge, strategic commercial thinking and the ability to remain hands-on.

This iterative approach allowed Oakstone to become increasingly targeted as the search progressed. In total, 10 candidates were introduced and nine interviewed, with later candidates much more tightly aligned to the refined brief.

Throughout the process, Oakstone worked closely with Element and the VP of Sales to maintain communication between all parties and keep suitable candidates engaged through a multi-stage assessment process involving senior commercial stakeholders and a practical Revenue Operations exercise.

Challenges

The greatest challenge was the scarcity of candidates who could genuinely combine startup experience, strategic Revenue Operations leadership and hands-on Salesforce expertise.

The search faced an additional setback after Element identified an initial preferred candidate. The business had progressed towards onboarding and was prepared to accommodate a change in the candidate's location, including establishing the necessary employment arrangements. However, at a late stage the candidate accepted another opportunity, adding approximately three weeks to the overall search.

Rather than compromising on the brief to make a faster replacement, Oakstone returned to the market and continued presenting candidates who closely matched the original requirements. Strong communication was particularly important during this period, including navigating candidate holidays while maintaining momentum and engagement across the process.

Search Results

Element ultimately appointed a candidate who closely matched the original specification. She brought strong Salesforce expertise, strategic Revenue Operations capability and the hands-on approach required within an early-stage organisation, alongside strong cultural alignment with the wider Element team.

Crucially, the successful candidate had already experienced the type of journey Element was preparing for. She had previously been the first Revenue Operations hire within a sub-£10m business, giving her direct experience building the function from an early stage, before subsequently working in a business where she helped develop and scale it further.

Despite the extremely narrow specification and the late withdrawal of the initial preferred candidate, Oakstone completed a challenging search without Element having to compromise on its requirements. The chosen candidate provided the business with someone capable of operating as both a strategic commercial partner and hands-on Revenue Operations practitioner, supporting the infrastructure and processes required for Element's next phase of growth.

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