Airtable Use Cases

LinkedIn's Senior Research Program Manager, Sarah Sgarlato Pierini, faced the daunting task of organizing inclusive research efforts efficiently. Initially tracked in Google Sheets, the manual creation of project numbers led to human errors and difficulties in locating critical research data.

Sarah identified Airtable as a potential solution and explored its capabilities. Leveraging the autonumber field, she automated the generation of unique project numbers, eliminating duplications and organizing research data effectively. What began as a project tracking system evolved into a comprehensive research repository.

Implementing Airtable revolutionized LinkedIn's research operations. The platform enabled tracking the lifecycle of each project, from intake to completion, and facilitated self-service information retrieval through status forms. Automations streamlined data entry and accountability, providing executives with real-time metrics and drastically reducing reporting time. This newfound efficiency empowered Sarah to compile research summaries reliably, accelerating decision-making and team growth.

Highspot, a booming sales enablement platform, struggled with inefficient planning due to outdated tools like Google Sheets. Their expanding team and complex projects made it difficult to manage multiple releases, keep everyone on the same page, and maintain a clear view of product roadmaps.

To tackle these challenges, Devon Bennetts, a senior leader at Highspot, introduced Airtable. This user-friendly platform offered the flexibility they needed to experiment with different approaches and adapt quickly. Airtable provided a dynamic space for tracking product features, unifying terminology, and encouraging open communication across teams.

Airtable transformed Highspot's planning process and collaboration. Personalized views and a built-in scoring system streamlined planning and progress tracking. This allowed executives to stay informed about upcoming features, while go-to-market teams could prepare effectively. Additionally, Airtable's linking capabilities connected product features to strategic goals, ensuring everyone was aligned throughout development. By reducing manual tasks and freeing up time for core development activities, Airtable empowered teams and boosted overall productivity and satisfaction.

Zendesk's Startup Customer Acquisition team, led by Brad Bowery, lacked visibility into their referral sources and struggled to identify high-quality startups for their program. Without proper tracking mechanisms, they risked missing out on valuable opportunities and lacked insights into their customer base.

Bowery leveraged Airtable to import data from spreadsheets, integrate it with Zendesk, and develop a custom application for startup scoring. This application allowed them to rank prospective companies based on various factors and gain a comprehensive view of their entire funnel, from application to conversion and graduation. Airtable facilitated customer communications, enabled survey creation for gathering insights, and provided a centralized workspace for the team's operations.

With Airtable's implementation, the startups team experienced a significant 233% increase in referrals from partnerships. They saw a shift in the percentage of startups coming in from VC partnerships, rising from 15% to over 50%. Moreover, startups from these channels were twice as likely to be approved and three times more valuable upon graduation. Airtable's agility allowed the team to iterate quickly, saving time and resources. The success prompted leadership to expand the team's scope, with plans for further growth in the future. Bowery finds fulfillment in using Airtable to track his team's progress and collaboration, reflecting the company's overall development and growth.