Kevin Given
I built and deployed this site with Claude
I grow enterprise accounts, run a business, and build AI tools to help run it.
Nine years in customer success, account management and sales at NGINX (F5) and Oracle. Two years as an owner-operator, taking a new business from zero to $1M. These days a lot of my time goes into building AI systems that take real work off my plate.
Enterprise accounts, then my own company
I spent most of a decade keeping Fortune 500 customers happy and growing at a fast-moving software company, then put the same habits to work building a business of my own.
From zero to $1M in 15 months
- Scaled a new two-territory franchise to $1M in revenue in 15 months, ranking in the top 20% of ~75 Ideal Siding locations with 5-star customer satisfaction, while directing up to 4 concurrent job sites through 3 crew leads and ~15 field workers.
- Invited as one of 4 franchisees (of ~75) to present at Ideal Siding's 2026 Annual Conference on using AI to automate and improve operations.
- Built a multi-tenant quoting platform with role-based access using Claude, deployed on Railway via GitHub; use it weekly for every quote, and five other franchise locations have set up accounts.
- Built and run AI automation for marketing: platform-tailored posts with generated before/after graphics published to six channels, automated updates to the business's online pages, and monthly checks of how ChatGPT and Gemini rank the business; now piloting automated referral-partner outreach.
Seven years, five roles, every number beaten
Customer Success Manager III, Named Strategic Accounts (2020 to 2024)
- Owned customer success for Fortune 500 accounts including Comcast, Kaiser, Toyota, Starbucks, Disney, AT&T, American Airlines, HP and Anthem, with books up to $16.5M annualized.
- Beat the retention and growth target every year: 141% in FY20, 229% in FY21, 137% in FY22 (668% in Q1). Platinum Club FY20 (top 3% of reps company-wide).
- Co-founded the strategic accounts customer success team, built its enablement materials and Gainsight health scoring workflows, and mentored peers.
- Co-led the project that moved $40M ARR and about 2,000 renewals from Customer Success to a new Renewals team: designed the RACIs for about 200 people across both teams and trained the 75-person global Renewals team through sessions and office hours.
Customer Success Manager I and II, Account Manager roles (2018 to 2020)
- Managed books of about 120 and then about 60 enterprise accounts, owning renewals, expansion and onboarding. Beat quota every year, 113% to 127%.
Business Development Representative to Enterprise Business Development Representative (2017 to 2018)
- Rookie of the Year FY17. Quota attainment of 148% to 184%, with a 52% meeting-to-opportunity conversion rate.
Where I learned enterprise sales
Business Development Representative, then Healthcare and Higher Education HCM Account Manager (2015 to 2017)
- Highest won-deal volume on the team and MVP of the Quarter (Q3 FY16), building C-level relationships at accounts with more than $10B in revenue.
Education: B.S. in Business Administration (Finance concentration, Economics minor), California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, 2015. GPA 3.7.
Ideal Siding OS
I needed estimates that were fast, consistent and profitable, and nothing off the shelf fit how a siding franchise actually prices work. So I built it.
A quoting and operations platform for a siding business
In production since 2025, now on version 9. I use it for every quote.
Ideal Siding OS takes a Hover measurement report, prices the job across several material systems side by side, applies a margin engine that adjusts for season, complexity, crew capacity and job size, and pushes the result straight into a scope of work and a material order. Admins set rates by material and margin floors by employee, and every number has an audit trail behind it.
It is multi-tenant with role-based access, so other franchise locations can run on it. Five other locations have set up accounts.
- Hover report import
- Side-by-side material pricing
- Margin engine
- Call To Action pricing
- Scope of work generator
- Material orders
- Rates admin
- Employee margin floors
- Audit math
- Multi-tenant
How it was built
I am not a software engineer. I wrote the requirements, designed every screen and workflow, and built it with Claude doing the coding: a React and TypeScript app, deployed on Railway from GitHub.
Every release gets tested against a fixed real-world scenario before it ships. Nine major versions in, it still has to get that job's margin right to the decimal.
The Call To Action price
Homeowners drag their feet. A siding job is a big decision, and without a reason to decide, a quote can sit for months. The Call To Action price is the best answer I have found. I work out what the job needs to make, set the quoted price so that a 10% discount lands exactly on that number, and give the homeowner the standard 30 day quote window to take it.
The customer gets a real incentive to decide, and I get a number I can plan crews around. It has pulled multiple jobs across the finish line that would otherwise have sat for months, and it is the only call to action I have seen work anywhere in the franchise network. Ideal Siding OS applies it to every estimate automatically, and because every branch controls its own settings, a location that would rather quote without it can switch it off.
Customer details and internal pricing are blurred in these screenshots.
Most of what I build now is automation
I write the spec, Claude writes the code, and I test it the way a customer would. Two systems run at Ideal Siding Durham today: the quoting platform and the content automation. Partner outreach is a pilot I started in October.
Agentic content automation
An AI system that automates content for my Ideal Siding locations. It tailors the copy for each platform, generates before and after graphics in Python, and publishes to six channels (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Nextdoor and two Google Business Profiles). Every post passes an approval gate and an automated verification step before it goes out. It also keeps the business's online pages up to date, and a monthly check shows how ChatGPT and Gemini rank the business for local searches.
Partner outreach (pilot)
An automated referral-partner outreach program I started in October. It researches 10 partners a week, runs email outreach on a 3, 7 and 21 day cadence and reports to a live dashboard.
Quote automation for Triangle Fencing Co.
A Python tool, built with Claude, that turns job measurements into a numbered, branded PDF quote in minutes instead of an evening. Same idea as Ideal Siding OS, scaled down to what a small fencing operation needs.
Invited to speak on AI, 2026
One of four franchisees, out of about 75, invited to show the Ideal Siding network how AI can automate and improve a local operation at the 2026 Annual Conference.
How I actually use it
Claude is open on my desk all day. It turns a Hover measurement report into material quantities, drafts customer-facing quote line items and change orders, audits material waste on finished jobs, writes the HR paperwork when I hire, and works through QuickBooks with me. Anything that goes to a customer or an employee gets my edit first.
Four habits that have held up
Write it down
Every account has a written plan with owners and dates. Every call gets notes the same day. If it is not written down, it did not happen.
Never rely on one champion
Admins, team leads and the executive sponsor all know me by the time a renewal comes up. One contact is a risk, not a relationship.
Flag risk early
Nobody should be surprised at renewal. If usage is flat or a rollout has stalled, I raise it months out, with a plan.
Outcomes before expansion
An honest success plan comes first. I bring up growth only when it ties to a result the customer already cares about.
What my managers say
Three of my managers at NGINX (F5) wrote letters of recommendation for me. A line from each:
Kevin always over-achieved his annual quota by being extremely organized and prioritizing his day-to-day activities to ensure customers renewed on or before their contract expired as well as expanding growth within his accounts.
His efforts and successes caught the attention of his peers, and he became a leader that they all looked to for advice and counsel.
He is caring, passionate, intelligent, driven, and always thinking about what’s best for the company, not just himself.
Let's talk
The fastest way to reach me is email. I am on Eastern time and usually reply the same day.