Dean Stoecker on company spending
From Hiring the Right Person, Right Seat, Right Stage with Dean Stoecker of Alteryx · · WRKdefined Audio
“As a software company, 75% of your — I won't use the word cost but I'll use the word investment — goes into people, so you should be spending your time proportionally on making sure you're hiring the best and training them to keep them as long as possible.”
On , Dean Stoecker, Cofounder at Alteryx, spoke about company spending during Hiring the Right Person, Right Seat, Right Stage with Dean Stoecker of Alteryx on WRKdefined Audio.
About Dean Stoecker
Dean Stoecker, co-founder and executive chairman of Alteryx, has been active in podcast and media appearances discussing hiring, leadership, and company growth. In a November 2025 episode of the Higher Power Radio Show, Stoecker emphasized the concept of hiring for the "right stage" of a company, arguing that the demands of a role change as a business scales. He stated that in early stages, organizations need "builders" who create systems from scratch, while later stages require "improvers" who can scale processes. Stoecker also said that he changed his entire leadership team at multiple growth inflection points, including before and after Alteryx's IPO, because "people who get you to one milestone often aren't the people who get you to the next." He noted that proceeds from his book go to supporting former Alteryx employees who were relocated from Kyiv to Warsaw. In a November 2024 appearance on the Amotions Podcast, Stoecker discussed the importance of upskilling employees, saying that 75% of a software company's investment goes into people and that companies should have a "human capital release cycle" akin to a product release cycle. He described Alteryx's decision to lower its per-seat price from $55,000 to $5,000 at $30 million in revenue, calling it an "irreversible decision" that removed friction from sales and increased quarterly logos from nine to over 250. Stoecker also stated that "great leaders are people who build leaders themselves" and that "if you have constant lifelong learning, singularity will never come to pass."