I Started with a Lemonade Stand. Now I Build SaaS Companies.
As far back as I remember, I was always looking for a side hustle to earn money. Today it’s called “passive income” and has become mainstream — but back then it wasn’t even a term, much less a thought for most 8-year-olds. But my brain has always been wired this way, for puzzles, always trying to figure out the next move.
When I was 5 years old, I would walk by a hot dog stand on my way to the park on the corner of 30th and Second Ave in Manhattan. My first thought: “What a genius idea.” Then: “If it were on that other corner, it would be even better.” That instinct just kept growing.
The hot dog empire materialized as a lemonade stand, which quickly transformed into a one-of-a-kind offering: custom sweetened lemonade to order with a side of brownies for sale. As that took off, I added a yard sale with my old toys, which was a true rarity for the streets of Manhattan in the ’80s. Early on, I learned that to earn money, I had to create something people value. And if something didn’t sell, I would get this tunnel vision to discover why, and my art was figuring out the solution. Every “no” fueled my motivation. I wouldn’t give up, because, heck, it’s really fun.
Today, that same drive is what I like about sales and entrepreneurship: the connection between what you put in and what you get back. Obviously, there’s some luck involved, but you control a lot of that destiny: try, learn, iterate, apply. It’s a simple framework I continue to leverage to scale multimillion-dollar businesses.
The Top 4 Things Bentley Taught Me
When I was looking at colleges back in 1997, I had my heart set on a university in Switzerland with a cool travel program. Early in my senior year, my father passed away unexpectedly; the financial strain of attending a school abroad felt unfair and like an unreasonable burden to my family.
Bentley was also on my college list. Without knowing too much about it, I toured after being accepted, and I was instantly floored. I saw technology in action: students with laptops and a trading room with real-time electronic stock tickers and Bloomberg terminals, just like a Wall Street trading floor. This beautiful intersection of business and technology was unheard of at the time and it was perfectly juxtaposed to the warm environment of the campus and culture, which I knew I needed because of the deep sadness I was experiencing.
Once I got to Bentley, studying didn’t come naturally to me — I leaned toward fun; perhaps you could say I wasn’t the traditional student. But I always showed up to class and paid attention, and I had an awakening once I was immersed in my major classes. I began to see how to stand out in the workforce, with a comprehensive business core powering my focus and a marketing concentration fueling my passion.
These are my top four takeaways:
Speaking board-level metrics
Accounting, finance and statistics courses taught me not just how to work with numbers, but why metrics matter — and how to make a clear and compelling case to influence decision-making and drive performance in a go-to-market engine.
Understanding how organizations work
General business courses across disciplines introduced me to the full scope of an organization: the role of each department and how they contribute to the growth of a company.
Interacting with executives
Through alumni and guest speakers in class, many of whom also mentored projects, I learned how to ask questions and hold meaningful conversations that foster trust and engagement with leaders in years to come that my soon-to-be colleagues didn’t possess.
Practicing leadership in real life
As rush chair for Phi Sigma Sigma sorority and a member of the Campus Activities Board, I exercised what I learned in the classroom about leadership and managing teams. One year I operationalized getting the entire sorority involved to systematically cover the entire campus with flyers designed in impressive shapes like using them to create giant spiral letters on the library steps which could not be ignored. The intentionality paid off with one of the largest pledge classes.
Poised to Lead
After graduating from Bentley, I sounded like a leader even though I was technically at entry level. The general business core taught me to see the big picture, and I quickly realized that I stood out from my peers.
It wasn’t just the cross-curricular approach that I drew from. Professors had experience from the field, and I had a front-row seat to real-life examples. That perspective prepared me for a career, not just a job.
One standout was Professor of Marketing Andy Aylesworth. His advertising class opened my eyes to what marketing could be, but also what I could become. He showed me the importance of thinking big, showing up and putting yourself out there. I related to his energetic style; he’s a creator, not just a businessperson. Seeing him in action helped me imagine the kind of leader I wanted to become.
Another influence was Marty Howe, who was chair of Accounting when I was a work-study student. She was a stylish powerhouse, and I remember being wowed by her presence in how she didn’t shy away from her femininity as a leader. What I love about Bentley is that these experiences exposed me to the different facets of business and how to become our truest selves.
An Offer I Couldn’t Refuse
When it came to choosing a path after Bentley, I was drawn to retail. I was already working at Express and planned to go back to the flagship store in New York before looking for a full-time advertising job. But the 2001 economy crash changed things, and I took a store manager role.
I excelled because I understood how to drive revenue and sales. Since employees weren’t working on commission, my approach to team building focused on intrinsic motivation, which mimicked what I learned in organizing Phi Sig to plaster campus with our letters. I gave employees ownership in our goals by creating a shared vision, and encouraged them to adjust on the floor in real time to improve the customer experience.
From retail, I eventually moved to technology sales at Bluewolf, where I helped scale the organization and spin-off a brand, owning the full rebrand and operations. I joined at $5 million and both brands respectively grew to $100 million and $250 million in revenue with two separate acquisitions. After we were acquired by IBM — the goal we’d been working toward — I planned to take time off to explore consulting. But when a recruiter reached out with an offer for a role as general manager and head of North America at Aircall Software, I couldn’t turn it down. I would own full revenue, strategy and growth across the customer journey from lead generation all the way through customer success.
We achieved exponential growth, becoming the No. 1 territory in the organization, and doubling revenue. It brought me back to the hot dog stand near the park — the instinct I’ve had to figure out where true value lies for customers.
Getting Down to Business
Though I never had an intrinsic desire to “be a founder,” I was intrigued when a former co-worker approached me about starting a SaaS [software as a service] business. We joined forces with a third co-founder — making us part of a small percentage of venture-capital-backed companies with two female founders — and launched ChampionHQ in 2023. The AI-powered customer revenue orchestrator, a SaaS platform aimed to boost customer retention while also generating a sales pipeline and closing deals faster.
Most companies today are structured to focus on acquiring new customers through incentives and promotions, yet they overlook the value of customers they already have. This is the gap we’re solving.
And that’s where AI comes in: to help understand signals about a company’s top customer “champions” to help grow sales through references and referrals. Though AI can challenge trust, it can also facilitate relationships during the sales process to engage happy customers and build lasting relationships.
It’s hard to predict what’s around the corner. AI is transforming the SaaS industry at an unprecedented pace. But I’ve always loved a challenge, and being able to help shape it is extraordinarily exciting. I feel the weight of the responsibility to build a product that has a high moral standard for society. I’m living my 5-year-old dream now by building ChampionHQ. Bentley gave me the confidence to take risks — even when I don’t know where they will lead.
For more than two decades Gianna Scorsone ’01 has been a strategic go-to-market (GTM) leader, scaling organizations across the SaaS and technology industries. In 2023, she co-founded ChampionHQ, an AI-driven customer advocacy platform, and serves as the firm’s chief operating officer.
Former general manager and head of North America at Aircall — a SaaS unicorn — and a sales and operations executive at Mondo and Bluewolf, her expertise has been instrumental in leading GTM organizations, scaling hyper-growth and cultural and organizational excellence.
Scorsone’s impressive results and visionary leadership have been recognized with several honors, including 2017 Female Executive of the Year from the prestigious Stevie Awards for Women in Business, CRN’s Women of the Channel in 2021, and the Positive Leadership Award in 2023. She serves on the Board of Advisers for the Center for Women in Business at Bentley and is co-chair of the Board of Directors for READ718, a youth literacy nonprofit. Scorsone is most passionate when she helps to empower and mentor others to reach their best.