TL;DR
In this edition of The Good Thing, Stefan and Jens sit down with Viola Marku, WunderGraph’s first Customer Success Manager. They discuss how customer success evolved from an engineer-led rotation to a dedicated role, why empathy matters as much as features, and how startups can scale support and developer experience without losing their culture.
How WunderGraph Moved from Engineer Rotation to Customer Success
Viola joined WunderGraph in 2025 and immediately saw both strengths and weaknesses in the early support model. Engineers had been handling customer calls directly, which gave fast answers but also caused constant context switching.
People building the code were the ones answering queries, feature requests, and bugs. It worked, but it wasn’t sustainable.
Her first step was to carve out customer success as a dedicated function, freeing engineers to focus on product development while still keeping them close to real customer feedback.
Jens has written about this shift in Lessons I've Learned as a Technical Founder, where he describes how listening to customers became the foundation for building WunderGraph.
What Bad Customer Support Taught WunderGraph
The team contrasted their approach with common pitfalls in the industry. Viola noted that poor support often turns users into detractors, spreading negative word of mouth that damages trust.
We’ve all used software that wasn’t fit for purpose, or wished there was a contact button to report a bug and couldn’t find one. That kind of experience makes people stop recommending you.
For WunderGraph, the takeaway is clear: closing the loop quickly and giving customers a direct line to the team is not optional — it’s part of the product.
A similar theme comes up in the Acoustic Case Study, where leadership stayed directly involved in Slack conversations to solve customer problems quickly.
Balancing Customer Empathy and Product Boundaries
Viola shared what she loves most: hearing when customers go live in production with Cosmo and knowing WunderGraph played a part. Her hardest moments come when she has to say no to feature requests.
It goes against every empathic feeling to say no. But sometimes a ‘not now’ is the best thing you can do.
Jens added that many requests aren’t really about features—they’re about solving bigger problems. Strong relationships make it easier to offer alternatives without stalling product velocity.
Using Data and Feedback to Scale Customer Success
One of Viola’s first projects was analyzing support tickets. She found that sometimes as many as 15 people would touch a single case. By dedicating resources and tightening processes, the team reduced noise and kept engineers focused while still pulling in the right experts when needed.
The team now uses triage meetings twice a week, linking customer requests in Linear to spot patterns. This helps balance vision, customer needs, and technical debt.
The Human Element in an AI Era
They also discussed whether AI could replace customer relationships. Viola was clear: AI can assist, but it can’t run a billion-dollar company alone.
To be successful, you can’t outsource your thinking. You need to put in the hours to understand what you’re solving.
Jens agreed, noting that the best insights come from relationships, not bots. "You cannot replace empathy with LLMs," he said.
Practical Advice for Startups Building Customer Success Teams
Viola closed with three pieces of advice for founders:
- Interview your team internally to understand friction.
- Sit in on customer calls and analyze notes for patterns.
- Treat customer success like product development—start small, then iterate.
Jens emphasized that a big part of WunderGraph’s culture is enjoying both the problems you’re solving and the people you’re solving them for — because that’s what makes the work sustainable and leads to lasting success.
This episode was directed by Jacob Javor. Transcript lightly edited for clarity and flow.
