About
Good systems start with good conversations.
I have always believed that the way we work says something about who we are.
When we take the time to listen, align, and build with care, the result is something that not only works but feels right to the people using it. That is the craft I keep chasing.
Helping people work better, together.
I am Jon Kohlmeier, RevOps Lead at West Music, where I help bring marketing, sales, and service teams together around clear and connected systems that make work feel more human.
I started my career in IT and fell in love with web development. Over time I worked across marketing, nonprofit, and agency web projects before finding my home in RevOps. Through it all, one thread has stayed the same. Make complex systems simple and help good people succeed.
“Jon makes people successful.”
My good friend Stan Lemon once told his son, “Jon makes people successful.” That is what I try to do every day. Build things that make others better at what they do.
Working with HubSpot
In 2025 I served on the HubSpot Customer Advisory Board, collaborating with product leaders and operators to help shape how teams use HubSpot. I am also part of Lighthouse, HubSpot’s customer advocacy community, focused on sharing insight, craftsmanship, and what it means to grow with care instead of chaos.
Listening and communicating
At my core, I am a listener and a communicator. Whether I am helping an engineer and a salesperson finally understand each other, or sitting down as a Reconciler for the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod to help people talk through conflict, I have learned that good systems and good relationships both start the same way. With clarity, respect, and a real effort to understand.
Puffs of Smoke
Puffs of Smoke is my study. It is where I step back from the dashboards and reflect on craftsmanship, technology, and the human side of work. It is where I think out loud about what makes systems trustworthy, communication meaningful, and craft worth protecting.
Life outside the laptop
When I am not building systems, I am usually fermenting wine, recording an episode of Life with a Twist of Lemon, or spending time with my wife and daughter in Cedar Rapids. A good evening usually ends with conversation, a little pipe smoke, and the satisfaction of having helped someone do their work just a little bit better.