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Chris Lee joined Deel at $1M in revenue. Now, it just hit $1.5B. He joined GTMnow to walk through the pivotal decisions behind that run, including the ones he's never discussed publicly.

Chris (Head of Sales, Americas at Deel) breaks down the "five-star sales experience" framework he built by studying luxury hotels, why speed itself became a reason customers bought, how he's had zero regrettable director-level attrition in 5.5 years, and why they hire people with the job title "Ghostbuster" to keep a 7,000-person company moving like a 30-person startup.

What you'll learn:
- The five-star sales experience framework, and how to map your own process from three-star to five
- Why every new sales leader at Deel spends their first 30 days taking inbound and selling
- How speed became the reason Coinbase chose Deel over a legacy vendor with no references to show
- The hire-slow, fire-fast principle behind zero regrettable director attrition in 5.5 years
- Why "tell me about a time" interview questions optimize for the best liar, and the scenario-based alternative
- What a "Ghostbuster" is, and how the role fights operational decay as you scale
- Leading a sales team through public crisis: cry, quit, or fight
- The trillion-dollar thesis: why 95% of the world's workers sit outside the US market
- Why Chris went back to first-principles systems thinking instead of fiddling with AI tools

Thank you to our sponsor:
Primer unlocks B2C ad channels for B2B marketers with precision targeting and next-gen measurement. GTMnow Network exclusive offer: Extended 45 day trial and 15% off with code GTM15 - just apply the code when you go to upgrade from the free trial. See who’s really in your funnel: sayprimer.com

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:58 Welcome to GTMnow
01:33 From Granular (agtech, employee #11) to a DuPont acquisition
05:30 The failed recruiting startup he launched in January 2020
07:17 How he found Deel, and applying to the wrong role on purpose
09:48 The first-30-days lesson from CEO Alex Bouazizi: go sell
11:44 What Deel actually does today
13:14 Scaling a distributed sales org remotely
15:41 Building rapport on a global remote team
17:35 From transactional SMB to multi-product enterprise
20:16 Sales-led, not product-led, and why consolidation wins
22:45 "Deel speed," and why speed is a reason people buy
25:31 Sponsor: Primer
26:57 Frank Slootman, Amp It Up, and outpacing competitors
29:12 How he got Slootman to open the sales kickoff
30:28 Zero director attrition in 5.5 years, and hire slow, fire fast
33:54 Why "tell me about a time" fails, and the scenario-based alternative
37:46 The five-star sales experience framework
41:54 Bringing enterprise-grade experience to SMB with AI
45:49 The trillion-dollar thesis: 95% of workers are outside the US
47:22 Building 60+ payroll engines: the Amazon Prime parallel
53:02 First-principles systems thinking for sales
59:38 The problem-framing framework he gives his team
01:01:09 The "Ghostbuster" role and fighting operational decay
01:05:25 Where to find Chris

Chris Lee (Head of Sales, Americas at Deel):
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/techcontrarian/
X: https://x.com/TechContrarian

Sophie Buonassisi (Host, SVP at GTMnow/GTMfund):
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/
X: https://x.com/sophiebuona

About Chris Lee:
Chris Lee is Head of Sales, Americas at Deel, which he joined as one of its first sales hires at $1M in revenue and helped scale to $1.5B. Previously he was employee number 11 at Granular, an agricultural tech company acquired by DuPont for $300M.

About GTMnow:
GTMnow shares how the best in tech build, scale and invest. The media brand is owned and operated by venture firm, GTMnow is the media arm of GTMfund.

Visit us on: https://gtmnow.com
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow
Follow us on X (Twitter): https://x.com/GTMnow_
Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_now
Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gtmnow_
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gtmnow_/

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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Most companies start self-serve and grind their way up to enterprise. Shensi Ding did the opposite, then reversed course again. The co-founder and CEO of Merge joins Sophie Buonassisi on GTMnow to break down how she built a company that now powers integrations for OpenAI, Perplexity, Netflix, Uber, Mistral, and enterprise logos like Mastercard, JP Morgan, and Amex, backed by $75M from Accel and NEA.

Shensi gets tactical on the GTM decisions behind that growth: why she went enterprise-first into greenfield, why she's now layering a self-serve motion back on top (20,000+ self-serve orgs, 400+ enterprise customers), how forward-deployed engineers turned a 1% edge case into 5 to 10x usage growth, and why she rebuilt marketing to run like an engineering team. She also gets candid on founder-led sales, the mercenaries-versus-missionaries hiring trap, the open-source model shift and the China question, and why every founder who started pre-AI should build one product 0-to-1 themselves.

What you'll learn:
- Why she reversed the standard GTM playbook (enterprise first, then PLG) and how to run both motions at once
- How forward-deployed engineers close the 1% edge case that unlocks 5 to 10x enterprise usage
- Why marketing now runs like an engineering function at Merge, and how it took her from 1 to 2 dinners a quarter to 3 to 5 a month
- Why product got fast and go-to-market became the new bottleneck
- How to know when to hire your first salesperson (hint: you should be "dying" first)
- The mercenaries-vs-missionaries test, and the "anti-sell" she uses in hiring
- The 2026 shift away from "token-maxing," and how model routing cuts AI spend
- The truth about open-source (often Chinese) models: where they're built vs. where your data actually lives
- Why founders who started pre-AI should build one product 0-to-1 to understand what's now possible

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:14 What Merge does: products, workforce, and three core offerings
02:05 Agent Handler, Gateway, and the new Embedded Routing Stack
04:52 The 2026 shift away from "token-maxing"
07:29 Open-source models, the China question, and where data really lives
10:14 How Merge works with open-source model providers
12:00 What she's learned as a first-time founder: get over your ego
13:22 Reversing the GTM playbook: enterprise-first, then PLG
15:50 Running both motions: 20,000+ self-serve, 400+ enterprise
17:31 Why buyer behavior moved to Twitter and brand
19:06 Founder-led sales, and what a real sales process taught her
22:27 When to hire your first salesperson
23:49 Forward-deployed engineers and 5 to 10x usage growth
27:00 Keeping go-to-market up to speed with product
28:33 Rebuilding marketing as an engineering function
30:45 The dinner agent: 1 to 2 a quarter to 3 to 5 a month
31:24 How AI buying reshaped the marketing org
33:54 Maintaining agents: prompts over legacy builders
35:02 Mercenaries vs. missionaries, and the "anti-sell"
40:25 The market view: from hostility to collaboration
42:06 Is a valuation reckoning coming?
43:07 Why she stayed hands-on building Agent Handler and Gateway
45:18 What's next: training your own models off open-source
46:52 Where to find Shensi and Merge

Connect with Shensi Ding:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shensiding/
X: https://x.com/shensi
Merge: https://merge.dev

Host: Sophie Buonassisi, SVP at GTMnow
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/
X: https://x.com/sophiebuona

About the guest: Shensi Ding is the co-founder and CEO of Merge, a unified API platform that now spans product integrations, agent tooling, and LLM routing/governance. Merge powers companies including OpenAI, Perplexity, Netflix, Uber, and Mistral, and enterprise customers like Mastercard, JP Morgan, and Amex. The company has raised $75M from Accel and NEA.

About GTMnow: GTMnow is the media arm of GTMfund, sharing the strategies, tactics, and stories from the operators and investors building the next generation of go-to-market.

Visit us on: https://gtmnow.com
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow
Follow us on X (Twitter): https://x.com/GTMnow_
Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_now
Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gtmnow_
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gtmnow_/

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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Are your sales compensation plans driving the right behaviors or causing your best reps to quit? In this episode of GTMnow, Brian Le (Global Sales Compensation Partner at Notion) breaks down how to build a scalable sales comp operating system.

Brian shares his firsthand experience scaling Notion's sales comp from 80 to over 400 employees and explains why trust is the ultimate currency in revenue operations. If you are a founder, revenue leader, or sales professional, this breakdown covers everything from structuring pay mix to identifying the earliest signs of comp plan degradation. You will even hear what it takes for top AEs to pull in upwards of $1 million in a single quarter.

In this episode, we cover:
00:00 Intro
01:15 Brian Le's journey through Salesforce, Carta, and Notion
04:33 Why sales comp is the operating system for go-to-market
07:07 Phase 1: Building a scalable comp foundation at Notion
13:50 Transitioning from seat-based to usage-based pricing models
18:15 The 3 core pillars of a successful sales commission plan
22:09 Early warning signs your quota and comp structures are breaking
31:41 The real cost of losing sales reps over bad commission payouts
39:35 How to structure compensation for your first early-stage sales hires
42:39 Will AI agents replace SDRs and sales compensation?

Connect with Brian Le, :
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianhoangle/

Host: Sophie Buonassisi, SVP at GTMnow
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/
X: https://x.com/sophiebuona

Visit us on: https://gtmnow.com
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow
Follow us on X (Twitter): https://x.com/GTMnow_
Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_now
Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gtmnow_
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gtmnow_/

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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"Investing in companies that OpenAI won't kill." That's Vanessa Larco's thesis, and in this VC bonus episode of GTMnow she breaks down exactly how she decides what survives. Vanessa, founder and GP at Premise (formerly a longtime partner at NEA, where she backed Robinhood from seed to IPO), joins Max to get into the nitty gritty of how AI is rewriting venture, distribution, and the entire go-to-market playbook.

She makes the case for why "it's just a wrapper" got a lot of VCs in trouble, why she only backs technical founding teams, and why the old GTM playbook is breaking fastest exactly where you'd least expect it. She also opens up about leaving a big platform to build a two-person fund from a blank canvas, and why she treats the fund itself like a startup.

What you'll learn:
- The "OpenAI won't kill it" framework for spotting durable AI companies (and why not everything OpenAI ships actually wins)
- Why the "it's just a wrapper" dismissal cost VCs real deals, and the kayak/AWS parallels that explain why
- Why Premise only backs technical founding teams, and the shipping speed that becomes the real early moat
- How the old go-to-market playbook is breaking, especially in DevTools, and what replaces it
- Why someone on the founding team has to "nerd out" on distribution, and why no-playbook moments are where you growth hack
- How to run a conviction-based investment committee, and why big funds drift toward consensus whether they like it or not
- Why running a fund is just running a startup: fundraising, product, and customer success by another name
- The unanswered question Vanessa keeps circling: how to give experienced GTM talent space to rewrite the playbook

Chapters:

00:00 Intro & OpenAI Moats
01:12 GTMnow Intro
01:51 Technical vs. Non-Technical AI Founders
04:37 The Bottleneck of Hiring AI Talent
05:15 Do Old Moats Still Exist?
06:36 Cloud Era Lessons vs. Today's AI Layer
09:18 The Shift to the Distribution Era
11:38 Interview: Vanessa Larco (Premise VC)
12:40 Companies OpenAI Won't Kill
13:37 Consumer Habits vs. Enterprise AI
15:05 Moving Beyond the "Wrapper" Stigma
17:39 Thesis Building vs. Founder Curiosities
20:11 Sourcing & The "Surreal" Community
22:26 Learnings From NEA & Lightspeed
24:06 Rethinking the Investment Memo
26:43 Consensus vs. Conviction Investing
31:26 Running a VC Fund Like a Startup
35:04 Building Internal Automation Tools
37:35 Distribution Moats & DevTools
39:38 Sourcing New GTM Playbooks
41:12 Parallel to the AWS Boom
43:55 Human Psychology vs. AI Tools
47:06 SF's Best Cookie Spots
48:32 Outro

Connect with Vanessa Larco:
About the guest: Vanessa Larco is the founder and GP at Premise. Previously a partner at NEA, she backed consumer and fintech companies including Robinhood from seed through IPO. She started her career in product and engineering, was a computer science undergrad, and founded and sold her own startup before moving into venture.

Connect with Max:
https://x.com/hackitmax
https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxaltschuler/

Connect with Vanessa:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessalarco/
https://x.com/veelarco

About GTMnow: GTMnow is the media arm of GTMfund, sharing the strategies, tactics, and stories from the operators and investors building the next generation of go-to-market. This is the VC bonus series, where we host VCs and get into the VC ecosystem.

Visit us on: https://gtmnow.com
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow
Follow us on X (Twitter): https://x.com/GTMnow_
Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_now
Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gtmnow_
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gtmnow_/

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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A $1.2 billion exit is the dream. Elias Torres calls it his biggest failure. The Drift co-founder joins Sophie Buonassisi on GTMnow to unpack why the headline number felt hollow, what he learned in the quiet stretch afterward, and why he jumped straight back in to build Agency, an AI company that runs your entire customer organization.

Elias gets honest about identity after the exit, the difference between chasing a title and building something enduring, and the operating thesis behind Agency: a billion-dollar company with fewer than 100 people, where 80 to 90% of the team are engineers and everyone talks to customers. He also gets into distribution as the hardest problem in the AI era, why he only takes money from investors who lead with value (Pat Grady and Brian Halligan back the company), and the two decades he's spent building alongside David Cancel.

What you'll learn:
- Why a $1.2B exit can still feel like a failure, and what "enduring" actually means
- How to rebuild your identity when the title goes away
- The Agency thesis: $1B with under 100 people, and how AI agents make it possible
- Why Elias runs the whole company on Agency itself, with no CRM
- Why sales may be the last role AI eliminates, and what that means for GTM
- How to spot investors who lead with value instead of a pitch deck
- Why distribution, not product, is the hardest problem in the AI era
- What 20+ years building with David Cancel (Performable, HubSpot, Drift) taught him about partnership

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
02:25 Time off, slowing down, and losing the title
04:00 The inflection point and what comes after a big exit
07:00 What Agency is and the problem it solves
11:00 Why he brought people he's known for years
11:40 Investors who lead with value (Pat Grady and Brian Halligan)
17:30 Building with David Cancel for 20+ years
23:00 The bold claim: $1B with under 100 people
26:00 The go-to-market motion behind it
28:30 "Sales is the last role AI will eliminate"
36:00 High-agency people and how Agency runs itself
42:00 Building distribution in the AI era
51:00 Where to find Elias and Agency

About the guest: Elias Torres is the founder and CEO of Agency, an AI company that provides agents to run a company's customer organization. He previously co-founded Drift (acquired in a $1.2B deal) and held senior roles at HubSpot and Performable, building alongside David Cancel for over two decades. Agency is backed by Pat Grady (Sequoia) and Brian Halligan.

Connect with Elias Torres:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eliast/
X: https://x.com/eliast

Host: Sophie Buonassisi, SVP at GTMnow
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/
X: https://x.com/sophiebuona

About GTMnow: GTMnow is the media arm of GTMfund, sharing the strategies, tactics, and stories from the operators and investors building the next generation of go-to-market.

Visit us on: https://gtmnow.com
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow
Follow us on X (Twitter): https://x.com/GTMnow_
Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_now
Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gtmnow_
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gtmnow_/

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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The single most expensive sentence in sales is "I'll follow up on that." Adam Liska joins Sophie Buonassisi on GTMnow to break down the "execution gap," the space between knowing what to do in a deal and actually doing it, and why that gap is where most pipeline quietly dies.

Adam left DeepMind's Gemini team in 2022, pre-ChatGPT, to build a native revenue execution platform now serving 200 customers across 20 countries (recently rebranded and fresh off a $20M Series A). In this conversation, he gets specific on what is actually changing in the sales role, what should be automated, and why he thinks this is about to be the golden age for sales reps.

What you'll learn:
- Why "I'll follow up on that" is the most expensive promise in revenue, and how the execution gap compounds from rep to manager to CRO
- What parts of the rep workflow to automate now (research, CRM updates, business cases, follow-ups) and what stays human
- Why AI is squeezing middle management, not reps, and flattening GTM orgs
- How per-rep coaching changes when every call is recorded, shared, and analyzed for patterns
- The "corrective action" approach to coaching deals on the job, in real time
- How to sell globally when borders disappear but local-language talent still matters
- Why in-person events drove 70% of early pipeline, and how that compounds with cold calling
- How to keep your team at the AI frontier by never locking into a single model
- Adam's #1 piece of advice for first-time founders (hint: it starts with your co-founder)

Chapters:
00:00 Why AI won't replace sales reps
00:22 Leaving DeepMind's Gemini team pre-ChatGPT
01:18 What airspeed does and the "execution gap"
02:07 "I'll follow up on that": the most expensive promise in sales
03:28 The $20M Series A and the rebrand from Glyphic
05:30 Why walk away from frontier AI research at DeepMind
07:17 Leading when the frontier models keep changing
08:39 Buy vs. build, and keeping customers at the AI frontier
11:03 Landing the first 200 customers across 20 countries
12:41 Advice for first-time founders
14:04 Selling globally and what AI changes about language
17:07 What the sales rep role looks like in an AI-first world
19:24 How reps and leaders should start automating today
20:51 The channels driving results right now
22:41 How AI makes per-rep coaching actually work
25:14 Building an execution-first culture
27:10 The DeepMind departure story
28:51 Building in London vs. selling in the US
30:43 Adam's favorite AI use case as a busy CEO
31:26 The biggest misconception about AI in sales

Host: Sophie Buonassisi, SVP at GTMnow
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/
X: https://x.com/sophiebuona

Guest: Adam Liska, Co-founder and CEO at Airspeed
X: https://x.com/adliska
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adliska/

About the guest: Adam is the co-founder and CEO of Airspeed (formerly glyph), a native revenue execution platform that closes the gap between knowing what to do in a deal and executing on it. Before founding the company, he worked at DeepMind on the team that became Gemini.

About GTMnow:
GTMnow is the media arm of GTMfund, sharing the strategies, tactics, and stories from the operators and investors building the next generation of go-to-market.

Visit us on: https://gtmnow.com
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow
Follow us on X (Twitter): https://x.com/GTMnow_
Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_now
Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gtmnow_
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gtmnow_/

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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Benchmark's Chetan breaks down why the path from $0 to $100M has collapsed from five years to under two, and the one thing that is actually getting harder in the AI era: reaching your first million in revenue. In this VC bonus edition of the GTM Now Podcast, he sits down with Sophie Buonassisi to unpack how AI native companies are compressing 180 day sales cycles into 30 days, why direct sales is here to stay, and how value is shifting away from code toward the last mile of customer service.

Using Legora (legal AI) and Manus as case studies, Chetan explains how Benchmark builds conviction fast, why the marginal cost of code trending to zero changes everything, and what separates the founders who win this window from the ones who miss it.

What you'll learn:
- Why the first $1M now takes longer than the next $99M in the AI era
- How top AI startups compress a 180 day sales cycle into 30 days
- The "trusted vendor" playbook for breaking incumbent distribution advantages
- Why Legora embedded inside a law firm for a year before launching
- How a magical demo plus a tightly scoped pilot collapses six month deals
- Why value is moving from the product build to the service and outcome
- What Benchmark actually looks for: technical insight that creates demand pull
- Why direct sales and forward deployed engineers are exploding in AI
- How buying one AI app triggers an enterprise to buy 100 more

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:13 Why Max + Paul were furious taking notes on this one
02:10 Benchmark's $2B growth fund and the changing strategy
04:57 POC to trial and the power of direct sales in AI
11:33 Meeting Max early: $0 to $100M in 18 months
15:05 Manus: 0 to $100M in eight months through PLG
17:10 Will the AI native window close?
19:09 Sizing the window: $40B software vs $1T services in legal
21:50 How Benchmark picks the winners
25:31 Turning a 180 day sales cycle into 30 days
30:45 The Legora deep dive: research, pilots, legal engineers
41:46 Why $0 to $100M keeps getting faster
42:29 The harder problem: getting to your first $1M
44:04 When code goes to zero, what do customers pay for?
48:46 Sales led vs PLG in the AI era
51:49 How to spot the right founder
55:18 What company Chetan wishes someone would build
56:48 Investors founders should follow
57:40 Working with Jack Altman at Benchmark

Connect with Chetan Puttagunta:
General Partner at Benchmark
Twitter/X: https://x.com/chetanp
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chetanputtagunta/

Host: Sophie Buonassisi, SVP at GTMnow
Follow Sophie: https://x.com/sophiebuona
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/

About the GTMnow Podcast:
GTMnow is the media brand of GTMfund, sharing the tactics and strategies behind how the best companies go to market. The VC series brings on top investors to break down what is actually working in go to market today.

Visit us on: https://gtmnow.com
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow
Follow us on X (Twitter): https://x.com/GTMnow_
Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_now
Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gtmnow_
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gtmnow_/

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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LinkedIn CPMs just hit $800. AI is flooding every channel with content. Outbound is dying. So where should B2B marketers actually spend their ad budget right now?

Keith Putnam-Delaney, co-founder & CEO of Primer, joins Sophie to break down the complete state of B2B paid advertising, what's broken, what's working, and where the real opportunities are hiding in 2025.

What you'll learn:
- Why LinkedIn & Google search are hitting a ceiling (and what to do instead)
- How to get 80% match rates on Meta and 70% on Reddit for B2B audiences
- The only moat competitors can't copy: your targeting
- Why you need to feed CRM conversion data back to ad platforms
- Holdout groups, attribution, and what actually proves paid ROI
- The truth about ads in LLMs (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Grok)
- B2B influencer marketing: the most undervalued tactic right now
- Founder lessons from 6 years and 3 pivots building Primer

Chapters:
0:00 – The paid advertising crisis no one's talking about
2:40 – AI's real impact on ad costs
4:06 – Google Search & AI Overviews: what still works
5:04 – LinkedIn CPMs: $20 to $800 in 18 months
6:39 – Why B2B brands need to be on Meta, Reddit & Instagram
7:01 – What Primer does (80% match rates explained)
9:29 – The device fragmentation problem & attribution
11:16 – Holdout groups: the statistically proven approach
13:30 – Which channel to start with (and minimum spend)
22:18 – Paid ad creative: feed the algorithm with variants
25:14 – B2B influencer marketing & thought leadership ads
30:59 – Why you MUST push CRM data back into ad platforms
33:31 – Ads in ChatGPT & LLMs: what's coming
35:53 – Founder lessons, mental health & iteration

Connect with Keith Putnam-Delaney:
Co-founder, CEO of Primer
Twitter/X: https://x.com/kcpdelaney
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithputnamdelaney/

Host: Sophie Buonassisi, SVP at GTMnow
Follow Sophie: https://x.com/sophiebuona
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/

About Keith Putnam-Delaney:
Keith is the co-founder and CEO of Primer (https://www.sayprimer.com/), a B2B paid advertising targeting layer that helps brands unlock high match rates on Meta, Google, Reddit, and beyond. Former brand marketer turned data-driven growth leader.

GTM Now is the media brand of GTMfund, sharing go-to-market insights from the top 1% of revenue operators.

Visit us on: https://gtmnow.com
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow
Follow us on X (Twitter): https://x.com/GTMnow_
Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_now
Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gtmnow_
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gtmnow_/

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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Most sales comp plans are quietly broken, and the people running them have no idea. Siva Rajamani, CEO of Everstage, has visibility into 300+ enterprise comp plans, and he says 90% of companies make the same mistakes. In this episode he breaks down what's going wrong, how to spot it, and what a comp plan that actually drives revenue looks like.

Siva explains why sales compensation is not a back office cost center but the single biggest lever in your go-to-market strategy. It's the glue between what a company intends and what reps actually do. If your reps aren't doing what you want, the answer isn't in a 1-on-1. It's in your comp plan.

We get into the over-complication trap, the hidden math that makes reps refuse your best deals, the base-to-variable ratios that actually work, why your top reps should out-earn almost everyone, and how AI is about to blow open the gap between your best and average sellers.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:30 Siva's RevOps background at Freshworks
04:00 Scaling RevOps from 1 to 25
04:50 Why he left to build Everstage
06:30 Why incentives drive revenue, not tools
08:00 Comp as the glue between intent and action
10:30 The 1 to 2 mistakes almost every team makes
12:00 "If your comp plan needs FAQs, it's a tax code"
14:00 The 60-second test for a broken plan
15:30 Designing comp to retain top talent
16:50 How AI widens the gap between top and average reps
18:00 The $1M sales rep is coming
19:30 Why optimizing for top earners is better on margins
21:30 Quota to OTE ratios that actually work
23:00 Base vs variable: the 50/50 rule and exceptions
24:00 What Everstage does and who it serves
25:30 How Everstage structures its own comp plan
28:00 The rise of the revenue architect
48:00 CPQ and connecting margin to commissions
50:30 When should reps earn commission in the deal cycle
52:30 Six month vs twelve month comp cycles
54:30 The most a sales rep has ever made
55:20 Where to find Siva

Connect with Siva Rajamani:
Co-founder, CEO of Everstage
Twitter/X: https://x.com/siva_rajamani
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sivasrajamani/

Host: Sophie Buonassisi, SVP at GTMnow
Follow Sophie: https://x.com/sophiebuona
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/

ABOUT GTMnow

GTMnow is the media arm of GTMfund, sharing the strategies, tactics, and stories from the operators and investors building the next generation of go-to-market.

Visit us on: https://gtmnow.com
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow
Follow us on X (Twitter): https://x.com/GTMnow_
Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_now
Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gtmnow_
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gtmnow_/

Subscribe for more conversations with the operators and founders behind today's best go-to-market teams.

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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Ben Lerer, Managing Partner and Founder of Lerer Hippeau, has built one of New York's most influential early-stage venture firms across nine funds and nearly $1.5B in AUM. In this VC edition of the GTMnow podcast, Ben sits down with Max and Paul to unpack how he actually picks founders, why he wants to be the "worst investor" at his own fund, and the contrarian belief that backing good, sensible businesses is a mistake.

Ben got his start in media, building Thrillist before it merged into Group Nine, then turned those relationships and that operator empathy into a venture career writing early checks into companies like Warby Parker and Casper. He shares what's changed about winning deals in a more competitive, sharp-elbowed market, how Lerer Hippeau runs its investment committee on conviction rather than consensus, and the process failure behind passing on Peloton.

We also get into the debate every investor is wrestling with right now: the crazy, fast-moving AI-native founder versus the second or third-time operator with deep domain expertise, and why the answer is rarely a silver bullet.

A real venture-nerd conversation on firm building, IC decision-making, founder selection, and what it takes to chase the power law.

Topics covered:
- The "worst investor at my own fund" philosophy
- Conviction vs. consensus in the investment committee
- Why Lerer Hippeau funds "crazy" founders, not good companies
- The Peloton miss and what it revealed about process
- From Thrillist and digital media to venture capital
- AI-native founders vs. domain experts
- How to win competitive deals as a smaller firm

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:52 Max and Paul on the episode: IC process and founder selection
14:36 Conversation with Ben Lerer begins
15:02 Nine funds, $1.5B AUM, and the early-stage strategy
23:00 From Thrillist to venture: the media springboard
28:00 What's changed in picking founders and winning deals
33:00 How the investment committee grew and evolved
37:40 The "magic" deal and chasing high-conviction bets
50:43 Why Ben wants to be the worst investor at his fund
53:00 Funding crazy people, not good companies
51:35 Yankees or Mets?

Connect with Ben Lerer:
https://x.com/BenjLerer
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benlerer/

Connect with Max:
https://x.com/hackitmax
linkedin.com/in/maxaltschuler

Listen on Apple and Spotify, and subscribe for more GTMnow VC editions.

Visit us on: https://gtmnow.com
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow
Follow us on X (Twitter): https://x.com/GTMnow_
Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_now
Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gtmnow_
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gtmnow_/

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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Maleka Momand, co-founder and CEO of Esper, joins Sophie Buonassisi on GTMnow to break down what it actually takes to build and sell software to government. Esper is the operating system for government policy, serving as the system of record for the regulation and internal policy that shapes daily life, from NYPD procedures to nurse practitioner licensing in rural Tennessee.

Maleka shares hard-won lessons from 8 years in GovTech: why winning trust matters more than winning business, why professional services are a moat (not a cost center), and how Esper turns slow, paper-based policy processes into live digital workflows. She also covers the DOGE effect across red and blue states, why enterprise SaaS still has defensible moats in the age of AI, and her advice to founders entering regulated markets.

Whether you're a founder, GTM leader, or operator selling into complex, slow-moving markets, this conversation is packed with practical playbooks on trust, go-to-market, and building durable enterprise software.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:44 Two types of government policy (regulation vs internal)
02:06 The NYPD 3,000-page policy problem
03:23 Digitizing a paper-based, 20-person workflow
04:12 Why policy is infrastructure
05:23 Real impact: Tennessee healthcare & Arkansas hunting licenses
07:45 Esper's ideal customer: complexity, catalyst, volume
08:18 Going to market in GovTech (and why it's slow)
10:16 Advice for founders entering GovTech: win trust first
11:27 Why professional services are a moat
12:38 In-house vs third-party services
13:49 What DOGE actually looks like on the ground
15:11 Is DOGE a tailwind for Esper?
16:36 The new funding round & enterprise SaaS in the age of AI
19:13 From VC to founder: why Maleka made the shift
22:10 Advice for founders: read fiction, not productivity books
24:14 AI, data quality, and the problem with vibe coding
26:43 How Esper uses AI internally (meet "Poly")
27:27 Building a high-agency culture while scaling
29:00 Closing thoughts

Connect with Maleka Momand:
Co-founder, CEO of Esper
Twitter/X: @MalekaMomand
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/malekamomand

Host: Sophie Buonassisi, SVP at GTMnow
Follow Sophie: https://x.com/sophiebuona
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/

ABOUT GTMnow

GTMnow is the media arm of GTMfund, sharing the strategies, tactics, and stories from the operators and investors building the next generation of go-to-market.

Visit us on: https://gtmnow.com
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow
Follow us on X (Twitter): https://x.com/GTMnow_
Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_now
Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gtmnow_
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gtmnow_/

Subscribe to GTMnow for the latest episodes on AI, founder strategy, fundraising, and go-to-market from the best builders in tech.

GovTech #GoToMarket #EnterpriseSaaS #StartupAdvice #GTM #SaaS #FounderAdvice #GovernmentTechnology #PolicyTech #AI

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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One Person, $10M+ ARR, $30M Raised: How Ben Cera Built Polsia (AI Operating System) Solo

Ben Cera, founder of Polsia, just raised $30M at a $250M valuation while running the entire company alone. His AI agent handles his emails, manages customer support, even led his fundraising calls. This is what a solo founder with an AI operating system looks like at scale.

Polsia is an AI operating system that builds and runs companies autonomously. Give it an idea and it builds the product, writes code, conducts research, creates tweets, sets up company infrastructure, and works 24/7 on your behalf. Users are hitting $10M+ ARR using Polsia to scale their businesses.

In this episode we cover:
00:00 - Intro & The Viral Launch Nobody Forgot
01:24 - How He Raised $30M at $250M Valuation with Himself as the Only Employee
02:15 - The Origin Story: Building Polsia from Scratch
04:13 - Why the Controversial Product Name Became Free Marketing ($Millions in Earned Media)
05:55 - What Polsia Actually Does (AI Operating System for Founders)
06:25 - How He Hit $10M+ ARR Running Solo (No Cofounders, No Hires)
10:30 - Building a Company OS That Works 24/7 on Your Behalf
12:00 - The Psychology of Single Founder Mode (Why It Scales Faster)
14:45 - AI Agents Handling Customer Support, Refunds, & Bug Fixes
16:30 - Email Automation: How Polsia Responds to 100% of His Emails
20:15 - The Viral Fundraising Stunt (Live Dashboard + Agent-Led Investor Calls)
25:00 - Why He Let His AI Agent Handle First Meetings with Investors
28:30 - The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy of Distribution (More Visibility = More Traction)
32:15 - How Distribution Strategy Becomes Your Go-To-Market
35:45 - Building in Public While Running Everything Solo
38:00 - Customer Obsession at Scale (Staying Close When You're Alone)
42:56 - Founder Availability: Direct Phone Access to Customers
44:00 - Manufactured Moments That Feel Authentic
50:13 - Why Distribution Isn't an Afterthought Anymore

Key Insights:
- One founder + AI operating system beats small teams without leverage (speed, decision-making, equity concentration)
- Polsia lets you build multiple products simultaneously without hiring (products work 24/7 on your behalf)
- The more controversial your positioning, the more people talk (free marketing from debate)
- AI agents can handle 80% of founder work: emails, support, customer refunds, even investor screening
- Live dashboards showing real-time growth create self-fulfilling prophecies (transparency = conviction)
- Distribution is how you reach product-market fit faster (not an afterthought)
- AI agents leading first investor meetings works (validates the product claim + generates buzz)
- Customer intimacy at scale = founder still takes direct texts from users
- Retention matters more than naming: customers don't complain about the name, they just use it
- One person with AI tools > 5 people building without leverage

Why This Matters:
This is the playbook for next-generation founders in 2026. Ben shows you how to: scale solo using AI agents, multiply your output without hiring, go viral intentionally, raise capital through distribution, and stay close to customers at scale. If you're a founder thinking about AI leverage, autonomous systems, or scaling lean, this is essential.

Watch This If You're:
- Solo founders scaling without a team
- Founders interested in AI agents and autonomous systems
- Learning about AI-first product development
- Studying modern GTM and distribution strategy
- Raising capital in 2026 (fundraising case study)
- Building products with AI agents doing the work
- Curious about the solo founder + AI agent trend
- Following autonomous company builders

Connect with Ben Cera:
Founder & CEO of Polsia
Twitter/X: @bencera
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benbroca/

Host: Sophie Buonassisi, SVP at GTMnow
Follow Sophie: https://x.com/sophiebuona
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/

ABOUT GTMnow
GTMnow is the media arm of GTMfund, sharing the strategies, tactics, and stories from the operators and investors building the next generation of go-to-market.

Visit us on: https://gtmnow.com
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow
Follow us on X (Twitter): https://x.com/GTMnow_
Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_now
Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gtmnow_
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gtmnow_/

Subscribe to GTMnow for the latest episodes on AI, founder strategy, fundraising, and go-to-market from the best builders in tech.

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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AI Infrastructure Spending is Insane: Hyperscalers Betting $575B on the Data Center Race | Tomasz Tunguz

This year's data center infrastructure spending will be the 5th largest infrastructure project in history (bigger than everything except railroads and the two world wars). Tomasz Tunguz breaks down what nobody appreciates about the scale of the AI boom.

Tomasz Tunguz, General Partner at Theory Ventures, and one of the most insightful voices on AI infrastructure, data stacks, and founder strategy.

In this episode we cover:
00:00 - Intro & The Scale Nobody Anticipated
02:13 - Data Center CapEx Could Hit 5-7% of US GDP by 2030
05:21 - For Every $1 AI Companies Make, They Spend $12 on Infrastructure ($575B Bet)
06:20 - Market Share Capture vs. Margin Games: The Chicken Game Big Tech is Playing
09:48 - How the Data Stack & AI/ML Worlds Have Completely Fused
12:33 - Product-Market Fit is No Longer Binary: It's Continuous Now
15:17 - How AI is Changing Venture Capital & Portfolio Management
17:09 - The Future: Image & Video Data is Going to Require MASSIVE Infrastructure
18:25 - Pattern Recognition Across Winning Companies (Domain Expertise is Key)
20:50 - Hot Take: Corporate Org Structure Will Transform in 5 Years
21:00 - Final Advice to Founders: Nobody Knows the Answer

Key Insights:
- Hyperscalers are spending ALL free cash flow + borrowing heavily to fund data center CapEx (Meta, Google, Oracle levered 7:1 on cash flow basis)
- The dominant metric: intelligence per watt of electricity
- Anthropic rumored to have very high gross margins (first wave competition)
- Data teams are now reporting to heads of engineering (huge organizational shift)
- Inference demand is infinite: models are growing 5-10x in size
- Foundation models broke product-market fit: it's now continuous, not static
- Second-time founders win because they understand domain history & distribution
- PR is now a major distribution channel for AI companies (unlike software era)
- Building for images & video is the next frontier (1,000-10,000x larger than text data)

Watch this if you're:
- Founders building AI/data companies
- Investors analyzing the AI infrastructure play
- Product leaders understanding AI's organizational impact
- Anyone following the AI market seriously

Connect with Max:
https://x.com/hackitmax
https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxaltschuler/

Connect with Paul:
https://x.com/PaulGTM
https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulsirving/

Guest: Tomasz Tunguz, General Partner
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomasztunguz/
https://x.com/ttunguz

Host: Sophie Buonassisi, SVP at GTMnow
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/
https://x.com/sophiebuona

ABOUT GTMnow
GTMnow is the media arm of GTMfund, sharing the strategies, tactics, and stories from the operators and investors building the next generation of go-to-market.

Visit us on: https://gtmnow.com
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow
Follow us on X (Twitter): https://x.com/GTMnow_
Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_now
Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gtmnow_
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gtmnow_/

Brought to you by: AngelList
From starting as a small, operator-led rolling fund, to evolving to an institutional platform, AngelList has been a core partner in every phase of GTMfund’s growth. Their software-first fund admin infrastructure allowed us to scale without sacrificing agility, from onboarding hundreds of LPs seamlessly to handling compliance, capital calls, and reporting as our fund size evolved.

Transcript available under the episode here: https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

Subscribe to GTMnow for the latest episodes! https://gtmnow.com

For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email gtmnow@gtmfund.com

GTMnow is a media brand brought to you by VC firm, GTMfund: https://gtmfund.com/

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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The future of websites isn't a builder problem anymore. It's an agent problem.

In this episode of GTMnow, Sophie Buonassisi sits down with Linda Tong, CEO of Webflow, to unpack how the entire web is being rewritten for a world where humans AND AI agents are your audience.

Linda breaks down why Webflow is no longer "just a website builder" (it's an agentic web marketing platform), what the Vidoso acquisition unlocks for AI-generated brand assets, and how the rise of Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is forcing marketers to rethink content from the ground up. She also shares the practical playbooks her team uses to "vibe" sites into production with the Webflow MCP server, why human creativity is the only real moat left, and how she built her own personal CRM using Claude Code.

If you run a GTM team, lead marketing, or are trying to figure out what your website should even look like in 2026, this one is essential.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
-Why your website is now the #1 source of truth for humans, bots, and agents
-The shift from static sites to continuously optimizing, dynamic experiences
-How "vibe coding" with MCP is changing the way teams build on the web
-Inside the Vidoso acquisition and what "brand-governed AI" actually means
-AppGen: going from prompt to production without losing brand consistency
-Answer Engine Optimization (AEO): the non-obvious mistakes marketers are making
-How to structure a marketing team made of humans plus agent swarms
-The "5 words" exercise every CEO should run inside their company
-Linda's personal CRM built with Claude Code (and how Webflow scales internal AI)
-Why "unlimited credits" and Builder Days unlock real AI productivity

ABOUT THE GUEST
Linda Tong is the CEO of Webflow, the agentic web marketing platform powering some of the most respected brands on the internet. Before stepping into the CEO role, Linda served as President and COO at Webflow, and previously led product at Cisco's AppDynamics and held senior roles at Google.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
01:41 From static to dynamic
03:12 Inside the Vidoso acquisition
05:38 The human moat
07:17 Beyond the website builder
08:55 Structuring human + agent teams
09:58 AppGen, explained
10:45 Prompt to production
12:11 AEO misconceptions
14:40 Holistic AEO strategy
16:38 The 5 words exercise
18:10 Linda's personal CRM
19:31 Central vs. individual AI
20:44 Inside Webflow's Builder Days

Guest: Linda Tong, CEO Webflow
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lktong/
https://x.com/YayLT

Host: Sophie Buonassisi, SVP at GTMnow
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/
https://x.com/sophiebuona

ABOUT GTMnow
GTMnow is the media arm of GTMfund, sharing the strategies, tactics, and stories from the operators and investors building the next generation of go-to-market.

Visit us on: https://gtmnow.com
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow
Follow us on X (Twitter): https://x.com/GTMnow_
Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_now
Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gtmnow_
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gtmnow_/

Sponsors:
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Secure your .tech domain today from any registrar of your choice.

Transcript available under the episode here: https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

Subscribe to GTMnow for the latest episodes! https://gtmnow.com

For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email gtmnow@gtmfund.com

GTMnow is a media brand brought to you by VC firm, GTMfund: https://gtmfund.com/

GTMnow #Webflow #AI #LindaTong #AnswerEngineOptimization #AEO #GoToMarket #B2BMarketing #AgenticAI #VibeCoding #AIAgents #FutureOfWeb #MarketingPlatform #SaaS #aimarketing

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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AI is rewriting go-to-market and most companies are still operating with a “Frankenstein stack.”

In this episode of GTMnow, we sit down with David, founder & CEO of Reevo, to unpack how AI-native companies will replace legacy GTM systems, why the future of sales teams looks radically different, and how AI agents are becoming the new operating layer for revenue teams.

David shares why Reevo stayed in stealth while building a vertically integrated AI revenue operating system, the problem of institutional knowledge loss in sales organizations, and why the old playbook for SaaS and GTM is breaking in 2026.

We also dive deep into:
- AI-native go-to-market strategy
- The death of the legacy SaaS tech stack
- Revenue operating systems explained
- AI agents for sales, marketing, and customer success
- How founders should think about AI adoption
- Building startups in the age of AI
- Why “failure is the cornerstone of innovation”
- AI-driven sales productivity and revenue efficiency
- Founder-led sales in 2026
- The future of CROs, CMOs, and RevOps
- AI copilots, Jarvis-style workflows, and GTM automation
- Scaling teams without scaling headcount

If you're a founder, CRO, CMO, GTM leader, SaaS operator, AI builder, or investor trying to understand where B2B software and go-to-market are headed next, this episode is for you.

Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:20 Why Reevo built in stealth
04:50 Why AI can finally disrupt GTM tech stacks
09:20 What Reevo actually does
11:10 AI outcomes vs headcount growth
15:00 How AI changes leadership & innovation
19:00 Why legacy GTM teams are vulnerable
23:00 The future of AI-native GTM organizations
29:00 Running an AI-native company internally
34:00 David’s favorite AI workflows & tools
37:40 Advice for introverted founders & leaders

Host: Sophie Buonassisi, SVP Marketing at GTMnow
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi

Guest: David Zhu, Co-founder and CEO at Reevo
https://www.linkedin.com/in/zhuventures/

Visit us on: https://gtmnow.com
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow
Follow us on X (Twitter): https://x.com/GTMnow_
Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_now
Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gtmnow_
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gtmnow_/

Sponsors:
.Tech - Domains, where the next generation of builders is planting their flag. Secure your .tech domain today from any registrar of your choice.

Transcript available under the episode here: https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

Subscribe to GTMnow for the latest episodes! https://gtmnow.com

For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email gtmnow@gtmfund.com

GTMnow is a media brand brought to you by VC firm, GTMfund: https://gtmfund.com/

AI #Sales #GTM #SaaS #ArtificialIntelligence #RevenueOperations #Startup #B2B #RevOps #AIAgents #Founder #SalesLeadership #CMO #CRO #GoToMarket #AIStartup #TechPodcast #SalesTech #FutureOfWork #Automation

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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Tyler Hogge helped take Divvy from zero to a $2.5B acquisition by Bill.com. Now, as General Partner at Pelion Ventures, he argues that charging for software is dead, per-seat pricing is collapsing, and the next decade of venture-scale companies will be built on outcomes, not subscriptions.

In this episode of the GTMnow VC Podcast, Tyler sits down with Max to break down what comes after SaaS pricing, why founder intensity is the only trait that still matters in 2026, and how Pelion concentrates capital into its biggest winners (Cloudflare alone returned over $1B to the fund). He also shares why most startups won't survive going head-to-head with OpenAI and Anthropic, the "bent the odds" contract he signed with Redo's CEO, and the lesson from raising four kids that changed how he leads.

This is an honest, no-fluff conversation about where venture is going as AI commoditizes software.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:14 Intro
18:48 Tyler joins
23:09 "Sell Jesus, sell anything"
27:42 The $2.5B Divvy exit
34:39 The "bent the odds" contract
38:11 Startups vs. OpenAI and Anthropic
39:05 "Software is worth zero"
40:55 The death of per-seat pricing
43:02 Lessons from raising 4 kids
46:44 "LinkedIn is the trailer park"

Connect with Tyler:
https://x.com/thogge
https://www.linkedin.com/in/thogge/

Connect with Max:
https://x.com/hackitmax
https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxaltschuler/

Connect with Paul:
https://x.com/PaulGTM
https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulsirving/

About Tyler Hogge:
Tyler Hogge is a General Partner at Pelion Ventures, Utah's oldest and largest venture fund with $500M AUM across eight funds. Before Pelion, Tyler was VP of Product at Divvy, which sold to Bill.com for $2.5B in 2021. Earlier in his career, he was a product leader at Wealthfront under Andy Rachleff and Adam Nash. He's based in Utah and one of the most active venture capitalists on X.

About GTMnow:
GTMnow is the media arm of GTMfund, a pre-seed and seed-stage B2B SaaS venture firm backed by an LP base of 300+ C-suite and VP-level operators from the best go-to-market organizations in tech. The GTMnow VC Podcast publishes every other week with the investors and operators shaping the next decade of B2B software.

Brought to you by: AngelList
From starting as a small, operator-led rolling fund, to evolving to an institutional platform, AngelList has been a core partner in every phase of GTMfund’s growth. Their software-first fund admin infrastructure allowed us to scale without sacrificing agility, from onboarding hundreds of LPs seamlessly to handling compliance, capital calls, and reporting as our fund size evolved.

Transcript available under the episode here: https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

Subscribe to GTMnow for the latest episodes! https://gtmnow.com

For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email gtmnow@gtmfund.com

GTMnow is a media brand brought to you by VC firm, GTMfund:
https://gtmfund.com/

Subscribe for new episodes every week

VentureCapital #VCpodcast #SaaS #AI #B2BSaaS #GTMnow #StartupFunding #TylerHogue #PelionVentures #FounderAdvice

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The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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Boomi was founded in the early 2000s by Rick Nucci, acquired by Dell in 2010, and then spun out to Francisco Partners and TPG Capital in 2021. Today it powers 30,000+ enterprise customers globally and moves more data per second than the entire Visa card network, times two. What started as an integration platform has evolved into something bigger: the leading data activation company, purpose-built for the agentic AI era.

Steve Lucas took over as CEO in early 2023, just as ChatGPT was about to reshape the entire software landscape. A three-time CEO with nearly 30 years in enterprise software, Steve previously led Marketo through its $4.75B acquisition by Adobe (the largest in Adobe's history at the time), scaled iCIMS into the world's leading talent acquisition cloud, and held senior roles at SAP, Salesforce, Adobe, and BusinessObjects. He's also the author of "Digital Impact: The Human Element of AI Driven Transformation," a book arguing that the AI revolution will stall unless companies fix the fragmentation of their data first.

In this episode, Sophie Buonassisi sits down with Steve at HumanX in San Francisco to unpack why 2026 is the year AI moves from pilot to production, the three diagnostic questions every CEO should ask before deploying agentic AI, and why "change only happens at the speed of trust." Steve also gets candid about the internal protest that erupted when Boomi rolled out its first CSM agent, his prediction that AI will go from influencing 20% of executive decisions to making 90% of them within 2 years, and how he picked up Claude Code on an airplane to vibe-code a contracts agent for his sales team.

If you're a founder, operator, or GTM leader trying to figure out whether your business is actually ready for agentic AI (or just chasing the buzzword), this one is for you.

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Intro

0:58 Welcome to GTMnow at HumanX

1:10 Why 2026 is when AI moves from pilot to production

2:32 Influencing decisions vs. making decisions: the next 2 years

3:18 Digital Impact: why fragmentation will stall the AI revolution

5:01 "Get your data to the gym": the new slogan

5:20 The 3 questions to know if your company is AI-ready

6:47 Change happens at the speed of trust

7:53 The internal protest behind Boomi's CSM agent

9:32 From integration platform to data activation: the strategic shift

10:50 Steve's most transformative AI workflow as a CEO

11:12 Vibe coding with Claude on an airplane

12:20 Where to follow Steve and Boomi

Host: Sophie Buonassisi, SVP Marketing at GTMnow

linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi

Guest: Steve Lucas, CEO at Boomi

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nstevenlucas/

Visit us on: https://gtmnow.com

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow

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Transcript available under the episode here: https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

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GTMnow is a media brand brought to you by VC firm, GTMfund: https://gtmfund.com/

Keywords: #AI #AgenticAI #Boomi #SteveLucas #GTMnow #DataActivation #HumanX #EnterpriseAI #AIStrategy #B2BSaaS #ClaudeCode #VibeCoding #CEOInterview #DigitalTransformation #futureofwork

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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Okta's CRO Jon Addison joins GTMnow host Sophie to break down the full story behind Okta's remarkable revenue turnaround, the launch of Okta for AI Agents, and the go-to-market playbook that's carrying them from $3B toward a $5B ARR target.

From nearly $850M in operating losses to over $760M in operating income, Okta's transformation is one of the most significant turnaround stories in enterprise SaaS. In this episode, Jon pulls back the curtain on exactly how it happened.

In this episode:

• Why 91% of enterprises are already deploying AI agents but only 10% have a security strategy for them

• How Okta's "AI governance gap" insight became the foundation for their biggest product launch in years: Okta for AI Agents

• The GTM restructure around specialization that unlocked productivity and drove 40% higher average contract value on new product deals

• How Okta became a partner-first company: 95% of their top 100 deals in the last fiscal year were partner-led, and what operationally made that possible

• Why the first discovery call no longer exists, and how sellers need to show up differently in the AI era

• Jon's new internal sales methodology, APEX, built on Command of the Message for the AI era

• How Okta is using AI internally to transform their own go-to-market motion, from conversational intelligence to pre-sales assistants

• What the path to $5B ARR actually looks like: enterprise expansion, international growth, public sector, and the massive new TAM unlocked by non-human identity

• Jon's leadership philosophy: why human-centric selling is becoming more critical as AI takes over the repetitive work

Host: Sophie Buonassisi, SVP Marketing at GTMnow

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi

Guest: Jon Addison, CRO at Okta

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-addison-3399175

Timestamp:

0:00 - Cold open

1:19 - Welcome + Jon's background: from London to Silicon Valley

1:52 - How Jon got into software and identity management

4:08 - Okta for AI Agents launch announcement

5:04 - 90% of customers live with agents, only 10% confident in securing them

6:31 - What's driving the governance gap in the market

7:53 - Speed of agent innovation must be matched by security and governance

8:36 - 40% higher ACV on deals that include new products

9:43 - Why consolidation around a single identity platform is resonating

11:45 - How AI agents unlock a massive new TAM for Okta

13:05 - Okta's turnaround: from $850M operating losses to $760M operating income

13:36 - Key decision 1: GTM specialization drove productivity

15:02 - Key decision 2: becoming a partner-first company

16:14 - What cracking the partner-led model actually looks like

19:08 - How long it takes to see ROI from a partner-led pivot

20:12 - The path from $3B to $5B: enterprise, international, public sector

21:49 - Using AI internally: launching "Apex," the AI-era sales methodology

23:04 - What the Apex sales methodology entails

24:25 - Buyers now show up with strong opinions before the first call

25:44 - How discovery is changing: human-centric selling in the AI era

27:33 - Headcount and AI: what skills matter in the future

29:31 - Why relationships are Okta's core competitive advantage

30:36 - The role of experiences: F1, events, and the 7-touchpoint rule

31:47 - Broad GTM surface area: ABM, ecosystem, brand

33:47 - The future of identity: SaaS disruption, consolidation cycles, and Okta's position

37:06 - Jon's leadership style: coaching reps and unlocking potential

39:01 - Positive vs. negative leadership and the 1-to-10 touchpoints framework

Visit us on: https://gtmnow.com

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow

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The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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Jennifer Li, Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), breaks down why the firm allocated $1.7 billion of its latest $15 billion fund specifically toward AI infrastructure, and what she's betting on next.

Jennifer has backed ElevenLabs from Series A all the way through Series D, watching it grow to an $11 billion valuation. In this episode, she explains what she saw in voice AI before anyone else did, what makes a founder worth backing regardless of the tech, and why the next wave of AI infrastructure is being rebuilt from the ground up.

In this episode:

• Why a16z bet $1.7B on AI infrastructure (and why now)

• The shift from cloud to AI-native infrastructure: storage, compute, orchestration, memory

• How ElevenLabs crossed the uncanny valley in synthetic voice

• Voice agents as the first AI category to truly scale in the enterprise

• What "king-making" in AI go-to-market actually looks like

• The traits that made Jennifer write a check for ElevenLabs on founder conviction alone

• Open source vs. frontier models: what 2027 looks like

• Why world models and vision language models are the next unlock

• AI and human creativity: why directors and authors won't be replaced

• How a 1-2 person studio can now make a full movie

Host: Sophie Buonassisi, SVP Marketing at GTMnow

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi

Guest: Jennifer Li, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferhli/

https://x.com/JenniferHli

Connect with Max:

https://x.com/hackitmax

https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxaltschuler

Connect with Paul:

https://x.com/PaulGTM

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulsirving

Timestamps:

0:00 - Cold open

1:06 - Max & Paul intro: are we in a bubble?

1:46 - AI vs. dot-com era: the key differences

4:55 - B2B SaaS disruption and value destruction (Thoma Bravo / Medallia)

6:39 - Intercom / Finn: crossing the chasm from legacy to AI-native

8:08 - Introducing Jennifer Lee, a16z General Partner

8:31 - Paul's key takeaway: the distribution era

9:41 - Why speed to default brand has never mattered more

11:33 - The ElevenLabs story: a16z led Series A, B, and C

12:02 - Why the seed strategy still works

13:37 - What the best founders do differently with model capabilities

15:58 - Jennifer Lee joins: why a16z raised $1.7B for infrastructure

16:22 - What existing infrastructure is being rebuilt for AI

19:19 - Specific areas a16z is focused on: models, storage, dev tools, security

20:35 - 90%+ of code now written by agents

21:52 - What Jennifer saw early in the 11 Labs / voice AI space

25:19 - Go-to-market in AI infrastructure: what's working

27:29 - Becoming the default brand: the "Kleenex effect" in AI

28:37 - What makes a founder worth backing on conviction alone

30:48 - Predictions for 2026/2027: open source catching up fast

31:39 - Most exciting new modalities: world models and vision language models

32:07 - AI and human creativity: can they coexist?

34:42 - What's blocking the creative AI future

36:05 - "The best ideas live in the graveyard"

36:57 - Closing advice: make AI tools your friends

Visit us on: https://gtmnow.com

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Brought to you by: AngelList

From starting as a small, operator-led rolling fund, to evolving to an institutional platform, AngelList has been a core partner in every phase of GTMfund’s growth. Their software-first fund

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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Kyle Parrish joined Figma as the first-ever sales hire when the company was doing $2M in ARR and helped scale it to $950M ARR. Figma then went on to IPO (FIG).
But the path there was anything but smooth.

In this episode, Kyle breaks down what it actually took to build Figma's enterprise sales motion from scratch, including the no-discount rule that made procurement teams furious, the 40-hour interview weeks when hiring felt impossible to keep up with, and what it was like to lead a 300-person team through a failed $20B Adobe acquisition, and then have their best year immediately after.

We cover:
- Why Figma refused to discount, even when Microsoft pushed back
- How to hire the right first sales rep as a founder
- The PLG to enterprise transition most companies get wrong
- What the Adobe deal collapse actually felt like from the inside
- How Figma went from 3 products to 8 overnight and launched into an IPO
- What great sales look like in the AI era

Timestamp:
0:00 – Intro
1:02 – Guest intro: Kyle Parrish
1:35 – Joining Figma at $2M ARR in 2018
5:01 – First meeting with Dylan (Figma CEO)
6:13 – How to find your first sales hire
9:05 – Stage alignment in early hiring
11:43 – Early-stage operators need "scar tissue"
13:19 – Northstar metric at Figma
14:13 – Obsessing over customer conversations
16:44 – Building Figma's brand through community
17:31 – Scaling the "unscalable"
20:08 – In-person GTM vs. digital
22:47 – Was there a moment Figma might not make it?
24:48 – Pivoting after the Adobe deal collapsed
28:10 – Figma's no-discount rule
31:05 – Enterprise ELAs replacing discounting
34:47 – What makes a great salesperson in the AI era
36:56 – Missionaries vs. mercenaries in AI-era GTM
39:47 – Spotting the next Dropbox or Figma
43:46 – Kyle's post-Figma investing focus
45:58 – Family, travel & what's next

Guest: Kyle Parrish, former VP Sales at Figma
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kparrish8/
X: https://x.com/KyleHParrish

Host: Sophie Buonassisi, SVP Marketing at GTMnow
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/
X: https://x.com/sophiebuona

Visit us on: https://gtmnow.com
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow
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Transcript available under the episode here: https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

Subscribe to GTMnow for the latest episodes! https://gtmnow.com

For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email gtmnow@gtmfund.com

GTMnow is a media brand brought to you by VC firm, GTMfund: https://gtmfund.com/

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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AI isn't just changing how we sell. It's changing how buyers make decisions before they ever talk to you.

Sam, Founder and CEO of TestBox, joins Sophie on GTMnow to break down exactly what's happening to the B2B software buying process right now, and what go-to-market leaders need to do about it immediately.

If you're a founder, CRO, or AE wondering why your pipeline feels different, this conversation will give you a clear framework for what's happening and what to do next.

What we cover:

• Why 70-80% of purchase decisions are already made before the first call (and it's accelerating)
• The shift from discovery calls to validation calls, and how to prepare
• CEO (AI-version of SEO): how LLMs are shaping what buyers believe about your product
• The "day one shortlist" shrinking from 3-4 vendors to 1-2 vendors
• Agent-to-agent procurement: Sam's timeline for when AI agents fully take over buying
• Why the mid-funnel is actually getting longer, not shorter
• The "Fake Nothing, Prove Everything" campaign that went viral post-Series A
• How TestBox runs 15 AI experiments per week across the entire company
• Using Google Vertex video analysis to read prospect body language on sales calls
• How to build an AI-first culture without burning out your team
• Books: The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership, No Ego, Courageous Marketing, Good to Great

Timestamps:

0:00 - Cold open

1:09 - What TestBox does

2:43 - How buying has changed

5:48 - What founders/CROs should do now

7:05 - GEO: AI version of SEO

9:02 - Why mid-funnel is expanding

21:17 - Agent-to-agent procurement

26:02 - All procurement by agents in 3-5 years

29:09 - How vendors differentiate beyond product

33:30 - The croissant campaign breakdown

45:50 - 15 AI experiments per week

47:10 - Analyzing prospects via video AI

48:29 - Building AI culture in your team

52:39 - Book recommendations

Guest: Sam Senior, Founder and CEO TestBox

Linkedin: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelsenior/⁠

TestBox:⁠ https://www.testbox.com

⁠

Host: Sophie Buonassisi, SVP Marketing at GTMnow

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/

Newsletter:⁠ https://thegtmnewsletter.substack.com

⁠Visit us on:⁠ https://gtmnow.com

⁠Follow us on LinkedIn: / gtmnow

Follow us on X (Twitter):⁠ https://x.com/GTMnow_⁠

Follow us on YouTube: / @gtm_now

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Follow us on Instagram: / gtmnow_

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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Auren Hoffman (Flex Capital) joins the GTMnow podcast to share some of the most contrarian takes in tech today, from why AI moats are gone, to why your next VC meeting will be with a bot, to why AI is secretly going to trigger a baby boom.

In this episode:
- Why Auren runs 500+ AI agents to source deals, and what that means for founders raising capital
- The "agent-to-agent" meeting prediction: by end of 2026, first VC conversations will be fully automated
- Why every software moat has been "blown up" and what Salesforce, LinkedIn & DocuSign need to do to survive
- The OpenAI x The Hustle acquisition breakdown: why it's the smartest (and cheapest) distribution play in AI
- Why missing a great deal is 10x more painful than making a bad one, Auren's honest VC mistake framework
- The baby boom thesis: why AI, IVF, self-driving cars & cheaper energy could reverse the fertility decline
- Why companies won't sign yearly SaaS contracts anymore, and what that means for every B2B founder

Auren Hoffman is the founder of Flex Capital, SafeGraph, and LiveRamp. He's an early backer of Replit, Perplexity, Rippling, Vercel, Coinbase, Chime, and AppLovin.

Connect with Max:
https://x.com/hackitmax
https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxaltschuler

Connect with Auren:
https://x.com/auren
https://www.linkedin.com/in/auren/
https://www.youtube.com/@summationpod

GTMnow shares how the best in tech build, scale and invest.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes, The GTMnow Newsletter editions, and other content.

GTMnow is run by GTMfund - we are an early-stage venture firm made up of 350+ go-to-market executives from the fastest-growing companies.

Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
01:05 - GTMfund Q1 recap
02:38 - OpenAI x The Hustle breakdown
06:18 - Redpoint's optimal VC deployment period
11:24 - Auren Hoffman intro
13:04 - Why am I seeing this deal?
26:26 - Sizing up founders at Replit, Perplexity & Rippling
28:49 - What separates great founders
32:10 - 500+ AI agents for deal sourcing
33:40 - Agent-to-agent VC meetings by 2026
45:13 - Every software moat is blown up
49:09 - Who kills Salesforce next?
51:30 - Why no one signs yearly SaaS contracts anymore
51:50 - AI will trigger a baby boom
56:22 - Thinking generationally

AI #VentureCapital #GTM #StartupFunding #AurenHoffman #FlexCapital #SaaS #ArtificialIntelligence #Founders #Sales

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The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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Wade Foster is the CEO of Zapier, a company that sits between 7,000+ apps and runs millions of automations every single day. That gives him a front-row seat to how companies are actually adopting AI, not just talking about it.

In this episode, Wade breaks down the exact decisions he made at Zapier to go from 10% AI usage to 97% company-wide, why agents and workflows are not the same thing, and what most leaders are getting completely wrong about AI fluency.

What you'll learn:

• The difference between agents and workflows (and when to use which)
• What triggered Zapier's internal "Code Red" after GPT-4 launched
• The one-week hackathon that took AI adoption from 10% to 50% overnight
• The AI fluency rubric Zapier built: Unacceptable, Acceptable, Adaptive, Transformative
• Why leaders who aren't using AI are the biggest bottleneck in their companies
• How to measure AI ROI: floor raisers vs ceiling raisers
• How AI now handles 50% of Zapier's customer support tickets
• Wade's personal "advisory council" of AI sub-agents he uses for every major decision
• Why building a company today is 10x cheaper but distribution is 10x harder
• The truth about fundraising: you're selling your company, not raising money
• How Zapier stayed profitable by only hiring when it hurt

Guest: Wade Foster, CEO of Zapier
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wadefoster/
Company - Zapier: https://zapier.com

Host: Sophie Buonassisi, SVP Marketing at GTMnow
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/
Newsletter: https://thegtmnewsletter.substack.com

Episode highlights0:00 - Intro

1:13 - The Seinfeld Quote & Kanye Text story

3:16 - Workflows vs. Agents: What's the difference?

6:09 - Zapier's Code Red moment

8:55 - The hackathon that moved AI adoption from 10% to 50%

12:06 - Making AI fluency a hiring requirement

13:47 - Building the AI fluency rubric

16:40 - Why leaders are the biggest AI bottleneck

18:12 - Revenue impact of going AI-first

22:09 - Would Wade build Zapier differently today?

23:20 - Is Zapier's moat at risk from agents?

24:59 - Staying profitable with minimal capital

28:37 - The riskiest contrarian bet that paid off

31:52 - Wade's 3 personal AI workflows

36:53 - Favorite books for founders

GTMnow is the media brand of GTMfund, sharing go-to-market insights from working with hundreds of portfolio companies backed by 350+ of the best GTM executives.

Subscribe for weekly episodes with the operators, founders, and investors behind the fastest-growing software companies.

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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Ed Sim has been a VC for 30 years. He's backed companies like Clay, Front, BigID, and Snyk. He writes What's Hot in Enterprise IT every single Saturday, 489 weeks in a row. And right now, he says this is the most exciting and terrifying moment he's ever seen in his career.

In this episode, Max and Ed break down what's actually happening inside startups and boards right now, why the old playbooks are dead, and what separates the companies that will survive this AI shift from the ones quietly getting killed by it.

Discussed in this episode

• Why engineering is no longer your bottleneck (and what is)
• The 5 P's Ed uses to evaluate every inception-stage investment
• The autonomous enterprise thesis and what it means for how companies are built
• Why AI-native leadership is now a survival reqxtuirement, not a nice to have
• The full Clay story: $600K to $100M ARR, how they stayed lean, and what actually unlocked growth
• The 3 CH's framework for being a great board partner to founders
• Why the best founders today are inside the AI jet stream, not chasing it
• What every board meeting sounds like right now

Episode highlights0:00 Intro &

1:05 Episode Preview: Ed Sim & Key Takeaways

3:10 The Jet Stream Analogy: Two Types of Companies

5:43 How GTM Operators Should Evaluate Companies Like Angel Investors

7:20 The Collapsing of Moats & AI-Native Business Opportunities

10:00 Rebuilding Industries vs. Selling Software to Them

15:00 Why Old GTM Playbooks Are Dead

17:46 Ed Sim's Background: From Cutco to 30 Years in VC

21:43 The Five P's of Inception Investing

23:04 How to Evaluate Potential & TAM in a Fast-Changing Market

25:40 Staying Ahead of the Jet Stream as a Founder

26:32 The Autonomous Enterprise Thesis

28:44 Agent of the Week: How Companies Should Adopt AI Agents

29:10 How Agents Are Changing Engineering Bottlenecks

31:15 What Incumbents Must Do to Survive the AI Wave

32:53 Intercom, Snowflake & How Legacy Companies Are Adapting

36:43 The Clay Story: How They Found Their Footing

38:33 The Three C's of Working With Founders (Cheer, Challenge, Chill)

40:07 Clay's Growth Trajectory: $600K to $100M+ ARR

41:10 Clay's Agency GTM Model & Community Moat

43:50 Ed's Fund Model: $500K to $15M Checks at Inception

46:57 What's Hot in Enterprise IT & Venture Right Now

48:03 Closing Remarks

Key takeaways1. Engineering is no longer your bottleneck. Your people are. Code is shipping faster than your sales, marketing, and customers can absorb it. The constraint has flipped completely and most companies haven't noticed yet.

2. Painkillers beat vitamins every time. The only startups worth backing at inception are solving a hair-on-fire problem someone desperately needs fixed, not a nice-to-have they can live without.

3. The 3 CH's of being a great board partner. Know when to Cheer (when founders are getting beaten up), when to Challenge (when they feel invincible), and when to Chill (when they just need breathing room to figure it out). Elliot used all three with Clay to perfection.

4. If your CEO came from sales, you are in trouble. Surviving this AI shift requires product-driven, agent-native leadership at the top. The companies that adapted, Snowflake, Intercom, Atlassian, all changed leadership first.

5. The best founders are inside the AI jet stream, not chasing it. The question Ed asks every founder today: are you struggling to keep up, or are you the one constantly shipping and adapting faster than anyone can copy you?

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The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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This episode was recorded prior to Teresa Anania’s move to Chief Customer Officer at Verint. At the time of recording, she was SVP of Customer Experience at Sophos.

Teresa Anania (CCO at Verint, formerly CCO at Sophos) joins GTMnow to share how she's built customer success into a true revenue engine at a company serving 600,000 customers across over $1 billion in annual revenue, and why the old reactive, relationship-based CS model is no longer cutting it.

At Sophos, the threat landscape is compounding fast. AI is accelerating the speed and sophistication of attacks, which means response times, customer journeys, and success motions all have to evolve in lockstep in order to keep up. Teresa has spent her career at companies like Zendesk, Autodesk, and ON24 building the operational frameworks that make that possible at scale.Mentioned Resources: Cleverbridge: Merchant of Record for Software & SaaS​Guest links:

Teresa Anania - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teresa-anania/

Sophos - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sophos/

Sophos - Website: https://www.sophos.com/

Host links:

Sophie Buonassisi - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/

Sophie Buonassisi - X (Twitter): https://x.com/sophiebuona

Newsletter: https://thegtmnewsletter.substack.com

Sponsors:

• HockeyStack - the AI platform that unifies GTM data to help teams convert, expand, and scale. Learn more at https://www.hockeystack.com/

• Nooks - the AI workspace for outbound teams, where AI agents handle prospecting, research, and sequencing so reps can focus on conversations. Learn more at https://www.nooks.ai/

• Cleverbridge – the digital commerce platform helping enterprises optimize post-sale revenue through renewals, winbacks, and add-ons with buyer-friendly purchasing experiences. Learn more at https://grow.cleverbridge.com/lp/digital-commerce

Transcript available under the episode here:

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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Jason Demant just joined GTMfund as Partner, Head of Networks after 6 years at Foundation Capital where he reviewed over 1,000 emerging manager funds and invested in 100+.In this episode, Max (GP), Paul (GP), and Jason break down what separates the VC firms that survive from the ones that quietly die, why the best founders today are skipping mega funds at pre-seed, and what LPs are excited in about emerging managers.What we cover:

• The real reason raising from mega funds at pre-seed can backfire
• Why less than 10% of VC firms ever make it to Fund 3
• What makes an emerging manager fundable (sourcing, founder support, durability)
• The media flywheel that gives certain funds an unfair advantage
• How LPs should think about mega funds vs. emerging platforms (the barbell approach)
• Why founders are the ones now choosing their investors, not the other way around

Connect with Jason: / jasondemant

Connect with Max: / maxaltschuler

Connect with Paul: / paulsirving

GTMnow is the media extension of GTMfund, a venture capital firm investing in early-stage B2B companies. Every episode features operators, investors, and founders on the front lines of go-to-market.

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro

1:54 Jason's Background at Foundation Capital

3:07 Why Jason Chose GTMfund

4:35 How Media Has Evolved in the VC Ecosystem

6:20 What Separates Winning Emerging Managers from the Rest

8:28 GTM Fund's Flywheel: Fund, Community & Media

10:41 Building a VC Firm Is Like Building a Startup

12:31 Emerging Managers vs. Mega Funds (a16z, Lightspeed)

14:01 Why Top Founders Are Picking Emerging Managers for Early Rounds

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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NEW: @Paul Fipps (President of Global Customer Operations at @ServiceNow) joins GTMnow to break down how ServiceNow built the customer engine behind $10B+ in revenue and 20%+ growth for five consecutive years.

From CIO at Under Armour overseeing a 300 million-member connected fitness ecosystem, to now leading global sales, customer success, field marketing, and partners at one of the most disciplined GTM organizations in enterprise software, Paul has seen what it takes to scale from both sides of the table.

In this conversation, you'll learn:

• Why complacency is a bigger threat than competition at scale

• How to detect churn long before it shows up in a report

• What a CIO cancelling 900 AI pilots tells you about where enterprise AI is actually headed

• How ServiceNow unified sales, customer success, field marketing, and partners into one GTM motion so customers never feel the org chart

• Why ServiceNow monitors customer health daily — and what signals their teams actually track

• How community became a core GTM advantage, not just a marketing channel

• How ServiceNow’s AI Control Tower governs agents across the enterprise stack

• Inside “Now on Now”: how ServiceNow generated $335M in annualized AI productivity gains using its own platform

• How integrating Claude into the GTM workflow cut account planning from days to minutes

• What DTC product thinking from Under Armour unlocked in enterprise GTM

• How ServiceNow shifted from 6-month product releases to monthly innovation cycles

• Paul’s advice for building a world-class GTM organization: put the best people in the right seats

Guest links:

Guest - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulfipps/

Guest company - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/servicenow/

Guest company website: https://www.servicenow.com/

Host links:

Sophie Buonassisi - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/

Sophie Buonassisi - X (Twitter): https://x.com/sophiebuona

Newsletter: https://thegtmnewsletter.substack.com

Sponsors:

HockeyStack - the AI platform that unifies GTM data to help teams convert, expand, and scale. Learn more at https://www.hockeystack.com/

Transcript available under the episode here: https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

Subscribe to GTMnow for the latest episodes! https://gtmnow.com/

Highlights:

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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Brett Queener (Partner at Bonfire Ventures) joins GTMnow to share what three decades across Siebel, early Salesforce, co-founding, and seed-stage investing has taught him about what actually wins now that software is cheaper and faster than he ever imagined.

Brett was one of the earliest GTM hires at Salesforce when it had seven employees. He helped build the go-to-market playbook that defined a generation of SaaS: enterprise segmentation, sales motion design, product marketing, the whole works. He then co-founded SmartRecruiters, angel invested in companies like Outreach and Pando, and eventually joined Bonfire Ventures as a Partner to do early-stage investing the way he thinks it should be done: hands-on, operator-led, and built around founders who are ruthless about execution.

Guest links:

Brett Queener - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brettqueener/Bonfire Ventures - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bonfire-ventures/Guest company website: https://www.bonfirevc.com/Host links:Max - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxaltschuler/Max - X: https://x.com/HackItMaxPaul - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulsirving/Paul - X: https://x.com/PaulGTMNewsletter: https://thegtmnewsletter.substack.com

Brought to you by: AngelList

From starting as a small, operator-led rolling fund, to evolving to an institutional platform, AngelList has been a core partner in every phase of GTMfund’s growth. Their software-first fund admin infrastructure allowed us to scale without sacrificing agility — from onboarding hundreds of LPs seamlessly to handling compliance, capital calls, and reporting as our fund size evolved.

As we expanded from Fund I to Fund II, AngelList took care of the back-office operations, allowing us to stay focused on what matters most: investing in world-class founders and building the strongest go-to-market network in venture.

They’ve scaled with us across funds and into the future.

If your fund is growing in size or complexity, check them out at https://angellist.com/gtmfund.

Transcript available under the episode here: https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

Subscribe to GTMnow for the latest episodes! https://gtmnow.com/

Highlights:

00:00 – Brett's career: Siebel, Salesforce employee #7, co-founder, angel investor, seed-stage VC06:58 – The big shift: from passive CRUD apps to agentic software that does the work for you08:07 – "Failing upwards" and what the fastest-growing companies taught Brett about investing in people10:58 – Why Brett moved into VC: 25 years of operators whose collective worth hit $25B16:50 – What Brett looks for in founders now and how it's changed over 6-7 years18:05 – Why anybody can build anything: Brett builds a fully functional travel app in 15 minutes19:20 – The last remaining

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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Dan Wright (Co-founder & CEO of Armada) joins GTMnow to unpack what it actually takes to bring AI infrastructure to the places the cloud was never built to reach.

The cloud covers about 30% of the world. The other 70% (think: oil rigs, the Arctic tundra, military ships, remote mines) is where some of the most critical decisions happen, making latency a life-or-death and billions of dollars difference. Armada is building the infrastructure for that part of the world: modular, ruggedized AI data centers that go to the data, instead of the other way around.

From the first offshore edge computing deployment with the US Navy, to cutting avalanche response times in Alaska from over a day to real time, to sovereign AI installations in Saudi Arabia with Aramco and Microsoft, Armada is redefining what operating at the edge even means.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why cloud infrastructure was built for a pre-AI world and what that gap costs

• How Starlink turned every remote location into a potential AI cluster

• What "distributed intelligence" means and why it's the founding principle behind Armada

• The global race for AI sovereignty and why modular compute is the linchpin

• How Armada goes to market when a product demo involves shipping a 40-foot container to a desert (yes, really)

• Why customer champions are better than any sales rep

• The Microsoft partnership and how Armada extends Azure to places Azure could never go on its own

• Category creation lessons from building a company before the market had a name for the industry

• What's next: SpaceX, sovereign AI, and why Dan thinks humans are on the moon in two years (yes, REALLY)

Guest links:

Dan Wright - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wrightdh/, h

Dan Wright - X: https://x.com/danwrightSF

Armada - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/armadaai/

Armada - Website: https://www.armada.ai/

Host links:

Sophie Buonassisi - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/

Sophie Buonassisi - X: https://x.com/sophiebuona

Newsletter: https://thegtmnewsletter.substack.com

Sponsors:

HockeyStack - the AI platform that unifies GTM data to help teams convert, expand, and scale. Learn more at https://www.hockeystack.com/

Nooks - the AI workspace for outbound teams, where AI agents handle prospecting, r

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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NEW: @Sheila Vashee (CMO of @Figma) joins GTMnow to share how she thinks about brand building across every stage. From selling brownies at age eight, to second marketing hire at Dropbox scaling to $1B+ in annualized revenue, to now leading marketing at one of the most beloved software brands in the world, Sheila has seen it all.

In this conversation, you’ll learn what brand actually means (hint: it's not your logo), how PLG companies make the leap to enterprise, why being obsessively close to your customers is a compounding advantage, and how AI is reshaping the marketing playbook without replacing the human craft that sets great brands apart.

Guest links:- Guest - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheilavashee/

• Guest company - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/figma/

• Guest company website: https://www.figma.com/

Host links:

• Sophie Buonassisi - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/

• Sophie Buonassisi - X (Twitter): https://x.com/sophiebuona

• Newsletter: https://thegtmnewsletter.substack.com

Sponsors:

• HockeyStack - the AI platform that unifies GTM data to help teams convert, expand, and scale. Learn more at https://www.hockeystack.com/

• Granola - the AI notepad that turns meetings into action by capturing context, decisions, and next steps automatically. Head to https://www.granola.ai/gtmfund and get three months free with the code GTMFUND.

Transcript available under the episode here: https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

Subscribe to GTMnow for the latest episodes! https://gtmnow.com/

Highlights:

00:00 – The brownie stand: why brand building started at age eight

03:55 – How Sheila defines brand: it's what people say when you're not in the room

05:08 – Joining Dropbox as the second marketing hire

06:07 – Space Race: the campaign that defined Dropbox's early strategy

06:56 – What consumer marketing taught her about driving revenue

08:29 – Measuring brand ROI through match market testing

09:15 – How Figma thinks about brand building at a macro level

11:21 – The PLG-to-enterprise equation: what Figma did early that Dropbox waited too long on

15:02 – Why building the enterprise team is both operational and optical

17:12 – How Figm

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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Bill Binch (Operating Partner at Battery Ventures) joins GTMnow to share the operational frameworks he's built across 116 quarters on quota, and what actually changes when you move from driving revenue to advising an entire portfolio.

Before Battery, Bill was employee #16 at Marketo, where he led sales from zero revenue through IPO and a Vista Equity acquisition. He then served as CRO at Pendo, helping scale ARR to nearly $100M in only three years. His career spans some of the most defining sales organizations in enterprise software, from Oracle to PeopleSoft.

• Bill Binch - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-binch-302a4a2/,

• Battery Ventures - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/battery-ventures/

• Battery Ventures website: https://www.battery.com/

Host links:

• Max - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxaltschuler/

• Max - X: https://x.com/HackItMax

• Paul - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulsirving/

• Paul - X: https://x.com/PaulGTM

• Newsletter: https://thegtmnewsletter.substack.com

Brought to you by: AngelList

From starting as a small, operator-led rolling fund, to evolving to an institutional platform, AngelList has been a core partner in every phase of GTMfund’s growth. Their software-first fund admin infrastructure allowed us to scale without sacrificing agility — from onboarding hundreds of LPs seamlessly to handling compliance, capital calls, and reporting as our fund size evolved.

As we expanded from Fund I to Fund II, AngelList took care of the back-office operations, allowing us to stay focused on what matters most: investing in world-class founders and building the strongest go-to-market network in venture.

They’ve scaled with us across funds and into the future.

If your fund is growing in size or complexity, check them out at https://angellist.com/gtmfund.

Transcript available under the episode here: https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

Subscribe to GTMnow for the latest episodes! https://gtmnow.com/

Highlights:

00:00 – Bill's career path: Oracle, Marketo employee #16, Pendo CRO, and choosing Arizona over tech hubs

15:01 – Battery's approach: why there's no one-size-fits-all playbook

19:56 – Outreach's accidental sales experiment: remote vs. in-person results

21:23 – What nobody tells you about the transition from CRO to operating partner

23:01 – Gold watch and slippers? Why ope

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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Dan Lee (Co-Founder & CEO of Nooks) joins GTMnow to give a behind the scenes on how Nooks is launching a new Agent Workspace and AI Sequencing layer designed to operate across the full action set of a rep’s day — calls, emails, research, prospecting, and strategy.

The conversation explores why top of funnel is changing the fastest, why traditional sequencing tools optimize the “move” but not the strategy, and how AI systems that learn from rep behavior can compound advantage over time. As adoption deepens, automation can move from ~40% of outbound execution toward 70% and beyond, while switching away resets that intelligence.

We also discuss the broader category shift: customers pushing AI-native tools to take on incumbents, the rise of agent workspaces as the new interface for GTM teams, and why calls remain the most data-rich channel in outbound compared to silent email non-responses.

Sponsors:

Granola - the AI notepad that turns meetings into action by capturing context, decisions, and next steps automatically. Head to https://www.granola.ai/gtmfund and get three months free with the code GTMFUND.

HockeyStack - the AI platform that unifies GTM data to help teams convert, expand, and scale. Learn more at https://www.hockeystack.com/

Guest links:

Guest - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan9lee/

Guest company - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nooksapp/

Guest company website: https://www.nooks.ai/

Host links:

Sophie Buonassisi - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/

Sophie Buonassisi - X (Twitter): https://x.com/sophiebuona

Newsletter: https://thegtmnewsletter.substack.com

Transcript available under the episode here: https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/Subscribe to GTMnow for the latest episodes! https://gtmnow.com/

Highlights:

00:00 – Announcing the Agent Workspace and AI sequencing product

01:25 – Why sales is fundamentally human (even in the AI era)

02:39 – The Agent Workspace as the human–AI interface

02:56 – Why legacy sequencing tools were built for a manual world

04:14 – The sales chess analogy: understand the board before making the move

05:02 – Reps spend too much time "making the move"

06:00 – Nooks as a simulati

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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Emir Atli (Co-founder and CRO of HockeyStack) joins GTMnow to share how go-to-market is shifting in the AI era — from fragmented tools and GTM sprawl to unified, AI-native platforms built on a single data foundation.

Originally known for attribution and market intelligence, HockeyStack is evolving into a central operating system for go-to-market, spanning marketing, sales, and post-sales through AI agents, blueprints, and an execution layer.

We also explore weekly GTM sprints, founder-led content as a pipeline driver (even with <100 followers), and the long-game mindset behind building a generational company from age 20 after YC.

In this episode, we cover:- Why you can’t layer AI onto legacy GTM — you must rebuild GTM around AI

• The “sprawl crisis” and why siloed tools break without a single data foundation

• HockeyStack’s evolution from attribution to a unified GTM operating system

• AI agents, blueprints, and the shift from reporting to execution

• Why consolidation is moving from tools to full buyer journey control

• The case for a winner-takes-all GTM platform

• How AI increases leverage across reps, managers, and pipeline reviews

• Weekly GTM sprints and faster iteration cycles in the AI era

• Founder-led content as a core growth engine and pipeline driver

• LinkedIn as a top channel for MQL-to-opportunity and deal acceleration

• The 10-year mindset, YC lessons, and building a generational company

Sponsor:

Granola - the AI notepad that turns meetings into action by capturing context, decisions, and next steps automatically. Head to https://www.granola.ai/?via=gtmfund&dub_id=ytmcNnCjtlqCbgH5 and get three months free with the code GTMFUND.

Guest links:

Emir Atli - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emiratli/

• HockeyStack - Website: https://www.hockeystack.com/

• HockeyStack - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hockeystack/

Host links:

• Sophie Buonassisi - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/

• Sophie Buonassisi - X (Twitter): https://x.com/sophiebuona

• Newsletter: https://thegtmnewsletter.substack.com

Transcript available under the episode here: https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

Subscribe to GTMnow for the latest episodes! https://gtmnow.com/

Highlights:

00:00 – The GTM sprawl crisis and why AI breaks in siloed systems

01:50 – From attribution to a GTM operating system

02:41 – Launching AI agents, blueprints, and the execution layer in 2026

03:57 – Building a single data foundation across the buyer journey

05:09 – Why GTM must be rebuilt around AI (not layered with tools)

06:23 – Doing "more with more" and increasing management leverage

07:30 – Tool consolidation vs controlling the buyer journey

08:48 – 2026–2028: the great GTM consolidation wave

09:01 – The case for a winner-takes-all GTM platform

10:10 – Moat: data foundation + application layer

11:

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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Amanda “Robby” Robson (Founder of Modern Technical Fund) joins GTMnow to break down how she evaluates companies at the very earliest stages and why discipline matters more than ever in today’s market.

Amanda has spent over a decade in venture before launching Modern Technical Fund, investing across verticals ranging from security and compliance to developer tools at firms like Norwest and Cowboy Ventures. Her investment thesis is centered on backing elite technical founders early and helping them translate deep engineering talent into real products, real customers, and real momentum.

In this conversation, we unpack how Amanda thinks about founder quality, market timing, and risk when there’s limited data and plenty of noise, which is more critical than ever in an AI-heavy investing environment.

Guest Links

Amanda’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-robson-7227685b/

Amanda’s Twitter: https://x.com/robby_mtf

Modern Technical Fund’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/modern-technical-fund/

Modern Technical Fund website: https://moderntechnicalfund.com/

Host links:

Max - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxaltschuler/

Max - X: https://x.com/HackItMax

Paul - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulsirving/

Paul - X: https://x.com/PaulGTM

Newsletter: https://thegtmnewsletter.substack.com

Brought to you by: AngelList

From starting as a small, operator-led rolling fund, to evolving to an institutional platform, AngelList has been a core partner in every phase of GTMfund’s growth. Their software-first fund admin infrastructure allowed us to scale without sacrificing agility — from onboarding hundreds of LPs seamlessly to handling compliance, capital calls, and reporting as our fund size evolved.

As we expanded from Fund I to Fund II, AngelList took care of the back-office operations, allowing us to stay focused on what matters most: investing in world-class founders and building the strongest go-to-market network in venture.

They’ve scaled with us across funds and into the future.

If your fund is growing in size or complexity, check them out at www.angellist.com/gtmfund.

Transcript available under the episode here: https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

Subscribe to GTMnow for the latest episodes! https://gtmnow

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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Archana Agrawal (President of Intercom) joins GTMnow to share how Intercom (founded in 2011) successfully restructured its product, pricing, and go-to-market to become AI-native at a speed and scale most legacy SaaS companies haven’t achieved.

Their agent, Fin, now handles 80%+ of support volume, resolves 1M customer issues per week, and has grown from $1M to $100M+ ARR with a $0.99 outcome-based pricing model backed by up to a $1M performance guarantee if resolution targets aren’t met.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why customer support is fundamentally a 24/7 business

• How Fin now handles 80%+ of customer queries through automation

• Why human empathy often breaks down in real-world support workflows

• How AI makes instant, individualized service possible for the first time

• Why Intercom put a million-dollar guarantee behind its resolution rate

• What it takes to confidently price software on outcomes

• Why the future of support is humans + AI

Sponsors:

• Granola - the AI notepad that turns meetings into action by capturing context, decisions, and next steps automatically. Head to https://www.granola.ai/?utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=gtmfund&utm_campaign=intercom-episode and get three months free with the code GTMFUND.
• HockeyStack - the AI platform that unifies GTM data to help teams convert, expand, and scale. Learn more at https://www.hockeystack.com/

Guest links:

• Archana Agrawal - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/archana-agrawal/

• Intercom - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/intercom/

• Intercom’s Fin Agent: https://fin.ai/

Host links:

• Sophie Buonassisi - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/

• Sophie Buonassisi - X (Twitter): https://x.com/sophiebuona

• Newsletter: https://thegtmnewsletter.substack.com

Transcript available under the episode here: https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

Subscribe to GTMnow for the latest episodes! https://gtmnow.com/

Highlights:

00:00 – Why Intercom went all-in on AI

03:23 – What Fin is and how it changes customer support

05:27 – How Fin scaled to a 6

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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Lou Shipley (three-time CEO, Harvard Business School professor, and author of Unlikely Entrepreneurs) joins GTMnow to break down why most founders struggle to turn good ideas into great companies.

Lou has led companies through acquisitions, teaches sales and go-to-market at Harvard, and has spent decades studying what actually separates companies that scale from those that stall.

In this conversation, we unpack why understanding customer pain and learning how to sell are still the two most important founder skills, especially as product moats decline and go-to-market becomes the real differentiator.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why understanding customer pain matters more than having a great idea

• Why early selling should optimize for learning, not revenue

• Why founders can’t outsource sales too early

• How distribution becomes a competitive advantage at scale

• What makes “unlikely entrepreneurs” outperform expectations

• Why small, high-quality teams beat large organizations

• Why churn is a symptom, not the root problem

• How product-market fit quietly changes as companies grow

• Why founders must evolve from heroic sellers to system builders

• How culture becomes a real go-to-market asset

Lou also shares lessons from teaching sales at Harvard, profiling 13 unlikely entrepreneurs, and working with founders who realized too late that they were building the wrong company for the wrong customer.

If you’re a founder, operator, or investor trying to avoid costly early mistakes and build a company that actually scales, this episode will give you a clearer mental model for what matters most.

Timestamps:

00:00 – What actually makes a company great

00:26 – Why early selling is about learning, not revenue

01:47 – Why founders misunderstand customer pain

02:06 – “If you build it, they will come” is a lie

02:33 – Distribution as the real moat

02:58 – What makes an “unlikely entrepreneur” succeed

06:15 – Why age and experience increase founder success

07:01 – Curiosity, coachability, and risk elimination

09:29 – Why founders can’t outsource sales too early

15:26 – Pattern recognition vs short-term ARR

21:10 – Founder-led sales vs scalable systems

29:12 – Leadership, culture, and delegation

33:18 – Founder evolution from $1M to $100M

38:24 – When product-market fit starts to break

39:15 – Why churn is a lagging indicator

39:54 – Why small teams outperform large ones

44:22 – Lessons from Unlikely Entrepreneurs

45:23 – Final advice for founders

Sponsors:

HockeyStack - the AI platform that unifies GTM data to help teams convert, expand, and scale. Learn more at hockeystack.com

Guest links:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loushipley/X: https://twitter.com/loushipleyHost (Sophie Buonassisi) links:LinkedIn:

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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Healey Cypher (multi-time founder and CEO of BoomPop) joins GTMnow to unpack one of the fastest growing channels for company growth: in-person events.

As AI floods digital channels with perfectly personalized messages, trust is becoming harder to earn online. Healey explains why events, dinners, and in-person experiences are becoming a premium GTM channel, not a nice-to-have, and how founders can use them intentionally for distribution, alignment, and acquisition.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why in-person events are becoming a premium GTM channel in an AI-first world

• How founders can de-risk distribution before building the product

• The most common internal missteps that derail startups early

• Why offsites are the new HQ for remote and hybrid teams

• How to design offsites that drive alignment, not just fun

• What makes a dinner actually work — including overlooked details like acoustics

• How teams use events for customer acquisition and partnerships

• Why kindness and positivity can be a real leadership advantage

Healey also shares a powerful insight from Sam Altman that reframes how we should think about AI’s impact on trust and human connection.

If you’re interested in scaling events as a growth channel, this episode will give you all the details you need and an understanding of what is working in today’s world.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Why founders underestimate distribution

03:30 – Product vs distribution: what actually matters early

06:45 – Why most startups fail from internal misalignment

10:30 – Culture, communication, and focus as scaling constraints

14:40 – Hybrid work broke alignment

17:45 – Why offsites are becoming the new HQ

21:30 – Events as a go-to-market strategy

25:00 – AI, outbound fatigue, and inbox trust collapse

28:40 – “In-person experiences are becoming a premium”

32:30 – How to use events for customer and partner acquisition

36:15 – What makes a high-impact event vs a wasted one

39:50 – Dinners, summits, and unforgettable experiences

43:30 – Leadership, kindness, and “don’t be a jerk”

47:40 – Mental state as a competitive advantage

52:30 – Final reflections and advice for founders

Sponsors:

HockeyStack - the AI platform that unifies GTM data to help teams convert, expand, and scale. Learn more at hockeystack.com

Guest links:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healeycypher/?hl=enHealey’s podcast: https://www.dontbeajerkpodcast.com/

Mentioned Resources:

Host (Sophie Buonassisi) links:

X (Twitter): https://x.com/sophiebuonaNewsletter: https://thegtmnewsletter.substack.comHost (GTMnow) links:

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Why do so many go-to-market motions fall apart right when a company starts to scale?

In this episode of GTMnow, Sophie Buonassisi sits down with Jeanne DeWitt Grosser, former GTM leader at Google and Stripe and now COO at Vercel, to unpack why GTM fragility is one of the most underdiagnosed risks in startups and scaling companies.

This is a deep, operator-level conversation about what actually breaks in sales, why AI won’t magically fix it, and how the best teams treat go-to-market like a product that must be designed, tested, and iterated.

If you are a founder, operator, or investor navigating growth, this episode will give you clearer mental models for building GTM that actually holds up under pressure.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why most GTM motions fail at scale, even with strong products
• What it really means to treat go-to-market like a product
• How AI changes execution without changing fundamentals
• The rise of the forward deployed engineer
• Why “lost on price” is usually a lie
• What great sales reps still do better than anyone in the AI era
• How to think about joining companies “early” without getting timing wrong

Listen if GTM feels fragile, unpredictable, or overly dependent on heroes.

Timestamps

00:00 – Introduction

01:00 – “Yes is great. No is great. Maybe will kill you.”

02:00 – Why go-to-market should be treated like a product

04:45 – Designing the experience of being sold to

06:30 – Using AI to debug GTM process failures

09:00 – Why “lost on price” usually isn’t about price

12:00 – What go-to-market engineering actually is

16:00 – The rise of the forward deployed engineer

20:45 – AI, agents, and what still needs human judgment

25:45 – What great sales reps do differently in the AI era

29:30 – Why GTM roles are becoming more consultative

33:30 – Will there be an AI reckoning?

38:00 – What “joining early” really means

42:00 – Career lessons from Google, Stripe, and Vercel

44:00 – Closing thoughts

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Mark Goldberg is a Managing Partner and Co-Founder at Chemistry, a new early-stage venture firm with a $350M debut fund backing standout software companies from Seed to Series A. Prior to Chemistry, Mark was a Partner at Index Ventures, where he led early-stage investments across software and fintech for nearly a decade. Before Index, Mark was one of the first business hires at Dropbox, helping the company navigate hypergrowth.

Discussed in this episode

• Why Mark studied international relations, and why venture feels like “the liberal arts of jobs”
• Index’s US “invisibility” era and what that taught him about building a new firm
• The Chemistry spinout thesis: “take great multi-stage DNA, reconstitute it with focus”
• Fund design: pre-seed → seed → A, light reserves, and concentrated doubling-down
• Hiring strategy: network access > spreadsheet diligence
• Culture principles: excellence, performance, “no one takes themselves too seriously”
• Conviction-based investing vs consensus IC, and why omissions are the real killer
• The hardest lesson in venture: managing co-founder dynamics (and when to just listen)

Episode highlights

00:00 — “A+ people want to work with A+ people.”

01:46 — GTMfund’s 2026 prediction: big players come roaring back (Google, Meta, Microsoft, Uber/Waymo).

14:51 — GTMfund platform metrics: thousands of support items, intros, hires, and fundraising connects.

26:29 — Why Mark left Index to build Chemistry: big-fund lessons, rebuilt with focus.

33:39 — Chemistry’s strategy: early-stage focus, light reserves, and building for “product-market discovery.”

44:05 — “Venture doesn’t scale well.” Why Chemistry stays small to avoid bureaucracy.

49:59 — Events that actually work: chess tournaments, surfing, and hobby-driven gathering > happy hours.

54:56 — Investment process: conviction, not consensus—optimize for outliers, not averages.

1:10:32 — Hardest lesson in venture: co-founder dynamics, and learning when to listen (not “advise”).

Brought to you by: AngelList

From starting as a small, operator-led rolling fund, to evolving to an institutional platform, AngelList has been a core partner in every phase of GTMfund’s growth. Their software-first fund admin infrastructure allowed us to scale without sacrificing agility — from onboarding hundreds of LPs seamlessly to handling compliance, capital calls, and reporting as our fund size evolved.

As we expanded from Fund I to Fund II, AngelList took care of the back-office operations, allowing us to stay focused on what matters most: investing in world-class founders and building the strongest go-to-market network in venture.

They’ve scaled with us across funds and into the future.

If your fund is growing in size or complexity, check them out at www.angellist.com/gtmfund.

Follow Mark Goldberg

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-goldberg-25458110
• X (Twitter): https://x.com/Mark_Goldberg_X (formerly Twitter)
• Chemistry (website): https://www.chemistry.vc/Chemistry

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Abbas Haider Ali is SVP of Customer Success at GitHub, where he leads a 550+ person post-sales organization supporting a $2B+ ARR business serving over 150 million developers, including more than 90% of the Fortune 100.

Previously, Abbas was VP of Customer & Partner Success at Twilio following its acquisition of Segment, and has held executive roles at xMatters, Opnet Technologies, Managed Objects, and IBM. He is also a General Partner at GTM Operators Network, investing from seed through growth, and is deeply committed to mentorship and advancing underrepresented leaders in tech.

Discussed in this episode:

• Why “AI-led growth” can hide churn and value erosion
• Lagging vs leading indicators for retention endurance
• Why the CS investment benchmark is shifting from 10% → ~7%
• A simple “waterfall” for allocating post-sales budget: support → onboarding → outcomes
• How to “lever up” the envelope with premium support + professional services
• Why expansion (not renewals) is the early signal of product-market fit
• The rise of AI-powered specialized generalists in post-sales
• When forward deployed engineers make sense (and when they’re just a fad)

Episode highlights

00:00 — Why customer expansion is the real signal of product-market fit

00:50 — Lagging revenue vs. leading indicators of endurance

04:11 — Why the CS benchmark dropped from 10% to 7%

08:41 — How AI moved from internal efficiency to customer-facing leverage

11:41 — Why retention cost matters more than CAC in the AI era

14:17 — The simplest framework for allocating the 7% CS budget

18:53 — Founder-led CS, design partners, and early-stage PMF myths

23:16 — The rise of AI-powered specialized generalists

30:00 — When forward-deployed engineers actually make sense

49:31 — The one rule for building a durable SaaS company

This episode is brought to you by our sponsor: HockeyStack

If you run go-to-market, you already know the problem: your data lives everywhere. Spreadsheets, CRMs, sales calls, ad platforms… yet you’re still guessing what to do next.

HockeyStack is the AI platform for modern GTM teams. It unifies all your sales and marketing data into a single system of action. Built-in AI agents help teams prospect the right accounts, improve conversions, close and expand deals, and scale what works. That’s why teams like RingCentral, Outreach, ActiveCampaign, and Fortune 100 companies rely on HockeyStack to eliminate wasted spend, take better decisions, and make space to think.

Learn more at hockeystack.com

Follow Abbas Haider Ali

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abbashaiderali
• X (Twitter): https://x.com/abbashaiderali
• GitHub: https://github.com/AbbasHaiderAli

Follow Sophie Buonassisi (Host)

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi
• X (Twitter): https://x.com/sophiebuona
• Newsletter: https://thegtmnewsletter.substack.com

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Adam Carr is the Chief Revenue Officer at Apollo, where he’s scaling revenue by layering sales on top of a $150M+ ARR product-led growth engine. Previously, Adam helped scale Miro from a PLG-led company into a global sales organization, contributing to its growth into a $17.5B business. He’s known for building systems-driven GTM teams that turn product signals into durable revenue.

Discussed in this episode

• Why PLG is gravity (signals + acquisition) and sales is the monetization layer
• The “one-team” model to prevent PLG vs. sales cannibalization
• Building talent density (and why slowing hiring can be the fastest path)
• Hiring for curiosity, coachability, ownership, and team-first execution
• The “architect / systems thinker” profile for modern sellers
• A new post-sales model: CSMs → technical GTM Engineers + intervention-led journey
• Using customer journey milestones to drive expansion and prevent churn proactively
• AI in GTM: streamlining manual work so humans focus on better conversations

Episode highlights

00:00 — PLG is about signaling + acquisition (not monetization)

01:30 — “PLG isn’t the monetization way… it’s layering sales.”

02:41 — Talent density: hire for the next 12–18 months, not just “today”

04:50 — The soft skills that scaled Miro: curiosity, coachability, ownership

08:38 — Why Adam hires “architects” (system thinkers) instead of just sellers

10:41 — The mindset shift: celebrate value realized, not contracts signed

15:41 — Replacing CSMs with “go-to-market engineers” + an intervention model

19:14 — Turning PLG signals into PQA/PQL routing (and reducing the “noise”)

29:26 — “100M ARR is late” — when to start layering sales into PLG

Guest links

• LinkedIn (Adam Carr):https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamhcarr

Follow Sophie Buonassisi (Host)

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi
• X (Twitter): https://x.com/sophiebuona
• Newsletter: https://thegtmnewsletter.substack.com

Where to Find GTMnow

• Website: https://gtmnow.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow
• X (Twitter): https://x.com/GTMnow_
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_now
• Podcast Directory: https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Cassie Young is a General Partner at Primary Venture Partners, a $1B AUM early-stage firm in New York backing category-defining SaaS, fintech, and vertical software companies. Before investing, she spent 15 years as a GTM operator, serving as Chief Revenue Officer at Sailthru and later Chief Customer & Commercial Officer at Marigold (Campaign Monitor, Sailthru, and other martech brands), where she scaled global sales, marketing, and customer success organizations.

Today, Cassie leads investments while also running Primary’s Impact program, giving founders access to a 30-person team across talent, GTM, and strategic finance, and she continues to teach operators through programs like Pavilion and Duke’s Innovation & Entrepreneurship board.

Discussed in this episode:

• How Cassie “accidentally” became a VC after 15 years in GTM leadership.
• The career advice Bill Gurley gave her that changed her trajectory.
• Why Primary refuses to say “platform” and instead built a 30-person Impact team.
• How she actually sources pre-seed/seed founders before they leave their jobs.
• Primary’s 5-part Founder Outcomes Framework (vision, talent, JDCE, and more).
• The difference between real traction vs. “happy ears” and fake design partners.
• Why she’s picky on GTM/AI tools and looks for step-change, not incremental gains.
• How operators can actually break into VC (hint: it’s all about doing the work).

Episode highlights

00:35 — Clay, usage-based pricing, and the $100M ARR rocketship

09:10 — The real story on AISDR: where AI reps actually work (and where they really don’t)

14:02 — Inside “The Gross Retention Apocalypse” and why AI experimental budgets are a ticking time bomb

22:46 — How Cassie accidentally became a VC and the Bill Gurley advice that changed her career path

27:17 — Why Primary hates the word “platform” and how Cassie built a 30-person Impact team for founders

36:10 — Cassie breaks down her 5-part founder outcomes framework (including “jaw-dropping customer experience”)

46:01 — Avoiding “happy ears”: how founders should really use design partners and MedPick-style rigor

57:48 — Time to value as the new north star and why nailing a tight wedge beats peanut-buttering features

1:01:29 — So you want to be a VC: Cassie’s playbook for operators to break into venture (without delusion)

Brought to you by: AngelList

How did we build the GTMfund back office? Easy!

We leveraged AngelList’s Rolling Fund product for Fund I, which was the perfect vehicle to scale up GTMfund in its first iteration. This structure allowed us to build our network, and add revenue leaders while we raised and deployed capital simultaneously, which was crucial for getting early points on the board and building relationships with founders.

For Fund II, we transitioned to a traditional closed-end fund structure through AngelList. This time with institutional investor support. This model allowed us to be more intentional about our portfolio construction. We worked closely with the AngelList team throughout this process, and they were incredible — always there to support us and our LPs every step of the way.

If you’re raising a fund or are looking to migrate your fund, we highly recommend you check them out. You can do so at www.angellist.com/gtmfund.

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Dave Boyce is a go-to-market–focused technology executive, author of Freemium, and longtime SaaS operator and board member. Over two decades leading and advising B2B companies, he’s helped founders navigate the shift from sales-led to product-led, from gut-driven to instrumented, and now from manual GTM to AI-assisted systems. Today, Dave teaches revenue architecture and PLG through Winning by Design’s Growth Institute, works with leadership teams on Bow Tie–based growth models, and is all-in on how AI will reshape GTM as a true engineered system.

Discussed in this episode

• Why classic sales & marketing playbooks haven’t caught up to how modern buyers actually buy.
• How the Bowtie model exposes the real levers of growth that funnels hide.
• Why PLG-style thinking is now essential even for sales-led and enterprise motions.
• The 3 first principles of freemium: empathy, generosity, and metrics.
• Where AI can reliably outperform humans across the customer journey, and where it absolutely shouldn’t.
• How to design hybrid human + AI workflows using a clear data model, not vibes.
• What RevOps should own in a modern revenue architecture (and why it can’t just serve the CRO narrative).
• Hard-earned founder lessons from Fundly on reinvention, calling bets early, and letting go of old branches.

Episode highlights

00:00 — GTM is still running 20-year-old playbooks

01:29 — “Sales, marketing, CS… the last unengineered engine”

03:20 — The myth of “just add more heads”

05:50 — The Fundly story: reinvention, too late

08:30 — Why Freemium had to be written

11:01 — Three first principles of freemium

15:25 — Mapping AI across the entire customer journey

19:29 — “Automate the predictable, humanize the exceptional”

25:18 — What the Bowtie exposes that funnels hide

27:25 — Building a “minimum viable Bowtie

This episode is brought to you by our sponsor: ZoomInfo

ZoomInfo is the GTM Intelligence Platform built for sales, marketing, and RevOps.

By unifying data, workflows, and insights into a single system, ZoomInfo helps revenue teams find and engage the right buyers, launch go-to-market plays faster, and drive predictable growth. With industry-leading accuracy and depth of data, it gives your team the intelligence advantage to win in competitive markets.

It’s trusted by the fastest-growing companies and has become the category leader in GTM Intelligence.

Learn more at zoominfo.com.

Follow Dave Boyce (Guest)

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/boycedave
• Substack: https://daveboyce.substack.com

Where to Find GTMnow

• Website: https://gtmnow.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow
• X (Twitter): https://x.com/GTMnow_
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_now
• Podcast Directory: https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Brian Weinberger is the Chief Revenue Officer at Sisense, a leading analytics platform helping companies embed intelligence into every product experience. With over 30 years in sales leadership across New York’s tech scene, Brian has built and scaled go-to-market teams at every stage—from early-stage startups to category-defining giants like Yext, Segment, and Salesforce.

Discussed in this episode

• The evolution of partner selling — from VARs to SIs to ecosystems
• How to know if partner selling fits your GTM model
• The delivery-first mindset that drives retention
• Direct vs. partner motion: Microsoft vs. Salesforce
• Why enablement is the #1 green flag for partner success
• Partner marketing: how to make resellers self-sustaining
• Using AI to power future-ready GTM models
• The case for hybrid work in high-performance sales cultures

Episode Highlights

00:00 — The “year four” moment when partners are selling for you

01:07 — 30 years of selling through partners in New York

03:22 — Start partner strategy with delivery, not distribution

06:32 — Why partner selling creates “superhuman” sellers

09:59 — Salesforce vs. Microsoft: direct vs. reseller — and why the future is hybrid

12:13 — The startup hack: sell delivery on your paper, subcontract partners

17:16 — A 90-day playbook for integration partnerships

21:39 — Hiring the right people to build a partner business

27:18 — How Sisense runs delivery partners and an Australian reseller

29:55 — White-labeling Snowflake: using resell to get the giant’s attention

This episode is brought to you by our sponsor: BoomPop

We’re deep in event planning right now, as no doubt many of you are.

Whether it’s an offsite, conference, or any other kind of event, BoomPop makes that happen with end-to-end planning all in one place.

They handle everything from venues to experiences, so you can focus on the delights of meeting in person, not the logistics.

Being part of GTMnow, you’re eligible for full-service event planning for just $99 per person (terms apply). Head to boompop.com/gtmfund to explore seamless support for your events.

Follow Brian Weinberger

• LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianweinberger

Recommended Books

• What Great Salespeople Do by Michael Bosworth & Ben Zoldan — The power of storytelling in sales
• The Power of Nice by Linda Kaplan Thaler & Robin Koval — Why kindness compounds in business
• Sacred Hoops by Phil Jackson — Coaching and leadership lessons from the Bulls dynasty

Referenced

• Sisense: https://www.sisense.com
• Snowflake: https://www.snowflake.com
• AWS: https://aws.amazon.com
• Salesforce: https://www.salesforce.com
• Microsoft: https://www.microsoft.com
• Accenture (SI example): https://www.accenture.com

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

This bonus episode dives into how Cristina Cordova (Stripe’s 20th hire, early leader at Notion, now COO at Linear) spots exceptional talent early, and how she pressure-tests whether a team and product are truly worth betting on. It’s a crisp, tactical look at evaluating “spikiness,” finding beloved products (even with limited data), and building GTM the right way from day one.

Cristina Cordova is a seasoned operator who has scaled some of the most iconic companies in tech. At Stripe, she built and led partnerships that became a foundational revenue engine, including the pivotal deal with Shopify. At Notion, she helped turn viral adoption into a durable distribution strategy powered by community. Today, Cristina is the Chief Operating Officer at Linear, where she’s applying her experience building high-velocity GTM engines to the next generation of developer-first tools.

This is a clip from the full episode with Cristina (an inside look at the judgment frameworks behind Stripe, Notion, and now Linear) and the practical filters every GTM leader can use to pick winners early.

Discussed in This Clip

• How to recognize “exceptional” even outside your own domain
• Finding early proof a product is truly beloved (signals > vanity metrics)
• Starting with a sharp market wedge, then earning the right to expand
• Why founders who excel at something—anything—tend to excel at company-building
• What to expect from early operators: founder mode and bias to execute
• Sales hiring for technical buyers (and why quotas can help earlier than you think)
• Aligning tightly with founders as an exec: relationships drive outcomes
• How to assess GTM on day one: ride-alongs, raw customer feedback, ground truth

Highlights

00:00 — The difference between good and great—and how to spot it across functions

00:12 — Why this clip hit: Cristina’s framework for identifying exceptional people early

01:17 — Looking for skills you don’t have—and recognizing greatness outside your lane

03:38 — Evidence a product is beloved (Stripe on Hacker News, Notion on Twitter)

04:49 — Start with a wedge; win big later (why early enterprise skeptics don’t matter)

07:54 — “Spikiness” and unconventional signals of excellence (Minecraft servers to sales)

12:52 — What great early leaders do: see problems, create strategy, then execute

16:45 — Sales at product-led companies: hire technical sellers, set quotas sooner

21:31 — How Cristina assesses GTM on day one: ride-alongs, direct customer observation

This episode is brought to you by our sponsor: BoomPop

We’re deep in event planning right now, as no doubt many of you are.

Whether it’s an offsite, conference, or any other kind of event, BoomPop makes that happen with end-to-end planning all in one place.

They handle everything from venues to experiences, so you can focus on the delights of meeting in person, not the logistics.

Being part of GTMnow, you’re eligible for full-service event planning for just $99 per person (terms apply). Head to boompop.com/gtmfund to explore seamless support for your events.

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Alex Clayton is one of the clearest minds in growth-stage investing, the person elite founders turn to when the market is noisy and the stakes are high. A General Partner at Meritech Capital, Alex has built a reputation for breaking down complex businesses with uncommon clarity, from his legendary S-1 teardowns to his frameworks on power laws, secondaries, and AI-native growth. Before Meritech, he honed his craft at Spark Capital and Redpoint, backing breakout companies like Braze, JFrog, Outreach, Pendo, Duo Security, and RelateIQ. A former ATP tennis pro and Stanford team captain, Alex brings that same discipline, pattern recognition, and competitive fire to evaluating the next generational companies.

Discussed in this episode

• Why GAAP revenue and cash burn are the two metrics that quietly govern everything.
• How AI is changing growth rates, margins, and what “good” looks like in SaaS.
• The rise of secondaries, and why they now rival or exceed IPO volume.
• How to read an S-1 like a pro (and what Alex looks for first).
• Founder ownership, fund lifecycles, and how long companies really stay private.
• Why power laws in venture are getting even steeper in the AI era.
• How AI is reshaping pricing models from seats to usage and outcomes.
• Which iconic private companies are most likely to go public in the next 3 years.

Episode highlights

02:40 — Is the IPO window really back?

05:10 — Secondaries quietly outpacing IPOs

08:10 — The only two metrics that matter

10:56 — AI growth that breaks SaaS mental models

26:20 — From “software” to “SaaS” to “AI”… and back again

29:25 — Seat-based pricing vs outcome-based AI pricing

34:55 — The capital tidal wave & longer private lives

44:00 — Bubble vs biggest opportunity of our careers

57:17 — What the rest of the 2020s look like

1:03:41 — Why GAAP revenue + cash burn still win

Brought to you by: AngelList

How did we build the GTMfund back office? Easy!

We leveraged AngelList’s Rolling Fund product for Fund I, which was the perfect vehicle to scale up GTMfund in its first iteration. This structure allowed us to build our network, and add revenue leaders while we raised and deployed capital simultaneously, which was crucial for getting early points on the board and building relationships with founders.

For Fund II, we transitioned to a traditional closed-end fund structure through AngelList. This time with institutional investor support. This model allowed us to be more intentional about our portfolio construction. We worked closely with the AngelList team throughout this process, and they were incredible — always there to support us and our LPs every step of the way.

If you’re raising a fund or are looking to migrate your fund, we highly recommend you check them out. You can do so at www.angellist.com/gtmfund.

Follow Alex Clayton

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aclayton
• X (Twitter): https://x.com/afc

Follow Max Altschuler (Host)

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxaltschuler/

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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Chris Degnan is the former Chief Revenue Officer of Snowflake, where he helped scale the company from pre-product to over $4B in ARR and more than $100B in market cap. Over his 11-year tenure, Chris built Snowflake’s go-to-market engine from the ground up, from personally running the first outbound campaigns to leading a global sales organization through four CEOs and one of the largest software IPOs in history.

Today, he advises founders and revenue leaders on how to build high-velocity GTM teams, hire with grit, and scale with discipline. Chris is also the co-author of Make It Snow, the definitive playbook on Snowflake’s go-to-market journey, co-written with CMO Denise Persson.

Discussed in this episode

• The early days of Snowflake: selling a stealth startup with no product
• How to hire and identify truly self-motivated, gritty sales talent
• The lessons from John McMahon that shaped Snowflake’s leadership DNA
• How to build sales-marketing alignment that actually scales
• The near-death experiences that almost killed Snowflake
• What great CEOs do differently, from Muglia to Slootman
• The power of focusing on new logo acquisition
• The evolution of sales methodologies: MEDDPICC, culture, and curiosity
• The truth about AI’s “bubble”, and what’s real beneath the hype

Episode highlights

00:02:21 — Why join Snowflake pre-product and in stealth.

00:05:36 — The original outreach script and what resonated with prospects.

00:06:49 — Scaling from lists to SDRs; Degnan’s “8 meetings per week” rule.

00:09:11 — Hiring for self-starters; the interview opener: “Tell me your life story.”

00:12:49 — The feedback loop that kept a CRO in seat for 11 years.

00:24:46 — The outage that almost killed Snowflake, and how leadership showed up.

00:28:34 — New logo gates every quarter and why it mattered more than anything.

00:34:05 — “Customer success is everyone’s job”: removing CS, monetizing PS, driving adoption.

00:36:40 — Databricks: where Snowflake ceded ground and what they’d do differently.

00:39:19 — Why going public was the right move for enterprise trust.

This episode is brought to you by our sponsor: BoomPop

We’re deep in event planning right now, as no doubt many of you are.

Whether it’s an offsite, conference, or any other kind of event,BoomPop makes that happen with end-to-end planning all in one place.

They handle everything from venues to experiences, so you can focus on the delights of meeting in person, not the logistics.

Being part of GTMnow, you’re eligible for full-service event planning for just $99 per person (terms apply). Head to boompop.com/gtmfund to explore seamless support for your events.

Follow Chris Degnan

• LinkedIn:
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-degnan-524470Make It Snow (book):https://makeitsnowbook.com

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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Michel Tricot is the co-founder and CEO of Airbyte, the open-source data movement platform he launched in 2020. Before Airbyte, Michel led integrations and served as Director of Engineering at LiveRamp, where he scaled the teams and pipelines that synced massive data volumes. He also helped build rideOS as a founding engineer and Director of Engineering. Michel has spent 15+ years in data infrastructure, with a focus on commoditizing data pipelines and giving teams control and sovereignty over their data.

Discussed in this episode

• Why Airbyte launched open source first (catching engineers “at the search”)
• Project-market fit vs. product-market fit, and why they’re different
• The content engine: founder-led writing, shipping slides, and radical transparency
• Turning interest into community: 25k+ Slack, champions, and hiring from within
• The near-misses: hiring ahead of PMF, support-heavy community, cloud complexity
• Going upmarket: enterprise motion, longer cycles, and team ramp realities
• AI wave → agents as “data consumers” and what it means for pipelines
• Replatforming for control & sovereignty, not just “more connectors”

This episode is brought to you by our sponsor: ZoomInfo

ZoomInfo is the GTM Intelligence Platform built for sales, marketing, and RevOps.

By unifying data, workflows, and insights into a single system, ZoomInfo helps revenue teams find and engage the right buyers, launch go-to-market plays faster, and drive predictable growth. With industry-leading accuracy and depth of data, it gives your team the intelligence advantage to win in competitive markets.

It’s trusted by the fastest-growing companies and has become the category leader in GTM Intelligence.

Learn more at zoominfo.com.

Follow Michel Tricot

• LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/micheltricot
• X (Twitter):https://x.com/MichelTricot
• Website:https://airbyte.com/Airbyte

Host links

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/
• X (Twitter): https://x.com/sophiebuona
• Newsletter: https://thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/
• Website: https://gtmnow.com/

Where to Find GTMnow

• Website: https://gtmnow.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow
• X (Twitter): https://x.com/GTMnow_
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_now
• Podcast Directory: https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Tessa Whittaker is the VP of Revenue Operations at ZoomInfo, where she leads a 70-person global team powering one of SaaS’s most efficient $1B+ revenue engines. Over the past decade, she’s helped architect the systems, cadence, and AI workflows that underpin how ZoomInfo operates at scale.

Tessa is known as one of the most thoughtful operators in tech, bringing structure, clarity, and rigor to how GTM organizations run. Her work sits at the intersection of data, process, and execution, proving that with the right operating cadence, even the most complex go-to-market systems can move in rhythm.

Discussed in this episode

• Building a personal operating system (Salesforce's V2MOM, Notion, weekly reviews) that maps vision → methods → measurable actions.
• “Operating rhythm” for GTM: the meetings, reviews, and enablement that create predictable execution.
• Color-coding calendars to align time with quarterly KPIs (and fixing misallocation).
• Counterintuitive up-market move: automate down-market so scarce humans focus on enterprise.
• AI intake & prioritization agent: compressing 10–15 hrs of RevOps scoping into one interaction.
• Democratizing creation: org-wide agent “hackathons,” usage leaderboards, and adoption lessons.
• Health OS during sprints: cut alcohol, protect sleep, simplify to sustain output.
• What to buy vs. build; auditing tech stacks; avoiding (and accepting some) agent sprawl.

Episode highlights

00:00 — Systems beat motivation; why cadence creates consistency.

01:36 — RevOps as connective tissue of SaaS; the “invest earlier” regret.

03:58 — From EA to SVP-level ops leader to VP RevOps: the long workback.

06:51 — Why operators obsess over simplifying complexity.

12:24 — Time as the scarcest resource: color-coding calendars to goals.

20:05 — The RevOps operating rhythm at ZoomInfo (and how AI slots in).

21:48 — Going upmarket? Automate downmarket first to free resources.

31:19 — Intake agent: collapsing 10–15 hours of back-and-forth into one interaction.

36:48 — Democratizing creation: internal agent hackathons and a usage leaderboard.

44:30 — The Alchemist and reframing growth: get uncomfortable to keep climbing.

This episode is brought to you by our sponsors

The best talent isn’t actively job hunting. Pursuit helps companies hire elite go-to-market talent on a non-retainer basis. As a key GTMfund partner, they equip sales and marketing teams with top performers.

If you’re hiring for sales or marketing roles, reach out to Pursuit at pursuitsalessolutions.com/gtm or message a GTMfund team member.

Guest links

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tessa-whittaker-44903940

Where to Find GTMnow

• Website: https://gtmnow.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/
• X (Twitter):https://x.com/GTMnow_
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_now
• The GTM Podcast: https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Peter Grant is the Chief Revenue Officer at You.com, the AI search and productivity platform reshaping how people find and create information. A veteran GTM leader, Peter has built and scaled revenue engines at some of tech’s most iconic companies — from Siebel Systems to Salesforce to C3.ai — working directly under legends like Tom Siebel and Marc Benioff. Today, he’s leading You.com’s charge against giants like OpenAI and Google, bringing precision, storytelling, and speed to the most transformative era in technology.

Discussed in this episode

• How Peter defines “the biggest opportunity of our lifetime” in AI
• Lessons from working under Tom Siebel, Marc Benioff, and Rishi Khosla
• How to hire SEAL-Team-Six-level GTM talent
• Why belief and speed are non-negotiables when competing with giants
• You.com’s differentiation strategy against OpenAI and Google
• How to operationalize AI literacy and agentic workflows
• The ROI gap in generative AI adoption, and how to fix it
• Building products that stand on truth

Episode Highlights

00:14 — The biggest opportunity in technology this century

05:25 — Lessons from working directly with Thomas Siebel

06:41 — How to hire “SEAL Team Six” sales talent

10:24 — Why “train hard, fight easy” defines great enablement

20:08 — The new sophistication bar for AI literacy in sales

25:14 — How You.com differentiates against OpenAI & Google

30:00 — Peter’s personal AI productivity system: 40 agents

40:12 — Speed, truth, and trust: You.com’s go-to-market culture

48:30 — The “war room” story: building a sales plan overnight

59:45 — No easy days: why startup life mirrors special forces

This episode is brought to you by our sponsor: BoomPop

A quick pause to spotlight a partner that helps GTM teams actually connect—BoomPop.

Your next big unlock might not come from another meeting… it’s from getting your team in the same room. BoomPop makes that happen with end-to-end offsite planning all in one place.

They handle everything from venues to experiences, so you can focus on the delights of meeting in person, not the logistics.

And as a listener of GTMfund, you’re eligible for full-service event planning for just $99 per person (terms apply).

Head to boompop.com/gtmfund to start planning your offsite.

Guest Links

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/peterkgrant
• Company: you.com

Recommended Books

• The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
• Elephants Can’t Dance by Louis V. Gerstner Jr.
• The Master Algorithm by Pedro Domingos
• No Easy Day by Mark Owen — a favorite for its lessons on grit and resilience

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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This bonus episode dives into how Rick Kelley helped scale Meta’s global sales organization (from 900 employees to 90,000) and the playbook behind building high-performing international teams.

Rick Kelley is the former SVP of Gaming and App Monetization Solutions at Meta and Managing Director of Meta Ireland, where he led a $1B+ revenue organization and played a pivotal role in building out Meta’s go-to-market teams across North America and EMEA. Over his 15-year career at Meta, Rick was instrumental in driving international expansion, especially across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa—helping to localize strategy, scale high-performing sales teams, and bring new ad products to market. Today, he advises founders on global GTM execution, sales hiring, and how AI is reshaping the future of commercial organizations.

This is a clip from the full episode with Rick, an inside look at how Meta built its $1B EMEA business and the lessons every GTM leader can apply to scale globally.

Discussed in This Clip:

• The exact framework Rick used to decide which EMEA markets to enter first
• How Meta built a $1B+ regional business from just three salespeople
• The power of centralization in early-stage go-to-market
• Why you should plan every headcount allocation before hiring
• Creating “optionality” in your sales org to weather change
• How gaming became Meta’s fifth global region
• When to localize sales teams versus staying centralized
• Why AI can make sales more efficient—but can’t replace relationships

Highlights

00:12 — Scaling Meta: from 900 to 90,000 employees

01:22 — How Rick Kelley built Meta’s mid-market sales org from scratch

02:15 — The data-driven framework Meta used to prioritize global markets

04:50 — Why startups should build expansion plans before executing

07:52 — Centralized vs. in-country hiring: Rick’s take for startups

09:49 — The importance of sales ops and forecasting discipline

13:32 — Hiring leaders who scale with you, not limit you

14:59 — How AI will reshape (but not replace) sales relationships

16:09 — From zero to $1B: lessons in efficiency, cost, and culture

This Episode Is Brought to You By

ZoomInfo is the GTM Intelligence Platform built for sales, marketing, and RevOps.

By unifying data, workflows, and insights into a single system, ZoomInfo helps revenue teams find and engage the right buyers, launch go-to-market plays faster, and drive predictable growth. With industry-leading accuracy and depth of data, it gives your team the intelligence advantage to win in competitive markets.

It’s trusted by the fastest-growing companies and has become the category leader in GTM Intelligence.

Learn more at zoominfo.com.

Follow Rick Kelley

• LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickkelley/

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Guy Yalif is Chief Evangelist at Webflow and a veteran B2B marketing leader with 20+ years across Twitter, Yahoo, BrightRoll, and as co-founder/CEO of Intellimize (acquired by Webflow). He champions AI-driven optimization for sites and content, bringing a rare blend of aerospace-engineer rigor and operator experience from four successful exits to help teams win the shift from SEO to AEO.

Discussed in this episode

• Why AEO is an evolution of SEO (and what truly changes)
• The shift from keywords to “clusters of questions” as the new topic model
• Webflow’s four-part AEO framework: content, technical, authority, measurement
• Tactics that moved the needle: adding FAQs + schema; prioritizing freshness
• Why PR/brand and plain-text mentions matter more to AI engines
• How to measure AEO: presence in questions, share of voice, and sentiment
• Where to start: two moves any founder can ship this week
• Risks of ignoring AEO and the early-adopter advantage

Episode highlights

00:21 — “Your SEO resources are your AEO resources. This is an evolution, not a reset.”

01:15 — Webflow’s AEO promise: answer engines are a massive arbitrage—akin to early SEO/SEM/mobile.

03:00 — Why “ranking for keywords” is obsolete; topics = clusters of questions across the funnel.

07:49 — The 4-part AEO framework: content, technical (schema & structure), authority, measurement.

10:11 — Case study: Add ~6 FAQs + inline schema to product pages → half of new citations came from 6 pages; +24% organic in 2 weeks.

15:23 — If you only do two things: (1) answer questions comprehensively, (2) add schema metadata.

21:46 — Webflow data: AI-search traffic converts ~6x better than non-branded organic; unbranded share grew from 0% → 42% in a year.

24:02 — How buyers actually use LLMs in-flow; why your website still matters (to humans and machines).

29:58 — The learning curve is back: why AEO is resetting the playing field and rewarding curiosity.

This episode is brought to you by our sponsor:

ZoomInfo is the GTM Intelligence Platform built for sales, marketing, and RevOps.

By unifying data, workflows, and insights into a single system, ZoomInfo helps revenue teams find and engage the right buyers, launch go-to-market plays faster, and drive predictable growth.

With industry-leading accuracy and depth of data, it gives your team the intelligence advantage to win in competitive markets.

It’s trusted by the fastest-growing companies and has become the category leader in GTM Intelligence.

Learn more at zoominfo.com.

Follow Guy Yalif:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gyalif/
• X (Twitter): https://x.com/gyalifX (formerly Twitter)
• Webflow author page: https://webflow.com/people/guy-yalif

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Kieran Flanagan is the SVP of Marketing at HubSpot and Co-Host of Marketing Against the Grain. A longtime operator and investor, he’s at the forefront of how AI is reshaping go-to-market. With a background in engineering and years leading growth and marketing teams, Kieran now spends his time building, experimenting, and sharing lessons on how prompting, agents, and personality-led growth will define the next era of software companies.

Discussed in this episode

• Why prompting and context engineering are the most important skills for GTM operators
• How “vibe prompting” accelerates learning and output with LLMs
• The three keys to building AI fluency inside teams
• Measuring ROI from AI across sales, marketing, and operations
• Why every professional is now a manager (of AI agents)
• How websites will evolve into multimodal closing mechanisms
• The rise of personality-led growth in B2B marketing
• Why curiosity and persistence matter more than ever in an AI-first world

Episode highlights

00:46 — The 100x difference between good and bad prompting

03:57 — The rise of “context engineering” as a GTM skill

07:22 — Kieran’s 3-part framework for AI fluency inside teams

09:31 — Why “vibe prompting” is as powerful as vibe coding

11:00 — How AI boosts conversions & deal velocity in sales workflows

15:10 — Using ChatGPT memory as a personalized prompting coach

22:19 — Everyone now manages a PhD-level AI intern

31:12 — The 3 biggest shifts coming to GTM: influence, AI optimization, multimodal

37:42 — Why AI makes human creativity more valuable than ever

43:06 — The grind, reps, and curiosity as the ultimate AI skills

Brought to you by: Mutiny

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Guest links

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kieranjflanagan/
Newsletter (The AI Marketing Generalist):https://www.kieranflanagan.io/
Podcast (Marketing Against the Grain):https://www.youtube.com/@MATGpod/videos

Host links

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/
X (Twitter): https://x.com/sophiebuona
Newsletter: https://thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/
Website: https://gtmnow.com

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Cristina Cordova is a seasoned operator who has scaled some of the most iconic companies in tech. At Stripe, she built and led partnerships that became a foundational revenue engine, including the pivotal deal with Shopify. At Notion, she helped turn viral adoption into a durable distribution strategy powered by community. Today, Cristina is the Chief Operating Officer at Linear, where she’s applying her experience building high-velocity GTM engines to the next generation of developer-first tools.

Discussed in this episode

• Why Cristina joined Stripe without knowing what an API was
• Building Stripe’s early partnerships and salvaging the Shopify deal
• How Notion pioneered community-driven growth
• Lessons on brand, design, and investing for the long term
• What Cristina looks for in exceptional founders and operators
• How Linear is scaling GTM with AI-driven prioritization
• The difference between “keeping the lights on” and transformative leadership
• Cristina’s frameworks for evaluating product resonance and customer love

Episode Highlights

00:43 — The rare superpower behind Cristina’s career: joining breakout companies early

2:46 — Why Cristina joined Stripe without knowing what an API was

12:22 — On Cristina’s first day, Shopify walked away from Stripe’s deal — and how she won them back

16:55 — How Notion scaled by making consumer use free and fueling community-driven growth

20:52 — Why investing in brand early is a leading indicator of durable growth

25:27 — Cristina’s framework for spotting beloved products in the market

37:53 — How Cristina applied lessons from Stripe to build Linear’s GTM from scratch

47:30 — Where AI fits into GTM: prioritizing opportunities, not replacing humans

56:01 — Why Linear built high-quality swag kits for early customers

58:28 — Where to follow Cristina’s journey today

This episode is brought to you by our sponsor

Harmonic helps you discover the best startups way ahead of the competition. We use it at GTMfund, as do thousands of investors at firms like USV and Insight. GTM teams at companies like Notion and Brex also rely on the platform to stay ahead.

Harmonic tracks millions of startups and lets you search using simple filters or natural language to match exactly what you’re looking for. When you find a company that looks interesting, Harmonic pulls everything into one place (founder backgrounds, traction, and market data) so you can quickly evaluate and understand if it’s a fit.

At GTMfund, we even have a private Slack channel called #companywatchlist powered entirely by Harmonic.

Get 2 dedicated sessions with their team to help you test and structure the perfect searches here.

Guest Links

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristinajcordova
• X (Twitter): https://x.com/cjC

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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Kyle Norton is the Chief Revenue Officer at Owner, the fast-scaling restaurant SaaS platform valued at over $1B. Since joining from Shopify, Kyle has helped grow the company from $2M to $50M+ in ARR by instilling a high bar for sales talent, building RevOps early, and driving a disciplined go-to-market strategy. A podcast host himself, Kyle shares deep expertise on sales hiring, leadership, and GTM AI, while keeping his focus on building a generational company.

Discussed in This Episode

• Why Kyle let go of half the sales team just 45 days in
• The importance of setting a high bar for sales talent and cultural fit
• Investing in RevOps and data foundations far earlier than conventional wisdom
• How to reduce churn by narrowing ICP and saying no to misfit customers
• Lessons from running hiring retros to assess interview process effectiveness
• The balance between remote vs. in-office roles for scaling GTM teams
• How Owner approaches AI in go-to-market, starting with data over “shiny tools”
• Kyle’s leadership philosophy: servant leadership and building for growth

Episode Highlights

00:44 — Owner’s journey from $2M ARR to unicorn

02:01 — Kyle explains why he fired half the sales team just weeks into the role

04:56 — Why Owner set a sky-high bar for early sales hiring

08:13 — Kyle’s case for bringing in RevOps “too early” and why it paid off

12:39 — Reducing churn by saying no to 30% of potential customers

15:57 — Why hiring fit matters more than a candidate’s “pedigree”

21:49 — What Kyle learned from running hiring retros on interview data

30:25 — Owner’s AI GTM transformation: starting with third-party data

48:34 — Kyle’s take on the remote vs. in-office debate for sales teams

54:53 — His leadership philosophy: servant leadership + relentless coaching

59:19 — Kyle’s essential reading list for sales leaders

This episode is brought to you by our sponsors:

Qualified

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Piper is the top-ranked AI SDR on G2, trusted by hundreds of high-growth GTM teams — including many in the GTMfund community. She works around the clock to follow up with every lead, book meetings, and qualify prospects, all by reading real buying signals.

That means your team spends less time chasing and more time closing.

Piper isn’t just automating repetitive work — she’s transforming pipeline generation at scale.

Discover how AI SDRs like Piper can help you build pipeline faster at qualified.com.

Pursuit

The best talent isn’t actively job hunting. Pursuit helps companies hire elite go-to-market talent on a non-retainer basis. As a key GTMfund partner, they equip sales and marketing teams with top performers.

If you’re hiring for sales or marketing roles, reach out to Pursuit at pursuitsalessolutions.com/gtm or message a GTMfund team member.

Guest Links

• LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylecnorton/
• Podcast: https://therevenueleadershippodcast.com/

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Ghazi Masood is the Chief Revenue Officer at Retool, where he leads the go-to-market engine for the low-code developer platform. Previously he served as SVP & GM, Americas at Auth0 after leadership roles at Microsoft, Oracle, Polycom, and Nintex K2, and he advises several high-growth startups on GTM. A field-first operator, Ghazi specializes in layering sales onto product-led motions and building enterprise upgrade paths without breaking self-serve growth.

Discussed in this episode

• The moment inbound stops being enough—and how to size the outbound gap
• Why to bifurcate SDRs (inbound vs. outbound) and how to define lead sources
• Profiling inbound (more technical, SE-adjacent) vs. outbound (AE-track) talent
• Structuring self-serve as a permanent home vs. a stepping stone to enterprise
• “Ungate to upgrade”: using sustained overage/feature use as a right-sizing trigger
• Pricing & packaging that pulls larger accounts to annual, committed plans
• The “GTM engineer” model for AI-native, high-velocity companies
• Hiring pace, capacity planning, and the leadership principles that scale

Episode highlights

00:00 — Inbound eventually caps out; annual planning exposes the pipeline gap that outbound must fill.

00:45 — What it really takes to add sales to a product-led motion—without breaking PLG.

03:23 — First move: bifurcate SDR into dedicated inbound and outbound to drive focus and outcomes.

04:18 — Nail definitions with Marketing: what counts as inbound vs. outbound (e.g., events ≠ inbound).

06:37 — Decide the role of self-serve: permanent home for some segments vs. stepping stone to enterprise.

09:41 — Ungated features as signals: after ~3 months of sustained overage/premium use, “right-size” the plan.

12:09 — Why frictionless adoption beats hard gates—and how clear web docs make the convo non-adversarial.

15:10 — When to move from pay-as-you-go to annual: sophistication and committed usage, not arbitrary timing.

18:51 — Enter the “GTM engineer”: one person spans SDR → SE → AE → AM to capture massive inbound demand.

25:36 — Frameworks that still work: MEDD(P)ICC and Solution Selling 2.0 for complex, multi-product deals.

Sponsor – Pursuit

The best talent isn’t actively job hunting. Pursuit helps companies hire elite go-to-market talent on a non-retainer basis. As a key GTMfund partner, they equip sales and marketing teams with top performers.

If you’re hiring for sales or marketing roles, reach out to Pursuit at pursuitsalessolutions.com/gtm or message a GTMfund team member.

Guest links

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ghazi-masood-09195a2
• Company: https://retool.com

Host links

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi
• X (Twitter): https://x.com/sophiebuona
• Newsletter: https://thegtmnewsletter.substack.com

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Paul Williamson is a seasoned go-to-market leader and advisor best known for helping Plaid scale from $3M to $300M ARR. As Head of Revenue, he built and evolved Plaid’s go-to-market roadmap across product-market fit, upmarket expansion, and new verticals. With deep experience aligning GTM with product, he now advises founders on sequencing bets, building forward-compatible roadmaps, and scaling revenue organizations with intention.

Discussed in this Episode

• Why GTM roadmaps should be “forward-compatible”
• Iteration cycles in GTM vs. product roadmaps
• Early lessons from Plaid’s rudimentary qualification process
• Recognizing high-value clients vs. anti-patterns in inbound leads
• How daily standups created fast GTM learning loops
• Shifting from PLG to sales-led motions with SDRs and routing
• Sequencing GTM expansion: fintech → enterprise FSIs → embedded fintech
• Compensation design mistakes and their impact on sales behavior

Episode Highlights

00:00 — Why GTM roadmaps should be built “forward-compatible”

01:53 — How Plaid iterated through 9–10 GTM versions in the first year

05:12 — Plaid’s early qualification process: 4 simple questions

07:28 — Why most inbound leads weren’t equal—and how Plaid spotted patterns

10:01 — Using daily standups twice a day to refine GTM qualification

14:32 — How Plaid’s GTM roadmap evolved from monthly to yearly cycles

20:46 — Moving beyond partnerships to diversify top-of-funnel channels

24:53 — Scaling into enterprise financial institutions with tailored product needs

27:09 — Entering phase three: embedded fintech with customers like Tesla

30:00 — Compensation design mistakes that slowed deals and created risk

This episode is brought to you by: Harmonic

Harmonic helps you discover the best startups way ahead of the competition. We use it at GTMfund, as do thousands of investors at firms like USV and Insight. GTM teams at companies like Notion and Brex also rely on the platform to stay ahead.

Harmonic tracks millions of startups and lets you search using simple filters or natural language to match exactly what you’re looking for. When you find a company that looks interesting, Harmonic pulls everything into one place (founder backgrounds, traction, and market data) so you can quickly evaluate and understand if it’s a fit.

At GTMfund, we even have a private Slack channel called #companywatchlist powered entirely by Harmonic.

Guest Links

• LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulrwilliamson

Host Links

• LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi
• X (Twitter):https://x.com/sophiebuona
• Newsletter:https://thegtmnewsletter.substack.com

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Jenny He is the Founder and General Partner at Position Ventures, an early-stage venture fund that backs startups with strategic communications from day one. Previously, Jenny led comms at Square and has since helped hundreds of founders land coverage in top outlets like TechCrunch and Forbes. With deep expertise in positioning, storytelling, and PR, she’s on a mission to help startups craft differentiated narratives that drive credibility, legitimacy, and growth.

Discussed in This Episode

• What PR actually is (and isn’t) for startups
• The difference between positioning, storytelling, and PR — and how they stack together
• When PR makes sense and when to hold back on announcements
• Step-by-step process for landing coverage in top outlets like TechCrunch or Forbes
• How to build authentic relationships with reporters before you pitch
• What makes something truly newsworthy: timeliness, impact, relevance
• Tactical advice for pitching, interviews, and amplifying coverage post-launch
• How PR fits into the broader go-to-market motion

Episode Highlights

00:00 — Positioning, storytelling, and PR defined

02:23 — Jenny explains what PR really is and why startups misunderstand it

06:39 — The first step before any PR push: setting clear goals

11:37 — Example of a newsworthy founder story: building an AI radiologist from personal experience

15:17 — The three elements of newsworthiness: timeliness, impact, and relevance

17:42 — Why building warm relationships with reporters is crucial

20:36 — Preparing for the interview itself vs. outreach

22:47 — Amplifying coverage through your network post-publication

25:07 — What PR agencies cost (and why no one can guarantee coverage)

29:18 — Jenny’s #1 book recommendation on positioning

Thanks to Our Sponsor – Clarify:

Clarify is the autonomous CRM built for founders and early-stage teams who want to build more pipeline, close more deals, and spend way less time on busywork.

Clarify automatically enriches your contacts, captures leads from anywhere (even one click from LinkedIn), and keeps your pipeline up to date on its own, so you can focus on winning deals, not updating fields.

If you’re looking to simplify your stack and help your team move faster, check out Clarify.

Recommended Books

• Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind by Al Ries & Jack Trout — Jenny’s #1 recommendation for founders learning positioning fundamentals.

Referenced

• Clarify (autonomous CRM): https://clarify.ai
• TechCrunch: https://techcrunch.com
• Forbes: https://forbes.com
• New Lantern (portfolio company example): https://newlantern.ai
• Square: https://squareup.com

Guest Links

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennyhe
• X (Twitter): https://x.com/jennydhe
• Website: https://positionventures.com

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

James Roth is the Chief Revenue Officer at ZoomInfo, where he oversees a global revenue engine supporting over 37,000 customers and more than $1 billion in ARR. With a background in scaling hypergrowth teams and building enterprise go-to-market machines, James has helped reposition ZoomInfo from a sales tool to the foundational data layer for modern GTM teams. Under his leadership, ZoomInfo launched Copilot, its flagship AI product, and executed a bold shift upmarket — transitioning from transactional selling to a data-first, enterprise-driven GTM strategy.

Discussed in This Episode

• How ZoomInfo transitioned from transactional selling to enterprise go-to-market
• The "Good Co, Bad Co" framework for segment-specific product retention
• Why ZoomInfo changed its ticker symbol to GTM
• Launching Copilot and driving $100M revenue in under 6 months
• How internal AI usage became the go-to-market motion
• Key shifts in comp design and team segmentation for scaling upmarket
• Using telemetry and real-time signal tracking to measure rep effectiveness
• Lessons in long-term execution vs. short-term growth pressure

Episode Highlights

00:00 — ZoomInfo's evolution from a sales tool to a data-first platform

17:06 — Why data as a service is ZoomInfo’s fastest-growing business

20:43 — How to build and apply the “Good Co, Bad Co” segmentation framework

26:26 — The hard part about going upmarket? Aligning the full funnel org

30:19 — Changing your ticker to GTM: A bold positioning play

34:31 — Copilot’s $100M launch: The power of internal usage

39:53 — Most AI tools show <5% revenue lift. Here's why

43:29 — How ZoomInfo is operationalizing AI across the org

48:29 — The signals > activity shift in modern sales measurement

52:18 — What James wants future CROs to steal: Think long-term, build patiently

Thanks to Our Sponsor – UserEvidence:

UserEvidence is the Customer Evidence Platform that helps you collect feedback, surface proof points, and turn customer wins into bite-sized assets your sales and marketing teams can actually use. Capture social proof at scale. Arm reps with credible stories. Close more deals with trust.

Learn more at: https://userevidence.com/gtmnow

Guest Links

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-roth-3a913b51/

Host Links

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/
• X (Twitter): https://x.com/sophiebuona
• Newsletter: https://thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/
• Website: https://gtmnow.com

Where to Find GTMnow

• Website: https://gtmnow.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/
• X (Twitter): https://x.com/GTMnow_
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_now
• The GTM Podcast: https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Stevie Case is the Chief Revenue Officer at Vanta, the $4B leader in trust management and compliance automation. Since joining in 2021, Stevie has scaled the company from sub-$20M ARR to north of $100M, navigated 40+ copycat competitors, rebuilt both pre- and post-sales engines, and led Vanta’s expansion from SMB into enterprise. A former world’s first female pro gamer turned tech sales leader, Stevie previously held senior roles at Twilio, where she helped grow the enterprise business to a $1B run rate.

Discussed in This Episode

• How Stevie’s path from pro gamer to CRO shaped her competitive edge
• Early-stage chaos at Vanta and the signs of undeniable product-market fit
• Battling over 40 copycat competitors with value selling and a “CIA” competitive squad
• Why execution, not first-mover advantage, is the only sustainable moat
• The challenges and lessons from scaling SMB sales and moving into enterprise
• Building go-to-market experiments before committing product investment
• Transforming post-sales into a growth engine and driving net retention up
• Stevie’s view on AI in revenue operations and personal productivity

Episode Highlights

00:00 — “Every business is subject to the laws of physics and math… Execution is the only moat.”

03:07 — Stevie on becoming the world’s first female pro gamer and how competitiveness fueled her career.

06:25 — The undeniable product-market fit that convinced Stevie to join Vanta.

14:02 — Facing 40+ copycat competitors and learning that flashy marketing can’t beat sustainable growth.

16:23 — Transitioning from transactional selling to deep, value-based discovery using MEDDPICC.

18:30 — Creating Vanta’s “CIA” Competitive Intelligence Agency to win back customers.

26:10 — Launching the experimental enterprise sales team and the patience it took to scale it.

47:08 — Rebuilding post-sales into separate customer success and account management functions.

50:56 — Vanta’s next big GTM bets: platform sales, public sector, and deeper enterprise expansion.

53:27 — How Stevie is using AI in revenue operations and her own work life.

Guest Links

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steviecase

Thanks to our Sponsor: Qualified

Piper is the #1 AI SDR on G2.

AI SDR agents are changing the future of sales. And Piper is leading the way.

Piper is the top-ranked AI SDR on G2, trusted by hundreds of high-growth GTM teams — including many in the GTMfund community. She works around the clock to follow up with every lead, book meetings, and qualify prospects, all by reading real buying signals.

That means your team spends less time chasing and more time closing.

Piper isn’t just automating repetitive work — she’s transforming pipeline generation at scale.

Discover how AI SDRs like Piper can help you build pipeline faster at qualified.com.

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Gaurav Agarwal is the COO of ClickUp, where he’s helped scale the company 17x in two years and cut CAC by 3x—all while leading across marketing, product, sales, and services. Formerly in banking and product roles, Gaurav brings a rare systems-oriented mindset to growth. He’s known for connecting the dots across GTM, scaling PLG engines, driving incrementality with rigor, and building cultures of experimentation, ownership, and speed.

Discussed in this episode

• Why growth is more about systems than marketing
• How ClickUp scaled 17x while reducing CAC by 3x
• The cultural shifts required to align GTM teams
• Incrementality testing vs. attribution modeling
• Building a true sales motion on top of PLG
• Input KPIs as a driver of experimentation speed
• How ClickUp is using AI across marketing and sales
• The concept of GTM as demand creation vs. harvesting

Episode Highlights

00:00 — Everyone is doing all the work—but you're winning by chance, not by design

02:01 — Gaurav on seeing growth as a systems function, not just marketing

13:33 — Culture alone delivered roughly half of the 3× CAC reduction at ClickUp

15:53 — Gaurav defines incrementality testing vs. flawed attribution models

29:27 — Setting input KPIs so squads deliver a “win every week” keeps momentum high

32:53 — AI is being embedded across PLG + GTM workflows—from content briefs to deal signals

Recommended Books

• Shareholder Letters by Jeff Bezos

Referenced

• ClickUp:https://clickup.com/
  • Gong: https://www.gong.io/
  • Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/
  • Robinhood: https://robinhood.com/

Guest Links (Gaurav Agarwal):

• LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/gauravragarwal/

Host Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/
• Newsletter: https://thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):

• Website: https://gtmnow.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/
• Twitter/X: https://x.com/GTMnow_
• YouTube: /@gtm_now
• The GTMnow Podcast (on all major directories): https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

Thanks to our Sponsor: Qualified

Piper is the #1 AI SDR on G2.

AI SDR agents are changing the future of sales. And Piper is leading the way.

Piper is the top-ranked AI SDR on G2, trusted by hundreds of high-growth GTM teams — including many in the GTMfund community. She works around the clock to follow up with every lead, book meetings, and qualify prospects, all by reading real buying signals.

That means your team spends less time chasing and more time closing.

Piper isn’t just automating repetitive work — she’s transforming pipeline generation at scale.

Discover how AI SDRs like Piper can help you build pipeline faster at qualified.com.

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

John Fernandez is SVP at Datasite, with a track record as GTM leader at Glia, ContentWise, and Diligent, having scaled teams through IPOs, acquisitions, and $1.4B in equity events. At Glia, John pioneered revenue marketing’s impact, driving 71% of pipeline and 60% of new business revenue from marketing. Connect with him for real-world GTM lessons, scaling playbooks, and unique frameworks for aligning marketing with revenue.

Discussed in this Episode:

• How to architect a B2B marketing org that is truly accountable for pipeline and revenue, not just “influence”
• Aligning product, content, and campaign teams to ONE goal: pipeline creation (culture, incentives, and operations)
• The “Value Chain” framework for mapping marketing’s full-stack impact across the GTM engine
• John’s “4 Whats” Framework for operationalizing measurement: what's working, what's not, what's new, what's next
• What’s broken about attribution today and why multi-touch measurement is often a red herring
• The shift from SEO to GEO: How generative AI is re-writing digital discoverability and B2B content strategy
• AI in marketing without losing authenticity: human-in-the-loop, voice, and trust factors you need to watch
• Why more Martech isn’t the answer (and the tech stack crisis facing GTM teams)
• Deep problem understanding as a GTM superpower (what chess can teach SaaS leaders about winning)
• Key moves for founders and GTM leaders facing today’s attention and signal problem

Guest Speaker Links (John Fernandez):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnfernandez/
• Datasite: https://www.datasite.com/

Host Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/
• Newsletter: https://substack.com/@sophiebuonassisi

Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):

Website: https://gtmnow.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/
Twitter/X: https://x.com/GTMnow_
YouTube: /@gtm_now
The GTM Podcast (on all major directories): https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Erica Anderman is the co-founder and COO of Foodini, an AI-powered platform solving food allergy and dietary transparency through data infrastructure. With over 15 years of go-to-market experience across foodtech and vertical SaaS, Erica has led revenue at companies like Slice, Seated, and Odeko, and held roles across sales, customer success, partnerships, and RevOps. She began her career in door-to-door restaurant sales and now builds GTM from the ground up, helping 50% of the population with dietary needs find safe, personalized dining experiences.

Discussed in this Episode:

• Transitioning from CRO to founder (and why it’s so humbling)
• Tactical frameworks for finding product-market fit (especially in early pivots)
• Building a GTM motion from zero using community and customer obsession
• What AI actually changes in GTM (hint: it’s not just about productivity)
• How to treat fundraising like a sales motion (including identifying your ICP)
• Practical tools Erica is using to build GTM motions faster with fewer resources

Highlights:00:45 From Sales to CRO: The Unconventional Path
02:47 Why Being a Generalist Can Make You a Better Leader
05:31 What AI Is Really Doing to GTM Roles
06:33 Scaling Yourself Before You Scale Your Team
08:00 From CRO to Founder: Sales Skills That Transfer to Fundraising
10:10 Fundraising Is Just Another Sales Funnel
14:12 Relationships Compound in GTM and Fundraising
22:33 Finding PMF by Listening Hard
26:04 When Your GTM Motion Becomes Compliance-Driven
27:41 Community as a GTM Lever (Not Just a Buzzword)
38:28 Pre-PMF vs. Post-PMF
42:53 Turning Messy Data into Valuable Content
56:12 Tools Over Headcount: Erica’s Favorite AI Stack

Guest Speaker Links (Erica Anderman):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericaanderman
Foodini: https://foodini.co/

Host Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/insophiebuonassisi
Newsletter: https://substack.com/@sophiebuonassisi

Thanks to Our Sponsor – UserEvidence:UserEvidence is the Customer Evidence Platform that helps you collect feedback, surface proof points, and turn customer wins into bite-sized assets your sales and marketing teams can actually use. Capture social proof at scale. Arm reps with credible stories. Close more deals with trust.

Learn more at: https://userevidence.com/gtmnow

Where to Find GTMnow:Website: https://gtmnow.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/
Twitter/X: https://x.com/GTMnow_
YouTube: /@gtm_now
The GTM Podcast (on all major directories): https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

This bonus episode explores one of the most important shifts happening in go-to-market right now: the move from optimizing for humans to optimizing for AI.

Mike Walrath, CEO of Yext and former founder of Right Media (acquired by Yahoo for $850M), shares why this change is as big — or bigger — than the first wave of digital transformation. You’ll learn how AI agents are changing how customers discover businesses, why your structured data now matters more than your homepage, and what you can do to stay ahead.

This is a clip from the full episode with Mike — a must-watch roadmap for the AI-driven future of marketing. Hit the links to dive into the full conversation.

• GTMnow: https://gtmnow.com/gtm-146-future-of-search-ai-digital-presence-mike-walrath/
• Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/gtm-146-the-future-of-search-ai-and-digital/id1369291464
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2xs4xXGmTTKXHSNUMmYqvy
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m1051j_hq4&t=1332s

Thanks to our Sponsor: Qualified

Piper is the #1 AI SDR on G2.

AI SDR agents are changing the future of sales. And Piper is leading the way.

Piper is the top-ranked AI SDR on G2, trusted by hundreds of high-growth GTM teams — including many in the GTMfund community. She works around the clock to follow up with every lead, book meetings, and qualify prospects, all by reading real buying signals.

That means your team spends less time chasing and more time closing.

Piper isn’t just automating repetitive work — she’s transforming pipeline generation at scale.

Discover how AI SDRs like Piper can help you build pipeline faster at qualified.com.

Visit us: https://gtmnow.com/
Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/
Follow us on Twitter/X: https://x.com/GTMnow_

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Doug Camplejohn is a serial entrepreneur and seasoned executive with extensive experience in B2B SaaS and go-to-market strategies. He has previously held leadership positions at major tech companies including LinkedIn, Salesforce, and Apple before founding Coffee, an AI-first CRM platform.

Discussed in this Episode:

• AI-powered CRM and sales automation
• Go-to-market stack optimization and simplification
• Building and scaling B2B SaaS companies
• Revenue operations (RevOps) and AI integration
• Serial entrepreneurship and company building
• Transitioning from big tech to startup founder

Highlights:
04:35 From Fliptop to LinkedIn: how Doug navigated acquisition and scaled Sales Navigator.

06:33 Why Sales Nav was a $250M business with a “crappy product” — and how Doug turned it around.

09:56 Doug’s “awesome test” for hiring top talent (and the 90-day rule he swears by).

13:26 The speed dating hack that landed Coffee’s first sales leader.

17:36 What Doug learned running Sales Cloud at Salesforce — and why he left.

22:22 The biggest missed opportunity inside Sales Navigator (and what he’d do differently).

24:37 Why sales tech stacks are bloated — and how AI-native CRMs solve it.

28:36 What makes a true AI-native product (and why Coffee is built different).

31:36 The Rippling-inspired vision behind Coffee’s GTM strategy.

34:47 Three versions of Coffee — and why reps are swiping their own cards.

39:44 AI agents vs. simple automations — what the future actually looks like.

42:41 Why SDRs won’t disappear — but their job will change.

47:45 Data as the new moat: how to build durable product advantage in the AI era.

50:08 Why Doug runs a podcast and thinks every startup should act like a media company.

55:09 The new math of headcount: scaling to $100M+ with fewer hires.

56:45 The “TAM is dead” take — and how Doug thinks about modern segmentation.

Guest Speaker Links (Doug Camplejohn):

• LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/camplejohn
• Coffee: https://coffee.ai
• Podcast: https://www.coffee.ai/podcast

Host Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):

• LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi
• Newsletter: https://substack.com/@sophiebuonassisi

Thanks to our Sponsor: TriNet
Every early-stage founder is told to focus on product and growth. But behind every product launch and revenue milestone is a team – and building that team is one of the hardest and important parts of the journey.

“Build the team that builds the company.” – that is part of your go-to-market strategy responsible for growth. Hiring the right people, keeping them supported, and creating the infrastructure to help them thrive is critical.

TriNet exists to make that easier. TriNet’s full suite of HR solutions is designed to support companies at critical inflection points – from early traction to scale.

Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):
Website: https://gtmnow.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/
Twitter/X: https://x.com/GTMnow_
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_now
The GTM Podcast (on all major directories): https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Austin Hughes is the founder and CEO of Unify, a platform helping high-growth teams turn buying signals into pipeline. Previously, Austin led the growth team at Ramp, where he scaled the org from 1 to 25+ and pioneered a product-led, experiment-driven GTM approach. With a background in investment banking and venture capital, Austin brings a uniquely analytical and first-principles mindset to modern B2B growth.

Discussed in this Episode:

• Why you should run marketing like product
• Distribution is a startup's best friend
• How Austin’s content strategy turned LinkedIn into a hyper-efficient channel
• Why the best growth hires today are ex-engineers or investors
• How AI is redefining go-to-market motions

Highlights:

04:00 Ramp’s growth org: running 100+ experiments per quarter

08:45 Why LinkedIn became Unify’s silver bullet

11:30 Austin’s content creation workflow (and why he doesn’t use AI to write)

13:00 Technical vs. traditional growth marketers—how to hire for impact

17:00 Using Unify to merge 1st & 3rd-party data into a signal pipeline

20:30 How automation + human-in-loop GTM creates leverage

24:00 Austin’s Carta example: what perfect relevance looks like

27:00 What broke in outbound and why signal-based selling is the fix

32:00 When startups should start ingesting signals

36:30 Culture of experimentation: “failure is just a data point”

39:00 How Unify is using AI internally for GTM and support ops

43:00 What’s coming next: AI-relevant messaging, BDR collaboration tools

47:00 The end of traditional marketing roles—and what comes next

Guest Speaker Links (Austin Hughes):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/austin-t-hughes/
• Unify: https://www.unifygtm.com/

Host Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/
• Newsletter: https://substack.com/@sophiebuonassisi

Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):

• Website: https://gtmnow.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/
• Twitter/X: https://x.com/GTMnow_
• YouTube: /@gtm_now
• The GTM Podcast (on all major directories): https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

Thanks to our Sponsors:

TriNetFounding a company is hard enough. Navigating payroll, benefits, and compliance shouldn’t slow you down. That’s where TriNet comes in. They work with startups and scaling businesses to help take HR off your plate, so you can stay focused on building product, growing revenue, and hiring great people - the go-to-market engine. B2B companies like Hivebrite and Equilend trust TriNet to help handle the infrastructure of their workforce, so their teams can focus on execution. Sponsor Link:

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

What’s actually working in go-to-market right now? In this live panel from the GTM Fund AGM, three early-stage leaders from three exceptional companies—Centari, Atrix AI, and Gaiia—break down how they’re closing enterprise deals in some of the most challenging verticals: legal, pharma, and telecom. From viral LinkedIn content and founder-led dinners to the now-infamous "donut drop" strategy, this episode is packed with practical, first-principles GTM plays you won’t find in a sales playbook.

Kevin Walker (Centari) – Founder & CEO of Centari, a legal tech platform providing deal intelligence to large law firms and, soon, financial services. A former M&A attorney at Paul Hastings, Kevin brings deep insider knowledge to solving complex legal workflows.

Vera Kutsenko (Atrix AI) – Founder & CEO of Atrix AI, a platform helping medical affairs teams at pharma and med device companies capture and operationalize real-world insights. Vera has become a thought leader in AI for regulated industries—recently authoring a viral book on AI in medical affairs.

Stephen Farnsworth (Gaiia) – VP of GTM at Gaiia and early GTM leader at Workato and Outreach. Gaiia is an end-to-end ERP, billing, and CRM platform for independent internet service providers (ISPs), tackling a niche but high-value market with massive infrastructure needs.

Discussed in this Episode:

• Centari built trust with top law firms by pairing deep domain credibility with a thoughtful, relationship-driven sales approach.
• Atrix AI sparked inbound demand by turning a single viral LinkedIn post into a full-length book on AI in medical affairs.
• Gaiia chose not to hire SDRs, focusing instead on high-ACV deals and personalized outreach in a tightly defined TAM of telecom providers.
• Gaiia’s “donut drop” strategy—personally delivering treats to rural ISP offices—created brand awareness and unlocked new pipeline.
• Both Centari and Atrix AI scaled founder-led sales by hiring a Chief of Staff to operationalize and extend GTM efforts.
• Atrix AI uses educational AI workshops to qualify buyers, build trust, and stand out in a noisy vendor landscape.
• Centari combats pilot fatigue and skepticism in legal tech by showing deep empathy, hiring former lawyers, and proving value early.

Highlights:

03:00 – Why Atrix AI scaled founder-led sales with viral content and thought leadership

06:00 – The accidental (and wildly successful) AI & medical affairs book launch

08:00 – Centari’s early GTM strategy: legal empathy, cookies, and product conviction

11:00 – Gaiia’s high-ACV model and why SDRs don’t make sense for their TAM

20:00 – The Donut Playbook: creating pipeline by showing up IRL

23:00 – Why Chief of Staff was a critical early hire for scaling sales ops

27:00 – How Gaiia is thinking about building community in a slow-moving vertical

28:00 – What’s next: repeatability, vertical expansion, and community infrastructure

Guest Speaker Links:

1. Vera Kutsenko LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/verakutsenko/
2. Stephen Farnsworth LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-farnsworth/
3. Kevin Walker LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kpwalker1/

Host Speaker Links (Paul Irving):

• LinkedIn:

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Dennis Lyandres is an Advisor with ICONIQ and a Board Member of Speedchain and CaptivateIQ. Dennis amassed incredible insights through his experience as the Chief Revenue Officer of Procore, where he helped grow the company from $10M to $900M+ in revenue and guided it through a successful IPO. At Procore, he led all customer-facing functions—Sales, Marketing, CS, RevOps, and BD. He’s now an investor, advisor, and board member to iconic B2B SaaS companies, and one of the most respected voices in GTM for vertical SaaS.

Discussed in this Episode:

• Why the best SaaS companies align people, product, and GTM into one unified strategy
• Using AI as a GTM advantage starts with a crawl-walk-run approach
• Scaling multi-product in vertical SaaS means following the money and the pain
• GTM leaders win when they speak product and co-own strategy with engineering
• Customer relationships are your most undervalued strategic growth lever
• Your top 5% of talent deserve a purpose-built strategy to maximize impact
• Lean AI teams are redefining what’s possible with just a handful of operators

Highlights:

03:00 Dennis’s journey as the Chief Revenue Officer at Procore: from $10M to IPO

05:00 The “People, Product, GTM” triad and AI-native orgs

07:00 Why vertical SaaS startups need a talent strategy (and most companies lack one)

09:30 Multi-product GTM strategy explained via Procore and other verticals

13:00 How Go-To-Market teams can show up better for product teams

18:00 Building deep customer strategy across functions in a B2B startup

23:00 Price’s Law and the T30 program for top performers within a revenue organization

24:30 Lean AI startup: what it is and what it isn’t

30:00 Crawl-walk-run AI adoption in Go-To-Market teams

Guest Speaker Links (Dennis Lyandres):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dlyandres/
• Speedchain: https://www.speedchain.com/
• ICONIQ: https://www.iconiqcapital.com/

Host Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/
• Newsletter: https://substack.com/@sophiebuonassisi

Sponsors: TriNet

Every early-stage founder is told to focus on product and growth. But behind every product launch and revenue milestone is a team – and building that team is one of the hardest and important parts of the journey.

“Build the team that builds the company.” – that is part of your go-to-market strategy responsible for growth.

Hiring the right people, keeping them supported, and creating the infrastructure to help them thrive is critical.

TriNet exists to make that easier. TriNet’s full suite of HR solutions is designed to support companies at critical inflection points – from early traction to scale.

Learn more at https://trinet.com/gtmnow

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Andy Mowat is the Co-Founder of Whispered, and is responsible for building incredible RevOps and GTM systems at unicorns like Upwork, Box, and Culture Amp. With over two decades of experience leading marketing ops, sales ops, and go-to-market infrastructure, Andy is a true pioneer of modern RevOps. Today, he’s building tools to help tech executives collaborate on company insights, search strategies, introductions, and the deepest database of unposted GTM roles anywhere.

Discussed in this Episode:
- Why 80–98% of VP and C-level roles are never posted—and how to access them.
- The importance of clarity: how GTM operators should articulate their focus to stand out.
- How venture networks and backchanneling drive most executive hiring decisions.
- The rise (and limits) of fractional work as a bridge between full-time roles.
- What AI agents are doing behind the scenes at Whispered to match execs to roles.
- Why company stage, growth rate, and CEO quality are critical in picking your next role.
- What GTM functions (e.g. RevOps, Demand Gen) are most in-demand right now.

Highlights:
04:30 Why most executive roles are never posted
07:00 How Whispered operates as a curated talent network
13:30 Why GTM execs struggle to articulate their focus—and how to fix it
16:45 The right way to build a target company list
21:00 Engaging your network and VC talent teams the right way
28:00 What AI is (and isn’t) changing about hiring and team structure
34:00 How to evaluate growth-stage companies and pick winners
36:30 Head of vs. VP vs. CRO: The real meaning of title across company sizes
41:00 Most common mistakes execs make in their job search
44:30 Using customer advocacy and growth loops to scale Whispered
46:00 Is email dead? Why it's still critical to GTM and talent outreach

Guest Speaker Links (Andy Mowat):
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amowat/
- Whispered: https://www.whispered.com/
Host Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/
- Newsletter: https://substack.com/@sophiebuonassisi

Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):
- Website: https://gtmnow.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/GTMnow_
- YouTube: @gtm_now
- The GTM Podcast (on all major directories): https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

Sponsor: Qualified

Qualified is the Agentic Marketing Platform with the world's leading SDR agent, Piper the AI SDR. Marketing teams trust Piper to autonomously drive inbound pipeline at scale, delivering real-time engagement and conversion. Trusted by top brands like Asana, Box, Brex, Clari, GE Healthcare, and more, Qualified is redefining how companies generate pipeline in the age of AI.

Sponsor Link: https://www.qualified.com/plus/category/ai-sdr-summit?utm_source=gtmfund

The GTM Podcast
Don’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

career #jobsearch #techcareers

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Rick Kelley is the former SVP of Gaming & App Monetization Solutions at Meta and Managing Director of Meta Ireland, where he led a $1B+ revenue organization & played a pivotal role in building out Meta’s go-to-market teams across North America & EMEA. Over his 15-year career at Meta, Rick was instrumental in driving international expansion, especially across Europe, the Middle East, & Africa—helping to localize strategy, scale high-performing sales teams, & bring new ad products to market. Today, he advises founders on global GTM execution, sales hiring, & how AI is reshaping the future of commercial organizations.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The operational playbooks that scaled Meta’s ad sales
• Why AI will shift how sales orgs think about headcount & human capital
• The three traits Rick looks for in great sales leaders—& how to spot them early
• Why early-stage companies should prioritize hiring builders, not closers
• How to segment go-to-market motions by customer journey, not just ACV
• Why “coachable, humble, gritty” still wins—even in an AI-powered GTM world

Highlights:

6:30 How Meta scaled repeatable playbooks across SMB, Mid-Market, & Enterprise

10:00 The role of humility & coachability in building scalable teams

13:00 Why top sales leaders are systems thinkers—not just great closers

16:00 AI’s impact on headcount & how to scale without over-hiring

21:00 Making your first 5 sales hires count

25:30 Early-stage mistake: over-complicating GTM before validating demand

30:30 Why product & GTM must be tied at the hip—especially in AI-first companies

34:00 From Facebook to Meta: what changed & what didn’t in sales strategy

37:00 Final thoughts: GTM myths, leadership advice, & staying grounded

Guest Speaker Links (Rick Kelley):

1. LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rickkelley

Host Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):

1. LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi
2. Newsletter: substack.com/@sophiebuonassisi

Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):

1. Website: gtmnow.com
2. LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/gtmnow
3. Twitter/X: x.com/GTMnow_
4. YouTube: /@gtm_now

Sponsors: UserEvidence

UserEvidence is the Cust

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Sean Whiteley is a three-time founder and the Co-Founder of Qualified, the AI pipeline automation platform purpose-built for inbound GTM teams. Previously, he founded GetFeedback (acquired by Campaign Monitor) and Kieden (acquired by Salesforce), where he also served as SVP & GM. With over two decades at the forefront of tech’s biggest transformations—from on-prem to cloud to AI—Sean offers a rare, long-term view on how to build companies and go-to-market engines in the face of massive disruption.

Discussed in this Episode:

• Why the speed of AI adoption outpaces every previous tech wave
• How the role of RevOps and team design is being reshaped by agentic systems
• Why today’s buyer journey is nonlinear, AI-assisted, and fully in control
• Tactical breakdown: how Sean mapped and tagged every task at Qualified for AI automation
• Why success teams must sit at the core of GTM strategy, not as an afterthought
• The most common GTM myth Sean is seeing today—and why it’s outdated
• The characteristics Sean looks for in long-term co-founders and GTM hires

Highlights:

02:00 Sean’s journey through on-prem, cloud, and now AI

05:00 Ops leaders as the new AI orchestrators inside GTM teams

08:30 From workflows to autonomous agents: how org charts are shifting

10:30 The “two-way doors” mindset for fast experimentation

13:30 The future of GTM: agents, trust falls, and buyer-led journeys

15:00 From personalization to “relevance at scale” in modern marketing

18:00 AI unlocks speed and efficiency—how that reshapes CAC payback and TCO

24:00 How Qualified created internal AI blueprints across every team

28:30 Inside the AI SDR: replacing manual inbound sales with 24/7 automation

32:00 Success is not post-sales—it’s the center of the GTM experience

36:00 Reinventing yourself as a founder through three companies

39:30 What still hasn’t changed: customer value and trusted partnerships

47:00 GTM myth: “We control the buying process”—why that’s dead

51:00 Where Sean learns about AI: customer conversations > thought leadership

Guest Speaker Links (Sean Whitely):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanwhiteley
• Qualified Website: https://www.qualified.com

Host Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi
• Newsletter: https://substack.com/@sophiebuonassisi

Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):

• Website: https://gtmnow.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow
• Twitter/X: https://x.com/GTMnow_
• YouTube: @gtm_now
• The GTM Podcast (on all major directories): https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Navin Persaud is the VP of Revenue Operations at 1Password, where he leads a 30+ person team supporting a GTM org of 450+. With over 20 years of experience across RevOps, SalesOps, and MarketingOps, including time at IBM and high-growth SaaS companies, Navin has built a reputation as one of the sharpest operators in the game. He’s known for building scalable systems, ruthless prioritization, and a clear-eyed view of how AI is reshaping operations.

Discussed in this Episode:

• Why RevOps is the most essential team for scalable growth
• The real signs that it’s time to hire your first RevOps leader
• What AI is disrupting first in RevOps forecasting, enrichment, orchestration, and reporting
• The rise of GTM Engineers and the shift toward intelligence-layer operations
• Tactical frameworks for combining AI insights with human judgment
• How RevOps should evolve from executor to strategic growth partner
• Hiring advice: what makes a great early-stage ops hire and how to test for curiosity

Highlights:

05:00 - The sports field analogy: building the GTM pitch, not just playing on it

07:00 - AI is both the scariest and most freeing technology in ops today

09:00 - GTM Engineers and the orchestration opportunity ahead

11:00 - Product-market fit is the right time to invest in RevOps

13:00 Forecasting, enrichment, and demand routing—where AI adds leverage

17:30 -Why dashboards are dying and how ops will move to real-time insights

27:00 - How RevOps became a central GTM function

30:00 - Advice for founders on when (and how) to bring in ops leadership

33:00 - “Perfection is the enemy of pace”—a RevOps mantra

Guest Speaker Links (Navin Persaud):

• LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/navinpersaud/
• 1Password:https://1password.com/
• 1Password Careers:https://1password.com/careers

Host Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):

• LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/
• Newsletter:https://substack.com/@sophiebuonassisi

Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):

• Website:https://gtmnow.com/
• LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/
• Twitter/X:https://x.com/GTMnow_
• YouTube:@gtm_now
• The GTM Podcast (on all major directories):

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Mike Walrath is the CEO and Chairman of Yext, a publicly traded digital presence platform that helps businesses manage and synchronize their digital presence across search engines, maps, apps, and voice assistants by ensuring that information like locations, services, FAQs, and brand content appears accurately and consistently wherever customers search.

He also co-founded WGI Group, LLC, to provide growth capital to early and expansion stage startups in enterprise software, consumer internet and digital media industries. Previously, Michael was co-founder and Chairman of Moat Inc. which was acquired by Oracle in April 2017. In 2003, Michael founded Right Media - the world's first open exchange for digital advertising. He served as Chairman and CEO of the company until its acquisition by Yahoo! in July 2007. At Yahoo!, he was responsible for the operation of the global advertising marketplaces organization.

Discussed in this Episode:

• Why marketers must now structure content not for humans, but for machines.
• How Yext evolved from managing listings to powering AI-ready data pipelines.
• Actionable steps SaaS companies can take to optimize for AI agents and search diversification.
• The role of hyperlocal data, competitive analysis, and personalized content in GTM strategy.
• Why software innovation must start with intelligence, not workflow.
• The decline of seat-based pricing and rise of outcome-based models.

Highlights:

[00:07:30] – How the iPhone created geo-aware fragmentation, and how Yext was born.

[00:10:00] – Why Google still checks MapQuest (and what that means for SEO today).

[00:11:30] – “We have to rebuild the digital presence for machines, not people.”

[00:14:30] – The new battleground: how AI engines like ChatGPT shape discoverability.

[00:18:00] – Practical data strategies for local businesses and SaaS marketers.

[00:22:00] – Why structured data is the foundation of AI-first marketing.

[00:26:00] – Bespoke GTM: why no two locations (or campaigns) should be the same.

[00:29:00] – The shift from product-led to intelligence-led SaaS development.

[00:31:00] – Seat-based pricing is dying – how to move to value-based contracts.

[00:34:30] – Mike’s advice: get radically honest about macro changes, not just tactics.

Guest Speaker Links (Michael Walrath):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-walrath-b63166/
• Yext: https://www.yext.com/

Host Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/
• Newsletter: https://substack.com/@sophiebuonassisi

Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):

• Website: https://gtmnow.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Marcy Campbell is the Chief Revenue Officer at AppFolio, where she leads sales and client services with a focus on delivering unified, end-to-end customer experiences. With over 30 years of experience scaling revenue teams across FinTech, SaaS, cloud computing, and communications, Marcy has held executive roles at Boomi and PayPal—where she led an 800+ person global team. Her deep expertise in aligning sales, customer success, and operations makes her a standout leader in the GTM space.

What happens when a CRO owns the entire customer journey

Discussed in this Episode:

• How AppFolio’s Unified Customer Experience (UCE) platform aligns marketing, sales, and customer service.
• The evolving role of the CRO and the importance of owning the entire customer journey.
• Why customer experience is a competitive differentiator in vertical SaaS.
• Tactical tips for early-stage startups on aligning go-to-market motion with product-market fit.
• The importance of cross-functional “stream teams” for accelerating GTM initiatives.
• How Marcy builds inclusive leadership cultures and mentors rising female leaders.
• Why how you make the number matters as much as making the number.

Highlights:

10:30 The Chief Revenue Officer's (CRO) responsibility to understand and optimize the entire customer journey.

12:30 How the Unified Customer Experience (UCE) platform was formed and how it works.

16:00 End-to-end GTM orchestration across sales, marketing, product, and CS.

22:00 Results from the UCE initiative: accelerated deal velocity and customer retention.

26:30 Advice for startups: identifying your ICP and fixing pipeline fundamentals.

29:00 How to scale with customer empathy and GTM precision.

31:00 Advocating for women in sales leadership and building inclusive teams.

36:00 Marcy’s communication strategy for managing a 600-person org.

39:00 Marcy's favorite business leadership tactic: “Take a beat” before reacting.

40:00 What’s outdated: The belief that only numbers matter in sales.

Guest Speaker Links (Marcy Campbell):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcyc/
• Appfolio: https://www.appfolio.com/

Host Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/
• Newsletter: https://substack.com/@sophiebuonassisi

Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):

• Website: https://gtmnow.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/
• Twitter/X:

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Oji Udezue was most recently Chief Product Officer at Typeform, where he led product strategy across the company’s growing suite of tools. Previously, he was CPO at Calendly, where he helped scale one of the most beloved PLG tools in the market. Before that, he was Head of Product for Creation and Conversation at Twitter, leading core features like Tweets, DMs, and Spaces. At Atlassian, he led all communication products, including the launch of Atlassian’s first post-IPO product.

Oji also spent years at Microsoft, building foundational experiences across Windows, Outlook, Hotmail, and Internet Explorer.

In addition to his product leadership, Oji is the founder of Kernel Fund, an early-stage fund supporting startups across Africa. He writes about product, growth, and leadership at his newsletter Product Mind and is the author of the upcoming book Building Rocketships—a guide for high-growth product teams.

Discussed in this Episode:

• When to hire your first PM (and what to look for).
• Why great product teams include marketing from day one.
• A framework for picking winning startup ideas.
• How AI is changing how we build (not just what we build).
• What product leaders can learn from Microsoft’s Longhorn failure.
• Why 3x better isn’t a nice-to-have — it’s a must.

Highlights:

04:52 – Why marketing is essential to product leadership.

12:02 – How AI is transforming the process of building products.

17:07 – Common product mistakes founders make early on.

24:16 – Building Rocket Ships: Why Oji wrote the book.

31:08 – Framework: Where to fish for unicorns.

33:17 – The “3x better” rule for product value.

37:07 – The challenge of true product differentiation.

39:22 – What Microsoft’s Longhorn failure taught Oji.

44:51 – When (and how) to hire your first PM.

48:31 – The importance of fast, early customer feedback.

54:46 – How AI is changing go-to-market strategy.

57:32 – Why marketers must master signal in a noisy world.

Guest Speaker Links (Oji Udezue):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ojiudezue/
• Kernel Fund: https://www.kernelfund.com/
• Product Mind: https://www.productmind.co/
• Building Rocketships (Book): https://a.co/d/0HGjf18
• SubStack: https://ojiudezue.substack.com/

Host Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/
• Newsletter: https://substack.com/@sophiebuonassisi

Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):

• Website: https://gtmnow.com/
• LinkedIn: https:

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Harmony Anderson is an entrepreneurial marketing leader with deep expertise in building global GTM strategies at growth startups. She is currently the VP of Growth and Marketing at Superhuman, the most productive email app ever made for teams. She has also led high-performing teams at Armada, Engine, Outreach, and ThousandEyes.

She is deeply passionate about creating world-class marketing campaigns, leveraging data-driven strategies to accelerate customer acquisition, engagement, and retention. She also drives extreme rigor around operational excellence and efficiency, ensuring GTM teams execute with precision using repeatable and predictable playbooks.

Discussed in this Episode:

• How to develop unique positioning and messaging for an AI company
• Why UGC matters for your brand and how to get users to create content about your product
• The impact of lightning marketing campaigns and follow-on 'thunder' campaigns
• Three core channels for launching a new B2B marketing program

Highlights:

05:12 – The #1 mistake in AI messaging: sounding like everyone else.
07:24 – Use outcomes and data to differentiate your AI product.
11:06 – Why nailing 3-5 core use cases beats going broad or too niche.
12:38 – Turning website visitors into believers with demos and interactive content.
14:01 – How to keep up with a market that changes every week (hello, agentic AI).
15:08 – Building campaigns that fuel your narrative across every channel.
17:16 – Behind Superhuman’s most successful campaign ever: “New Year, New Inbox.”
20:04 – Unlocking 60% growth through user-generated content and affiliate advocacy.
21:38 – Why webinars and virtual events still drive real results (and feedback).
23:12 – How to keep your messaging fresh while staying focused.
25:11 – The difference between brand umbrella, campaign, and program — and why it matters.
27:02 – Harmony’s lean, high-impact program playbook for early-stage teams.
31:06 – Building a hype train: how to activate champions at launch.
33:01 – Hot take: marketing shouldn’t be measured by pipeline alone.
35:12 – Why NRR (not just pipeline) should be a marketing KPI.

Guest Speaker Links (Harmony Anderson):

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/harmony-hickman-anderson
• Superhuman: superhuman.com

Host Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi
• Newsletter: gtmnow.com/tag/newsletter

Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):

• Website: gtmnow.com
• LinkedIn: GTMnow
• X/Twitter: @GTMnow_
• YouTube:

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Udi Ledergor served as CMO during Gong’s rise from new SaaS startup to industry dominance. By building a playful, human-centric brand with a lighthearted tone, he captured buyers’ attention and dollars and turned them into raving fans. He helped Gong go from zero to hundreds of millions in revenue, while achieving a multi-billion-dollar valuation. His book Courageous Marketing is officially out and you can buy it below in the show notes.

Discussed in this Episode:

• Why Marketing 'Best Practices' are broken for Brands that want to stand out.
• Marketers need to consider the long game and remember the 95/5 rule.
• When you should hire for experience versus potential.
• How to foster a culture of healthy risk-taking with your team.

Highlights:

04:09 Udi's inspiration for writing his new book, Courageous Marketing.

06:02 The four most common reasons why marketing fails.

09:22 What marketers should be looking for when selecting a company to join.

13:55 The Problem with 'playing it safe' in B2B marketing.

23:07 How to market to both the 5% and the 95% of your buyers.

38:13 The Three Team Operating Principles for leading a bold and effective marketing team.

Guest Speaker Links (Udi Ledergor):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/udiledergor/
• Gong: https://www.gong.io/
• Udi's Book, Courageous Marketing: https://mybook.to/courageousmarketing

Host Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/
• Newsletter: https://gtmnow.com/tag/newsletter/

Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):

1. Website: https://gtmnow.com/
2. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/
3. Twitter/X: https://x.com/GTMnow_
4. YouTube: / @gtm_now
5. The GTM Podcast (on all major directories): https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

Sponsor: ZoomInfo’s GTM25 Virtual Conference—a free, half-day event on h

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Jeff Perry is a truly iconic revenue leader and the Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) at Carta, responsible for core software revenue across New Business, Upsell, Cross Sell, and Customer Success. Prior to Carta, Jeff led SMB Sales at DocuSign, and started his career at Oracle, where he rose from Strategic Account Manager to VP of Sales over a decade.

Discussed in this Episode:

• How to turn coworkers into mentors—and why it matters.
• Moving from enterprise sales leadership to a startup environment.
• Why and when to build a solutions engineering team.
• The myth of the “18-month CRO lifespan.”
• Balancing empathy and accountability as a sales leader.
• Why automation isn’t always the best path forward.

Highlights:

06:29 — Mentorship matters. Jeff breaks down how to find and approach mentors—even without a formal program.

12:42 — Lessons from selling servers that still apply to modern SaaS sales

15:02 — Leading through M&A: Inside the culture clash and how Jeff rebuilt a team post-acquisition.

19:07 — Carta’s GTM evolution: How Jeff scaled from one rep selling one product to multiple teams across three business lines.

28:34 — Scaling revenue from $20M to $450M: Advice for CROs entering growth-stage companies.

33:20 — Why “big company” people can thrive in startups—if they leave their playbooks behind.

36:15 — How to use PIPs to coach—not just cut—and what most orgs get wrong.

43:13 — Why the best sellers are quarterbacks, not lone wolves.

46:43 — Pick up the phone: Human connection wins in an era of AI and automation.

Guest Links (Jeff Perry):

• LinkedIn: Jeff Perry
• Carta: carta.com

Host Links (Scott Barker):

• LinkedIn: Scott Barker
• Newsletter: The GTM Newsletter

Where to Find GTMnow (GTMfund’s Media Brand):

• Website: gtmnow.com
• LinkedIn: GTMnow
• Twitter/X: @GTMnow_
• YouTube: @gtm_now
• Podcast: The GTM Podcast (available on all major platforms)

Sponsor: Pursuit

The best talent isn’t actively job hunting. Pursuit helps companies hire elite go-to-market talent on a non-retainer basis. As a key GTMfund partner, they equip sales and marketing teams with top performers.

If you're hiring for sales or marketing roles, reach out to Pursuit at pursuitsalessolutions.com/gtm or message a GTMfund team member.

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Hayden Stafford is the President and Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) at Seismic, where he oversees the global go-to-market (GTM) organization, including pre-sales, sales, customer success, services, partners, and more. Prior to joining Seismic, he served as President of Global Field Operations at Pegasystems. Before that, Hayden was Corporate Vice President at Microsoft, leading Global Business Applications (Microsoft Dynamics 365) for six years. Earlier in his career, he was an SVP at Salesforce and spent nearly a decade at IBM, ultimately serving as VP and Managing Director on Wall Street.

Discussed in this Episode:

• What Satya Nadella taught Hayden about culture, clarity, and transformation at Microsoft.
• The exact playbook to move from SMB to enterprise—including partner enablement, segmentation, and incentive design.
• Why retention isn't just a CS metric—and how to build a sales team that cares about it.
• How to win in vertical SaaS, from breaking into financial services to owning the category.
• What it takes to close a $600M+ deal in the middle of a financial crisis.

Highlights:

05:19 — How Satya Nadella sold his internal vision and rebuilt Microsoft’s culture from the ground up
13:13 — The partnership blueprint: how to scale with partners, not just transact with them
28:18 — Going deep in verticals: why Seismic dominated financial services while others avoided it
34:44 — How Hayden closed a $600M+ deal with Merrill Lynch after the 2008 crash
42:40 — Why retention should be part of your sales comp—and how to make it work
49:15 — The “Value Continuum”: a framework for aligning sales, services, and CS around business outcomes

Guest Speaker Links (Hayden Stafford):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haydenestafford/
• Seismic: https://seismic.com/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
• Newsletter: https://thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Twitter / X
• YouTube
• The GTM Podcast (on all major directories)

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Ray Smith is the VP of AI Agents at Microsoft. Previously, he was the Global VP of Product for SAP, CRM and Sales Cloud. Before that, he was the CEO and Co-Founder of DataHug, which was acquired by Calidus Cloud in 2016.

Ray breaks down why the rise of AI agents is a tectonic shift, how businesses are already seeing ROI, and what it means for SaaS, team structure, and go-to-market strategies. He also shares real-world use cases from inside Microsoft and partner companies, plus how founders and operators can build or adapt in this new AI-native era.

Discussed in this Episode:

• What exactly is an AI agent—and how is it different from bots or automation?
• Why traditional SaaS pricing models (like per-seat) don’t work in the agent era.
• How enterprise teams are already deploying autonomous agents in production.
• The emerging architecture of multi-agent workflows.
• Which skills will matter most in an agent-first world (hint: think like a GM or growth hacker).

Highlights:

06:53 What makes an AI agent different from bots and automation—and why it matters now.

15:33 How AI agents are changing the role of traditional software tools and UI.

25:15 Why legacy SaaS pricing models don’t work for agents—and what comes next.

31:12 Inside Microsoft CoPilot: Real-world agent use cases across sales, support, and strategy.

37:42 The most valuable skills in the AI era—from delegation to agent orchestration.

51:42 Why agentic AI makes customer relationships and long-term value even more critical.

Guest Speaker Links (Ray Smith):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raycsmith/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
• Newsletter: https://thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):

• Website: https://gtmnow.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/
• Twitter/X: https://x.com/GTMnow_
• YouTube: / @gtm_now
• The GTM Podcast (on all major directories):

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Jaleh Rezaei is the CEO & Co-founder of Mutiny, a company reimagining the B2B buying experience by transforming transactional relationships into meaningful connections through AI-powered personalization. Mutiny helps enterprises restore the human element in modern buying at scale, and is used by some of the fastest growing companies in the world including Amplitude, Snowflake and Qualtrics. The company is backed by Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global, and CMOs of companies such as Uber, Condé Nast and Salesforce. Prior to Mutiny, Jaleh was the Head of Marketing and Business Development at Gusto, where she grew the company from 500 to 50,000 customers over 4 years. She was the Director of Product Marketing at VMware prior to Gusto.

Discussed in this Episode:

• AI-powered personalization is reshaping B2B sales and marketing
• AI-driven lead scoring improves quality and targets high-value prospects
• AI anticipates and overcomes sales objections in real time
• Sales & marketing alignment: why it matters and how to achieve it
• The risks of AI-driven outbound and how to avoid common pitfalls
• Scaling 1:1 experiences efficiently with AI
• AI-powered buyer interactions and their impact on GTM strategies

Highlights:

03:27 – Why AI innovation is game-changing for founders building and scaling companies.
06:49 – How 1:1 sales personalization drives 14x higher conversion rates.
10:45 – AI-powered hyper-personalization is reshaping enterprise sales.
16:30 – The biggest AI mistakes in sales and marketing.
20:55 – Scaling white-glove experiences across all target accounts.
24:45 – Why CRM data is a mess and how AI finally fixes it.
28:14 – A masterclass in sales & marketing alignment.
31:20 – The real reason sales and marketing clash (and how to fix it).
42:10 – The most valuable AI use cases for B2B sales teams.
47:30 – How AI is changing B2B buyer behavior and what sellers must do.

Guest Speaker Links (Jaleh Rezaei):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jalehr/
• Mutiny: https://www.mutinyhq.com/
• The State of Sales & Marketing Alignment Report: https://www.mutinyhq.com/report

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
• Newsletter: https://thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Find GTMnow (GTMfund’s Media Brand):

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Twitter/X
• ( / @gtm_now)
• Podcast

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Cassie Young is a General Partner at Primary Venture Partners, a $1B AUM early-stage venture capital firm in New York that has backed category-defining companies such as Chief, Alma, K Health, Latch, Alloy, Dandy and Vestwell.

Before joining Primary, Cassie was Chief Customer and Commercial Officer for Marigold (formerly known as CM Group), an Insight Partners roll-up of marketing technology software including Sailthru, Campaign Monitor, Delivra, Emma, Vuture and Liveclicker; Cassie assumed that role when Marigold acquired Sailthru, where she was Chief Revenue Officer.

Prior to Sailthru, Cassie served as VP Marketing & Analytics at Gerson Lehrman Group ("GLG") and as VP Marketing & Growth for Savored (acquired by Groupon). Cassie's time in tech dates back to 2006, when she joined TheLadders.com as an early employee and managed marketing and analytics for the company's subscription business. She began her career as a tech and media analyst at Citigroup Global Corporate & Investment Bank.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The turnaround story of Cassie’s time at Sailthru and overcoming scaling challenges.
• How to rebuild and regain customer trust after technical failures.
• The importance of leadership alignment and transparency during times of crisis.
• How to effectively use Net Promoter Score (NPS) and what it really tells you.
• The value and impact of Customer Advisory Boards (CABs) in driving customer-centric growth.
• Why executive compensation should align with key business metrics for better team alignment.
• Creative tactics like video mailers and regional user groups to engage customers and drive product adoption.

Highlights:

07:53 What happens when commercial scale outgrows your technical scale.

15:53 Driving alignment through northstar metrics and incentives.

22:16 The best ways to measure customer trust.

34:10 Tips on setting up a Customer Advisory Board (CAB).

52:48 A fantastic multi-media mail campaign.

Guest Speaker (Cassie Young):

• LinkedIn
• Primary VC

Host (Scott Barker):

• LinkedIn
• Newsletter

Find GTMnow (GTMfund’s Media Brand):

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Twitter/X
• ( / @gtm_now)
• Podcast

Sponsor: Pursuit

The best talent isn’t actively job hunting. Pursuit helps companies hire elite go-to-market talent on a non-retainer basis. As a key GTMfund partner, they equip sales and marketing teams with top performers.

If you're hiring for sales or marketing roles, reach out to Pursuit at pursuitsalessolutions.com/gtm or message a GTMfund team member.

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Jessica Gilmartin has nearly 20 years of go-to-market leadership experience, most recently serving as both the Chief Revenue Officer and Chief Marketing Officer at Calendly. Prior to that, she led marketing teams at an impressive array of companies, including Asana and Calendly. As the cherry on top, Jessica also built and sold a successful frozen yogurt chain in San Francisco.

Discussed in this Episode:

• Taking an entrepreneurial approach to ownership in an organization
• The difficulty of selling to both midmarket and enterprise customers
• Cultivating a culture of creativity and approachability
• How to hire your first marketer

Highlights:

06:29 How Asana moved from product-led growth to sales-led growth

18:00 Why refining your ICP is paramount for product-led growth

33:37 Fostering a culture of experimentation

40:23 Hiring your first marketer as a startup founder

Guest Speaker Links (Jessica Gilmartin):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicagilmartin/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
• Newsletter: https://thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):

• Website: https://gtmnow.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/
• The GTM Podcast (on all major directories): https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

Sponsor: Pursuit

The best talent isn’t actively job hunting. Pursuit helps companies hire elite go-to-market talent on a non-retainer basis. As a key GTMfund partner, they equip sales and marketing teams with top performers.

If you're hiring for sales or marketing roles, reach out to Pursuit at pursuitsalessolutions.com/gtm or message a GTMfund team member.

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Katrina Wong is the CMO of New Relic and a top marketing leader. She specializes in launching products, entering new markets, and scaling companies to the enterprise. With 15 years of experience at Twilio, Zuora, Salesforce, and SAP, she has led award-winning campaigns and helped six companies exit successfully.

Discussed in this Episode:

• Why you should be using "marketing sprints"
• Importance of operational excellence and agility in marketing
• The role of marketing in preparing for a successful exit
• Is 'fire fast' the right approach for managing your teams

Highlights:

07:08 Secrets to picking winners

09:30 Attaining operational excellence in startups

15:43 Marketing's role in successful exits

29:12 Transforming PIP programs for successful employees

31:26 Challenging the 'fire fast' mentality

35:20 The importance of team dynamics

40:24 Navigating getting acquired successfully

48:58 Tactics for modern marketing

Guest Speaker Links (Katrina Wong):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katrinawong11/
• New Relic Website: https://newrelic.com/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
• Newsletter: https://thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):

• Website: https://gtmnow.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/
• Twitter/X: https://x.com/GTMnow_
• YouTube: / @gtm_now

Sponsor: Pursuit

The best talent isn’t actively job hunting. Pursuit helps companies hire elite go-to-market talent on a non-retainer basis. As a key GTMfund partner, they equip sales and marketing teams with top performers.

If you're hiring for sales or marketing roles, reach out to Pursuit at pursuitsalessolutions.com/gtm or message a GTMfund team member.

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Joe DiMento is the Head of Go-To-Market & Industry Partnerships at Bain Capital Ventures. Previously, he was an operating partner at Fractal Software, helping launch vertical software companies and find product-market fit. Before that, he was the first non-founder seller at three startups, turning early traction into a repeatable sales motion. He began his career at Google and Bain & Company and holds an MBA from Stanford GSB.

Discussed in this Episode:

• When to hire your first account executives
• Key traits to look for in early sales hires
• Structuring compensation for first sales reps
• Should you 'hire the buyer' to be your sales rep?

Highlights:

05:03 When to hire your first sales reps.

13:17 Characteristics of top early-stage sales reps.

22:25 Designing a sales compensation plan.

31:55 Hiring for grit, curiosity & determination.

42:03 Fast-tracking your sales career.

Guest Speaker Links

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joedimento/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
• Newsletter: https://thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):

• Website: https://gtmnow.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/
• Twitter/X: https://x.com/GTMnow_
• YouTube: / @gtm_now

Sponsor: Pursuit

The best talent isn’t actively job hunting. Pursuit helps companies hire elite go-to-market talent on a non-retainer basis. As a key GTMfund partner, they equip sales and marketing teams with top performers.

If you're hiring for sales or marketing roles, reach out to Pursuit at pursuitsalessolutions.com/gtm or message a GTMfund team member.

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Jordan Crawford is an AI innovator, the Founder of Blueprint, and one of the top go-to-market engineers working today. Jordan explains how to use AI tools like ChatGPT, Deep Research, and Claude to create your own AI workflow for prospecting accounts and creating highly targeted and extremely valuable messages for target decision-makers. Jordan demonstrates how to use the FIND (Focus, Investigate, Narrate, Deploy) process for your go-to-market strategy and how to speed this up with OpenAI's Deep Research AI tool. Jordan also shares the prompts and processes he uses when researching target accounts, messaging buyers, and driving revenue.

Highlights:

08:12 Examples of messages that people would pay to receive

17:30 How tech is transitioning to an AI-empowered future

27:07 Using ChatGPT Deep Research to learn about customer segments

35:05 Maximizing your sales team's efficiency with AI

36:39 The importance of process over prompts

39:38 Deep dive into prompt engineering

50:00 Future of outbound sales

Guest Speaker Links (Jordan Crawford):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordancrawford/
• Jordan's AI course: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jordancrawford_the-299-agent-7-course-is-here-youll-learn-activity-7247669670940401665-xrjq/
• Blueprint: https://blueprintgtm.com/
• ChatGPT conversation from the episode (on Gaiia): https://chatgpt.com/share/67a2551e-af74-8004-81b8-b415d473ca72

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):

• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
• Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):

• Website: https://gtmnow.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/
• Twitter/X: https://x.com/GTMnow_
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_now
• The GTM Podcast (on all major directories): https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

Sponsor: Superhuman

We recently became a Superhuman customer, and the response across our GTMfund community Slack and social channels was a clear testament to how Superhuman has been a game-changer for efficiency among leaders and teams.

Superhuman is generously offering the GTMnow community exclusive access to 1 month free on the platform. If you add any teammates in January to your team, they’ll get a free month too.

To claim this offer, go to www.superhuman.com/gtmnow

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Casey Woo is the Founder and CEO of Operators Guild, an invite-only community for professionals in strategic finance and operations roles. He is also the General Partner and Founder of FOG Ventures. He is a seasoned, multi-stage operator, bringing over two decades of experience in investment banking advisory, public equity investing, high-growth operational and military leadership roles. His last role was the CFO of Landing, where he oversaw the company’s Finance, Legal and People operations. Prior to Landing, he served as the Global Head of Strategic Finance at WeWork. ​

Discussed in this Episode:

• The rise of the operator
• How to communicate with CFOs and cross-functional teams
• What matters most to every CEO and founder
• How to recruit the top operators
• Why funding no longer has the impact it once did

Highlights:

08:33 Building effective CFO-CRO relationships.

18:13 The role of cross-functional communication.

26:59 The commoditization of funding.

32:53 The rise top operators and how to recruit them.

38:33 The commoditization of technology in the age of AI.

44:31 The power of community and in-person events.

Guest Speaker Links (Casey Woo):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caseywoo/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):

• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
• Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):

• Website: https://gtmnow.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/
• Twitter/X: https://x.com/GTMnow_
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_now
• The GTM Podcast (on all major directories): https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

Sponsor: Superhuman

We recently became a Superhuman customer, and the response across our GTMfund community Slack and social channels was a clear testament to how Superhuman has been a game-changer for efficiency among leaders and teams.

Superhuman is generously offering the GTMnow community exclusive access to 1 month free on the platform. If you add any teammates in January to your team, they’ll get a free month too.

To claim this offer, go to www.superhuman.com/gtmnow

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Kraig Swensrud is the Founder & CEO of Qualified where he provides crucial experience and entrepreneurial energy to create the future of enterprise sales tech. Prior to founding Qualified, Kraig founded GetFeedback which was successfully sold to SurveyMonkey. Kraig also led marketing as the CMO of Salesforce during very formative years of the company's history.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The parallels between the disruption caused by SaaS and AI
• How pricing strategies are changing for AI products
• Why SaaS companies need to earning their renewals
• The impact of AI SDRs on your pipeline

Highlights:13:26 The importance of product marketing in the growth of Salesforce
20:17 Exploring the innovator's dilemma
25:59 The next generation of software & building for non-human users
39:05 Obsessing over your customers is key to success
46:44 Using the V2MOM framework to drive company alignment
50:43 The adage of 'hire fast, fire fast' is bs

Guest Speaker Links (Kraig Swensrud):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kraigswensrud/
V2MOM Framework: https://www.salesforce.com/blog/how-to-create-alignment-within-your-company/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):Website: https://gtmnow.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/
Twitter/X: https://x.com/GTMnow_
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_now
The GTM Podcast (on all major directories): https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

Sponsor Offer:
We recently became a Superhuman customer, and the response across our GTMfund community Slack and social channels was a clear testament to how Superhuman has been a game-changer for efficiency among leaders and teams.

Superhuman is generously offering the GTMnow community exclusive access to 1 month free on the platform. If you add any teammates in January to your team, they’ll get a free month too.

To claim this offer, go to www.superhuman.com/gtmnow

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Rob Giglio is the Chief Customer Officer at Canva, where he oversees Canva’s sales and go-to-market functions. Rob brings to Canva over 20 years of industry experience leading and executing global marketing and sales initiatives.

Rob joins Canva from HubSpot, where he was also Chief Customer Officer, and before that, he was the Chief Marketing Officer at Docusign. Prior to Docusign, Rob spent over ten years at Adobe, leading the global sales and go-to-market teams for their Digital Media Business Unit and holding responsibility for over $7B in revenue.

Discussed in this Episode:

• Why B2B marketers should embrace the CPG tactic of "concept testing."
• How to embrace segmentation by differentiating your solution.
• Loyalty as a necessary part of every customer journey.
• Why substance beats sizzle every time in sales and marketing.
• Leading a large, remote-first team.

Highlights:06:07 - 3 lessons from B2C to that B2B marketing needs to learn.
12:25 - What is concept testing and how can marketers use it in B2B.
19:38 - Selling a massive transition to enterprise customers.
35:14 - How DocuSign overcame major user experience challenges.
39:50 - How HubSpot addressed issues with remote leadership.
44:34 - The importance of in-person interaction.
55:56 - The power in simplicity.

Guest speaker links (Rob Giglio):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robgiglio/

Host speaker links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):Website: https://gtmnow.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/
X: https://x.com/GTMnow_
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_now
The GTM Podcast (on all major directories): https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

Product GTMfund is Using: Superhuman"Most people know that I am almost always on, regardless of holidays, but I certainly am not checking email as much as I normally would. And this year I came back to work and had so many emails in my inbox… the number was scary. But since I started using Superhuman last quarter, I was able to get back to inbox zero within minutes. It helps me and the team be so much more productive.

I don’t know how I didn’t start on Superhuman sooner. It was the most seamless onboarding experience - everything in my inbox synced within minutes. Superhuman works with your existing Gmail or Outlook accounts. New year, time to take back control - 2025 is the year of inbox zero. If anyone also wants to take back control of their inboxes and empower their teams to do so, check out Superhuman at superhuman.com/gtmnow" - Scott Barker

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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There's a ton of talk about what isn't working today in go-to-market. However, companies are still finding ways to grow which means there a some things that are working. In this special episode, Scott Barker is looking at some of the big themes he's seen in how the top go-to-market leaders are driving growth today. You'll hear from founders, sales leaders, and marketing leaders from G2, CrunchBase, GitHub, TestBox, Atrium, Intellimize and Kahua. You'll walk away from this episode with some great ideas from top operators on how to increase revenue, align your teams, and make a huge impact for your company in 2025.

Discussed in this Episode:

• How to build the habits and fundamentals for sustainably generating pipeline.
• The importance of in-person interactions for the development of your team.
• Taking a customer-centric approach in your go-to-market strategy.
• Changing how you talk about your company to resonate better with the C-suite.
• Why intentionally aligning your teams is worth the effort.
• How to capitalize on the returns that building strong relationships provide.

Highlights:(3:22) The first theme: Getting back to the go-to-market basics.
(6:56) The second theme: The importance of in-person interactions.
(10:38) The third theme: Taking a customer-centric approach in your go-to-market strategy.
(16:04) The fourth theme: Elevating the conversation to the C-level.
(19:29) The fifth theme: Intentional alignment of your teams.
(21:17) The sixth theme: Playing the long game.

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: https://gtmnow.com/tag/newsletter/

Product GTMfund is Using: Superhuman"Most people know that I am almost always on, regardless of holidays, but I certainly am not checking email as much as I normally would. And this year I came back to work and had so many emails in my inbox… the number was scary. But since I started using Superhuman last quarter, I was able to get back to inbox zero within minutes. It helps me and the team be so much more productive.

I don’t know how I didn’t start on Superhuman sooner. It was the most seamless onboarding experience - everything in my inbox synced within minutes. Superhuman works with your existing Gmail or Outlook accounts. New year, time to take back control - 2025 is the year of inbox zero. If anyone also wants to take back control of their inboxes and empower their teams to do so, check out Superhuman at superhuman.com/gtmnow" - Scott Barker

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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Fred Viet serves as the Chief Sales Officer at Aircall, overseeing global sales and playing a key role in scaling the company's reach over the last four years. With a background that includes leadership roles at AWS, Microsoft, and Lenovo, Fred brings a wealth of experience in building high-performing teams and driving revenue growth.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The differences between selling in APAC and North America markets
• The evolving role of partnerships and channels in software sales
• Strategies for effective annual revenue planning
• The impact of AI on sales processes and team structures
• The future of SaaS pricing models and their implications for sales organizations

Highlights:(3:29) Differences between selling in APAC and North America.
(9:10) The importance of understanding your ICP in partnerships.
(15:07) Advice on avoiding job-hopping early in your career.
(19:59) The impact of AI on sales team structures.
(24:34) The potential of AI to level the playing field for SMBs.
(30:10) Mistakes to avoid in annual revenue planning.
(35:46) The shift from demo-centric selling to value-based conversations
(41:38) Strategies for aligning sales and marketing teams.
(31:55) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Fred thinks is bull$***.
(43:28) One thing that is working for Fred/Aircall in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Fred Viet):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredviet/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: https://gtmnow.com/tag/newsletter/

Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):Website: https://gtmnow.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/
Twitter/X: https://x.com/GTMnow_
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_now
The GTM Podcast (on all major directories): https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

Product GTMfund is Using: Superhuman"Most people know that I am almost always on, regardless of holidays, but I certainly am not checking email as much as I normally would. And this year I came back to work and had so many emails in my inbox… the number was scary. But since I started using Superhuman last quarter, I was able to get back to inbox zero within minutes. It helps me and the team be so much more productive.

I don’t know how I didn’t start on Superhuman sooner. It was the most seamless onboarding experience - everything in my inbox synced within minutes. Superhuman works with your existing Gmail or Outlook accounts. New year, time to take back control - 2025 is the year of inbox zero. If anyone also wants to take back control of their inboxes and empower their teams to do so, check out Superhuman at superhuman.com/gtmnow" - Scott Barker

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Each week, host Scott Barker asks guests two key questions, and this week, we're diving into their responses to: What is one widely held belief that revenue leaders have that you think is bull$** or no longer serving us?

Featuring hot takes from leaders at HubSpot, Brex, GitHub, and more, this compilation challenges the status quo and might just change how you think about volume vs. value, outbound sales, and hiring in 2025.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The problem with putting too much weight on volume over value
• Is outbound actually dead
• Should you hire for specialized skills or domain expertise

Highlights:(3:47) The first theme: value matters more than volume.
(4:10) The importance of prioritizing value, not volume.
(6:29) The second theme: the future of outbound.
(7:12) Why sellers need to generate demand.
(10:38) The third theme: hiring based on past experience.
(11:46) Why you shouldn't hire a sales leader for their playbook.
(15:44) Dennis Lyandres on what experience to look for when hiring.

Episodes Mentioned:

• https://gtmnow.com/gtm-99-mastering-customer-success-in-ai-new-age-jon-dick/
• https://gtmnow.com/scaling-to-100m-arr-with-creative-demand-gen-sam-blond/
• https://gtmnow.com/gtm-98-from-ic-to-cro-at-git-hub-building-high-performing-revenue-growth-engine-elizabeth-pemmerl/
• https://gtmnow.com/gtm-121-listening-to-customers-without-obeying-crunchbase-neal-patel/
• https://gtmnow.com/gtm-110-vertical-saas-secrets-unlocking-growth-prices-law-dennis-lyandres/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: https://gtmnow.com/tag/newsletter/

Product GTMfund is Using: Superhuman"Most people know that I am almost always on, regardless of holidays, but I certainly am not checking email as much as I normally would. And this year I came back to work and had so many emails in my inbox… the number was scary. But since I started using Superhuman last quarter, I was able to get back to inbox zero within minutes. It helps me and the team be so much more productive.

I don’t know how I didn’t start on Superhuman sooner. It was the most seamless onboarding experience - everything in my inbox synced within minutes. Superhuman works with your existing Gmail or Outlook accounts. New year, time to take back control - 2025 is the year of inbox zero. If anyone also wants to take back control of their inboxes and empower their teams to do so, check out Superhuman at superhuman.com/gtmnow" - Scott Barker

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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Guy Yalif is a seasoned B2B SaaS executive with over 20 years of go-to-market experience. As the co-founder and CEO of Intellimize (acquired by Webflow), Guy brings a unique perspective from his journey through iconic companies like Microsoft, Yahoo, and Twitter, as well as his background in aerospace engineering. Guy holds a bachelor's degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University and an MBA from Stanford University.

Discussed in this Episode:

• Learnings from each major company in Guy's 20+ leadership career: Microsoft, Tradeweave (first employee and executive committee), Yahoo, Twitter, BrightRoll and Intellimize.
• Building 'opinionated products' and the importance of customer intimacy
• Lessons learned from scaling Twitter's ad business from zero to $650 million in three years.
• The challenges and rewards of founding and growing a startup for nine years.
• Strategies for building relationships with PR outlets, reporters, and analysts.

Highlights:(5:22) The power of customer intimacy in product development.
(15:41) Scaling Twitter's ad business and managing hyper-growth.
(26:54) The existential dread of being a startup founder.
(37:56) Building relationships with PR outlets and reporters.
(45:40) Debunking the myth of sacrificing personal life for startup success.
(49:07) The effectiveness of small group events in go-to-market strategies.
(31:55) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Guy thinks is bull$***
(49:07) One thing that is working for Guy in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Guy Yalif):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gyalif

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):Website: https://gtmnow.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/
Twitter/X: https://x.com/SalesHacker
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_now
The GTM Podcast (on all major directories): https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

Resource we Recommend:

• HG Insights. Feeling that AI FOMO? You’re not alone. That’s why HG Insights created The Next Generation of Sales AI report — to calm the FOMO and help you bring AI to your GTM teams. It includes a breakdown of the Sales AI landscape, adoption of GenAI and Sales software across buyer groups. Plus, an analysis of the top 75 trending sales AI tools. Why HG Insights? Simple. They’ve been writing market reports for years as the pioneer of tech adoption and market insights. Trusted by GTM leaders at the likes of Snowflake Five9 and Google Cloud to improve GTM efficiency. Thinking about AI for your sales team but unsure where to start?

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Martin Roth is the former CRO of Levelset, where he led the company from its first dollar in ARR to a $500 million acquisition by Procore in 2021. Currently, he's the founder of MartinRoth.com, specializing in helping startups scale from $1M to $10M in ARR. Martin brings a wealth of experience in building and scaling sales teams, developing effective go-to-market strategies, and navigating the challenges of startup growth.

Discussed in this Episode:

• Martin's journey from selling flip-flops to leading a $500M exit
• The challenges and lessons learned in scaling Levelset from $1M to $25M+ ARR
• Insights on building effective sales playbooks and team structures
• The importance of in-person customer interactions in today's digital world
• Debunking myths about cold outreach and micromanagement in sales

Highlights:
(08:58) Building the first SaaS product and transitioning to recurring revenue.
(14:58) The evolution of Levelset's sales motion and pricing strategy.
(29:06) The importance of sales playbooks and codifying the sales process.
(35:30) Optimal team structures for SMB sales organizations.
(52:25) Why in-person sales environments are crucial for early-career development.
(53:46) Debunking the myth that cold outreach is dead.
(57:57) The effectiveness of in-person field events and road shows.
(52:25) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Martin thinks is bull$***(57:57) One thing that is working for Martin in go-to-market right now

Guest Speaker Links (Martin Roth):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinrothsaas/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: https://gtmnow.com/tag/newsletter/

Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):Website: https://gtmnow.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/
Twitter/X: https://x.com/SalesHacker
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_now
The GTM Podcast (on all major directories): https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

Resource we Recommend:

• HG Insights. Feeling that AI FOMO? You’re not alone. That’s why HG Insights created The Next Generation of Sales AI report — to calm the FOMO and help you bring AI to your GTM teams. It includes a breakdown of the Sales AI landscape, adoption of GenAI and Sales software across buyer groups. Plus, an analysis of the top 75 trending sales AI tools. Why HG Insights? Simple. They’ve been writing market reports for years as the pioneer of tech adoption and market insights. Trusted by GTM leaders at the likes of Snowflake Five9 and Google Cloud to improve GTM efficiency. Thinking about AI for your sales team but unsure where to start?

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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Mark Kosoglow is the Co-Founder and CEO of Operator.ai, a company incubated by GTMfund. Mark was employee #1 at Outreach and former SVP of Global Sales, where he helped grow the company from zero to over $200 million in revenue. He is joined in this special edition podcast episode by Max Altschuler, Founder and General Partner of GTMfund.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The fallacy of "what got you here won't get you there" in revenue leadership.
• The current state of sales technology and its impact on buyer engagement.
• The vision for Operator and how it aims to revolutionize the sales process.
• The importance of personalization and relevance in sales outreach.
• Strategies for breaking through the noise and attracting buyers into conversations.

Highlights:(1:35) Mark's journey from Outreach to founding Operator.
(4:33) Challenging the notion of constantly changing leadership in growing companies.
(10:00) The problem with current sales automation and AI strategies.
(20:25) The concept of "the great ignore" in sales messaging.
(24:11) How Operator aims to change the day-to-day activities of salespeople.
(37:47) The importance of creativity, connection, and focus in sales.
(45:48) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Mark thinks is bull$***.
(47:48) One thing that is working for Mark in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Mark Kosoglow)LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mkosoglow/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Product Recommendation: Apollo "The revenue tech stack is messy right now.

If you are one of those leaders, I would recommend that you take a look at Apollo. Maybe you think you know Apollo, maybe you’ve taken a look at them in the past but I’ve looked under the hood recently and if your goal is to reduce and simplify your tech stack AND have best in breed data layered in with AI - they would be at the top of my list. There’s a reason Rippling and Stripe switched over.

We worked with their team to create an interactive demo page. You can check it out at: https://www.apollo.io/gtm

Almost all I hear these days is “we need to figure out how to best leverage AI in our sales process” and “how can we consolidate/simplify our tech stack.” With Apollo I believe you can accomplish both." - Scott Barker

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Kim Peretti is an experienced Customer Success executive with over 25 years in the technology industry. Her most recent role was as Chief Customer Officer at Klaviyo, where she transformed the customer success organization during the company’s hypergrowth, and played a key role in preparing the company for its IPO. Prior to Klaviyo she was the Group Vice President of Customer Success at DocuSign, where she built and lead successful strategies that delivered key customer outcomes and results. Kim's extensive background also includes leadership positions in Customer Success at renowned technology companies such as Adobe, Qlik, and Symantec. Her career reflects a strong commitment to driving customer impact and achieving business results.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The importance of building a customer-first culture from day one
• Strategies for aligning sales, marketing, and customer success teams
• The role of data in understanding and driving customer health
• How to implement an effective voice of the customer program
• The misconception that customer success managers alone can solve churn
• The impact of shared compensation goals on cross-functional collaboration

Highlights:(1:56) Kim's journey through top tech companies and the power of networking.
(5:39) The importance of customer experience from the first marketing touch.
(8:38) Shifting focus from new logos to customer retention and expansion.
(15:10) Implementing shared compensation goals across teams.
(20:37) Building a voice of the customer program.
(35:17) The role of partnerships in customer success.
(40:37) Using data to understand what makes customers healthy.
(45:58) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Kim thinks is bull$***.
(47:58) One thing that is working for Kim in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Kim Peretti):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kim-peretti-2b719730/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: www.gtmnow.com/tag/newsletter/

Product Recommendation: Apollo "The revenue tech stack is messy right now.

If you are one of those leaders, I would recommend that you take a look at Apollo. Maybe you think you know Apollo, maybe you’ve taken a look at them in the past but I’ve looked under the hood recently and if your goal is to reduce and simplify your tech stack AND have best in breed data layered in with AI - they would be at the top of my list. There’s a reason Rippling and Stripe switched over.

We worked with their team to create an interactive demo page. You can check it out at: https://www.apollo.io/gtm

Almost all I hear these days is “we need to figure out how to best leverage AI in our sales process” and “how can we consolidate/simplify our tech stack.” With Apollo I believe you can accomplish both." - Scott Barker

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Phil Hernandez is the VP of Sales Services at TaskUs. He has spent the past 20 years skillfully building and transforming numerous Go-To-Market (GTM) teams. He possesses an unwavering commitment to mastering sales systems and demonstrates expertise in orchestrating organizational change aimed at cultivating high-performance revenue teams. His diverse industry background ranges from Tech/SaaS, Big Data, Adtech/Media, and CPG. He has implemented best practices in Startup, Scale Up, Public, and Private Equity operating environments as well as driving many transformational initiatives. As a revenue architecture expert, Phil specializes in operationalizing best practices and implementing scalable, data-driven solutions to elevate customer satisfaction throughout their buyer’s journey.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The importance of cross-functional alignment in go-to-market strategies
• Balancing strategic planning with day-to-day sales execution
• Tactics for breaking down silos between marketing, sales, and customer success
• The myth of work-life balance and finding personal equilibrium
• Strategies for incentivizing sales teams and driving desired behaviors
• The danger of seeking "silver bullet" solutions in sales leadership

Highlights:(2:49) Phil's journey from Coca-Cola delivery driver to sales leader.
(9:41) Challenges in aligning different go-to-market functions.
(14:12) Time-blocking strategies for sales leaders.
(20:26) How TaskUs increased opportunity conversion 4x through better lead engagement.
(24:20) Designing effective sales compensation plans.
(32:33) The importance of focusing on micro-wins rather than silver bullets.
(35:09) Phil's framework for evaluating go-to-market success: People, Process, Platforms, and Performance.
(38:05) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Phil thinks is bull$***.
(39:36) One thing that is working for Phil in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Phil Hernandez):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hernandezphillip/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Product Recommendation: Apollo "The revenue tech stack is messy right now.

If you are one of those leaders, I would recommend that you take a look at Apollo. Maybe you think you know Apollo, maybe you’ve taken a look at them in the past but I’ve looked under the hood recently and if your goal is to reduce and simplify your tech stack AND have best in breed data layered in with AI - they would be at the top of my list. There’s a reason Rippling and Stripe switched over.

We worked with their team to create an interactive demo page. You can check it out at: https://www.apollo.io/gtm

Almost all I hear these days is “we need to figure out how to best leverage AI in our sales process” and “how can we consolidate/simplify our tech stack” - with Apollo I believe you can accomplish both." -Scott Barker

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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Nealesh Patel is the Chief Revenue Officer at Crunchbase, an AI-powered platform that helps over 80 million dealmakers discover and prioritize the right opportunities using best-in-class company data. With over 25 years of experience in the tech industry, Neal has a proven track record of executing progressive growth strategies, landing innovative partnerships, developing revenue streams, and building winning teams. As the leader of Crunchbase's go-to-market functions, and the de facto general manager of its data licensing business, Neal has a cross-functional and holistic understanding of how to provide value to customers and generate revenue. Under his leadership, Crunchbase has more than 4X'd its unique users, increased its annual recurring revenue by over 75x, and secured partnerships with large brands like S&P, LinkedIn, Meta, Oracle, NASDAQ, Amazon, and Snowflake. Neal is also an active board member, advisor, and investor in several high-growth startups.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The importance of listening to customers without blindly obeying their requests
• How Crunchbase adapted to the rise of ChatGPT and generative AI
• The value of conducting ongoing customer tours to inform product development and strategy
• Insights on career growth and taking risks in professional development
• The future of sales management in the age of AI and rev tech platforms

Highlights:(03:45) The concept of "listening to customers without obeying"
(09:12) Crunchbase's response to the release of ChatGPT
(13:58) Developing predictive signals using Crunchbase's proprietary data
(19:32) Career advice: The importance of curiosity and authenticity
(22:15) Taking risks and daring to be "stupid" in your career
(25:37) The ongoing need for human sales managers in the age of AI
(30:42) Why traditional sales playbooks may become obsolete
(34:21) Institutionalizing customer tours as a core business practice
(37:55) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Neal thinks is bull$***
(39:47) One thing that is working for Neal in go-to-market right now

Guest Speaker Links (Neal Patel):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nealeshpatel/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsors:

• Apollo. The revenue tech stack is messy right now. All the leaders that I’m talking to are reevaluating their stacks from the ground up. Do we really need ten different solutions? If you are one of those leaders, I would recommend that you take a look at Apollo. Maybe you think you know Apollo, maybe you’ve taken a look at them in the past but I’ve looked under the hood recently and if your goal is to reduce and simplify your tech stack AND have best in breed data layered in with AI - they would be at the top of our list. There’s a reason Rippling and Stripe switched over. We worked with their team to create an interactive demo page - you can check it out at: https://www.apollo.io/gtm

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Pete Kazanjy is a serial founder, and seasoned early stage Saas executive, advisor, and investor. He currently leads Atrium, makers of sales performance management software to help organizations measure and improve sales performance. Previously, he founded TalentBin, a talent search engine and recruiting CRM that was acquired by Monster Worldwide in 2014. Pete also authored Founding Sales, a startup sales handbook, and established Modern Sales, the nation’s largest community for sales operations, leadership, and enablement. Modern Sales is an invite-only community with over 30,000 members from 10,000+ sales organizations focused on peer education in sales operations and management.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The impact of zero interest rate policy on sales performance and buyer behavior
• The importance of accountability and performance management in sales
• The role of AI in sales and potential risks of over-automation
• Strategies for effective sales management in the current economic climate
• The value of "back to basics" approaches in sales, including pipeline generation

Highlights:(5:59) Analyzing the drivers behind decreased sales performance in software companies.
(11:03) The evolution of sales management roles and responsibilities.
(17:58) The importance of accountability in sales management.
(22:32) Potential risks of AI automation in sales skills development.
(26:45) The need for rigorous performance management across all levels of sales.
(34:35) Implementing "PG Tuesday" as an effective pipeline generation strategy.
(31:55) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Peter thinks is bull$***.
(34:26) One thing that is working for Peter in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Peter Kazanjy):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kazanjy/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsors:

• Brought to you by Attention. Attention’s AI-powered call recording platform ensures that your deals are executed flawlessly. It records your calls, generates next-step summaries, action items, and even creates scorecards for every single call, so your reps can continuously improve. But that’s just the beginning. Attention’s generalized insights allow you to ask any question across all of your conversations - think of it like ChatGPT for your sales calls. Attention also lets you build automated workflows tailored to your needs. For example, if a customer mentions they’re at risk of churning during a call, Attention can automatically loop in a sales director and solutions engineer to ensure that customer receives the full white-glove treatment, reducing churn and keeping your business thriving. Attention is helping companies onboard reps faster, increase the productivity of their existing teams, and giving revenue leaders unparalleled visibility into their pipelines—all while automating those tedious manual tasks.

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

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David Knight is the Co-founder and CEO of Avarra, an AI-powered platform that simulates human-to-human interactions to accelerate sales onboarding and training. With over 30 years of experience scaling companies from tens of millions to billions in revenue, including WebEx and Proofpoint, David brings a unique perspective on the intertwined nature of product and go-to-market.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The power of AI simulations in providing experiential learning for sales reps.
• Designing products backwards from the go-to-market motion.
• Strategies for aligning product and sales teams to drive revenue growth.
• Rethinking ramp time: it's about at-bats, not arbitrary time periods.
• Shifting perspective from the sales funnel to the buyer's journey.
• The future of AI in sales training and enablement.

Highlights:(02:24) Simulating human-to-human interactions with AI avatars.
(07:44) Creating a fun, engaging environment for sales training.
(13:26) Designing products from the go-to-market motion backwards.
(19:32) Helping sales leaders win deals as a product leader.
(27:08) Listening for pain points, not feature requests, from customers.
(31:07) Completely changing the go-to-market motion at Proofpoint.
(37:43) Aligning motivations between product and sales teams.
(38:43) Rethinking the sales funnel as a buyer's journey.
(41:50) Building customized simulations for qualified prospects.
(34:55) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that David thinks is bull$***.
(41:50) One thing that is working for David in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (David Knight):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrknight/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsors:

• HG Insights. Feeling that AI FOMO? You’re not alone. That’s why HG Insights created The Next Generation of Sales AI report — to calm the FOMO and help you bring AI to your GTM teams. It includes a breakdown of the Sales AI landscape, adoption of GenAI and Sales software across buyer groups. Plus, an analysis of the top 75 trending sales AI tools. Why HG Insights? Simple. They’ve been writing market reports for years as the pioneer of tech adoption and market insights. Trusted by GTM leaders at the likes of Snowflake Five9 and Google Cloud to improve GTM efficiency. Thinking about AI for your sales team but unsure where to start? This free and ungated report has you covered.

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Kyle Poyar is the Co-Founder and Operating Partner at Tremont, with over 8 years of experience at OpenView where he became a leading voice in the product-led growth (PLG) movement. Kyle shares his insights on the inevitability of PLG in an AI-driven future and reveals must-try tactics to accelerate growth using a PLG approach.

Discussed in this Episode:

• Why PLG is becoming inevitable, especially with the rise of AI in software
• Creative ways companies can build out their PLG motion
• How social proof and PLG are merging to influence buying decisions
• Advice for early-stage founders looking to set up a PLG motion
• The realities of working in venture capital and how to break into the industry

Highlights:(4:22) The evolution of PLG from an investment risk to a critical strategy.
(9:10) Will the vast majority of software companies have a PLG motion in the future?
(18:56) Using product data for marketing purposes.
(21:17) Offering an affordable entry-level package to land and expand.
(23:44) The increasing importance of social proof in PLG.
(31:41) Advice for early-stage founders setting up a PLG motion.
(37:43) Kyle's journey from consulting to VC and advice for breaking into venture.
(44:43) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Kyle thinks is bull$***(47:59) One thing that is working for Kyle in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Kyle Poyar):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/
Newsletter: https://www.growthunhinged.com/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsors:

• Brought to you by Attention. Attention’s AI-powered call recording platform ensures that your deals are executed flawlessly. It records your calls, generates next-step summaries, action items, and even creates scorecards for every single call, so your reps can continuously improve. But that’s just the beginning. Attention’s generalized insights allow you to ask any question across all of your conversations - think of it like ChatGPT for your sales calls. Attention also lets you build automated workflows tailored to your needs. For example, if a customer mentions they’re at risk of churning during a call, Attention can automatically loop in a sales director and solutions engineer to ensure that customer receives the full white-glove treatment, reducing churn and keeping your business thriving. Attention is helping companies onboard reps faster, increase the productivity of their existing teams, and giving revenue leaders unparalleled visibility into their pipelines—all while automating those tedious manual tasks.

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Cliff Simon is the CRO of Carabiner Group, a part of SBI Growth, an advisor, and fractional executive for several high-growth start-ups, where he utilizes his expertise in all things GTM and RevOps. He is an active leader in multiple GTM communities. With almost two decades of broad technology experience, he has anchored GTM teams in SaaS & Service industries including consulting, network & communications, software, e-commerce, and supply chain. Having worked in both Fortune 20 and High-Growth Startups, Cliff prefers the fast pace and the ability to deliver significant impact that comes with working in the startup space. Cliff is a recipient of the 2024 Modern Sales Leader award from HubSpot and a 2024Top 50 CRO to Watch by Pavilion.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The power of community-led growth in driving customer acquisition and revenue.
• Lessons learned from growing and selling a bootstrapped services business.
• Navigating the challenges of rapid growth, including hiring and managing cash flow.
• The importance of RevOps and when to invest in a full-time RevOps hire.
• Predictions for the future of go-to-market, including the rise of micro-businesses and AI.

Highlights:
(15:43) Driving growth through community involvement and providing value.
(22:58) Hiring challenges during rapid growth.
(27:34) Identifying potential acquirers and navigating the acquisition process.
(33:00) Lessons learned from the acquisition and what Cliff would do differently.
(38:27) Predictions for the future of SaaS businesses and go-to-market.
(42:16) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Cliff thinks is bull$***.
(44:55) One thing that is working for Cliff in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Cliff Simon):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cliff-simon

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsors:

• Brought to you by Attention. Attention’s AI-powered call recording platform ensures that your deals are executed flawlessly. It records your calls, generates next-step summaries, action items, and even creates scorecards for every single call, so your reps can continuously improve. But that’s just the beginning. Attention’s generalized insights allow you to ask any question across all of your conversations - think of it like ChatGPT for your sales calls. Attention also lets you build automated workflows tailored to your needs. For example, if a customer mentions they’re at risk of churning during a call, Attention can automatically loop in a sales director and solutions engineer to ensure that customer receives the full white-glove treatment, reducing churn and keeping your business thriving. Attention is helping companies onboard reps faster, increase the productivity of their existing teams, and giving revenue leaders unparalleled visibility into their pipelines—all while automating those tedious manual tasks.

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

Eli Schwartz is an SEO expert and consultant with over a decade of experience driving successful SEO and growth programs for both B2B and B2C companies. He has worked with major brands like Shutterstock, Gusto, WordPress, Quora, Mixpanel, and Zendesk to build and execute global SEO strategies that dramatically increase their visibility at scale. Previously, Eli led the SEO team at SurveyMonkey, growing organic search from nearly zero to one of the largest growth channels at the company.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The product-led SEO framework Eli used to drive SurveyMonkey from 0 to $100M+ in revenue.
• Why the old model of churning out SEO content is dead and how AI is disrupting the space.
• Eli's journey from getting rejected at top tech companies to becoming a thriving consultant.
• The power of deeply understanding your target user and building products for their needs.
• Actionable advice for making the transition from operator to successful consultant.

Highlights:(4:14) Building SEO products tailored to the user intent, not just keywords.
(8:19) How Zapier unlocked massive growth with a product-led SEO approach
(17:15) Why AI content generation is not a silver bullet - it still requires a purposeful strategy.
(22:54) Examples of Eli's product-led SEO wins at SurveyMonkey, Tinder, and Coinbase.
(29:31) The biggest mistake people make with SEO is having a diminished understanding of what it can accomplish.
(41:28) Eli's best consulting gigs came from job interviews where he got rejected.
(44:33) To succeed as a consultant, develop a niche specialty and have customer success stories.
(52:23) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Eli thinks is bull$***.
(54:49) One thing that is working for Eli in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Eli Schwartz):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schwartze/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsors:

• HG Insights. Feeling that AI FOMO? You’re not alone. That’s why HG Insights created The Next Generation of Sales AI report — to calm the FOMO and help you bring AI to your GTM teams. It includes a breakdown of the Sales AI landscape, adoption of GenAI and Sales software across buyer groups. Plus, an analysis of the top 75 trending sales AI tools. Why HG Insights? Simple. They’ve been writing market reports for years as the pioneer of tech adoption and market insights. Trusted by GTM leaders at the likes of Snowflake Five9 and Google Cloud to improve GTM efficiency. Thinking about AI for your sales team but unsure where to start? This free and ungated report has you covered.

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

View Details

A transformational leader who specializes in data driven GTM, Allison Metcalfe has had a non-traditional path to the C Suite - starting in Account Management, and being a leader in the evolution of Customer Success, Allison has held a variety of leadership roles across sales and operations in some of Silicon Valley’s most successful companies including Jigsaw (acquired by Salesforce), Demandbase, Quotient (NYSE: QUOT) and Liveramp (NYSE: RAMP), which went from $30M to $500M in revenue and IPO under her tenure.

Discussed in this Episode:

• Allison's non-traditional journey from customer success to CRO.
• The importance of building a strong post-sales function early on.
• Balancing product-led growth with an enterprise sales motion.
• The qualities that make an effective modern CRO.
• Leveraging customer stories as a powerful growth lever.
• Lessons learned from LiveRamp's explosive growth and acquisition by Acxiom.

Highlights:(2:13) Choosing companies based on people and gut instinct.
(7:40) The transition from purely product-led growth to supporting an enterprise sales motion.
(11:52) The risk of neglecting your core customers during growth.
(16:31) Operationalizing the transition from self-service to enterprise.
(23:55) Lessons learned from LiveRamp's acquisition by Acxiom.
(28:14) Overcoming the desire to be liked as a leader.
(35:25) Beyoncé's "Sasha Fierce" persona as a leadership tool.
(39:16) The role and skills required of a modern CRO.
(45:18) The importance of separating new logo sales from account management.
(48:29) The power of word-of-mouth and focusing on customer outcomes.

Guest Speaker Links (Allison Metcalfe):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonmetcalfe/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsors:

• HG Insights. Feeling that AI FOMO? You’re not alone. That’s why HG Insights created The Next Generation of Sales AI report — to calm the FOMO and help you bring AI to your GTM teams. It includes a breakdown of the Sales AI landscape, adoption of GenAI and Sales software across buyer groups. Plus, an analysis of the top 75 trending sales AI tools. Why HG Insights? Simple. They’ve been writing market reports for years as the pioneer of tech adoption and market insights. Trusted by GTM leaders at the likes of Snowflake Five9 and Google Cloud to improve GTM efficiency. Thinking about AI for your sales team but unsure where to start? This free and ungated report has you covered.

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with the top 1% of tech executives, VCs, and founders - the experts who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Scott Barker to dissect their stories - revealing what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.

This podcast is produced by GTMnow, the media brand of VC firm GTMfund.
Visit gtmnow.com to see more content and subscribe.

View Details

Adam Robinson is the Founder/CEO of Retention.com and RB2B. Adam bootstrapped Retention.com to $22m ARR in 4 years by helping ecommerce stores identify their anonymous website visitors and send them triggered emails. He launched RB2B in March of 2024 to help SaaS companies identify anonymous website visitors and see their LinkedIn profiles in Slack for free! Adam lives in Austin, TX with his wife Helen and daughter Emma.

Discussed in this Episode:

• Building demand and an audience before creating a product, rather than the traditional approach of building a product first.
• The power of a founder's personal brand and thought leadership to drive growth, especially in the early stages.
• The shifting landscape of B2B marketing and sales, and why every SaaS founder will need to build an audience via organic social media to succeed.
• Persevering through major challenges and low points as a founder, and how these moments can lead to breakthroughs.

Highlights:(1:09) The experience of people feeling like they know you from your content.
(2:27) Shifting from searching for demand to building demand, then building a product to match.
(5:25) Why LinkedIn content creation is an efficient growth engine for startups.
(13:29) Factors that led to Adam's LinkedIn content resonating and driving massive growth.
(20:56) Swapping value with other founders by cross-pollinating audiences.
(22:25) Feeling like content creation is work, not play, and how to build the habit.
(30:33) The story of Adam's entire codebase being deleted right before an acquisition.
(32:32) Hitting rock bottom with a failed product launch and discovering the next opportunity.
(53:36) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Adam thinks is bull$***.
(56:17) One thing that is working for Adam in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Adam Robinson):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/retentionadam

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsors:

• Upland Altify. A leading provider of AI-enhanced sales solutions, Altify is designed to help revenue teams work smarter. This Salesforce-native suite of sales solutions empowers seller productivity, streamlines workflows, and uncovers hidden opportunities – all leading to significant revenue growth - learn more.
• Vanta. With Vanta Questionnaire Automation, go-to-market teams can complete security reviews up to 5 times faster, helping you close deals in less time than ever. Over 8,000 global companies use Vanta to streamline security questionnaires and close deals fast. Experience Questionnaire Automation with a self-guided product tour, no sign-up required, at vanta.com/gtmnow.

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with the top 1% of tech executives, VCs, and founders - the experts who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Scott Barker to dissect their stories - revealing what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.

This podcast is produced by GTMnow, the media brand of VC firm GTMfund.
Visit gtmnow.com to see more content and subscribe.

View Details

Mark Kosoglow is the Co-Founder and CEO of Operator.ai, a company incubated by GTMfund. Mark was employee #1 at Outreach and former SVP of Global Sales, where he helped grow the company from zero to over $200 million in revenue. He is joined in this special edition podcast episode by Max Altschuler, Founder and General Partner of GTMfund.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The current state of sales and marketing tech, with too much automation leading to spam and prospects tuning out messages.
• The Great Ignore, the place we have reached where buyers are ignoring 90% of sales activity.
• How basic contact and account data has become commoditized and no longer provides a competitive advantage.
• The launch of Operator, its manifesto and mission.
• The founding story and team behind Operator, including Mark and Max's history of working together.
• Operator's unique approach to using AI for finding interesting insights to enable relevant, targeted outreach.
• Incubating a company within GTMfund.

Highlights:
(4:00) Mark's background at Outreach and the early days of sales automation.
(6:41) The problem with relying solely on basic contact and account data for outreach.
(8:41) How Operator uses AI to find unique insights for personalizing outreach
(14:01) The vision for Operator: going from 20 sales touches to book a meeting back down to 2.
(27:58) The founding story of Operator and how the team came together.
(32:47) Comparing Operator's approach to other sales tech tools and their shortcomings.
(38:00) The dangers of AI-powered spam and the need for more targeted, relevant outreach.

Guest Speaker Links (Mark Kosoglow):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mkosoglow/

Host Speaker Links (Max Altschuler):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/maxaltschuler/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsor:

• Brought to you by Attention. Attention’s AI-powered call recording platform ensures that your deals are executed flawlessly. It records your calls, generates next-step summaries, action items, and even creates scorecards for every single call, so your reps can continuously improve. But that’s just the beginning. Attention’s generalized insights allow you to ask any question across all of your conversations - think of it like ChatGPT for your sales calls. Attention also lets you build automated workflows tailored to your needs. For example, if a customer mentions they’re at risk of churning during a call, Attention can automatically loop in a sales director and solutions engineer to ensure that customer receives the full white-glove treatment, reducing churn and keeping your business thriving. Attention is helping companies onboard reps faster, increase the productivity of their existing teams, and giving revenue leaders unparalleled visibility into their pipelines—all while automating those tedious manual tasks.

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with the top 1% of tech executives, VCs, and founders - the experts who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Scott Barker to dissect their stories - revealing what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.

This podcast is produced by GTMnow, the media brand of VC firm GTMfund.
Visit gtmnow.com to see more content and subscribe.

View Details

Austin Hay is the Co-Founder of Clarify, a new intelligent CRM built as a platform that developers love. He is also a Partner and MarTech Teacher at Reforge, as well as a MarTech Advisor and GTM Investor at HBE Ventures. With a background leading marketing technology teams at high-growth startups like Ramp, Branch, and mParticle, Austin brings a wealth of expertise on the evolving MarTech and RevTech landscape.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The current state of MarTech and RevTech, and why we're headed for a "great contraction" after years of expansion.
• The future of CRMs and what a next-gen system should look like to unify data and provide more out-of-the-box functionality.
• Advice for founders and leaders on being selective with tools, focusing on a few things done well, and the importance of treating people with respect.
• Austin's journey building Clarify and his perspectives on brand, culture, and community.

Highlights:(5:46) Why the MarTech and RevTech space is a "mess" right now.
(13:05) Fundamental building blocks for an effective GTM tech stack.
(21:15) The problem with how most companies are assembling their RevTech stack today.
(36:45) The future of CRMs as systems of action, not just systems of record.
(44:48) The most impactful lesson from Austin's career on how to treat people when they leave your company.
(52:25) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Austin thinks is bull$***.
(59:18) One thing that is working for Austin in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Austin Hay):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/austinahay/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsors:

• Brought to you by Upland Altify. A leading provider of AI-enhanced sales solutions, Altify is designed to help revenue teams work smarter. This Salesforce-native suite of sales solutions empowers seller productivity, streamlines workflows, and uncovers hidden opportunities – all leading to significant revenue growth - learn more.
• Brought to you by Vanta. With Vanta Questionnaire Automation, go-to-market teams can complete security reviews up to 5 times faster, helping you close deals in less time than ever. Over 8,000 global companies use Vanta to streamline security questionnaires and close deals fast. Experience Questionnaire Automation with a self-guided product tour, no sign-up required, at vanta.com/gtmnow.

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with the top 1% of tech executives, VCs, and founders - the experts who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Scott Barker to dissect their stories - revealing what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.

This podcast is produced by GTMnow, the media brand of VC firm GTMfund.
Visit gtmnow.com to see more content and subscribe.

View Details

Leandra Fishman is the Chief Revenue Officer at Apollo.io, a leading go-to-market solution for sales and marketing teams. Apollo.io is one of the fastest-growing companies in SaaS, with 9x ARR growth since 2021 and currently valued at $1.6 billion. Leandra brings over 30 years of experience to Apollo.io. Most recently, Fishman was the CRO at Intercom, which during her tenure ranked No. 35 on the 2022 Forbes Cloud 100 List with over $200 million in annual revenue. Previously, as the SVP of Sales and Success for SendGrid, she led the company through a successful IPO and helped double its market cap in its first year as a public company. As an executive consultant, she has executed projects ranging from developing sales and marketing strategies for startups to creating business plans and serving in an advisory role for venture capitalist firms and board members.

Discussed in this Episode:

• Apollo's product-led growth (PLG) model and how it enables a great customer experience.
• Balancing self-serve and sales-assisted motions to drive growth across segments.
• The role of AI in enhancing sales productivity rather than replacing salespeople.
• Advice for salespeople on redefining success and being kind to yourself.
• Leandra's unconventional journey to becoming a CRO and lessons learned along the way.

Highlights:(10:25) The power of Apollo's PLG model in driving growth.
(13:13) Balancing self-serve and sales-assisted motions.
(18:01) How larger deals can come through with minimal sales interaction in a PLG model.
(23:47) The future of AI in sales as an enhancement rather than replacement.
(29:46) Leandra's journey from starting in sales to becoming a CRO.
(44:15) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Leandra thinks is bull$***.(49:30) One thing that is working for Leandra in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Leandra Fishman):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/leandra-fishman/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsors:

• Brought to you by Upland Altify. A leading provider of AI-enhanced sales solutions, Altify is designed to help revenue teams work smarter. This Salesforce-native suite of sales solutions empowers seller productivity, streamlines workflows, and uncovers hidden opportunities – all leading to significant revenue growth - learn more.
• Brought to you by IPS. Most recruiting firms fill an order, but IPS is a different breed of search firm. They dig into your business to understand its current state and the future vision and are relentlessly in pursuit of the very best leaders, sales people, marketers, and engineering talent out there.

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with the top 1% of tech executives, VCs, and founders - the experts who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Scott Barker to dissect their stories - revealing what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.

This podcast is produced by GTMnow, the media brand of VC firm GTMfund.
Visit gtmnow.com to see more content and subscribe.

View Details

Dennis Lyandres is currently an Advisor at Iconiq Capital. Before that, Dennis spent 8.5 years with Procore during which time Procore grew from $10m to over $900m+ in revenue and went public on the NYSE. Dennis started at Procore as EVP of Sales in 2014, before moving to the CRO role in 2018 where he was responsible for driving revenue across all customer-facing functions including Sales, Marketing, Customer Success, Rev Ops, Procore.org and Business Development. Before joining Procore, he held various sales and sales management roles at Cloudera and Pentaho.

Discussed in this Episode:

• Applying the concept of Price's Law to identify and maximize the impact of top talent in an organization.
• Go-to-market strategies for vertical SaaS companies to win in their market, such as going hyperlocal and focusing on multi-product.
• The importance of hiring for potential and experience with scale over domain expertise.
• Personal growth lessons on reframing your relationship with drive and ambition.

Highlights:(13:23) Applying Price's Law to identify and maximize top talent.
(18:13) Overcoming HR pushback on programs for top performers.
(28:35) Rallying the whole organization around key customer accounts.
(32:02) Go-to-market strategies for vertical SaaS: going hyperlocal and focusing on multi-product.
(55:15) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Dennis thinks is bull$***.

Guest Speaker Links & Referenced Resource (Dennis Lyandres):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dlyandres
ICONIQ Report: Sales Leadership, A Hiring Blueprint

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/

Sponsors:

• Brought to you by Upland Altify. A leading provider of AI-enhanced sales solutions, Altify is designed to help revenue teams work smarter. This Salesforce-native suite of sales solutions empowers seller productivity, streamlines workflows, and uncovers hidden opportunities – all leading to significant revenue growth - learn more.
• Brought to you by Vanta. With Vanta Questionnaire Automation, go-to-market teams can complete security reviews up to 5 times faster, helping you close deals in less time than ever. Over 8,000 global companies use Vanta to streamline security questionnaires and close deals fast. Visit vanta.com/gtmnow to learn more.
• Brought to you by IPS. Most recruiting firms fill an order, but IPS is a different breed of search firm. They dig into your business to understand its current state and the future vision and are relentlessly in pursuit of the very best leaders, sales people, marketers, and engineering talent out there.

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with the top 1% of tech executives, VCs, and founders - the experts who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Scott Barker to dissect their stories - revealing what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.

This podcast is produced by GTMnow, the media brand of VC firm GTMfund.
Visit gtmnow.com to see more content and subscribe.

View Details

Mark Ghermezian co-founded Braze (BRZE) and led the company as it’s founding CEO, pioneering a new category. He is also the Founder and General Partner at m]x[v Capital, and Co-Founder and CEO of Gynger and Tildei, two companies that he incubated through the venture firm. He is a serial entrepreneur and successful investor with 20+ years of experience in founding, building, and investing in early-stage SaaS startups.

Discussed in this Episode:

• Learnings from growing Braze from 0 to IPO.
• The behind the scenes on incubating two companies.
• How to identify and hire problem solvers who can execute independently.
• The value of delegating effectively to scale and empower your team.
• Navigating the challenges of raising funding and finding product-market fit.
• Building a strong internal BDR team versus outsourcing sales efforts.
• The role of conviction and intuition in entrepreneurship and investing.

Highlights:(7:10) The domino effect of luck, timing, and key decisions in Braze's success.
(21:55) Mark reflects on the humbling experience of taking Braze public and the role of his team.
(28:30) Advice for founders on structuring their cap table and choosing the right investors.
(36:41) Raising Gynger's Series A and how it differed from Braze's early fundraising.
(45:09) A pivotal moment in Mark's leadership journey and learning to delegate effectively.
(49:04) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Mark thinks is bull$***.
(51:44) One thing that is working for Mark in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Mark Ghermezian):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/markgher/
m]x[v Capital: www.mxv.vc/
Gynger: www.gynger.io/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsors:

• Brought to you by Apollo. Ever wonder what automating your entire outbound workflow could do for your revenue team? Apollo.io brings this to life by centralizing your entire go-to-market execution in one platform. Sellers using automation in their outbound efforts see a 70% increase in open rates and 4x more meetings booked while saving hours on manual, tedious tasks.
• Brought to you by IPS. Most recruiting firms fill an order, but IPS is a different breed of search firm. They dig into your business to understand its current state and the future vision and are relentlessly in pursuit of the very best leaders, sales people, marketers, and engineering talent out there.

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with the top 1% of tech executives, VCs, and founders - the experts who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Scott Barker to dissect their stories - revealing what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.

This podcast is produced by GTMnow, the media brand of VC firm GTMfund.
Visit gtmnow.com to subscribe to the newsletter and other content resources.

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As Upland's Chief Revenue Officer, Matt Breslin oversees customer success, demand generation and communications, sales, revenue enablement, and revenue analysis, supporting our Shared Services Organization. Matt has 25 years of experience in the software industry, most recently leading a $700 million business at Infor. Prior to that, he held senior leadership positions at SAP and Oracle, driving incredible results across the board. Matt started his career as a Certified Public Accountant for Price Waterhouse and Kraft Foods.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The importance of avoiding blind spots in the sales process and aligning the sales process with the customer's business pains and processes.
• Lessons learned from closing a multi-million dollar deal early in his career, including the value of attention to detail and building strong customer relationships.
• The benefits of focusing sales teams on specific sales motions, such as new logo acquisition or account expansion.

Highlights:
(14:10) Challenging the belief that 3-5X pipeline coverage is the answer to sales problems.
(18:44) The story of driving to a customer's child's soccer game to close a multi-million dollar deal.
(26:01) The biggest surprise when transitioning from an individual contributor to a leader.
(41:06) The importance of aligning sales teams to the right motions.
(44:16) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Matt thinks is bull$***.
(45:23) One thing that is working for Matt in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker (Matt Breslin):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-breslin-09a4354/

Sponsors:

• Brought to you by Apollo. Ever wonder what automating your entire outbound workflow could do for your revenue team? Apollo.io brings this to life by centralizing your entire go-to-market execution in one platform. Sellers using automation in their outbound efforts see a 70% increase in open rates and 4x more meetings booked while saving hours on manual, tedious tasks.
• Brought to you by Vanta. Your deal is almost closed, and all that’s left is the security review. But when it comes to those lengthy security questionnaires, the endless back and forths can often cause deals to stall out, leaving your deal at risk and dollars on the table. With Vanta Questionnaire Automation, GTM teams can complete security reviews up to 5X faster. Over 8,000 global companies use Vanta to streamline security questionnaires and close deals fast. Register for an upcoming webinar with live Q&A here.
• Brought to you by IPS. Most recruiting firms fill an order, but IPS is a different breed of search firm. They dig into your business to understand its current state and the future vision and are relentlessly in pursuit of the very best leaders, sales people, marketers, and engineering talent out there.

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with the top 1% of tech executives, VCs, and founders - the experts who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Scott Barker to dissect their stories - revealing what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.

This podcast is produced by GTMnow, the media brand of VC firm GTMfund.
Visit gtmnow.com to subscribe to the newsletter and other content resources.

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Adriana Gil Miner is CMO at Iterable, the AI-powered customer communication platform. Passionate about customer engagement, her leadership has contributed to Iterable's success in helping brands like Redfin, Priceline, and Volvo deliver individualized, harmonized and dynamic communications at scale. Prior to her role at Iterable, Adriana held influential senior leadership positions at Tableau, where she significantly contributed to the company's remarkable growth from $250 million to over $1 billion, culminating in the successful Salesforce acquisition. Her leadership also left an indelible mark on Qumulo, a data storage startup, and Artefact, with its spinoff—10,000ft—acquired by Smartsheet in 2019. Gil Miner’s 20+ years of marketing experience span prominent names like American Express, Digitas, and Weber Shandwick.

Discussed in this Episode:

• Leveraging AI and ChatGPT for creative, high-volume ad testing and optimization.
• The importance of post-sale marketing and customer lifecycle management.
• Applying B2C marketing strategies to enhance B2B customer engagement and retention.
• Emerging B2B marketing trends, including SMS as a core communication channel.
• Building authentic influence through community, word-of-mouth, and organic channels.
• The declining relevance of traditional PR and analyst relations in the face of digital influence.

Highlights:(13:45) Using ChatGPT to generate and test 300+ ads, breaking demo request records.
(20:25) The untapped potential of post-sale marketing and customer lifecycle in B2B.
(25:30) SMS predicted to become a key B2B engagement channel.
(29:56) Iterable's marketing team now has a dedicated expansion pipeline goal.
(33:39) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Adriana thinks is bull$***.(36:47) One thing that is working for Adriana in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Adriana Gil Miner):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/agilminer/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/

Sponsors:

• Brought to you by Apollo. Ever wonder what automating your entire outbound workflow could do for your revenue team? Apollo.io brings this to life by centralizing your entire go-to-market execution in one platform. Sellers using automation in their outbound efforts see a 70% increase in open rates and 4x more meetings booked while saving hours on manual, tedious tasks.
• Brought to you by IPS. Most recruiting firms fill an order, but IPS is a different breed of search firm. They dig into your business to understand its current state and the future vision and are relentlessly in pursuit of the very best leaders, sales people, marketers, and engineering talent out there. Whether you want advice, have one hard to fill role or a team buildout, we can't recommend IPS enough.

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with the top 1% of tech executives, VCs, and founders - the experts who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Scott Barker to dissect their stories, revealing what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.

This podcast is produced by GTMnow, the media brand of VC firm GTMfund.
Visit gtmnow.com to sign up for the newsletter and other content resources.

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Andrew Johnston is currently the Head of Sales at Superhuman, where he leads the go-to-market strategy as part of the executive team. Previously, he built the Mid-Market and PLS motion at Scale AI and led the global sales team at SendGrid following its acquisition by Twilio and its IPO.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The key differences between product-led growth (PLG) and product-led sales (PLS).
• When and why companies should consider transitioning from PLG to PLS.
• The challenges of combining distinct sales teams during an acquisition.
• How to effectively enable sales reps during a product expansion.
• The importance of understanding your ideal customer profile (ICP) for successful PLS.
• Strategies for moving upmarket, such as implementing paid pilots.
• Creating career paths and incentives for sales reps in different segments.

Highlights:(9:50) Andrew's definition of product-led growth and how it differs from product-led sales.
(12:16) The triggers for considering a transition from a PLG to a PLS approach.
(25:00) The challenges faced when combining SendGrid and Twilio's sales teams post-acquisition.
(32:49) How Twilio's unique "estimated ARR" commission structure impacted sales behavior.
(35:55) Using SendGrid as a "trojan horse" to expand Twilio's presence in customer accounts.
(42:00) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Andrew thinks is bull$***
(47:09) One thing that is working for Andrew in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Andrew Johnston):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewfoxjohnston/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsors:

• Brought to you by Apollo. Ever wonder what automating your entire outbound workflow could do for your revenue team? Apollo.io brings this to life by centralizing your entire go-to-market execution in one platform. Sellers using automation in their outbound efforts see a 70% increase in open rates and 4x more meetings booked while saving hours on manual, tedious tasks.
• Brought to you by IPS. Most recruiting firms fill an order, but IPS is a different breed of search firm. They dig into your business to understand its current state and the future vision and are relentlessly in pursuit of the very best leaders, sales people, marketers, and engineering talent out there. Whether you want advice, have one hard to fill role or a team buildout, we can't recommend IPS enough.

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with well-known tech executive, VC, and founders - the expert operators in the trenches who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Scott Barker to dissect their stories, revealing expert insights around what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.

This podcast is produced by GTMnow, the media brand of VC firm GTMfund - sharing insight on go-to-market from working with hundreds of portfolio companies backed by over 350 of the best go-to-market executives.

Visit gtmnow.com for more details and to sign up for our newsletter and other content resources.

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Sam Blond is the former Chief Revenue Officer at Brex, where he scaled revenue from $1M to hundreds of millions in ARR. Prior to Brex, Sam served as VP of Sales at Zenefits, growing revenue from $1M to $70M in just two years. After his operating roles, Sam joined Founders Fund as an investing partner before leaving to co-found a new startup.

Discussed in this Episode:

• Why investing early in sales ops and rev ops is critical for scaling revenue.
• How to generate demand through creative campaigns and a "concentric circles" approach.
• The risks of scaling sales teams too quickly based on flawed hiring models.
• What VCs look for in a compelling founder pitch, beyond just business metrics.
• Why focusing on generating pipeline is often better than optimizing conversions.
• How to leverage customer marketing and "raving fans" as an early acquisition channel.

Highlights:[5:00] – Sam's incredible track record scaling Brex and Zenefits from $1M to $100M+ ARR.
[13:58] – Outlining the most creative and successful demand gen campaigns run at Brex.
[20:17] – The importance of sustaining a culture of creativity in marketing as you scale.
[33:35] – Mistakes made at Zenefits: investing in rev ops too late, deprioritizing customer experience, hiring too fast.
[43:45] – What VCs look for in founders when metrics alone aren't enough to get the deal done.
[52:15] – One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Sam thinks is bull$***
[60:21] – One thing that is working for Sam in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Sam Blond):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-blond-791026b/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsors:

• Brought to you by Flex. Flex is a finance super app built around a credit card with unique Net-60 day terms that enables businesses to make an investment today and pay it back 60 days later with zero percent interest. If your business growth is constrained by the cashflow you need for inventory, advertising, or something else, Flex could provide you with an interesting growth lever.

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with well-known tech executive, VC, and founders - the expert operators in the trenches who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Scott Barker to dissect their stories, revealing expert insights around what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.

This podcast is produced by GTMnow, the media brand of VC firm GTMfund - sharing insight on go-to-market from working with hundreds of portfolio companies backed by over 350 of the best go-to-market executives.

Visit gtmnow.com for more details and to sign up for our newsletter and other content resources.

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Ralph Barsi is the VP of Sales at Kahua, a leading construction management platform. Prior to Kahua, Ralph held executive roles at Tray.io and ServiceNow. While at ServiceNow, he built and led a team of 230 people across the globe, during thecompany’s growth from from $1 billion to over $4 billion in revenue. Prior to ServiceNow, Ralph was the VP of Field Operations at Achievers (acquired by Blackhawk Network) and the Manager of Sales Development at InsideView (acquired by DemandBase). Ralph serves as an advisor to go-to-market leaders at Aircover, Scale Venture Partners, TopHap, and others. He is also a growth stage investor with the GTMfund. Barsi dedicates much of his time serving others. In addition to his work at Kahua, Ralphmentors and advises a host of SaaS leaders and leadership programs.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The importance of implementing systems and processes in sales and life.
• How frameworks like SCQA (Situation, Challenge, Question, Answer) and PAR (Problem, Action, Result) can improve communication.
• Strategies for delivering difficult messages, such as during a reorganization or reduction in force.
• The value of staying in touch with former colleagues and playing the long game in relationships.
• Tactics for maintaining a robust contact database and regularly checking in with people.
• How to motivate and guide reps who are facing a challenging selling environment.
• The significance of chronicling your work and keeping a record of your achievements.

Highlights:(8:28) Introduction of the quote "Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets" by Edwards Deming.
(14:33) Discussion on using frameworks to communicate effectively with a large or small audience.
(24:27) Ralph's journey from Compliance360 to Kahua and the importance of maintaining long-term relationships.
(31:55) The system Ralph uses to stay in touch with his extensive network of contacts.
(35:41) Strategies for shifting focus and moving forward when facing challenges or setbacks.
(41:45) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Ralph thinks is bull$***(48:15) One thing that is working for Ralph in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Ralph Barsi):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ralphbarsi

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with well-known tech executive, VC, and founders - the expert operators in the trenches who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Scott Barker to dissect their stories, revealing expert insights around what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.

This podcast is produced by GTMnow, the media brand of VC firm GTMfund - sharing insight on go-to-market from working with hundreds of portfolio companies backed by over 350 of the best go-to-market executives.

Visit gtmnow.com for more details and to sign up for our newsletter and other content resources.

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Annelise Osborne is Chief Business Officer at Kadena, a Layer 1, POW blockchain where she is focused on upgrading finance. Annelise has 20 years of experience in traditional finance and seven years in digital assets. She is a thought leader, board advisor, university lecturer and author. Her book, From Hoodies to Suits: Innovating Digital Assets in Traditional Finance, hit shelves in June. Annelise holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA in Economics from The College of William and Mary.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The impact of cryptocurrency market fluctuations on the adoption of blockchain technology.
• How digital assets and blockchain are upgrading finance and why it matters for businesses.
• The changing demographics and demands of Millennial and Gen Z investors.
• The potential for blockchain to revolutionize the future of work and compensation.
• Advice for transitioning from traditional finance or software to a career in Web3.
• The importance of community building and learning from others in the blockchain space.

Highlights:[3:47] – Annelise explains the relationship between blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.
[11:10] – The archaic nature of traditional finance and the need for modernization.
[18:01] – How companies can generate revenue and find opportunities in the Web3 space.
[26:02] – The main themes of her book "From Hoodies to Suits."
[31:49] – The potential for blockchain to democratize access to venture investing.[41:49] – How millennials invest differently and the future of fractionalized investments.
[44:11] – Blockchain's ability to trace data and enable real-time performance-based compensation.
[51:17] – One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Annelise thinks is bull$***
[52:27] – One thing that is working for Annelise in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Annelise Osborne):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annelise-osborne-7611176/
Book: From Hoodies to Suits: Innovating Digital Assets in Traditional Finance

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with well-known tech executive, VC, and founders - the expert operators in the trenches who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Scott Barker to dissect their stories, revealing expert insights around what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.

This podcast is produced by GTMnow, the media brand of VC firm GTMfund - sharing insight on go-to-market from working with hundreds of portfolio companies backed by over 350 of the best go-to-market executives.

Visit gtmnow.com for more details and to sign up for our newsletter and other content resources.

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David Greenberger leads CHEQ’s North America sales team. CHEQ is a cybersecurity platform primarily focused on protecting the Go-to-Market organization (preventing fake leads to sales team, skewed analytics from bots/malicious users etc). David is well-versed in building and perfecting Go-To-Market processes both from $0 and at 100 y/o companies. CHEQ is David’s 5th startup. Directly before CHEQ, David was in a leadership capacity at Hitachi Vantara, in the deep-enterprise Big Data / AI space. Prior to that he's built teams at Foursquare, Yext, Angi and Splash.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The importance of trust in building effective go-to-market strategies.
• Navigating the transition from startups to large enterprises in sales roles.
• Strategies for hiring and developing sales talent with non-traditional backgrounds.
• The value of long-term relationships and "compound interest" in professional growth.
• Balancing internal and external relationships in large organizations.
• The resurgence of old-school, in-person tactics in modern sales approaches.
• Addressing challenges of invalid traffic and bots in digital marketing.

Highlights:
[13:35] – Insights on managing generational differences and career development in sales teams.
[22:05] – David's experience transitioning from startups to a $90 billion organization.
[25:50] – The story of a successful SDR who rapidly progressed to closing multi-million dollar deals.
[37:49] – One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that David thinks is bull$***[40:04] – One thing that is working for David in go-to-market right now

Guest Speaker Links (David Greenberger):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidgreenberger/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsors:

• Brought to you by Flex. Flex is a finance super app built around a credit card with unique Net-60 day terms that enables businesses to make an investment today and pay it back 60 days later with zero percent interest. If your business growth is constrained by the cashflow you need for inventory, advertising, or something else, Flex could provide you with an interesting growth lever.
• Brought to you by Orum. Orum is an AI-powered live conversation platform designed to supercharge sales activity, connect sales teams, and drive more revenue over the phone. Orum’s platform includes an AI-dialer that automates the manual aspects of calling and get sales reps into more conversations, a virtual sales floor for teams to build camaraderie and learn from one another, as well as analytics and coaching tools to help teams improve together.

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with well-known tech executive, VC, and founders - the expert operators in the trenches who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Scott Barker to dissect their stories, revealing expert insights around what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.

This podcast is produced by GTMnow, the media brand of VC firm GTMfund - sharing insight on go-to-market from working with hundreds of portfolio companies backed by over 350 of the best go-to-market executives.

Visit gtmnow.com for more details and to sign up for our newsletter and other content resources.

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Nick Dolik is a NYC-based investor, currently the Managing Director at TriplePoint Capital, and is focused on supporting founders and funding high-growth technology companies. Nick is passionate about entrepreneurship and has spent the past ~10 years backing various startups, including multiple unicorns.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The current state of the financing environment for startups.
• Venture debt: what it is, how it works, and why it exists.
• Advantages of venture debt for founders and when to consider it.
• The importance of building long-term relationships in the venture capital world.
• Nick's unconventional path into venture capital and lessons learned.
• The value of getting "closer to the sun" when pursuing a career in VC.
• Common misconceptions about the founder-investor relationship.

Highlights:
[12:26] – The current financing environment for startups.
[24:45] – Nick explains venture debt and its benefits for founders.
[39:30] – Nick shares his journey from credit derivatives to venture capital.
[47:22] – The importance of getting "closer to the sun" in pursuing a VC career.
[51:30] – Advice for founders approaching their first fundraise.
[59:41] – One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Nick thinks is bull$***
[1:04:01] – One thing that is working for Nick in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Nick Dolik):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ndolik/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsors:

• Brought to you by Flex. Flex is a finance super app built around a credit card with unique Net-60 day terms that enables businesses to make an investment today and pay it back 60 days later with zero percent interest. If your business growth is constrained by the cashflow you need for inventory, advertising, or something else, Flex could provide you with an interesting growth lever.
• Brought to you by Orum. Orum is an AI-powered live conversation platform designed to supercharge sales activity, connect sales teams, and drive more revenue over the phone. Orum’s platform includes an AI-dialer that automates the manual aspects of calling and get sales reps into more conversations, a virtual sales floor for teams to build camaraderie and learn from one another, as well as analytics and coaching tools to help teams improve together.

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with well-known tech executive, VC, and founders - the expert operators in the trenches who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Scott Barker to dissect their stories, revealing expert insights around what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.

This podcast is produced by GTMnow, the media brand of VC firm GTMfund - sharing insight on go-to-market from working with hundreds of portfolio companies backed by over 350 of the best go-to-market executives.

Visit gtmnow.com for more details and to sign up for our newsletter and other content resources.

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In this milestone 100th episode, Scott is joined by Sophie Buonassisi, VP of Marketing at GTMfund and GTMnow and a key architect behind the media brand's growth. Sophie leads media, marketing and community across the fund and the media company.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The evolution of GTMfund's media strategy to multi-channel brand.
• Insights on building a profitable media company within a venture capital firm.
• Key metrics and growth strategies for the GTMnow brand and assets.
• Lessons learned from acquiring and rebranding a media property.
• The power of community-driven content and in-person events.

Highlights:2:45 - Reflecting on the podcast's journey.
6:05 - Importance of in-person events.
10:03 - Building in public approach.
14:04 - Reacquiring Sales Hacker and rebranding.
16:15 - GTM Now: Content and metrics.
23:48 - Failed experiments and learning experiences.
28:34 - Leveraging ecosystem for distribution.
34:01 - Importance of in-person feedback.
36:39 - Content creation process and tools.
46:09 - Which top 10 podcast episodes.
1:04:20 - Future plans for GTMnow.

Guest Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/
GTMnow Website: www.gtmnow.com/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsors:

• Brought to you byFlex. Flex is a finance super app built around a credit card with unique Net-60 day terms that enables businesses to make an investment today and pay it back 60 days later with zero percent interest. If your business growth is constrained by the cashflow you need for inventory, advertising, or something else, Flex could provide you with an interesting growth lever.
• Brought to you by Orum. Orum is an AI-powered live conversation platform designed to supercharge sales activity, connect sales teams, and drive more revenue over the phone. Orum’s platform includes an AI-dialer that automates the manual aspects of calling and get sales reps into more conversations, a virtual sales floor for teams to build camaraderie and learn from one another, as well as analytics and coaching tools to help teams improve together.

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with well-known tech executive, VC, and founders - the expert operators in the trenches who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Scott Barker to dissect their stories, revealing expert insights around what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.

This podcast is produced by GTMnow, the media brand of VC firm GTMfund - sharing insight on go-to-market from working with hundreds of portfolio companies backed by over 350 of the best go-to-market executives.

Visit gtmnow.com for more details and to sign up for our newsletter and other content resources.

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Jon Dick is the Global SVP of Customer Success at HubSpot where he’s focused on helping millions of organizations grow better. Prior to customer success, Jon led marketing teams at HubSpot, Trunk Club, and Klout. He has a background in improvised comedy and earned his MBA from the Harvard Business School.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The rising importance of customer success in the age of AI and efficiency.
• Balancing proactive and reactive strategies to serve 200,000+ customers.
• The evolution of content marketing from "clicks to conversations".
• Choosing people over product and finding passion in your work.
• The power of generalists and the pitfalls of over-specialization in CS.
• Go-to-market tactics that are working for HubSpot, from chatbots to intent data.

Highlights:3:22 - John's experience with improv comedy and how it applies to business.
9:45 - Is an MBA still relevant for today's fast-changing market?
13:44 - The new age of customer success and rising importance of AI.
18:49 - Balancing proactive and reactive strategies to serve 200,000+ HubSpot customers.
24:25 - The shift from "clicks to conversations" in content marketing.
34:29 - The power of working with people you like and Jon's HBS reunion story.
42:09 - Structuring customer success teams for series B companies.
48:15 - One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Jon thinks is bull$***: obsessing over lead volume instead of lead value.
50:49 - One thing that is working for Jon in go-to-market right now: leveraging chatbots and intent data to drive conversions.

Guest Speaker Links (Jon Dick):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jondick/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsor:

• Brought to you by Demandbase.Demandbase helps B2B companies hit their revenue goals using fewer resources by using the power of AI to identify and engage the accounts and buying groups most likely to purchase. Their account-based technology unites sales and marketing teams around insights that you can understand and facilitates quick actions across systems and channels to deliver big wins. It’s flexible, scalable ABM built for you.
• Brought to you by Orum. Orum is an AI-powered live conversation platform designed to supercharge sales activity, connect sales teams, and drive more revenue over the phone. Orum’s platform includes an AI-dialer that automates the manual aspects of calling and get sales reps into more conversations, a virtual sales floor for teams to build camaraderie and learn from one another, as well as analytics and coaching tools to help teams improve together.

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with well-known tech executive, VC, and founders - the expert operators in the trenches who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Scott Barker to dissect their stories, revealing expert insights around what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.

This podcast is produced by GTMnow, the media brand of VC firm GTMfund - sharing insight on go-to-market from working with hundreds of portfolio companies backed by over 350 of the best go-to-market executives.

Visit gtmnow.com for more details and to sign up for our newsletter and other content resources.

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Elizabeth Pemmerl currently serves as GitHub’s Chief Revenue Officer, where she oversees all facets of the company's go-to-market strategy and customer engagement, including sales, support, and operations. She joined GitHub in 2015 after a career in the public sector, and has since held leadership roles in nearly all aspects of GitHub’s enterprise business.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The journey from individual contributor to CRO and the lessons learned along the way.
• The impact of AI on GitHub's business and the future of software development.
• Strategies for pricing new products and cross-selling within an existing customer base.
• Insights on hiring, retention, and the power of promoting from within.

Highlights:
(9:13) Transitioning from IC to sales leadership and driving a forecast cadence.
(18:20) Navigating the acquisition of Semmle and lessons learned in M&A.
(25:58) Advice for startups on pricing strategy and identifying core buyer personas.
(30:58) The future of AI in business and the emergence of the Chief AI Officer role.
(42:08) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Elizabeth thinks is bull$***.
(44:07) One thing that is working for Elizabeth in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Elizabeth Pemmerl):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-pemmerl-9172485/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsor:

• Brought to you by Demandbase.Demandbase helps B2B companies hit their revenue goals using fewer resources by using the power of AI to identify and engage the accounts and buying groups most likely to purchase. Their account-based technology unites sales and marketing teams around insights that you can understand and facilitates quick actions across systems and channels to deliver big wins. It’s flexible, scalable ABM built for you.
• Brought to you by Orum. Orum is an AI-powered live conversation platform designed to supercharge sales activity, connect sales teams, and drive more revenue over the phone. Orum’s platform includes an AI-dialer that automates the manual aspects of calling and get sales reps into more conversations, a virtual sales floor for teams to build camaraderie and learn from one another, as well as analytics and coaching tools to help teams improve together.

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with well-known tech executive, VC, and founders - the expert operators in the trenches who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Scott Barker to dissect their stories, revealing expert insights around what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.

This podcast is produced by GTMnow, the media brand of GTMfund - sharing insight on go-to-market from working with hundreds of portfolio companies backed by over 350 of the best go-to-market executives. GTMfund is an early-stage VC fund focused on investing in the most exciting, up-and-coming B2B SaaS companies across the world. The LP network consists of VP and C-level Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success leaders from companies like DocuSign, Salesforce, LinkedIn, Snowflake, Okta, Zoom, and many more.

Visit gtmnow.com for more details and to sign up for our newsletter and other content resources.

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Robert Brooks IV has spent 12 years leading sales, marketing and customer success at early-stage startups. Typically, he has served as the first sales (and first non-technical) hire reporting directly to a technical founder. Robert started his career at Charles Schwab but joined Stack Overflow ($1.8B exit), then Tempo Automation ($900M IPO) and is now part of the founding team and VP of Revenue at Lambda ($1.5B valuation). Robert is an advisor to several top-tier VC firms and some of the most high-profile AI startups in Silicon Valley.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The importance of deeply understanding your industry and product when selling AI.
• How to train your sales team to sell to highly technical buyers and decision-makers.
• Applying the concept of neural networks to enterprise sales processes.
• Strategies for turning around challenging customer relationships, with a case study on closing SpaceX.
• The role of empathy, curiosity, and genuine care in successful sales and partnerships.
• Tactics for scaling revenue in tough economic times, from personalized executive briefings to strategic event presence.

Highlights:(10:27) Robert's background and early involvement in AI startups.
(15:09) Convincing technical founders to value go-to-market expertise.
(19:06) Applying the concept of neural networks to enterprise sales.
(25:25) The importance of comprehension and curiosity in sales hiring.
(27:55) Delivering a crucial hardware project for SpaceX.
(33:37) The role of genuine care in building trust with customers.
(39:56) Balancing product training and sales process training.
(44:39) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Robert thinks is bull$***.
(49:02) The benefits of full-stack account executives in early-stage startups.
(53:27) One thing that is working for Robert in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Robert Brooks):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/boborado/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsor:

• Brought to you by Demandbase.Demandbase helps B2B companies hit their revenue goals using fewer resources by using the power of AI to identify and engage the accounts and buying groups most likely to purchase. Their account-based technology unites sales and marketing teams around insights that you can understand and facilitates quick actions across systems and channels to deliver big wins. It’s flexible, scalable ABM built for

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with well-known tech executive, VC, and founders - the expert operators in the trenches who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Scott Barker to dissect their stories, revealing expert insights around what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.

This podcast is produced by GTMnow, the media brand of GTMfund - sharing insight on go-to-market from working with hundreds of portfolio companies backed by over 350 of the best go-to-market executives. GTMfund is an early-stage VC fund focused on investing in the most exciting, up-and-coming B2B SaaS companies across the world. The LP network consists of VP and C-level Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success leaders from companies like DocuSign, Salesforce, LinkedIn, Snowflake, Okta, Zoom, and many more.

Visit gtmnow.com for more details and to sign up for our newsletter and other content resources.

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Kelly Hopping is currently the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) for Demandbase where
she is responsible for differentiating the go to market platform, increasing brand
presence, and accelerating acquisition and conversion of potential customers.

Prior to joining Demandbase, Kelly honed her start-up skills as the first CMO at
HYCU, a series B, venture capital-backed data protection SaaS company. She now
continues at HYCU as an Advisor. Before HYCU, Kelly served as the Chief Marketing
Officer for the Digital Markets division of Gartner where she managed a portfolio of
brands - Capterra, GetApp, and Software Advice - to grow awareness and demand in
the market. In this role, Kelly and her marketing team drove 100% of the revenue
acquisition for the $300M+ organization. Prior to Gartner, Kelly led at Rackspace and AMD.

She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Science in
Industrial Engineering from Texas A&M University. Kelly serves on the board of
Empowering Women as Leaders Austin, and she has spoken at various leadership
conferences. She is the author of the book Rising: How to Thrive as a
Corporate Executive while Staying True to Yourself, which launched in 2023. Kelly resides in Austin, Texas, with her husband and three children.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The three pillars of a modern go-to-market strategy that every revenue leader should know.
• How to create alignment and shared metrics between sales and marketing teams.
• Establishing a cohesive customer journey from initial interest to closed-won and beyond.
• Lessons learned from driving 100% of revenue acquisition at a $300M Gartner division.
• Insights on brand building, customer-centric marketing, and the power of organic search.

Highlights:03:50 - How Kelly's marketing team drove 100% of revenue at a $300M Gartner division.
13:20 - The three pillars of a modern go-to-market strategy.
18:41 - Pillar 1: How to make sales love you as a marketer.
30:15 - Pillar 2: Creating shared metrics for sales and marketing alignment.
40:30 - Pillar 3: Establishing one cohesive customer journey.
45:13 - Differences and similarities between B2C and B2B marketing.
50:46 - One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Kelly thinks is bull$***.
54:32 - One thing that is working for Kelly in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Kelly Hopping):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyhopping/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.sub

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with well-known tech executive, VC, and founders - the expert operators in the trenches who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Scott Barker to dissect their stories, revealing expert insights around what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.

This podcast is produced by GTMnow, the media brand of GTMfund - sharing insight on go-to-market from working with hundreds of portfolio companies backed by over 350 of the best go-to-market executives. GTMfund is an early-stage VC fund focused on investing in the most exciting, up-and-coming B2B SaaS companies across the world. The LP network consists of VP and C-level Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success leaders from companies like DocuSign, Salesforce, LinkedIn, Snowflake, Okta, Zoom, and many more.

Visit gtmnow.com for more details and to sign up for our newsletter and other content resources.

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Daniel Zarick is the Co-Founder and CEO of Arrows, a collaborative customer onboarding tool built specifically for teams using HubSpot. With funding from Gradient Ventures, HubSpot Ventures, and GTMfund, Arrows. is well-positioned to become a major player in the HubSpot ecosystem.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The benefits and challenges of going to market in a single platform ecosystem like HubSpot
• How to gain traction and build relationships with key stakeholders in a crowded partner ecosystem
• Strategies for leveraging content marketing to punch above your weight as a startup
• The power of focus and persistence in achieving outsized results with limited resources
• Lessons learned from navigating a high-stakes fundraising process amid market uncertainty
• The future of the HubSpot ecosystem and where the biggest opportunities lie for emerging players

Highlights:
08:46 - Benefits and challenges of going to market in a single platform ecosystem.
12:01 - Strategies for gaining traction and building relationships in the HubSpot ecosystem.
16:32 - The role of agencies and solutions partners in Arrows' go-to-market approach.
21:09 - Leveraging content marketing to punch above your weight as a startup.
25:43 - The power of focus and persistence in achieving outsized results.
29:27 - One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Daniel thinks is bull$***.
41:18 - One thing that is working for Daniel in go-to-market right now.
43:51 - The future of the HubSpot ecosystem and emerging opportunities.

Guest Speaker Links (Daniel Zarick):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielzarick

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsor:

• Brought to you by Demandbase.Demandbase helps B2B companies hit their revenue goals using fewer resources by using the power of AI to identify and engage the accounts and buying groups most likely to purchase. Their account-based technology unites sales and marketing teams around insights that you can understand and facilitates quick actions across systems and channels to deliver big wins. It’s flexible, scalable ABM built for you.

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with well-known tech executive, VC, and founders - the expert operators in the trenches who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Scott Barker to dissect their stories, revealing expert insights around what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.

This podcast is produced by GTMnow, the media brand of GTMfund - sharing insight on go-to-market from working with hundreds of portfolio companies backed by over 350 of the best go-to-market executives. GTMfund is an early-stage VC fund focused on investing in the most exciting, up-and-coming B2B SaaS companies across the world. The LP network consists of VP and C-level Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success leaders from companies like DocuSign, Salesforce, LinkedIn, Snowflake, Okta, Zoom, and many more.

Visit gtmnow.com for more details and to sign up for our newsletter and other content resources.

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Holly Chen is the Managing Partner of ExponentialX, a Marketing and Growth Advisory Collective for high-growth SaaS startups, advising companies like Miro, Loom, ServiceNow, Appsflyer in their growth journeys. She also guest lectures at Berkeley and NYU, teaches at Section and Maven, mentors at First Round Capital, and is an active angel investor. Previously, Holly was the Global Head of Digital Marketing at Slack, helping it grow $100M to $700M ARR and going public. She was the Head of Growth at Google Store and Global Head of Google B2B Websites. Holly also worked at Gucci, Deloitte Consulting. Kearny and the UN. In her spare time, Holly runs Ceiling Breakers, a group coaching program for underrepresented leaders. Holly lives in San Francisco and speaks Italian and Chinese fluently.

Discussed in this Episode:

• Strategies for AI startups to differentiate, drive retention, and optimize pricing
• The importance of strong branding and concrete use cases for AI market penetration
• Evolving customer success models to maximize value in AI deployments
• Transitioning from sales-led to product-led growth and key considerations
• The rising role of influencer marketing in B2B and how to leverage it effectively

Highlights:11:55 - Top 3 challenges facing AI startups today
14:33 - Differentiating in a crowded AI market
18:43 - Painting a concrete picture of AI use cases
21:42 - The importance of getting hyper-specific with AI applications
24:58 - Best practices for targeting personas and use cases
27:58 - Tackling the challenge of retention in AI startups
31:40 - Transitioning from B2C to B2B for better margins and retention
33:44 - The evolving role of customer success in AI companies
36:30 - Pricing strategies for AI: usage-based vs. seat-based
38:11 - Making pricing tangible by tying tokens to outcomes
43:54 - One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Holly thinks is bull$***.
46:33 - One thing that is working for Holly in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Holly Chen):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsor:

• Brought to you by Demandbase.Demandbase helps B2B companies hit their revenue goals using fewer resources by using the power of AI to identify and engage the accounts and buying groups most likely to purchase. Their account-based technology unites sales and marketing teams around insights that you can understand and facilitates quick actions across systems and channels to deliver big wins. It’s flexible, scalable ABM built for you.

The GTM PodcastDon’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

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Description:

Noah Marks is a transformative growth leader focused on building GTM engines and scaling organizations for sustainable growth. He has been in the strategy & operations world for the last decade (with Udemy, WalkMe, Okta and Salesforce), and has spent almost the entirely of his career in the B2B technology market (with the lone exception being a slight deviation into the world of M&A investment banking). Noah currently resides in the Bay Area with his wife, three kids and 3 dogs, and spends as much time as he can in the mountains - fishing, hiking and skiing.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The emergence of the "generalist specialist" as a critical skill set in tech
• Fostering a culture of experimentation and ownership across the org
• Must-have metrics for a CEO dashboard that provides true business insights
• Balancing the pursuit of perfection vs speed in a high-growth environment
• Applying an investment banker's lens to GTM strategy and operations
• Tactics for rapidly ramping in a new leadership role at an established company
• Building strategic alignment and efficient communication across departments

Highlights:7:32 - Setting yourself up for success in a new executive role.
12:10 - Navigating the current economic challenges facing tech companies.
17:21 - The concept of a "generalist specialist" and how to empower teams to think that way.
28:02 - Noah's experience working in investment banking and the lessons he learned.
35:14 - How Noah keeps his teams honest when looking at data, even when it doesn't tell the desired story.
44:16 - Must-haves in a CEO/executive roll-up dashboard.
50:27 - One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Noah Marks thinks is bull$***.
52:13 - One thing that is working for Noah Marks in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Noah Marks):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noahmarks/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsor:

• Brought to you by Demandbase.Demandbase helps B2B companies hit their revenue goals using fewer resources by using the power of AI to identify and engage the accounts and buying groups most likely to purchase. Their account-based technology unites sales and marketing teams around insights that you can understand and facilitates quick actions across systems and channels to deliver big wins. It’s flexible, scalable ABM built for you.

The GTM PodcastDon’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

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Description:Eric Gilpin is Chief Revenue Officer of G2, the world’s largest and most trusted software marketplace. In this role he oversees all aspects of G2's revenue generation, including global sales and customer success, enablement, partnerships, and revenue operations. An experienced leader with 20+ years of experience building and scaling large technology businesses, Eric joined G2 from Upwork, where he oversaw a global team of 400+ and helped lead the company to a successful IPO in 2018 (NASDAQ:UPWK) where the business scaled to north of $600 million in annual revenue in 2022 while serving 50% of the Fortune 500. Prior to his tenure at Upwork, Eric held a number of leadership roles at CareerBuilder, most recently as President of Vertical Sales. Eric also serves as a limited partner at the GTMfund investor network as well as an advisory board member at Sales Assembly. He’s been recognized as one of the Industry's top "40 under 40" by Staffing Industry Analysts in both 2017 and 2018 and as a Top 100 Global Sales Leaders in 2020 by The Modern Sale. Based in Chicago, Eric has a Masters of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business.

Discussed in this Episode:

• Strategies for earning the right to sell to enterprise customers
• How to align product, marketing and sales to deliver customer outcomes
• The importance of focus and ruthless prioritization in scaling a business
• Tactics for engaging C-level executives to cut through the noise
• Lessons learned from losing big deals and how to increase win rates
• Why being effective matters more than just being efficient in revenue orgs
• How to develop business acumen in BDRs and SDRs to set them up for success

Highlights:4:15 - Eric's lengthy tenures at CareerBuilder and Upwork.
6:31 - Upwork's challenge of the status quo in hiring contract talent.
9:40 - How Eric chooses the right companies to work for.
14:09 - Challenges Upwork faced in breaking into the enterprise.
17:53 - An enterprise strategy is a company strategy, not just a sales strategy.
22:37 - How Eric coaches reps when pursuing sexy logos the company may not be ready for.
25:48 - Deep diving into a $13M enterprise deal at CareerBuilder that led to $100M more.
31:55 - Leadership lessons from managing a 400+ person team.
34:33 - Aligning multiple go-to-market motions across market segments.
37:00 - Listener question: Advice for improving enterprise win rates.
41:28 - One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Eric thinks is bull$***.
46:18 - One thing that is working for Eric in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Eric Gilpin):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericgilpin/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsor:

• Brought to you by Demandbase.Demandbase helps B2B companies hit their revenue goals using fewer resources by using the power of AI to identify and engage the accounts and buying groups most likely to purchase. Their account-based technology unites sales and marketing teams around insights that you can understand and facilitates quick actions across systems and channels to deliver big wins. It’s flexible, scalable ABM built for you.

The GTM PodcastDon’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

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Linda Lian is Co-Founder and CEO at Common Room, the all-in-one customer intelligence platform that automatically surfaces signals across 30+ channels, reveals the person and account behind the signal, and automates actions like email messaging and team alerts. Linda founded Common Room in 2020 to unlock siloed, previously untrackable signals to transform how organizations connect with people. Before Common Room, Linda led product marketing for serverless computing at Amazon Web Services, where she saw firsthand the impact connected data and person-level insights had on accelerating product adoption, earning new customers, and expanding account revenue.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The evolution of customer intelligence from intent data to signal-based selling.
• Why a modern go-to-market approach requires moving beyond legacy CRM systems.
• How Common Room unifies siloed data to enable a 360-degree view of the customer.
• Lessons learned from scaling innovative products and go-to-market motions at AWS.
• Strategies for recruiting exceptional talent and building a customer-centric culture.
• The power of cold outreach and persistence in finding the right co-founders.
• Tactics for capturing untapped revenue by leveraging existing customer signals.

Highlights:4:36 - Linda's background and the story behind founding Common Room.
7:09 - The evolution of data collection and actionability in RevTech.
11:07 - Differences between intent data and signal-based selling.
14:38 - Is Salesforce's legacy architecture holding back the next evolution of RevTech?
21:12 - Linda's strategy for recruiting and retaining exceptional talent at Common Room.
24:25 - Transitioning from VC to operator: Linda's journey and lessons learned.
32:49 - Challenges faced and insights gained during Linda's time at AWS.
38:23 - The lightbulb moment that led Linda to found Common Room.
42:47 - Advice for solo founders on finding the right co-founders.
50:00 - One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Linda thinks is bull$***.
52:41 - One thing that is working for Linda in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Linda Lian):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindamlian

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsor:

• Brought to you by Demandbase.Demandbase helps B2B companies hit their revenue goals using fewer resources by using the power of AI to identify and engage the accounts and buying groups most likely to purchase. Their account-based technology unites sales and marketing teams around insights that you can understand and facilitates quick actions across systems and channels to deliver big wins. It’s flexible, scalable ABM built for you.

The GTM PodcastDon’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

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James Kaikis currently serves as the Head of Go-To-Market and Chief Solutions Officer at TestBox, an innovative company revolutionizing the way buyers interact with product demos. Before his tenure at TestBox, James co-founded the PreSales Collective with Yuji Higashi. Under their leadership, the community became a pivotal resource in the presales domain until its successful acquisition in November 2021. James also has a rich history in solution-oriented leadership roles at prominent companies including Salesforce and Showpad.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The power of presales in driving revenue growth and customer success
• Strategies for scaling a community-based business from zero to millions
• The future of B2B software demos and how TestBox is leading the charge
• Lessons learned from a successful startup exit in just 18 months
• Insights on go-to-market strategy, product-led growth, and customer-centricity

Highlights:

6:05 - Bootstrapping a community-based business to multi-million dollar revenue.

8:35 - Secrets behind PreSales Collective's rapid growth and successful exit.

11:05 - Transitioning from founder to Chief Solutions Officer at TestBox.

13:35 - The future of B2B software demos and TestBox's innovative approach.

18:35 - The untapped potential of presales in driving revenue growth.

21:05 - Balancing product-led growth with customer-centricity.

23:35 - Lessons learned from building, scaling, and exiting a successful startup.

28:35 - The importance of aligning presales, sales, and customer success.

31:05 - James' vision for the future of presales and B2B software demos.

33:35 - Advice for entrepreneurs and revenue leaders looking to drive growth.

45:05 - One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that James thinks is bull$***.

48:09 - One thing that is working for James in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (James Kaikis):

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameskaikis/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/

Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsors:

1. Brought to you by Pocus. Pocus turns data into revenue. Combine all product usage and intent signals your team needs to prioritize the best opportunities and take quick action. Pocus helps you build pipeline based on real buying signals, not your team’s best guess (whether it’s landing new logos or expanding existing ones). With Pocus, go-to-market teams at Asana, Canva, Miro, and Loom save 10+ hours a week digging through data to find and close deals with confidence. Create focus for your team with Pocus – see it in action by requesting a demo Pocus dot com slash demo.
2. Brought to you by Synch. Synch is a single platform for all of your Sales & Sales Ops tooling. From using natural language to build dashboards that will make your RevOps lead jealous, to getting forecasting, pipeline management, and lead routing from a single vendor, Synch allows you to spend more time driving the business forward. For more information, head over to withsynch.com.

The GTM PodcastDon’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

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Daniel Ruiz has spent his career driving growth at high-velocity startups, serving as an early employee at multiple YC companies before co-founding Synch. As CEO, he has successfully raised funding from top investors like Haystack and Jack Altman in a challenging market. With Synch, Daniel is on a mission to streamline the go-to-market tech stack, helping revenue teams spend less time on sales ops and more time actually selling. He brings hard-won insights on leveraging investors, landing crucial first hires, and scaling with in-person sales. Most importantly, Daniel is a founder who leads from the front, always eager to hop on a plane to close a big deal.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The shifting landscape of bundling vs unbundling in the go-to-market tech stack.
• Key lessons and tactics from Daniel's successful fundraising process.
• Extracting maximum value from VCs by making specific requests and following up.
• Why in-person sales and remote work philosophies are crucial considerations for startups.
• The misguided belief that "outbound is dead" and what's working in outbound sales.
• How to find and land a critical first sales hire as an early-stage startup.
• The power of "fake travel plans" for accelerating growth through in-person sales.

Highlights:
(04:10) - Bundling vs unbundling in the go-to-market tech stack.

(08:36) - Daniel's fundraising process and lessons learned.

(13:39) - Extracting value from investors.

(17:57) - Daniel's "lightbulb moment" on leveraging investors.

(21:10) - In-person meetings and building trust with investors.

(24:35) - Synch's in-person vs remote work philosophy.

(29:52) - When to let go of sales as a founder.

(32:48) - Finding the right first sales hire.

(36:52) - One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Daniel thinks is bull$***

(41:14) - One thing that is working for Daniel in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Daniel Ruiz):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-ruiz-a73818aa/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):

• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
• Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsors:

• Brought to you by Pocus. Pocus turns data into revenue. Combine all product usage and intent signals your team needs to prioritize the best opportunities and take quick action. Pocus helps you build pipeline based on real buying signals, not your team’s best guess (whether it’s landing new logos or expanding existing ones). With Pocus, go-to-market teams at Asana, Canva, Miro, and Loom save 10+ hours a week digging through data to find and close deals with confidence. Create focus for your team with Pocus – see it in action by requesting a demo Pocus dot com slash demo.
• Brought to you by Synch. Synch is a single platform for all of your Sales & Sales Ops tooling. From using natural language to build dashboards that will make your RevOps lead jealous, to getting forecasting, pipeline management, and lead routing from a single vendor, Synch allows you to spend more time driving the business forward. For more information, head over to withsynch.com

The GTM PodcastDon’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

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Kyle Lacy spent the last 17 years building, scaling, failing, and winning in high-growth software. He is currently serving the Jellyfish team as their CMO, and before joining the Jellyfish ‘bloom’, He had the pleasure of building a company called Lessonly, employing over 230 people and changed the lives of many more after the acquisition. He has also been fortunate to lead teams at Seismic, OpenView, Salesforce, and ExactTarget. Most importantly, he is the father of two wonderful boys, an energetic dog, and one too many books on World War II.

Discussed in this Episode:

• Aligning marketing and sales is crucial for the success of a company, and marketers should focus on numbers and pipeline models from the early stages.
• Creativity in marketing should be balanced with alignment to sales goals and objectives.
• Building personal brands can be beneficial, but it's important to be mindful of what is shared on social media and how it may impact professional relationships.
• When choosing advisors, look for individuals with relevant experience in the stage and industry of your company.
• Curated dinners and high-quality content are effective strategies for building relationships and engaging prospects and customers.

Highlights:
(04:37) The importance of pipeline models and numbers for early-stage companies.

(06:23) How Kyle gains equal footing with sales leaders

(08:01) Winning over individual sales reps

(09:57) Balancing proactive and reactive marketing

(11:45) The story of winning a 7-figure deal against an incumbent

(15:39) Using donor-choose gift cards in the sales process

(17:00) Converting prospects by asking for feedback and interviews

(18:18) Building a personal brand as a marketer

(21:27) A personal branding misstep that got Kyle in trouble

(24:30) What to look for when bringing on company advisors

(29:10) A widely held belief Kyle thinks is BS

(32:41) A marketing tactic that's working well now

(34:55) Using Lego sets in the sales process

(36:07) Roles Kyle is hiring for at Jellyfish

(31:12) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Kyle thinks is bull$***.

(34:51) One thing that is working for Kyle in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Kyle Lacy):
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kylelacy/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsors:

• Brought to you by Pocus. Pocus turns data into revenue. Combine all product usage and intent signals your team needs to prioritize the best opportunities and take quick action. Pocus helps you build pipeline based on real buying signals, not your team’s best guess (whether it’s landing new logos or expanding existing ones). With Pocus, go-to-market teams at Asana, Canva, Miro, and Loom save 10+ hours a week digging through data to find and close deals with confidence. Create focus for your team with Pocus - see it in action by requesting a demo Pocus dot com slash demo.
• Brought to you by Synch. Synch is a single platform for all of your Sales & Sales Ops tooling. From using natural language to build dashboards that will make your Re

The GTM PodcastDon’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

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Prior to founding AudiencePlus, Anthony Kennada served as the CMO of incredible companies like Hopin and Front. He was the founding CMO of Gainsight where he and his team are credited with creating the Customer Success category -- a novel business imperative, profession and software category that helps subscription companies grow sustainably by becoming customer obsessed. By focusing on human first community building, content marketing, live events and creative activations, they developed a new playbook for B2B marketing that built the Gainsight brand and fueled the company’s growth from $0 to $100M+ ARR, and eventual acquisition by Vista Equity at a $1.1B valuation.

Discussed in this Episode:

• Owned media is a crucial component of go-to-market strategies, allowing companies to build direct relationships with their audience.
• Transitioning from a product-first approach to a distribution-first approach can lead to more effective marketing and audience building.
• The future of media lies in guided journeys and providing value to networks through relevant and personalized content.
• Building an audience and collecting subscribers can lead to higher conversion rates and provide valuable first-party data for better attribution.
• It is important to connect brand messaging to the software or product being offered to ensure a cohesive and effective marketing strategy.

Highlights:
(02:58) The Gainsight story: Creating a category and building a brand.

(05:46) The power of owned media in B2B marketing.

(17:51) The evolution of media: from content to software.

(20:41) The challenge of measuring media's impact on revenue.

(27:08) Learning from Gainsight: Successes and missteps.

(38:12) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Anthony thinks is bull$***.

(41:00) One thing that is working for Anthony in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Anthony Kennada):
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/akennada/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsor:

• Brought to you by Pocus. Pocus turns data into revenue. Combine all product usage and intent signals your team needs to prioritize the best opportunities and take quick action. Pocus helps you build pipeline based on real buying signals, not your team’s best guess (whether it’s landing new logos or expanding existing ones). With Pocus, go-to-market teams at Asana, Canva, Miro, and Loom save 10+ hours a week digging through data to find and close deals with confidence. Create focus for your team with Pocus - see it in action by requesting a demo Pocus dot com slash demo.
• Brought to you by Synch. Synch is a single platform for all of your Sales & Sales Ops tooling. From using natural language to build dashboards that will make your RevOps lead jealous, to getting forecasting, pipeline management, and lead routing from a single vendor, Synch allows you to spend more time driving the business forward. For more information, head over to withsynch.com.

The GTM PodcastDon’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

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Katrina Wong is the Divisional CMO / VP Marketing at Twilio Segment. She has a proven track record for launching products in new markets and helping companies move up to the Enterprise. She has also created award-winning integrated campaigns with data storytelling. Prior to Twilio Segment, Katrina worked at Zuora, Salesforce and SAP. She started her career as a management consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers. With over 15 years of marketing experience, Katrina is passionate about helping companies through stages of substantial growth including helping 6 companies exit successfully – from pre to post IPO as well as notable acquisitions.

Discussed in this Episode:

• Marketing plays a crucial role in preparing a company for a successful exit by building awareness, generating pipeline, and creating a compelling narrative.
• The ability to execute and operate day-to-day is essential for achieving results and improving performance.
• An operational mindset and execution excellence are key to the success of a company.
• Building cohesion within marketing teams and aligning on goals and strategies leads to better execution and business results.
• Hyper-specific messaging and an account-based marketing (ABM) strategy can break through the noise and make marketing efforts more relevant and effective.

Highlights:
(05:54) Unlocking the secrets to successful startups and exits.

(08:19) Operational excellence: the key to startup success.

(13:38) Marketing's pivotal role in preparing for a successful exit.

(20:29) Narrowing down your ideal customer profile (ICP) without breaking the bank.

(22:49) A time machine trip: innovative program implementation at Salesforce.

(25:49) Unlocking potential: a leadership journey.

(27:33) Challenging the 'fire fast' mentality.

(32:35) The power of integrated marketing and team dynamics.

(35:26) Navigating company acquisitions: strategies for success.

(39:00) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Katrina thinks is bull$***.

(43:00) One thing that is working for Katrina in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Katrina Wong):
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/katrinawong11/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsor:
Today’s episode is sponsored by The ELG Conference, presented by Crossbeam and The ELG Alliance. The smartest companies are embracing Ecosystem-Led Growth, or ELG.

Join us at the gorgeous Proper Hotel in Austin on May 15-16 and hear how the top SaaS companies are leveraging partner ecosystems in their GTM motions aka Ecosystem-Led Growth. Early-bird tickets expire next week.

What you'll get at ELG Con:

• Case studies from companies like Datadog, Cloudera, and more.
• A chance to tour (and maybe even race on?) Austin's F1 track.
• Candid, off-the-record conversations — no recordings here.
• A highly curated group of 200 GTM leaders, 85% director level and above across Sales, Marketing, and Partnerships.

Claim your tickets today, including a limited number of special two-for-the-price-of-one tickets.

The GTM PodcastDon’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

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Bob Moore is Co-Founder and CEO of Crossbeam, an Ecosystem-Led Growth (ELG) platform that helps companies use their partner ecosystems to generate leads, close deals, and grow faster.

He previously co-founded the cloud data pipeline company Stitch (acquired by Talend in 2018) and business intelligence platform RJMetrics (acquired by Adobe by way of Magento Commerce in 2016). Prior to RJMetrics, Bob worked on the Investment Team of Insight Partners.

Bob is a proud Philadelphian, where he serves as a Trustee of The Franklin Institute. He has also previously served as the Board Chair of Philly Startup Leaders and Board Member of Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technologies (PACT).

As a writer and speaker, Bob has appeared in The New York Times, Forbes, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, Web Summit, TEDx, Business of Software, and many more. He guest lectures regularly at Princeton University and The Wharton School.

Discussed in this Episode:

• Ecosystem-led growth is about leveraging partnerships to make your go-to-market teams more successful. It involves creating a mesh of interconnected products and services that deliver a joint value proposition to customers.
• Product-market fit is not static, and both the product and the market need to constantly align.
• The SaaS industry is experiencing a transition from defense to offense, with leading indicators showing positive signs of growth.
• Lessons have been learned from previous market cycles, but the challenge lies in passing down this knowledge to future generations of founders and investors.
• The story of a $2.6 billion mistake that Bob made and lessons learned from it.

Highlights:
(7:40) Navigating the current SaaS landscape and macro trends.

(12:26) Learning from the past: Market cycles and founder experiences.

(17:15) The future of M&A: Ecosystems and strategic partnerships.

(23:10) Diving into ecosystem-led growth (ELG).

(24:14) The misconceptions and realities of partnerships.

(27:41) Building initial partner relationships.

Guest Speaker Links (Bob Moore):
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/robertjmoore/
Bob's book, Ecosystem-Led Growth: www.robertjmoore.com/book

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsor:
Today’s episode is sponsored by The ELG Conference, presented by Crossbeam and The ELG Alliance. The smartest companies are embracing Ecosystem-Led Growth, or ELG.

Join us at the gorgeous Proper Hotel in Austin on May 15-16 and hear how the top SaaS companies are leveraging partner ecosystems in their GTM motions aka Ecosystem-Led Growth. Early-bird tickets expire next week.

What you'll get at ELG Con:

• Case studies from companies like Datadog, Cloudera, and more.
• A chance to tour (and maybe even race on?) Austin's F1 track.
• Candid, off-the-record conversations — no recordings here.
• A highly curated group of 200 GTM leaders, 85% director level and above across Sales, Marketing, and Partnerships.

Claim your tickets today, including a limited number of special two-for-the-price-of-one tickets.

The GTM PodcastDon’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

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Stephen Hakami is the Founder and CEO of Wiza - the most accurate way to find verified contact information for B2B prospects. Stephen started the company in 2019 after a sales career of being frustrated with bad data, and set out to build a prospecting tool that's powered by live LinkedIn data.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The frustration with bad data and the inspiration behind building Wiza.
• The importance of email deliverability and strategies for improving it.
• The recent acquisition of Drift by Salesloft and the topic of consolidation in the sales tech stack.
• Stephen's journey from sales to CEO, highlighting the value of creative prospecting.
• The hardest lesson Stephen learned in sales.
• Effective tactics of cold email and deliverability.

Highlights:
(3:27) Strategies for email deliverability.

(08:01) The journey from sales to entrepreneurship.

(11:06) Sales technology and the consolidation.

(20:41) Strategies for effective cold emails.

(25:49) Understanding your competitors.

(27:38) The importance of being a true consultant.

(28:32) Redefining your competitors.

(31:55) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Stephen thinks is bull$***.

(34:26) One thing that is working for Stephen/Wiza in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Stephen Hakami):
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-hakami-5babb21b0/
Website: www.wiza.co/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsor:
Today’s episode is sponsored by The ELG Conference, presented by Crossbeam and The ELG Alliance. The smartest companies are embracing Ecosystem-Led Growth, or ELG.

Join us at the gorgeous Proper Hotel in Austin on May 15-16 and hear how the top SaaS companies are leveraging partner ecosystems in their GTM motions aka Ecosystem-Led Growth. Early-bird tickets expire next week.

What you'll get at ELG Con:

• Case studies from companies like Datadog, Cloudera, and more.
• A chance to tour (and maybe even race on?) Austin's F1 track.
• Candid, off-the-record conversations — no recordings here.
• A highly curated group of 200 GTM leaders, 85% director level and above across Sales, Marketing, and Partnerships.

Claim your tickets today, including a limited number of special two-for-the-price-of-one tickets.

The GTM PodcastDon’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

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Amanda Cole serves as Chief Marketing Officer, leading the execution of the company’s marketing strategy to drive further business demand and brand awareness. Amanda is a passionate marketing professional with more than 15 years of experience in helping SaaS companies build impactful brands, communicate differentiated value, and grow high-performing marketing teams. She previously served as the company’s Senior Vice President of Global Marketing, having joined in January 2021 through the acquisition of Exponea. Prior to joining Exponea, Amanda served as Vice President, Demand Generation at Blueshift, a Customer Data Platform, and before that served as Vice President of Marketing, Americas and Global Programs at Basware, a financial software company.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The challenges of personalization in marketing and the role of AI in addressing these challenges.
• Insights on the future of AI in marketing and the importance of storytelling in building impactful brands.
• Personal journey lessons learned, emphasizing the value of mentorship and the power of vulnerability.
• Advice on navigating a company rebrand and challenges the belief that marketing generates pipeline.
• The importance of being a support function for revenue teams and the need for marketers to focus on storytelling and emotional connection.

Highlights:
(05:11) Challenges of personalization in marketing.

(08:01) The role of AI in personalization.

(10:44) Regulations and ethical considerations of AI.

(16:04) The future of AI in marketing.

(19:32) Lessons from personal journey.

(23:09) Hiring and mentoring.

(28:21) Navigating a company rebrand.

(35:17) Shifting perspective on marketing's role.

(40:04) Challenging the belief that marketing generates pipeline.

(44:07) The power of storytelling in marketing.

(34:21) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Amanda thinks is bull$***.

(38:00) One thing that is working for Amanda in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Amanda Cole):
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/aelam/
Website: www.bloomreach.com/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsor:
Today’s episode is sponsored by Flex, a finance super app built around a credit card with unique Net-60 day terms that enables businesses to make an investment today and pay it back 60 days later with zero percent interest. If your business growth is constrained by the cashflow you need for inventory, advertising, or something else, Flex could provide you with an interesting growth lever.

The GTM PodcastDon’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

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Helping founders with GTM Strategies and teaching sales reps how to earn the right to ask questions, which questions to ask, and when is the primary driver for Richard Harris. He brings 20+ years of experience, having done all the roles - SDR, AE, Manager, Director, VP of Sales, and Director of Sales Ops - to the table. His client list includes Zoom, Salesforce, Gainsight and 80+ SaaS start-ups. He is also the Co-Founder of Surf and Sales as well as the host of the Surf and Sales Podcast.

What You Will Learn:

• Key strategies for handling sales negotiations, including preparing for negotiations with procurement departments, and delivering pricing effectively.
• Perspective on the future of AI in the sales industry.
• Common mistakes that Richard sees founders make and how to avoid them.
• The importance of sales coaching and role playing.

Highlights:
(5:13) Unveiling Richard's book: The Seller's Journey.

(10:51) The art of negotiation: engaging with procurement.

(19:52) Understanding pricing and commercial terms.

(21:47) The art of negotiation: offering discounts.

(25:31) The future of sales in the age of AI.

(31:26) Common mistakes founders make and how to avoid them.

(36:44) The importance of training and role playing in sales.

(34:55) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Richard thinks is bull$***.

(36:39) One thing that is working for Richard in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Richard Harris):
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/rharris415/
Phone Number: 415-596-9149
Book: www.thesellersjourney.co/the-sellers-journey-free-preview
Book (Amazon): www.amazon.com/Sellers-Journey-Guidebook-N-T-ebook/dp/B0CV32BJ5K
Surf and Sales Podcast: www.surfandsales.com/the-surf-sales-podcast

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsor:
Today’s episode is sponsored by Wiza. If you’ve used big-name prospecting tools before, you know that they all share one, massive problem: bad data. These tools are built on static databases, playing cat-and-mouse to keep up with job titles changes, employee turnover, and bouncing emails. As sales professionals and operators ourselves, we needed more. So, we built Wiza, the only prospecting platform that sources and verifies its data in real-time, the moment it’s requested, using LinkedIn as its source of truth.

Wiza offers an accuracy-obsessed B2B contact database with 99% coverage of LinkedIn profiles as well as a powerful Chrome extension that works on LinkedIn and with Sales Nav. If you’re struggling with inaccurate data from clunky database tools, try Wiza for free today at wiza.co - and see why 300,000+ GTM professionals trust it in their daily prospecting.

The GTM PodcastDon’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

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Alexa Grabell is the Co-Founder and CEO of Pocus. Pocus is mission control for your pipeline. Pocus brings together product usage and other intent signals (customer, community, marketing data) to surface top leads, enabling reps to act fast. Alexa’s passion for democratizing data for go-to-market teams began when she led sales strategy & operations at Dataminr, where she built internal solutions to power sales teams with data.

What You Will Learn:

• The evolving landscape of go-to-market strategies, including the concept of Go-to-Market 5.0.
• The significance of shifting from traditional 'predictable revenue engines' to data-driven, personalized, and intention-focused go-to-market strategies to enhance sales effectiveness.
• The critical role that data plays in tailoring sales approaches, and how certain companies have successfully implemented these strategies to achieve remarkable growth.
• The importance of incorporating automation and artificial intelligence in sales processes to increase efficiency and relevance in customer interactions.
• Strategies for fostering a strong, values-based company culture that supports innovative go-to-market strategies and empowers decision-making grounded in both data and intuition.
• Insightful advice on the initial hiring of salespeople, emphasizing the need for alignment with the company's culture and go-to-market vision.

Highlights:
(4:52) The story of how Alexa met her co-founder, Isaac, and the importance of picking the right co-founder.

(6:38) The concept of go-to-market 5.0, including jobs to be done.

(12:48) Examples of companies that are doing a good job of figuring out which signals they should care about and what the playbooks are from there that they should run.

(20:40) Getting to go-to-market fit and the importance of taking advice as a data point.

(26:00) Demanding excellence while fostering an enjoyable experience, and Pocus' company values and expectations.

(30:12) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Alexa thinks is bull$***.

(32:12) One thing that is working for Alexa in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Link:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/alexagrabell/
Blog Post: www.pocus.com/blog/building-your-signal-based-gtm-tech-stack

Host Speaker Links:LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsor:
Today’s episode is sponsored by Wiza. If you’ve used big-name prospecting tools before, you know that they all share one, massive problem: bad data. These tools are built on static databases, playing cat-and-mouse to keep up with job titles changes, employee turnover, and bouncing emails. As sales professionals and operators ourselves, we needed more. So, we built Wiza, the only prospecting platform that sources and verifies its data in real-time, the moment it’s requested, using LinkedIn as its source of truth.

Wiza offers an accuracy-obsessed B2B contact database with 99% coverage of LinkedIn profiles as well as a powerful Chrome extension that works on LinkedIn and with Sales Nav. If you’re struggling with inaccurate data from clunky database tools, try Wiza for free today at

The GTM PodcastDon’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

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Andy Jolls is 25+ year executive with several years in CMO roles. As a full stack marketer, Andy has re-architected six brands and identities, and built three funnels from the ground up. He’s been a B2B leader in businesses from pre-revenue to $600MM. Andy co-Chairs the CMO group for Pavilion (6000+ GTM leaders) and is active in several marketing communities. He’s also a proud alum of Michigan and Northwestern. He began his ML/AI journey several years ago and has been working in Generative AI since August 2022. Currently, he operates his own consultancy helping leaders with marketing strategy and AI in GTM.

What You Will Learn:

• Andy's entrance into machine learning and generative AI starting in 2018.
• Actionable use cases like localization/translation, SEO strategy development, analyzing CRM and other datasets.
• A framework for thinking about AI initiatives as quick wins, differentiated use cases, and transformational.
• Approaches for operationalizing AI learnings across go-to-market teams.
• Tactics individuals and startups can take to get started with generative AI tools.

Highlights:
(3:44) Andy’s journey into machine learning and AI.

(6:08) Getting ChatGPT to write Andy's father's obituary.

(8:26) AI's impact on go-to-market, including Gartner's 3-stage framework: quick wins, differentiated use case, and transformational initiatives.

(14:25) Analysis paralysis and how founders can approach AI implementation.

(26:00) Overcoming adversity in business school.

(30:00) Tactical use cases for AI and examples of how Andy is leveraging it.

(40:26) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Andy thinks is bull$***.

(43:20) One thing that is working for Andy in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Link:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ajolls/

Host Speaker Links:LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsor:
Today’s episode is sponsored by Flex, a finance super app built around a credit card with unique Net-60 day terms that enables businesses to make an investment today and pay it back 60 days later with zero percent interest. If your business growth is constrained by the cashflow you need for inventory, advertising, or something else, Flex could provide you with an interesting growth lever.

The GTM PodcastDon’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

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Amit Pande is CMO and EVP of Strategy at Aviso AI, a leading revenue intelligence platform. Previously, Amit led marketing efforts at startups like Tact AI (1st AI Assistant for Sales backed by AWS, Microsoft, and Salesforce), HP Inc (next-gen computing) and Spire AI (Human Capital SaaS). In a prior life, Amit also led product and UX teams at Yahoo and Oracle. Amit is a Stanford GSB alumnus and has served on its alumni board, and has also studied human-computer interaction and engineering at the University of Minnesota. He is a coffee loving techno-humanist, loves sci-fi and graphic novels, and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

What You Will Learn:

• Challenges of entering crowded markets with large incumbents.
• Repositioning and reframing to differentiate from incumbents.
• Using events as a way to engage with customers and drive conversations.
• Building a successful marketing strategy with limited funding.
• Finding true north and surrounding oneself with inspiring ideas and people.

Highlights:
(13:38) Changing narrative and playing field to differentiate from incumbents.

(21:12) Changing the playing field in a competitive market.

(22:15) Competitive strategies against industry giants.

(23:09) Strategies for hacking events to drive conversations.

(27:49) Building a winning marketing strategy with a small budget.

(35:57) Advice for startups entering a market with established incumbents.

(43:00) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Amit thinks is bull$***.

(45:45) One thing that is working for Amit in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Link:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/amitpande/

Host Speaker Links:LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsor:
Today’s episode is sponsored by Flex, a finance super app built around a credit card with unique Net-60 day terms that enables businesses to make an investment today and pay it back 60 days later with zero percent interest. If your business growth is constrained by the cashflow you need for inventory, advertising, or something else, Flex could provide you with an interesting growth lever.

The GTM PodcastDon’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

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Max Altschuler is the Founder and General Partner of GTMfund, an early-stage fund focused on B2B SaaS startup backed by the world’s best tech GTM leaders.

Previously, he was the Founder and CEO of Sales Hacker, a global digital media company that he grew and successfully sold to Outreach in 2018. He then took over as VP of Marketing for rapidly growing Outreach. In 2023, Max acquired the company he once founded, SalesHacker, bringing it under the GTMfund umbrella and rebranding it as GTMnow.

Max has been published by Forbes, Inc., HBR, MIT Review, Time, Salesforce, and Nasdaq, and was named one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices for Sales and Crunchbase’s 25 Sales Leaders to Follow. He is the author of three books and multiple Wiley publications, including bestselling books Hacking Sales and Career Hacking for Millennials.

What You Will Learn:

• A recap of GTMfund's in 2023, reflected upon by both Max and Scott.
• Max's 2024 predictions, from topics like remote work to the mergers and acquisitions.
• Identification of the major beneficiaries of the AI revolution.
• The changing landscape of VC and go-to-market.

Highlights:(00:33) GTMfund's recent team offsite in Scottsdale.

(02:18) Reflecting on GTMfund's 2023 year.

(04:30) Predictions for remote work in 2024.

(05:15) Impact of remote work on different roles.

(07:34) The future of offshoring.

(09:34) Acceleration of mergers and acquisitions.

(13:02) Which two companies Max predicts will be the first to IPO.

(16:15) The biggest winners of the AI revolution in 2024.

(20:34) The flight to quality in Venture Capital.

Guest Speaker Link:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/maxaltschuler/
Website: www.gtmfund.com/

Host Speaker Links:LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsor:
Common Room enables you to turn any buyer activity into pipeline. It ingests all of your product usage data, intent data, social activity, community conversations, and CRM insights to automatically surface high-intent leads and timely, relevant context so your sales reps can convert more customers and hit revenue targets faster. You can try it for free today, or book a demo to go deeper at www.commonroom.io.

The GTM PodcastDon’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

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Leena Joshi is Co-Founder & CEO of CloseFactor, a GTM strategy and execution platform that helps enterprise tech hone in on the exact right prospective customers and accelerates their conversion by helping your sales and marketing teams be contextually relevant to them.

She has led GTM teams at high scale B2B companies such as Splunk, VMware, Redis and has a unique perspective on the convergence of sales and marketing into an efficient, high performing GTM organization.

What You Will Learn:

• The differences in go-to-market motions across different stages of organizations.
• The theme for the year is go-to-market convergence.
• Leena's experience finding the right go-to-market motion at CloseFactor.
• Creating an outbound motion through inbound tracking.
• How selling value is a tactic that is working for CloseFactor.

Highlights:
(14:08) Maintaining focus on the ICP in the early days, including turning revenue down.

(23:13) The importance of curiosity and a beginner's mindset.

(25:38) Finding a leader who has your back.

(28:19) Building a top-down sales strategy while maintaining a bottoms-up approach.

(32:28) The importance of hiring the right salespeople and balancing long-term and short-term thinking in sales.

(32:56) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Leena thinks is bull$***.

(36:03) One thing that is working for Leena in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Link:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ljoshi/
Website: www.closefactor.com/

Host Speaker Links:LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsor:
Common Room enables you to turn any buyer activity into pipeline. It ingests all of your product usage data, intent data, social activity, community conversations, and CRM insights to automatically surface high-intent leads and timely, relevant context so your sales reps can convert more customers and hit revenue targets faster. You can try it for free today, or book a demo to go deeper at www.commonroom.io.

The GTM PodcastDon’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

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Mike Molinet is the Co-Founder of Branch (branch.io), where he was COO and President, leading the company to $100M in ARR. He oversaw all things GTM there, including G&A and Product. Now, he is the Co-Founder of Thena (thena.ai), a seed-stage startup backed by Lightspeed and First Round, where they're helping companies service and engage their customers in Slack. After taking Branch to $100M, he's doing it all over again, this time with a lot of learnings.

What You Will Learn:

• The different micro-phases within each stage of growth (0-1M ARR, 1-10M ARR, etc) and how leaders need to level up and adapt through each one.
• Hiring the right roles at the right time - AES vs leaders.
• Maintaining an open and learning mindset even with growing success.
• Relinquishing control as you scale while still providing oversight.
• Balancing product requests from large customers vs your overall roadmap.

Highlights:(7:21) How your success comes from the people you hire and retain.

(9:10) Evolving through micro phases through rapid growth.

(15:50) Threading the needle on when to ask design partners for money in the early 0 to $1M stage.

(23:11) Heuristic framework of evaluation for taking on bespoke build requests.

(31:29) How hiring great people makes you feel excited to relinquish control.

(43:20) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Mike thinks is bull$***.

Guest Speaker Link:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mikemolinet/
Website: www.thena.ai

Host Speaker Links:LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsor:
Common Room enables you to turn any buyer activity into pipeline. It ingests all of your product usage data, intent data, social activity, community conversations, and CRM insights to automatically surface high-intent leads and timely, relevant context so your sales reps can convert more customers and hit revenue targets faster. You can try it for free today, or book a demo to go deeper at www.commonroom.io.

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Eran Aloni is the Executive Vice President of Product Strategy and Ecosystem at Gong.
He has been a leader at Gong for eight years, previously holding titles of Chief Customer Officer and Chief Operating Officer.

What You Will Learn:

• Eran's career advice to younger go-to-market professionals.
• Two stages of AI advancements and which is more valuable.
• The role that data sets have in AI progressions.
• How to continuously solicit team feedback to level up as a leader.

Highlights:(6:55) How AI solutions are still only scratching the surface in terms of driving deep, strategic value for customers.

(10:00) The competitive advantage players have with their access to rich, proprietary data sets to train AI.

(18:12) Eran's biggest personal surprise from growing with Gong has been constantly challenging himself to develop new skills as the company scales.

(23:15) A story about early feedback Eran received as a young leader and how it shaped his future leadership.

(28:19) Why having core operating principles permeate through all levels of an organization builds trust.

(34:03) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Eran thinks is bull$***.

(37:22) One thing that is working for Eran in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Link:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/eranaloni/

Host Speaker Links:LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsor:
Common Room enables you to turn any buyer activity into pipeline. It ingests all of your product usage data, intent data, social activity, community conversations, and CRM insights to automatically surface high-intent leads and timely, relevant context so your sales reps can convert more customers and hit revenue targets faster. You can try it for free today, or book a demo to go deeper at www.commonroom.io.

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To cap off the year, we have another special episode. Be warned: It's a spicy one!

At the end of every weekly podcast episode, host Scott Barker asks guests the same two questions. Last week, you heard the compilation of guest responses to the first question. This week, you’ll hear the compilation of their responses to the second question:

What is one widely held belief that revenue leaders have that you think is bull$* or no longer serving us?

What You Will Learn:

• The perspectives of go-to-market leaders that are counter to many others.

Host Speaker Links:LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com

The GTM PodcastDon’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

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We have a very special episode this week.

At the end of every weekly podcast episode, host Scott Barker asks guests the same two questions.

Today, you’ll hear the compilation of their responses to one of the questions.

Spoiler alert: you’ll get to tune into the other question next week, which is slightly spicier as it’s full of hot takes.

What You Will Learn:

• What’s working and learnings for these go-to-market leaders.
• The questions that 50+ go-to-market leaders answer in this episode:
  1. What’s one tactic or strategy that’s working for you or the companies that you’re serving?
  2. If you can sum up your learnings in a few sentences, whether it’s something discussed on the podcast or general learnings you would want to impart in folks, what would those sentences be?

Highlights:(2:36) The first question above.

(25:50) The adaptation to the question, which is question #2 above.

Host Speaker Links:LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com

Sponsor:Today’s episode is sponsored by Demandbase, Demandbase helps B2B companies hit their revenue goals using fewer resources. How? By using the power of AI to identify and engage the accounts and buying groups most likely to purchase. They combine your sales and marketing data with our validated B2B data and AI to create Account Intelligence that informs every step of your buyer’s journey. They deliver accurate company, contact, technographic, engagement, and intent data right where you work every day – CRM, collaboration tools, browsers, and more. Start spotting opportunities earlier and orchestrate smarter sales and marketing motions with Demandbase. See this live in action: https://www.demandbase.com/product-tour/sales-intelligence/

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Daniel Weiner is a former agency executive turned Founder. He started YouShouldTalkTo in 2020 amidst the madness of the pandemic and 3 years later has turned it into a 7-figure business. He also hosts a podcast and private CMO dinners in Atlanta. Outside of work he enjoys all things food/cooking, playing basketball, and working on renovating his loft.

What You Will Learn:

• How to assess what type of external support is the best fit is for you (agency/fractional/freelancer).
• Insight behind the story of founding a company during the 2020 pandemic.
• Why your network is your net worth and tactics for navigating business with this philosophy.
• Advice for posting on LinkedIn consistently.
• A playbook for vetting agencies upfront andmaking process as efficient as possible.

Highlights:(3:18) Starting with a strong foundation in order to partner with external support.

(4:43) The danger of asking peers which agencies / fractional / freelancer partners they work with.

(18:39) The two biggest mistakes that brands make.

(22:22) The use case for fractional work compared to agency work.

(28:04) Daniel's journey starting YouShouldTalkTo, which began in 2020.

(34:16) The biggest lesson learned in growing his business.

(36:18) Advice for posting on LinkedIn, derived from three years of putting out content.

(40:46) Tactical advice for vetting agencies upfront and how to make the process as efficient as possible.

(48:16) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Daniel thinks is bull$***.

(50:00) One thing that is working for Daniel in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Link:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/danielweiner
Podcast: podcast.youshouldtalkto.com
Website: www.youshouldtalkto.com

Host Speaker Links:LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com

Sponsor:
Today’s episode is sponsored by Flex, a finance super app built around a credit card with unique Net-60 day terms that enables businesses to make an investment today and pay it back 60 days later with zero percent interest. If your business growth is constrained by the cashflow you need for inventory, advertising, or something else, Flex could provide you with an interesting growth lever.

The GTM PodcastDon’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

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May Habib is CEO and Co-Founder of Writer, the full-stack generative AI platform for enterprises. Writer empowers your entire organization to accelerate growth, increase productivity, and ensure compliance.

May has worked in NLP and ML for 10 years, and before Writer, she founded and built Qordoba, a localization software company. She is an expert in AI-driven language generation, AI-related organizational change, and the evolving ways we use language online.

She sits on the board of TechWadi, an organization that bridges MENA-based entrepreneurs with Silicon Valley-based VC and talent networks, and is a MELI Fellow with the Aspen Institute.

May graduated from Harvard University and spends her time between San Francisco, where Writer is based, and London, where her two children live.

What You Will Learn:

• May's perspective on the economy now compared to that of 2008/2009.
• Writer's decision to make PLG table stakes and how they leverage their motion to secure enterprise customers.
• AI use cases - what they are and how they continue to progress.
• Tips for recruiting the best possible team members and how patience factors into that.
• Career insight from years of operating.

Highlights:(6:12) May’s learnings from Lehman Brothers and the economic crisis of 2008/2009.

(14:11) How much attention the average business leader should spend thinking about AI and how much of a near-term impact AI will have.

(25:17) Writer's PLG motion, including self-serve and sales-assisted, and how it's used to turn small downloads into big enterprise accounts.

(31:07) A consultative sales process and messaging considerations.

(36:56) May's strategy for recruiting A players.

(42:55) Personal career learnings distilled by May.

Guest Speaker Link:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/may-habib/

Host Speaker Links:LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsor:
Today’s episode is sponsored by Flex, a finance super app built around a credit card with unique Net-60 day terms that enables businesses to make an investment today and pay it back 60 days later with zero percent interest. If your business growth is constrained by the cashflow you need for inventory, advertising, or something else, Flex could provide you with an interesting growth lever.

The GTM PodcastDon’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

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Ang McManamon is a tenured sales leader who puts culture first, helps build high-performing SaaS teams, and executes with urgency across all areas of an organization. She is currently the VP of Sales at Crunchbase, where she leads a high-growth team out of New York City. She previously served as a sales leader for Amazon, Knotel, and Stack Overflow.

What You Will Learn:

• Retrospective sales career and overall career insight.
• Ang's 5 Ps: Professionalism, Preparation, Process, Performance, Play - and why they are important.
• Inspiration for women leaders and aspiring leaders.
• Go-to-market perspectives.

Highlights:(9:28) Ang’s 5 Ps - 5 principles that make up her foundation, created to remind herself of who she wants to be and how she wants to lead to then expose team to them to make sure there is transparency and trust.

(13:37) How to approach preparation, including in a remote-first workplace.

(30:12) An impactful career story on becoming a strong woman leader.

(38:43) Advice to women facing challenges with fellow women in the workplace.

(40:28) What Ang would do differently now being able to reflect retrospectively on her career.

(43:46) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Ang thinks is bull$***.

(47:15) One thing that is working for Ang in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Link:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angenyc/

Host Speaker Links:LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsor:
Today’s episode is sponsored by Flex, a finance super app built around a credit card with unique Net-60 day terms that enables businesses to make an investment today and pay it back 60 days later with zero percent interest. If your business growth is constrained by the cashflow you need for inventory, advertising, or something else, Flex could provide you with an interesting growth lever.

The GTM PodcastDon’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

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Mike Vichich is the Co-Founder and CEO of Wisely, which he successfully sold to Olo for $187 million in 2021. Currently contemplating his next move, it will involve embarking on the journey of being a second-time founder. With the experience of building Wisely under his belt, he is looking to avoid making mistakes from his first venture and avoid common traps. He resides in Ann Arbor, Michigan with his wife and three sons.

What You Will Learn:

• Insight on the behind the scenes to Mike’s journey building a company that sold for $187M.
• What worked and what did not in building Wisely.
• How to evaluate product-market fit from experience trying to find it for 4.5 years, including early indicators.
• Tactics to encourage resilience and determination and how Mike maintained a strong mindset throughout the journey, even when times got tough.

Highlights:(3:45) Evaluating entrepreneurial ideas, including Mike's process of moving from first-time to second-time founder.

(6:33) Mike's entrepreneurial journey.

(9:46) Differentiating product-market-timing fit from product-market fit.

(14:58) The Wisely story - building and growing the company.

(21:22) Balancing personal life and self-identity when cash is running out and times get tough.

(28:54) Leveraging a network of decision making, rather than a hierarchy of decision making.

(31:37) Defining moments and things that Mike got right while building Wisely.

(38:41) First things Wisely did to accelerate growth once product-market fit was found.

(47:05) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Mike thinks is bull$***.

(51:49) One thing that is working for Mike in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Link:LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mikevichich/

Host Speaker Links:LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Referenced Resource:
Article by Jason Lemkin (SaaStr): The 48 Types of VP Sales. Make Deadly Sure You Hire the Right One.

The GTM PodcastDon’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

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During Sean's most recent operating role he spent 4.5 years as SVP, Global Sales at Klaviyo. He helped scale the sales organization from 15 to 300 people, while growing annual recurring revenue from $25m to over $450m. Prior to Klaviyo, Sean served in enterprise sales roles at Localytics, Yammer (acquired by Microsoft for $1.2B) and SuccessFactors (IPO & acquisition by SAP for $3.4B). He was one of the first few reps hired at Yammer to sell into the Fortune 500, responsible for closing some of their largest, 7-figure contracts. In 2022 Sean made the switch from operator to investor, currently serving as Managing Partner at Perkins Cove Partners. Over the last few years he has advised and invested in many B2B SaaS companies, particularly focused on helping with Go-To-Market.

What You Will Learn:

• The importance of leveraging your connections.
• Strategically pulling in every sales team within your org to orchestrate deals.
• How to hire the best AE’s for your company.
• How to be an effective storyteller.
• Optimizing different parts of your funnel in order to extract incremental dollars.

Highlights:(2:57) Sean Marshall’s success attributor.

(5:35) Moving up to enterprise from a PLG focused company.

(9:36) Starting sales conversations - effectively positioning enterprise reps.

(14:10) Knowing when you’re ready to go upmarket.

(19:28) The makeup of enterprise pods that were set up at Klaviyo.

(22:05) Why CSM’s should be apart of the early deal cycles and not just post sales.

(23:45) A pivotal story that led Sean into Sales.

(29:39) How to evaluate an AE effectively in an interview.

(34:09) What it means to be a strong story teller.

(39:00) How to create a more efficient sales engine.

(47:35) Always offer your customers optionality.

(50:18) The importance of leveraging your referrals in a sales cycle.

Guest Speaker Links:Sean’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanmarshall82/
Sean’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/SeanMarshall1

Host Speaker Links:LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Referenced Resource:
An article by Andy Raskin: The Greatest Sales Deck I've Ever Seen

The GTM PodcastDon’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

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Scott Gifis is currently the CEO at NoFraud, formerly the President and COO at frame.io (bought by Adobe) and prior to that, he was the president at AdRoll for 6 years. Scott is an experienced executive operator, investor, advisor, and board member with a proven track record of building and scaling great companies, globally, from near zero to $100M plus. Today Scott advises for nearly a dozen SaaS companies.

What You Will Learn:

• Stop and celebrate your wins.
• The power of your influence.
• Unlocking team building successfully as a leader.
• Knowing when to part ways with your early employees.
• When to bring on a COO / Head of RevOps and the common pitfalls.

Highlights:(4:51) balancing work / life priorities.

(10:03) Impactful moments in Scotts career that led him to run large behemoths.

(16:01) Flying back to his younger self.

(22:18) Knowing where your influence affects your employees.

(29:32) The best team building strategies.

(42:48) When to bring on a COO / Head of RevOps.

(54:37) The problems with hiring an enterprise leader to run your startup.

Guest Speaker Link:Scott's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottpgifis/

Host Speaker Links:LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Our SponsorToday’s episode is sponsored by Demandbase, Demandbase helps B2B companies hit their revenue goals using fewer resources. How? By using the power of AI to identify and engage the accounts and buying groups most likely to purchase. They combine your sales and marketing data with our validated B2B data and AI to create Account Intelligence that informs every step of your buyer’s journey. They deliver accurate company, contact, technographic, engagement, and intent data right where you work every day – CRM, collaboration tools, browsers, and more. Start spotting opportunities earlier and orchestrate smarter sales and marketing motions with Demandbase. See this live in action: https://www.demandbase.com/product-tour/sales-intelligence/

The GTM PodcastDon’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

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Sophie Buonassisi is the Vice President of Marketing at GTMfund, overseeing GTMnow - the media arm of the GTMfund brand - and the internal community. She’s passionate about empowering go-to-market leaders and founders with access to insight through GTMnow’s channels, like this podcast, the newsletter, and more. Before joining the GTMfund team, she built and scaled GTM at a predictive conversion optimization company. She enjoys advising SaaS companies as they build out and optimize their marketing and overall GTM strategies.

What You Will Learn:

• How to be proactive with your references.
• The need for speed throughout your interview process.
• Showcasing skill and character effectively.

Highlights:(3:45) Who’s Sophie and how she ended up at GTMfund.

(6:31) How Sophie stood out during an application process of 400+ people.

(11:15) How to be proactive about finding a new role when you haven’t identified what that role is exactly.

(17:21) Knowing how to navigate the interview process systematically.

(22:41) How to leverage your community to endorse you.

(26:49) How to effectively nail a take home assignment.

(32:30) The importance of understanding your future employer deeply.

(35:35) How to hit the ground running before your start date.

(40:05) Top tips for landing page conversion optimization.

Guest Speaker Link:Sophie's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/

Host Speaker Links:LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsor:Today’s episode is sponsored by Demandbase, Demandbase helps B2B companies hit their revenue goals using fewer resources. How? By using the power of AI to identify and engage the accounts and buying groups most likely to purchase. They combine your sales and marketing data with our validated B2B data and AI to create Account Intelligence that informs every step of your buyer’s journey. They deliver accurate company, contact, technographic, engagement, and intent data right where you work every day – CRM, collaboration tools, browsers, and more. Start spotting opportunities earlier and orchestrate smarter sales and marketing motions with Demandbase. See this live in action: https://www.demandbase.com/product-tour/sales-intelligence/

The GTM PodcastDon’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

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Zach Lawryk is currently the Head of Global Solutions Consulting at Rippling, previously the VP of Solutions Consulting at Slack, Director of Sales Engineering at Box, and really began his career in tech at Salesforce as a Sales Engineer in 2005.

What You Will Learn:

• The importance of building long-term relationships at work.
• The beginning of SaaS SE’s.
• How the SE/SC role will evolve with AI.
• Knowing when to bring in SE's as a founder.

Highlights:(3:41) How Zach has successfully landed at powerhouse companies and how to identify those companies.

(8:16) Zach’s snowball effect of building relationships in the workplace.

(11:10) The energy you put out always comes back to you.

(19:30) When the sales engineer role got pioneered.

(21:43) The SE/SC role evolving with AI.

(29:11) AI experiments that Rippling is currently running.

(34:49) When to invest in solution engineers.

(37:30) Benchmark for the bump in win rate after bringing in SC/SE’s.

(42:07) Gauging the complexity high water marker.

(44:35) Practicing transparency with the value you provide.

(48:07) The power of video content that Rippling is currently leveraging.

Guest Speaker Link:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zlawryk/

Host Speaker Links:LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/ Our SponsorToday’s episode is sponsored by Demandbase, Demandbase helps B2B companies hit their revenue goals using fewer resources. How? By using the power of AI to identify and engage the accounts and buying groups most likely to purchase. They combine your sales and marketing data with our validated B2B data and AI to create Account Intelligence that informs every step of your buyer’s journey. They deliver accurate company, contact, technographic, engagement, and intent data right where you work every day – CRM, collaboration tools, browsers, and more. Start spotting opportunities earlier and orchestrate smarter sales and marketing motions with Demandbase. See this live in action: https://www.demandbase.com/product-tour/sales-intelligence/

The GTM PodcastDon’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

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This week we have a special 2 guest episode, with the best hiring guru's in the game, Chuck Brotman & David Teichner.

Chuck is the co-founder of Blueprint Expansion, a GTM roles recruiting firm that has helped over 50 VC-backed companies make amazing Sales, Marketing, & Customer Success hires. Prior to starting Blueprint in 2020, he worked for over fifteen years in various sales and sales management roles, building teams across presales, partnerships, SMB, Mid-Market, & Enterprise Sales. Chuck lives in the Bay Area with his wife and has two daughters, a junior at UCLA and a freshman at UC Santa Barbara.

David has 25 years under his belt as a serial entrepreneur. Built and exited companies in MarTech, FinTech and Media. He's invested and advised for over a dozen companies, and launched AccelerateHC seven years ago to help companies think through the organization they need and ultimately help them recruit high performing talent.

What You Will Learn:

• Understanding your business goals before expanding your team.
• Utilizing a ‘White Board’ exercise throughout the interview process.
• How to hire the most ethereal talent in an oversaturated market.
• Knowing which role to hire for when budgets are tight.
• How to avoid making a bad hire at the early stages.

Highlights:(1:35) How Chuck initially started his career in recruiting.

(4:40) How David got drawn into recruiting.

(9:10) Generalists vs Specialists for Seed/SeriesA startups, which should you pick?

(14:00) How to decrease the chance of making a bad hire at the early stage.

(21:00) The importance of implementing a strong process when hiring talent.

(22:38) Maximum number of skills/behaviours you can test for during an interview process.

(25:27) Optimal length for an interview process.

(30:05) How to test for ethereal factors that you can’t put on paper in an interview.

(35:10) When budgets are tight, who do you opt in for, another AE or a sales leader.

(38:29) How to navigate the ‘lead’ roles / player coaches.

(40:50) Hot Take: The “Hire slow and Fire fast” mentality no longer serves us.

(41:45) Hiring people for their titles and hot logo’s on their resume does not guarantee success.

Guest Speakers Links:Chuck Brotman'sLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cbrotman/
David Teichner's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dteichner/

Host Speaker Links:LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Referenced Resources:

• If you're looking for any help with your hiring process, fill out This 3 Question Typeform and we'll connect you directly with Chuck and David.
• If you're a talented go-to-marketer on the job hunt, fill out This Short Typeform to help get placed in your next perfect home!

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We have a special episode this week, a community mashup with the best community leaders in the game! Pavilion's SVP of Marketing, Kathleen Booth, The founder of Salesforce's Trailblazer's Community, Erica Kuhl, and The Former Director of Community for Salesforce's Trailblazer Community as well as The Former Head of Global Community at Atlassian, Holly Firestone.

What You Will Learn:

• The importance of community in 2023.
• How to stand out as a community in an oversaturated market.
• How to maintain quality members in the community as you scale.
• Centralizing user groups for the community: how to scale, track, and optimize for monumental growth.

Highlights:(1:15) Kathleen Booth explains why community is more important than ever.

(6:34) How to advise early-stage SaaS companies on how to leverage community to drive revenue and demand.

(16:00) Erica Kuhl unpacks the oversaturation of community today and how to overcome that.

(20:00) Maintain quality members as you scale.

(25:07) Building Salesforce Trailblazers: walking through what worked and what didn't.

(33:00) Holly Firestone's time at Atlassian: scaling, tracking, and optimizing for significant growth.

(42:00) Some mistakes that Holly made as the Director of Community with Salesforce's Trailblazers.

(46:20) Mistakes that Erica Kuhl made during her time at Salesforce.

Guest Speakers Links:Kathleen Booth's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathleenslatterybooth/
Erica Kuhl's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericakuhl/
Holly Firestone's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hollygfirestone/

Host Speaker Links:LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

The GTM PodcastDon’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

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Mark Cranney is an enterprise go-to-market operator and three-time unicorn creator. Most recently, he was the COO at Skydio. He's also a founding operating partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and has been involved in the acquisitions of Opsware and Aster Data Systems by HP and Teradata, respectively. Mark specializes in developing winning playbooks, cultures, and strategies that put his competition on the back foot.

What You Will Learn:

• How to create a winning culture.
• How to keep your competition at bay.
• How to hire talent that culturally fits your organization.

Highlights:(03:48) The books that shaped Mark's winning culture.

(10:39) How to keep your competition at bay.

(14:10) Three questions to ask when scouting for culture-fit talent.

(15:46) How to keep recruited talent motivated.

(16:16) "Process triumphs heroics." How Mark created and used playbooks to create winning cultures.

(23:00) Why you need to get more granular in your competitive strategy.

(35:17) How to create a winning culture without turning your team's culture toxic.

(37:18) "If it's not a competitive environment, for me, that's toxic."

(39:09) Mark's parting advice.

Guest Speaker Link:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markcranney/

Host Speaker Links:LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Referenced Resource:Books by Ben Horowitz: The Hard Thing About Hard Things & What You Do Is Who You Are.

The GTM PodcastDon’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

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Dan Reich is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and writer and has been building companies since he was a teenager. Some of the companies that he founded include: TULA Skincare which was acquired by Proctor & Gamble - Troops.ai which was acquired by Salesforce - Spinback which was acquired by Buddy Media and then acquired by Salesforce. Dan is now a co-founder of Dibs Beauty, which is backed by LCatterton and is building more companies. He also invests through his family office, Reich Capital. He has a background in electrical engineering and volunteers as a member of national ski patrol.

What You Will Learn:

• The power of influencer marketing.
• Leveraging B2C strategies for B2B companies.
• Maintaining authenticity across all business plays.
• The importance of building strong relationships in business.
• How to keep your team motivated when momentum takes a hit.

Highlights:(6:33) Influencer marketing in B2B.

(8:34) Tactics and strategies that B2B companies can steal from B2C companies today.

(13:00) How Dan structured a designated BDR team for influencer marketing.

(17:00) How to maintain authenticity when partnering with influencers.

(21:32) How to effectively compensate influencers: Equity vs Cash.

(24:20) Dan’s experience with 2 M&A exits.

(30:08) How to keep your team motivated in moments of momentum loss.

(32:28) How each acquisition began its first conversations.

(42:30) Why email marketing is dead today.

(44:50) Finding gratitude and happiness within yourself will ultimately lead you toward success.

Guest Speaker Link:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danreich/
Website: https://danreich.com
DIBS Beauty Website: https://dibsbeauty.com

Host Speaker Links:LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

The GTM PodcastDon’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

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Sam McKenna is the founder of SamSalesConsulting, previous to that she spent 6 years at On24 ending up as their VP of Enterprise Sales, She then jumped over to LinkedIn as their Head of Enterprise Sales. Sam is also an advisor for high growth companies. She now leads an all women team of 11, has over 180 clients, multiple million dollars in revenue, all under 4 years.

What You Will Learn:

• Knowing when to outsource talent as a founder.
• Using strategic hooks to capture engagement on social.
• The power of dark social and leveraging it to increase impressions.
• How to monetize your social presence.
• Learning to scale things you do well effectively.
• How to effectively implement the "show me you know me" framework in sales.

Highlights:

(3:40) Why building your digital footprint is more important than ever for founders

(8:30) How to carve out time for thought leadership throughout busy times.

(13:00) Strategies from Sam’s playbook that people should implement when building their social.

(20:00) High-impact strategies that Sam used to excel throughout her sales career.

(26:00) Walking the line between doing what works for you vs following playbooks given by your leaders.

(29:00) A framework for “show me you know me” in Sales.

(33:42) Hot take: Shorter e-mails are not the way to earn your ICP’s time.

(35:51) How to successfully hire for key roles.

(40:30) Hot take: Cold calling isn't the way to approach your ICP anymore.

(44:10) How to leverage data to prospect efficiently.

Guest Speaker Links:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samsalesli/
SamSalesConsulting: https://www.samsalesconsulting.com
Sam's LinkedIn Influencer Playbook: https://shorts.samsalesconsulting.com/courses/linkedin-influencer-playbook

Host Speaker Links:LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

The GTM PodcastDon’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

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Melanie Fellay is the CEO and Co-Founder of Spekit, a just-in-time platform that is transforming how we learn at work. Spekit meets reps with the process guidance, enablement and knowledge they need, right when they need it, in their flow of work to help them be more efficient, drive more revenue and eliminate the friction of change.

She’s a Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient, Top 100 Female Entrepreneur to watch (Entrepreneur) and has been featured across Forbes, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, Business Insider and more. Mel co-founded Spekit with Zari Zahra to solve a simple challenge: how do we make sure employees know what they need to know, when and where they need to know it. Hundreds of the world's most innovative companies, including Uber Freight, Snowflake, Southwest Airlines and Invesco, rely on Spekit to empower their employees with real-time knowledge and training, without disrupting their day-to-day workflows.The company has raised $60M in venture funding from notable investors Craft Ventures. Felicis, Operator Collective, Matchstick Ventures, Renegade Partners, Foundry Group and Bonfire Ventures and more.

What you will learn

• Narrowing the playing field and going where people aren't as a founder
• Always be strategic and intentional when you go wide
• The importance of customer facing as a founder
• Making hard decisions faster will only benefit your team's success long term
• Product momentum comes from working well as an executive team

Highlights

(2:40) The importance of allowing your mind to rest

(9:37) Mel’s founder journey that inspird her to build Spekit

(15:44) How to go-to-market with a tool that tackles multiple categories

(22:33) Customer facing as a founder shouldn't be overlooked

(24:10) How Mel ended up having to step in as Spekit's CTO during the pandemic and her experience sitting in the engineering seat

(34:08) How Mel took the mental strenght to show up for her team when things were difficult

(39:38) What Mel would tell her 25 year old self

(42:06) The Importance of networking and building your brand as a first time founder

(46:44) Figuring out how you work best as an executive team to increase product momentum

Quotes

"It's okay to solve different problems and go wide, but you need to have a very intentional strategy behind it"

"At the end of the day you need to have smart and resiilent people, but you need to have people who are driven on your particular problem"

Links and Resources

• Mel's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melaniefellay/
• Spekit's Website: https://spekit.com

The GTM Podcast

Don’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

And…monthly bonus podcast episodes dropping the first Thursday of every month.

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Meka Asonye is a Partner at First Round Capital based in San Francisco. Before moving into venture, Meka was an active angel investor backing companies such as Coda, Alchemy, Rimeto (acq. by Slack), Snackpass and Stytch. Previously, he served as the VP of Sales & Services at Mixpanel, where he ran the more than 100-person global revenue team. Before Mixpanel, Meka spent four years at Stripe and scaled and matured its sales organization during the company's rapid growth from 250 to 2000 people. Prior to joining Stripe, Meka served as Case Team Leader at Bain in San Francisco, partnering with the C-Suites of Fortune 50 companies across different verticals. Meka started his career working in Player Development & Baseball Operations for the Cleveland Indians. Meka earned a Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude in Economics and Finance from Princeton and his MBA from Harvard Business School

P.S. We’re officially running a GTMfund giveaway program! Share your favourite media piece (GTM podcast or GTM newsletter) on LinkedIn and Twitter, tag us, and you’ll be entered to win a pair of GTMfund Airpod Pros!

What you will learn

• Long term orientation for lead distribution at Stripe
• Investing in the person, and then the product, is most important in angel investing
• Best tips to start out in angel investing
• Compensation structures that early stage companies should implement

Highlights

(3:44) How Meka started his career in player development and baseball ops for the Cleveland Indians

(8:50) Meka’s biggest challenges during his time at Stripe as the Head of Sales

(10:15) How the SMB team measured success at Stripe and how it evolved over the years

(13:14) Balancing lead distribution at Stripe

(16:28) Practicing “Dumpster Diving” at Stripe

(18:00) Setting up long term incentive structures at Stripe

(22:48) How Meka began angel investing

(28:10) What Meka learned from his first angel investing experience

(36:22) The best way to start out in angel investing

(39:42) Why traditional sales compensation models at early stage companies is flawed

(42:00) The importance of educating your customers effectively through each touch

Quotes

“One of the things I look for out of founders is commercial orientation”

“ I knew a little bit about what he was building but I really just made a bet on the person”

“What makes you money and loses you money is the founder”

Links and Resources

Meka's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mekaasonye/

Meka's Twitter: https://twitter.com/BigMekaStyle

Mekas's Email: Meka@firstround.com

The GTM Podcast

Don’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

And…monthly bonus podcast episodes dropping the first Thursday of every month

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Eli Rubel is the CEO of MatterMade and NoBoringDesign, and has served as a Marketing advisor for companies like Dropbox, Loom, Productboard, Calm, and many others. Prior to MatterMade & NoBoringDesign, Eli was the founding CEO of Glider.com which he led through a successful acquisition to FPX.

What you will learn

• The importance of leveraging Demand Efficiency for your business
• Being aware of the bad actors that exist in business
• Extreme diligence on contract work should not be overlooked
• Setting yourself up successfully post acquisition changes

Highlights

(3:39) Defining Demand Efficiency

(7:30) Shared data around good efficiency through channels

(10:10) Common micro-surfaces that are often overlooked

(13:10) Companies revisiting their brand guidelines and brand identity

(15:24) Good conversion rates on ad spend for b2b SaaS companies

(17:10) Things people should think about when analyzing their demand efficiency

(18:10) Eli’s acquisition that went wrong

(25:30) How to combat against acquisitions going wrong

(28:00) Post acquisition shift - how to set yourself up

(30:10) Founder Question: What your first marketing hire should look like

(25:00) Hot take: LinkedIn is dying!

(38:00) Operational excellence will set your team up for success every time

Quotes

“Demand efficiency as a definition, is the evaluation of all of the different micro surfaces and growth levers throughout the buyers journey and how they all stack up together”

“Build a brand that’s extensible, you can still have fresh ads that are being changed up as long as the underlying brand foundations were created in a way that allow for creativity and experimentation”

"When you combine curiosity, grit, and drive together, it doesn't matter what they know and what they don't know. Because they're going to figure it out and try"

Links and Resources

Eli's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elirubel/

MatterMade's Website: https://www.mattermade.co

NoBoringDesign Website: https://www.noboringdesign.com

The GTM Podcast

Don’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

And…monthly bonus podcast episodes dropping the first Thursday of every month.

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This is a revisited episode from the early GTM Podcast days, and our highest streamed episode. So much value to take away from the Pioneer of the BDR name!

Lars Nilsson is the VP of Global Sales Development at Snowflake. Prior to Snowflake, Lars was the CEO of SalesSource, a premier RevOps consulting firm. Before that he was the VP of Global Inside Sales for Cloudera. Lars and his team at Cloudera developed the Sales methodology known as Account-Based Sales Development, which has transformed how businesses approach high-value targets, and is an integral part of most teams playbooks today.

Lars has also served in sales exec roles at ArcSight, Hewlett Packard, Riverbed Technology, and Portal Software, all three of which achieved IPOs.

Lars starts this episode by sharing what he learned early in his career at Xerox and the world-famous Xerox Management Training Program. He then talks about Cloudera's account-based sales development method, including how it started and why it was successful.

What you’ll learn:

-How to use personalization to your advantage

-How to speak among people in a way that brings them together

-What to look for when hiring a BDR

Highlights

(05:00) Insights on nurturing young talent while fostering loyalty

(14:40) Cloudera's account-based sales development methodology: origins and early successes

(21:40) Insights on the power of personalization

(27:30) How to create a lasting impression in front of people and bring them together

(31:00) Why you should express gratitude or tell a story in front of people more often

(32:49) How to overcome fear and nervousness and find the courage to speak among people

(38:03) Things to look out for when hiring a BDR

(41:26) Summary of Lars’ career learnings

Quotes

“You do not have to go to college to learn how to sell.”

“It's really hard to not only find the right people, but then to create an experience where not only are you developing them, but you create loyalty and you want them to stay and continue working hard for you and your company.”

“It is an opportunity for anyone at the right moment, towards the latter part of it, to get up and give a moment of thanks.”

“You can't be afraid to ask for help. You can't be afraid to ask for a referral. You can't be afraid to ask for a recomme

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Dave Gerhardt worked as a Senior Marketing Manager at Drift in 2015 and quickly grew into their VP of Marketing. Dave left Drift in 2019 to join Privy as their CMO for just under 2 years, then returned to Drift as a Chief Brand Officer. Dave now runs Exit Five, The #1 community for B2B Marketers.

What you will learn

• How to successfully set yourself up as a one person team
• Evolving your strategy and goals as your companies goals change
• How to nail your companies messaging
• Effectively building a founder brand
• The importance of niching down to drive growth

Highlights

(3:25) Shifting from a ‘Yes mindset’ to a ‘No mindset’

(12:10) How Dave grew into a VP-level role at Drift

(12:58) How Dave started his career at Drift

(24:00) Moments in Dave’s career where he didn’t achieve his goals

(28:48) Aligning revenue goals between Sales and Marketing

(31:50) Getting people excited and engaged in Drifts product at an early stage

(36:50) The pros and cons on starting a founder brand

(40:39) How Dave measured success for his podcast as they started out

(43:00) Hot take: Measuring everything in Marketing is no longer relevant

(45:00) The importance of niching down to drive growth

Links and Resources

Dave's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davegerhardt/

Exit5 Community: https://www.exitfive.com

The GTM Podcast

Don’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

And…monthly bonus podcast episodes dropping the first Thursday of every month.

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Anna Baird started her career in Accounting helping with IPOs of companies like Google. She then moved to become an SVP at McAfee and when they sold to Intel she decided to work at start-ups so that she could help build the foundations at scale from the beginning. She became a CFO and then a COO and finally a CRO. Anna is now working on Boards to help other executives take advantage of the opportunities that they saw earlier and avoid some of the mistakes that she's faced at early stages ◡̈

What you will learn

• The importance of leveraging your relationships to bring in revenue
• Practicing resilience to surpass those who doubt your capabilities
• Knowing when to walk away from a company
• Understanding where your hires skillsets are to be successful within your organization

Highlights

(6:13) What Anna has learned throughout her career selling into large strategic accounts

(11:45) A walk through of Outreach’s deal review calls as a successful strategic tactic

(15:45) How to prepare folks to make a strong ask that garners results

(19:20) Anna’s impactful story that fueled her

(22:55) A moment in time where Anna faced a struggle with misalignment

(32:40) Anna’s advice to female leaders struggling to get promoted

(37:40) Understanding where your hires skillsets are to be successful in your organization

(42:10) Working in silos no longer works

Quotes

“I just wanna work with interest people, solving interesting problems, with people I enjoy and respect being around.”

“The only reason why we exist as a company, is because we’re solving a pain. Never lose track of why you exist and what is it that you’re building for.”

“Everyone wants to work for a place where they feel has a great foundation of innovation, great ideas, and different perspectives, and I feel that’s what the younger generation is excelling at.”

Links and Resources

Anna's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-baird-38966513/

The GTM Podcast

Don’t miss The .GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

And…monthly bonus podcast episodes dropping the first Thursday of every month.

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Episode SummaryThere's no doubt that companies must become more data-driven if they want to stay relevant in the market. However, in reality, that data sits in silos while the data team and marketing or sales teams rarely communicate. Therefore, companies must bridge the gap between these departments by enabling teams to access and use data in their preferred tools.

In this episode of Sales Hacker, we welcome Kashish Gupta, the co-founder and co-CEO of Hightouch, a simple tool enabling businesses to transfer customer data from warehouses to their tools of choice.

Kashish discusses the mission and vision of his company and why they decided to be an inbound-driven business, at least at the early stage. He also shares his take on AI and whether teams, especially sales teams, should use tools like ChatGPT. Finally, Kashish explains how his teams use Hightouch internally and the sales team's role as consultants in providing value, building trust, and maintaining long-term customer relationships.

Guest-at-a-Glance
💡 Name: Kashish Gupta

💡 What he does: Kashish is the co-founder and co-CEO of Hightouch.

💡 Company: Hightouch

💡 Noteworthy: Along with his team, Kashish is on a mission to help businesses transfer customer data easily from their data warehouses to their chosen tools.

💡 Where to find Kashish: LinkedIn

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Episode SummarySales teams use various methodologies, including MEDDIC, MEDDPIC, and NEAT, and often switch between them based on the dominant trend. But, as our guest Richard Harris says, one size doesn't fit all, and it's not as simple as rip-and-replace if a process doesn't bring immediate or quick results. 

In this episode of Sales Hacker, Richard shares how he approaches processes from creation to implementation. Richard also discusses manager-employee relationships and how we can learn plenty, even from bad leaders. 

Richard may be the founder of The Harris Consulting Group, but he is still fighting impostor syndrome. As a result, he reminds everyone — including himself — to be kind and friendly to themselves, prioritizing self-care and mental health. 

Guest-at-a-Glance

💡 Name: Richard Harris

💡 What he does: Richard is the founder of The Harris Consulting Group and the co-founder of Surf and Sales.

💡 Company: The Harris Consulting Group

💡 Noteworthy: Richard is a seasoned SaaS sales leader, inside sales trainer, and advisor with 20+ years of experience. 

💡 Where to find Richard: LinkedIn

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Episode Summary
In this insightful episode, Colin Campbell of Sales Hacker engages Lauren Bailey from Sales Bar, Factor Eight, and Girls Club in a thoughtful discussion on the dynamics of the sales industry. They delve into the underrepresentation of women in sales and the initiatives aimed at bridging the gender gap. The conversation emphasizes the importance of mentorship and community in fostering a more inclusive and diverse sales force.

Lauren Bailey shares personal experiences in the sales industry, discussing the challenges and triumphs that have marked the journey. The conversation also explores imposter syndrome, a common occurrence among sales professionals, and ways to overcome it. Lauren Bailey highlights the essential role of confidence in navigating sales.

The episode wraps up with a light-hearted discussion about the prospect of men joining initiatives traditionally designed for women, underlining the importance of inclusivity in all professional development programs. This episode is a must-listen for sales professionals seeking to understand and navigate the complexities of the sales landscape.

Guest-at-a-Glance
💡 Name: Lauren Bailey

💡What they do: Founder and President

💡Company: The Sales Bar, Factor Eight, Girls Club

💡Noteworthy: Lauren Bailey builds happy teams, powerful online experiences, learning cultures, engaging workshops, and solutions to help people fall in love with sales and look forward to coming to work.

💡 Where to find them: LinkedIn

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In the highly competitive B2B tech space, it's easy to market your offer with so many tools and channels available. But, we can't help but notice the increased interest in referrals as more and more companies realize that word of mouth is the path to growth. 

In this episode, we dive into this renewed trend with Tito Bohrt, the CEO of AltiSales, the one-stop shop for world-class sales development. Tito explains when it makes sense to prioritize customer acquisition vs. retention and vice versa. He also shares how company culture impacts productivity and morale, primarily within sales teams. 

Tito and host Colin Campbell also touch upon the concept of a sales champion and how to find the ideal champion within a prospect's organization. Finally, we asked Tito to talk about how he got into angel investing and his consulting endeavors. 

Guest-at-a-Glance💡 Name:  Tito Bohrt
💡 What he does:  Tito is the CEO of AltiSales.
💡 Company:  AltiSales
💡 Noteworthy:  Tito is an expert in sales development and all things sales.
💡 Where to find Tito:  LinkedIn

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Writing good emails is vital in sales, and every salesperson has their own email tactic. But you only get one shot at getting your sales emails opened, so it's critical to do it right.

In this episode of the Sales Hacker podcast, our host Colin Campbell welcomes Will Allred, the co-founder and COO of Lavender. They talk about the potential application of ChatGPT in sales, why frameworks are better than templates, and how to personalize your email sequence.

Check out Will's killer series "1 email. 2 takes."
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGXnz4Tyz3-SFxoZNp8RijB-qnKWZMcNU

Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast and follow Sales Hacker on LinkedIn.

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Sales is a number-driven business. And if you want to win over your customers, you need to put in a lot of time, energy, and effort. But the only thing that will set you apart from your competitors is going the extra mile.

In this episode of the Sales Hacker podcast, our host Colin Campbell welcomes Rex Biberston, the principal at No Fluff Selling. They talk about the importance of relevance and resonance, why you need to start with the fundamentals first, and how to stand out in the crowd.

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Sales leaders play a critical role in a business's success because they are responsible for driving revenue growth and developing and executing sales strategies. And some of the benefits of being a sales leader are high earning potential, the ability to impact the bottom line, and the opportunity for career advancement, flexibility, and building and leading a team. 

But, on average, revenue executives have a shockingly short tenure due to various factors, including the stressful nature of the job, the need for constant results, and the fact that sales leaders are often the first to be held accountable when revenue targets are unmet. 

In this episode we make a huge announcement and Sam Jacobs, the founder and CEO of Pavilion discusses the challenges facing sales leaders, how the Sales Hacker podcast helped his career, and how you can succeed with kindness.

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Episode SummaryBen Dietz is the general manager of Mintel, a leading data and analytics company. The company operates across North and South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. 

In this episode of Sales Hacker, Ben recapitulates his first days in the company, the company's core services, the challenges they faced during the pandemic and are facing now, given the recession and other global events. Ben and host Sam Jacobs talk about the importance of trust and support in a crisis, both internally and externally. Ben discusses how you can be a realistic yet motivational leader and how giving and asking for feedback is critical for a manager to move his team and operations forward.  

**Guest-at-a-Glance

💡 Name:** Ben Dietz

💡 What he does: Ben is the general manager of Mintel.

💡 Company: Mintel

💡 Noteworthy: Ben began his career in logistics and supply chain with ConAgra Foods, then moved into supply chain consulting, and eventually pivoted to sales when he joined Mintel. He has held seven different roles across two continents through his 14 years at Mintel, during which Mintel has tripled in size.

💡 Where to find Ben: LinkedIn

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Episode Summary

Failure is a natural part of life, and everyone goes through challenges and hardships from time to time. However, they don't define you; it's your ability to embrace failure and overcome challenges that define you. In this episode of the Finish Fridays segment of the Sales Hacker podcast, our host Sam Jacobs welcomes Mariana Cogan, the CMO of People.ai. She opens up about one of the toughest moments in her career and how she was able to turn it into a lifetime opportunity.

**Guest-at-a-Glance

💡 Name:** Mariana Cogan

💡 What she does: She's the CMO of People.ai.

💡 Company: People.ai

💡 Noteworthy: Mariana is known for building strong alignment with sales. She's also a committed advocate of diversity inclusion and founded the Hispanic ERG resulting in building the best teams and bringing different lenses to the C-suite.

💡 Where to find Mariana: LinkedIn

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Episode SummaryAI is here to stay, and restaurants must follow the trend to stay relevant and grow. However, regardless of the concern around it, technology will not replace human staff. Instead, you can use it to provide an exceptional customer experience.

In this episode of Sales Hacker, we are joined by Brandon Barton, a hospitality tech entrepreneur, to discuss his career path, especially his transition from the non-tech to the tech side of the business. Brandon explains the role of AI in the hospitality space and how it can help enrich customer experience. He also talks about his transition into the C-Suite and becoming the CEO of Bite. Finally, Brandon shares valuable advice for anyone who is considering a career change but fears that it is a mistake.

**Guest-at-a-Glance

💡 Name:** Brandon Barton

💡 What he does: Brandon is the CEO of Bite.

💡 Company: Bite

💡 Noteworthy: Brandon Barton is a hospitality tech entrepreneur and has used his experience in operations at top hospitality groups to build and scale early-stage tech products. Before Bite, Brandon was employee number four at Resy, a leading restaurant reservation platform, where he built and oversaw sales operations. Bite's goal is to elevate hospitality, which is also Brandon's passion.

💡 Where to find Brandon: LinkedIn

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Friday Fundamentals 188: Carl-Erik Michaelson 

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In this episode of the Sales Hacker Podcast, we have Carl-Erik Michalsen Moberg, CEO and Co-founder at TicketCo, an event sales solution for organizers and venues. Join us for a playfulconversation about a wild guy who took a wild ride to become wildly successful at selling tickets.

What You’ll Learn

1. Why money alone will will never be enough
2. Find love in what you do and for the people around you
3. How your early career will inform the later part of your career

Show Agenda and Timestamps

1. About Carl-Erik & TicketCo [00:40]
2. Biggest lessons in building a business [06:35]
3. The power of remote work [11:03]
4. Pay it forward [19:48]
5. Sam’s Corner [00:00]

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Friday Fundamentals 187: Alex Buckles

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In this episode of the Sales Hacker Podcast, we have Alex Buckles, Co-Founder and CEO of Forecastable, which helps people sell in partnership with other vendors to deepen traction, penetration and integration to extend customer lifetime value. Join us for an engaging conversation about developing and implementing new, effective go-to-market strategies.

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Friday Fundamentals 186: Patrick Hudgins

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Friday Fundamentals 186: Patrick Hudgins

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In this episode of the Sales Hacker Podcast, we have Patrick Hudgins, Co-Founder and CEO at Delegate. Join us for an in-depth conversation about scaling your company through incentives and employee retention, especially when facing a recession.

What You’ll Learn1. Creating careers with incentive compensation to prevent off-shoring 2. Running a business on profitability when not sourced through outside capital 3. Focusing on the employee retention for company growth

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In this episode of the Sales Hacker Podcast, we have Patrick Hudgins, Co-Founder and CEO at Delegate. Join us for an in-depth conversation about scaling your company through incentives and employee retention, especially when facing a recession.

What You’ll Learn1. Creating careers with incentive compensation to prevent off-shoring 2. Running a business on profitability when not sourced through outside capital 3. Focusing on the employee retention for company growth

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Friday Fundamentals 185: Ido Niv-Ron

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In this episode of the Sales Hacker Podcast, we have Ido Niv-Ron, CRO at Cloudshare, a former Israeli army soldier that became a startup expert for several companies. Join us for an informative conversation about the uncertainty in the economy for the last quarter of 2022 and in 2023 and how you can prepare for it. .

What You’ll Learn1. It’s never too late to make a career change, be open-minded to it 2. Keeping a level head in an uncertain economy for 2023 3. Finding opportunities in the economy with the uncertainty

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Friday Fundamentals 184: Haydar Al Saad

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In this episode of the Sales Hacker Podcast, we have Haydar Al-Saad, Founder of RevSetter, a customer success platform that helps companies raise their customer retention. Join us for an honest conversation about creating a customer success program to expand your business. 

What You’ll Learn1. Mitigating churn by finding your happy customers and expanding with them 2. Profiling your customer success teams 3. Customer success investment as revenue generation

Show Agenda and Timestamps1. About Haydar and RevSetter[02:05] 2. Differences in retention platform features [08:18] 3. Finding the right Customer Success people [15:32] 4. Why Execution is more important than Innovation [19:29] 5. Paying it forward [23:38] 6. Sam’s Corner [26:08]

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Friday Fundamentals 183: Alex Schrecengost

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DESCRIPTIONIn this episode of the Sales Hacker Podcast, we have Alexandra Schrecengost, Founder of Culture With Us, which brings DEI-based immersive experiences to hybrid workplaces. Join us for an eye-opening conversation about delivering high-quality employee experiences.

What You’ll Learn1. You don’t need to be perfectly qualified for every opportunity. 2. The importance of getting started and having a plan 3. Why you need to give yourself permission to be successful

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Friday Fundamentals 182: Scott Barton

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In this episode of the Sales Hacker Podcast, we have Scott Barton, VP of Incentives at Varicent. Scott is an expert in the sales world, particularly in revenue operations and incentive compensation. Join us for a great conversation about driving the right behaviors within your sales team.

What You’ll Learn1. Building a compensation structure that works for both salespeople and the company 2. A holistic thinking about compensation, which includes development opportunities, benefits, advancement opportunities, and more 3. Best practices for managing your sales team through economic uncertainty

Show Agenda and Timestamps1. About Scott & Varicent [02:44] 2. Best practices for designing compensation structure [07:00] 3. How salespeople are empowered to shape how they’re recognized & rewarded [13:00] 4. Increasing productivity by lowering the bar for success [14:42] 5. Advice to management teams navigating the current economic uncertainty [20:43] 6. Paying it forward [22:29] 7. Sam’s Corner [25:10]

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Friday Fundamentals 181: Brandon Barton

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In this episode of the Sales Hacker Podcast, we have Brandon Barton, CEO of Bite and a hospitality tech entrepreneur and expert. Join us for a fantasticconversation about how to make the jump into a technology career from a non-tech career.

What You’ll Learn

What it means to create an incredible experience for people

How technology is impacting the restaurant industry during global labor shortages

The transferable skills needed to make an industry or career jump

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Friday Fundamentals 180: Tim Strickland

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In this episode of the Sales Hacker Podcast, we have Tim Strickland, CRO at ZoomInfo, a sales tech company that empowers revenue teams to drive business growth with its suite of multiplatform tools. Join us for an in-depthconversation about ZoomInfo’s growth, how to lead large organizations, and how to dominate the market during economic difficulty.

What You’ll Learn

How ZoomInfo grew from a small company to one with a billion in annual run rate

The importance of resilience and adaptability

What it takes to lead a high-growth company

How to approach leadership in a large organization

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In this episode of the Sales Hacker Podcast, we have Mike Sadler, SVP Americas at Similarweb, the must-have platform for effective online marketing. Join us for a livelyconversation about managing, hiring, and beating the recession.

What You’ll Learn1. The biggest job in any sales organization is the frontline managers who do the training 2. How you become a manager of managers 3. Overcoming hiring challenges and doing great discovery 4. Recession-proofing your reps

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Friday Fundamentals 178: Christian Kletzl

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In this episode of the Sales Hacker Podcast, we have Christian Kletzl, CEO and Co-Founder, UserGems, a fully-automated, AI-powered rev gen pipeline. Join us for an energetic conversation about champions and their lifetime value.

What You’ll Learn1. The importance of following your champions 2. Valuing personal connections in B2B sales 3. The lifetime value of a customer who loves your product 4. Delighting your buyers consistently reduces churn and creates advocates

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In this episode, we've got Shaan Hathiramani with us. Shaan is the Founder and CEO of Flockjay. Shaan started Flockjay as a way to train people from non technical backgrounds and usher them into the tech ecosystem primarily through sales. Now Shaan has made Flockjay a platform to give managers and sales leaders cheat codes to how and why they win by following the journey of their success stories.

What You’ll Learn

1. The evolution of Flockjay, going from an academy to shining a spotlight on what companies do well and not so well
2. Having the proper structure and being a good product leader would enable you to sustain to tough times
3. How to do more with less as a sales leader

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In this episode, we've got Nirosha Methananda with us. Nirosha is the VP of Marketing at Influ2, where she is responsible for branding and building the trust of its community. Influ2 allows marketers and businesses to advertise directly to people and have a clear understanding of their engagement and tangible data for sales.

What You’ll Learn

1. Account Based Marketing means that the point of sales and marketing alignment is simply joint planning process & goals.
2. There needs to be shared metrics, shared account planning and account mapping to understand what accounts need
3. How inspirational Nirosha’s story and career background can be for many

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Todd Caponi, CEO & Founder of Sales Melon and author of The Transparent Sales Manager. Todd is the only guest who has been on two times. Todd joins us live from the This episode would be live from the Chicago Roadshow for Pavillion.

Todd is a great consultant, teacher, and trainer of sales. In part one of this episode, Todd is going to talk about some of the key elements that make up a great sales manager.

What You’ll Learn

1. How to be ready for your opportunity when it comes to you
2. Trends in sales tend to be cyclical in nature
3. Six things to help your team progress and grow

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In this episode, we've got Celine North with us. Celine, who transitioned from agency sales to SaaS, is the Vice President of Boardale. Celine brings more than twenty-five years of experience to Boardale, which is a platform that allows board members to engage easily. Join us for a great conversation about transitioning in sales and technology selling.

What You’ll Learn

1. Sometimes you have to take one step back to go two steps forward in sales
2. Sales is all about building internal relationships
3. How is it going to be like selling in a recession

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In this episode, we've got Don Addington with us. Don, a veteran sales leader, is the Chief Revenue Officer at Tackle.io. Don and Tackle are helping software companies get onto cloud marketplaces which enables them to sell their product to companies easier. Join us for a great conversation about sales and growing your company with Tackle’s cloud go to market strategies.

What You’ll Learn

1. How Don went from being a recruiter to be a driving force of the growth of Tackle
2. How you can accelerate your company’s sales cycle by using Tackle
3. Ways that your email can stand out from the many emails that clients get from competitors by being meaningful

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Friday Fundamental_173_Selling in the Hospitality Industry_Part 2

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In this episode, we've got Maryclare Sweeney with us. Maryclare is the Director of Sales at SEVENROOMS, which sells into the hospitality space. As a talented sales manger, she gives some secret strategies for success and how the company had to make changes, like so many, due to COVID.

What You’ll Learn

1. The growth journey of Maryclare and SEVENROOMS
2. What was it like to sell during COVID
3. Maryclare thoughts about selling against competitors
4. What Maryclare has learned selling to restaurants

Show Agenda and Timestamps1. About SEVENROOMS and Maryclare Sweeney [3:04] 2. Maryclare’s thoughts on the biggest fallacies in nutrition [07:44] 3. Being more influential than you think you are [11:46] 4. Maryclare’s thoughts about zoom fatigue [17:28] 5. Paying it forward [22:37] 6. Sam’s Corner [24:24]

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Friday Fundamentals 172: Jeremy Hurewitz

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In this episode, we've got Jeremy Hurewitz with us. Jeremy Hurewitz is the founder of Challenger Hill Consulting, where he is using his years of International experience to gain a new outlook on leveraging clients. Join us for a great conversation about improving your sales skills from skills he learned from leaders in International espionage.

What You’ll Learn

1. How Jeremy began to encounter International spies
2. Tactics and strategies to connect with clients like a spy
3. Use methods to attract overseas clients

Show Agenda and Timestamps1. About Jeremy and Challenger Hill Consulting [02:57] 2. The meaning of selling like a spy [03:58] 3. How does someone sell like a spy [10:53] 4. This strategy bordering on the line of unethical [14:06] 5. Paying it forward [20:34] 6. Sam’s Corner [24:35]

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Friday Fundamentals 171: Jen Spencer

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In this special two-part episode, we've got Jen Spencer with us. Jen is the new CEO of SmartBug Media, and is joining us to share her journey to becoming the CEO and how she is leading the organization. Join us for a raw conversation about leadership, organizational alignment, and how the marketing landscape is continually evolving.

What You’ll Learn

1. How Jen became the CEO of SmartBug Media
2. The balance of keeping things the way they are with instituting new direction
3. What marketing tactics are and aren’t working anymore

Show Agenda and Timestamps 1. About Jen’s journey to CEO [2:45] 2. What it’s like being a CEO [06:52] 3. Organizational realignment [11:21] 4. Strategies for talent acquisition, retention, and inclusivity [14:50] 5. New marketing innovations [19:14] 6. Sam’s Corner [23:31]

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Friday Fundamentals 170: Kathleen Booth

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In this episode, we've got Kathleen Booth with us. Kathleen is SVP of Marketing at Tradeswell, where she's on a mission to empower a new generation of digital-first marketplace brands. Join us for a great conversation about marketing and why you should be marketing to people who aren’t in the market at all, yet.

What You’ll Learn

1. How Kathleen grew a newsletter to 30,000 subscribers
2. How to turn your marketing department into a revenue generator
3. How to keep key stakeholders excited about your long-term content strategy
4. Why performance marketing isn’t effective

Show Agenda and Timestamps 1. About Tradeswell and Kathleen [3:34] 2. Turning a marketing department into a revenue generator [15:44] 3. Keeping key stakeholders excited about a long-term content strategy [21:34] 4. Performance marketing isn’t effective [25:19] 5. Paying it forward [27:29] 6. Sam’s Corner [29:25]

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Friday Fundamentals 169: Shruti Kapoor

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In this episode, we've got Shruti Kapoor with us. Shruti is the Co-founder and CEO of Wingman, a company that helps salespeople make better decisions by bringing intelligence into both the conversations in real time and into the overall aggregation of data, so that people can close more deals. Join us for a deep conversation about the lessons Shruti has learned as she has built Wingman from the ground up.

What You’ll Learn 1. Key tips for starting a new company 2. The difference between creators and sellers 3. The importance of self-awareness and honesty for founders 4. Why data and activity metrics aren’t enough

Show Agenda and Timestamps 1. About Shruti Kapoor and Wingman [4:58] 2. The keys to a successful startup [13:16] 3. The difference between creators and sellers [15:31] 4. Observations about selling to salespeople [17:56] 5. The importance of self-awareness and honesty for founders [20:44] 6. Paying it forward [22:02] 7. Sam’s Corner [23:26]

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Friday Fundamentals 168: Auseh Brritt

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In this episode, we've got Auseh Britt. Auseh is a seasoned B2B marketer with 20 years of marketing experience across a wide range of industries and companies spanning global hospitality to startups and currently serves as the VP of Growth Marketing at Terminus. Join us for a great conversation about what account-based marketing is and what it means when it’s done well.

What You’ll Learn 1. The keys to being a successful growth marketer 2. How a well-defined ICP makes account-based marketing easier 3. How MQLs are being replaced by qualified pipelines 4. Why sales and marketing alignment leads to better pipeline generation

Show Agenda and Timestamps 1. About Auseh Britt [4:15] 2. Keys to being a successful growth marketer [11:35] 3. Defining account-based marketing [13:25] 4. Comparing ABM and legacy B2B marketing campaigns [17:23] 5. Marketing and sales alignment [22:28] 6. Paying it forward [26:01] 7. Sam’s Corner [30:42]