Podcasts about Go to market

What kind of founder walks away from a multi-billion-dollar fintech company to start building rockets?Baiju Bhatt, co-founder of Robinhood, joins Joubin Mirzadegan to talk about life after one of the most consequential companies in modern finance, and why he's now betting on Cowboy Space Corporation, an orbital infrastructure company building AI data centers that ride to space inside its own rockets."I still have that dog in me," he says.Baiju opens up about building alone for the first time in 15 years and what he learned about product-market fit while scaling Robinhood through its most chaotic years.Connect with Baiju:XLinkedInConnect with Joubin:XLinkedIn​Email: grit@kleinerperkins.comFollow Grit on LinkedInX​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

CJ sits down with Rebecca Schwartz of Tabs, Fred Havemeyer of Fleet AI, and Rahul Rekhi of Rogo for a live conversation about what it actually takes to build an AI-native company. —SPONSORS:RightRev is a revenue recognition platform built for the AI economy, helping finance support usage-based pricing, credits, hybrid contracts, seats plus consumption, and whatever commercial model comes next. It gives product teams the freedom to keep innovating without outdated revenue systems slowing them down. Learn how RightRev can help at https://rightrev.com/cjPulley is an equity management platform that lets you issue options, model dilution, and complete 409As without your cap table turning into a spreadsheet disaster. Founders raising, hiring, and scaling use Pulley to keep equity clean and stay focused on building. Learn more or request a demo at https://pulley.com/mostlymetricsRillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to replace NetSuite and close faster. With revenue recognition, close management, multi-entity support, and native Stripe and Salesforce integrations, Rillet helps scaling companies run their finance stack in one place. Hundreds of teams, including Windsurf and Mercor, use Rillet to make the zero-day close real. Book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cjMaximor is an autonomous finance platform that runs order-to-cash, procure-to-pay, the close, cash management, and reporting on self-learning agents instead of a dozen disconnected tools. One PE-backed customer posts 98% of transactions directly to its ERP, with the remaining 2% routed to a human for review. You pay for outcomes, not seats. See it at https://www.maximor.ai/Brex is an intelligent finance platform with AI-powered workflows that enforce expense policies at the point of sale, match receipts automatically, and reduce month-end close from weeks to hours. Thousands of companies, including Anthropic, Coinbase, and DoorDash, already run on Brex. Stop asking A-level finance talent to do B-level admin work. Learn more at https://www.brex.com/metricsAnrok is the sales tax platform that watches your exposure everywhere, automates compliance, and flags risk before it turns into a surprise back-tax letter from a state you've never set foot in. Companies like Anthropic, Notion, and Vanta already trust Anrok to stay ahead of rules that move faster than any spreadsheet can. Talk to a sales tax expert for a personalized exposure estimate at https://www.anrok.com/rtnEY has been part of Silicon Valley since it was just a valley, helping the most successful names in tech go from startup to exit to megacap. With teams across strategy, tax, audit, and transactions, EY helps you get your financials right early, long before your investors start asking for it. You build the next big thing, and EY will help you build it right. Learn more at https://www.ey.com/techstartups—LINKS: Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsNhttps://www.tabs.com/https://fleetai.com/https://www.rogo.com/CJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com—TIMESTAMPS:0:00 Preview and Intro1:16 Welcome to Run the Numbers3:17 Meet the Panel: Rebecca, Fred, Rahul9:52 How Rogo Found PMF13:47 How Tabs Found PMF14:51 Growth Rates: Headcount and Revenue16:23 The Real Hiring Constraint17:21 What "Forward Deployed" Actually Means18:53 What's Blocking AI Adoption Now20:19 How Sales Hiring Has Changed24:34 How Go-to-Market Has Changed25:28 Pricing Models: Then vs. Now28:18 Tabs' Pricing Evolution29:20 What the Finance Team Looks Like31:00 How Far You Can Push Outsourced Accounting32:43 Managing AI Gross Margins35:07 The North Star Metric for AI Companies37:02 Token Spend vs. Per-Seat Pricing39:34 Asking Better Questions: What Counts as ARR41:38 Biggest Bug in Cash to Collections43:05 Closing Advice for Founders

This week on Swimming with Allocators, Earnest and Alexa welcome Kelli Fontaine of Cendana Capital, as she traces her path from journalism to data-driven venture investing and explains how her obsession with finding the truth shapes her work as an LP. She breaks down how Cendana builds and uses its data systems, why early-stage power laws and portfolio construction matter more than headline TVPIs, and how she balances hard data with judgment about GPs. Kelli challenges the idea that pre-seed always outperforms seed, shares why fund I and II managers are uniquely compelling, and explores trends like concentrated portfolios, deep tech, defense tech, AI-native founders, and secondaries. Also, Sidley emerging companies lawyer Michael Podolny explains that rapid growth and complexity in AI-driven startups are driving demand for globally sophisticated legal advice from day one, with a particular focus on repeat founders, control, and tax optimization through QSBS planning. Highlights from this week's conversation include: Kelli's Journalism Roots and Early Fascination with Data (0:29) Moving from Finance to Tech and Startups at RPX (2:42) Building Data Infrastructure and Dashboards at Sandana (7:07) What People Mean by the “Sandana Model” and Relationship Focus (10:31) Why Funds Ones and Twos Are Special and How GPs Evolve Over Time (15:09) Why Late-Stage AI and Mega Rounds Don't Replace Early Stage Alpha (19:30) Sponsor Segment: Sidley's Work With AI and Sophisticated Startups (21:16) Tax Optimization and QSBS Considerations for Founders and Investors (24:49) KPIs That Matter: Revenue, Customer Quality, and Go-To-Market (28:40) How Changing Graduation Rates Affect Fund One and Fund Two Diligence (30:24) How to Think About Founder Secondaries vs GP Secondaries (34:54) Portfolio Management, Write-Offs, and the Real Role of Acqui-Hires (37:13) Treating Venture Like Public and Private Equity Segments (Small vs Mega) (40:05) Frustrations With AI Hype, FOMO, and Public Perception of Tech (43:50) Closing Remarks and Reflections on Macro Conversation (45:39) Cendana Capital is a venture fund-of-funds focused on investing in seed-stage venture capital firms and partnering with managers at the earliest stages of company formation. The firm is one of the most active LPs dedicated to the seed ecosystem, with a focus on identifying and supporting differentiated early-stage venture managers. Learn more at www.cendanacapital.com. Sidley Austin LLP is a premier global law firm with a dedicated Venture Funds practice, advising top venture capital firms, institutional investors, and private equity sponsors on fund formation, investment structuring, and regulatory compliance. With deep expertise across private markets, Sidley provides strategic legal counsel to help funds scale effectively. Learn more at sidley.com. Swimming with Allocators is a podcast that dives into the intriguing world of Venture Capital from an LP (Limited Partner) perspective. Hosts Alexa Binns and Earnest Sweat are seasoned professionals who have donned various hats in the VC ecosystem. Each episode, we explore where the future opportunities lie in the VC landscape with insights from top LPs on their investment strategies and industry experts shedding light on emerging trends and technologies.  The information provided on this podcast does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this podcast are for general informational purposes only. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Private Equity Podcast, Alex Rawlings is joined for a second time by Brian Gustason, Fractional Operating Partner at BG Operating Advisors.Brian explains why many lower-middle-market businesses struggle to scale after receiving institutional investment and how private equity firms can professionalise their go-to-market strategy.The conversation explores founder dependency, underdeveloped sales and marketing capabilities, and why firms must assess the maturity of the entire revenue engine before attempting to accelerate growth.Brian also outlines the importance of route-to-market analysis, including reach, fit and yield, and explains why growth should be treated as an interconnected system covering marketing, sales and customer success.The episode also examines go-to-market integration within roll-up strategies, the importance of execution fit during due diligence and how operating partners can help portfolio companies sequence growth initiatives more effectively.Key HighlightsWhy founder-led businesses often struggle to scaleThe risks of founder dependency in salesWhat Brian means by “phase zero” capabilitiesWhy firms may need to go backwards before scaling forwardsHow to professionalise a go-to-market strategyThe importance of route-to-market analysisUnderstanding reach, fit and yieldWhy lower-middle-market businesses hit growth ceilingsThe challenges of integrating founder-led businesses in a roll-upWhy go-to-market integration should be pre-wiredThe importance of execution fit during due diligenceWhy growth stalls are not always sales problemsCustomer success versus customer supportHow existing customers can drive expansion revenueSeparating revenue results from the revenue engineHow operating partners can support commercial transformationWhy growth initiatives must be sequenced correctlyTimestamps00:00 – Introduction to Brian Gustason and BG Operating Advisors01:01 – Common growth challenges in the lower-middle market01:31 – Founder dependency and underdeveloped commercial capabilities02:29 – Identifying phase zero go-to-market capabilities03:56 – Defining a professionalised go-to-market strategy04:23 – The role of go-to-market strategy in private equity05:17 – Why route-to-market analysis is often overlooked05:47 – Understanding reach, fit and yield07:14 – Why founder-led businesses often lack scalable processes08:38 – Growth ceilings and limited execution runway10:05 – Go-to-market challenges in roll-up strategies11:34 – Pre-wiring go-to-market integration13:01 – How deal origination affects integration13:58 – Execution fit and time to integration value15:51 – Diagnosing the real causes of stalled growth16:40 – Treating go-to-market as a connected system17:08 – The role of customer success in recurring revenue18:33 – Unlocking growth from existing customers19:53 – Assessing whether the revenue engine can scale20:22 – Separating revenue performance from revenue capability21:20 – Evaluating go-to-market maturity22:42 – Where to play, who to target and how to engage24:10 – How operating partners can support portfolio companies24:37 – The operating partner's role in due diligence25:35 – Identifying businesses that need growth intervention26:31 – Sharing best practices and coaching leadership teams26:59 – Sequencing growth initiatives effectively27:29 – How to connect with Brian Gustason27:57 – Closing remarksRaw Selection partners with Private Equity firms and their portfolio companies to secure exceptional executive talent. We focus on de-risking executive recruitment through meticulous search and selection processes, ensuring top-tier performance and long-term success.

"Our mission is to make it easier for everybody to experience the world."From the dot-com crash to AI, Glenn Fogel has spent nearly three decades helping Booking Holdings evolve through every major technology shift while staying true to that mission.He also shares with Joubin Mirzadegan why "you're always selling," and how Booking is using AI to amplify what every employee can accomplish.Guest: Glenn Fogel, CEO of Booking HoldingsConnect with GlennLinkedInConnect with Joubin:XLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.comFollow GritLinkedInX​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

How can marketing teams in the life science vertical show up stronger online and drive higher organic visibility for their organizations? Operating in a heavily-regulated industry where market competition is intense, many life science marketing teams stay quite busy, yet their pipelines are quiet, hampering long-term business growth? How can life science leaders bridge this gap and turn things around?That's why we're talking to Lauren Schafer (Founder, Lake House Digital Media), who shares proven ways to build life sciences buyer trust for predictable growth. In this episode, Lauren discussed the high-impact strategies for building deep authority and trust in the life science industry. She highlighted the value of uncovering specific client pain points and tailoring marketing approaches without being too generic. Lauren also stressed the significance of LinkedIn for B2B marketing, noting that decision-makers often conduct independent vendor research on the platform. She advised maintaining an up-to-date profile, using background banners effectively, and how you can be active and responsive on the platform. Lauren also emphasized the value of providing transparent marketing analytics dashboards to demonstrate accountability and ROI, essential for leadership buy-in.

Stehst du auch manchmal ratlos vor dem CRM und fragst dich warum niemand dein neues geiles Produkt kauft? Macht irgendwie keinen Spaß!In dieser Folge von UNF#CK YOUR DATA hat Dr. Christian Krug Susanne Trautmann zu Gast. Marketing-Strategin, Ex-Metal-Musikerin und Host von „Future Marketing Skills“. Wir räumen auf mit dem Mythos, dass Ingenieure und Nerds allein im stillen Kämmerlein weltverändernde Produkte bauen können. Wenn am Ende keiner versteht, welches Problem dein Produkt löst, dann bringt dir auch das schönste 30-seitige Excel-Spec-Sheet nix!Was du aus dieser Folge mitnimmst:• Der Spamfilter für Kunden: Wie du mit einem knallharten Ideal Client Profile (ICP) Albtraum-Kunden aussiebst, bevor sie dein Serviceteam in den Burnout treiben.• Go-To-Market statt Feature-Fucking: Warum 200.000-Euro-Entscheidungen im B2B hochgradig emotional sind und wie du den echten Product-Market-Fit findest.• Silos zerlegen: Wie du Entwickler, Vertrieb und Service an einen Tisch setzt, ohne in 300-seitigen PowerPoints zu ersticken.• Serendipität & Sichtbarkeit: Warum das „best secret of the industry“ zu sein kein Ehrenabzeichen ist, sondern reine Umsatzverbrennung.Und jetzt Klartext: Höre rein und erfahre, wie du Daten, Kundenverständnis und Kommunikation zusammenschweißt! Am Ende des Tages macht eben doch der Mensch den Unterschied. Jetzt auf Play drücken!▬▬▬▬▬▬ Profile: ▬▬▬▬Zum LinkedIn-Profil von Susanne: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanne-trautmann/Future Marketing Skills auf Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2YBSW7V2mcH3fZo0fqVDU3Zum LinkedIn-Profil von Christian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-krug/Christians Wonderlink: https://wonderl.ink/@christiankrugUnf*ck Your Data auf Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/unfck-your-data▬▬▬▬▬▬ Buchempfehlung: ▬▬▬▬Buchempfehlung von Susanne: Personal Intelligence Book - Andrea WeichandAlle Empfehlungen in Melenas Bücherladen: https://gunzenhausen.buchhandlung.de/unfuckyourdata▬▬▬▬▬▬ Hier findest Du Unf*ck Your Data: ▬▬▬▬Zum Podcast auf Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6Ow7ySMbgnir27etMYkpxT?si=dc0fd2b3c6454bfaZum Podcast auf iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/unf-ck-your-data/id1673832019Zum Podcast auf Deezer: https://deezer.page.link/FnT5kRSjf2k54iib6Zum Podcast auf Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@unfckyourdata▬▬▬▬▬▬ Merch: ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬https://unfckyourdata-shop.de/▬▬▬▬▬▬ Kontakt: ▬▬▬▬E-Mail: christian@uyd-podcast.com▬▬▬▬▬▬ Timestamps: ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬00:00 Ein Spamfilter für lästige Kunden? Teaser & Intro01:04 Begrüßung & wer ist Susanne Trautmann? (Von Metal zu B2B-Marketing)04:22 B2B vs. B2C: Warum B2B-Entscheidungen Jahre dauern und hoch emotional sind08:18 Am Kunden vorbeientwickelt: Das Silo-Problem deutscher Ingenieure10:04 Der Serendipitätsfaktor & das Trauma der „Hidden Champions“15:38 Warum Design Thinking oft scheitert & Das Go-To-Market Canvas18:23 In 4 Stunden zum Product-Market-Fit: Wie Susanne Trautmann vorgeht23:16 Henry Ford & Smartphones: Wie viel Kundenbefragung macht bei Innovation Sinn?28:49 Brauchen wir noch 30-seitige Spec-Sheets? Was Kunden WIRKLICH wollen33:00 Der Spamfilter für Kunden: Mit Daten Albtraum-Kunden identifizieren40:08 Marketing-Budget & Experimente: Keine Angst vor Fehlversuchen48:26 Muss jeder Buchhalter das Geschäftsmodell verstehen? Mission & Werkstolz54:16 Geniales Kommunikations-Beispiel: Spotify Data Campaigns54:55 Ohrwurm der Folge & Musik-Talk (Jamiroquai - Travelling Without Moving)56:23 Buchempfehlung von Susanne Trautmann & Shoutout

About James HaydenI've generated over $1B in revenue across SaaS, marketplaces, and enterprise services — and built first revenues for companies from zero across 140+ engagements.Book a Free 30-Min GTM Diagnostic →I build go-to-market engines for B2B companies that drive lasting revenue. Over 38 years, I've transformed sales teams, opened new markets, and created new revenue streams for more than 140 companies. I serve as a multi-company advisor to US enterprises, the government of New Zealand, and several Central American governments.My client and employer roster spans enterprise technology, SaaS, hospitality, automotive, and government sectors across four continents:Enterprise & Technology: Microsoft, Oracle, Cendant, TravelClick (acquired by Amadeus), Zipwhip (acquired by Twilio for $850M), Zumobi, Uniken, RESAAS, LodgIQ, FingermarkAutomotive: Ford, GM, Stellantis, BMW, Mercedes, Toyota, Lexus, KiaMedia & Partnerships: MSNBC, StarbucksGovernment & Trade: New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), Government of Costa Rica, Government of GuatemalaStartups & Ventures: Hotelscan (successful exit), Ortega Expansion Consulting, Hayden Marketing Inc., Dignity For DivasWhen I took over TravelClick's lowest-performing division, it ranked last out of four. Within a year, I turned it into the company's top-performing unit — a turnaround that directly contributed to the company's successful exit. If your sales org needs a reset, this is the kind of result I deliver.I was a founding member of Hotelscan, where I built over 140 partnerships from scratch. That groundwork drove the company to a successful exit in 2019. I know what it takes to build revenue from zero — because I've done it repeatedly.I learned to sell young — door-to-door as a kid — and never stopped refining the craft. My methodology is built on decades of real-world results, not theory. I wrote Adapt or DIE to share the approach that has driven my results, available in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook.Don't forget to check our Expert Content Society LinkedIn Content Community here:https://www.thetimetogrow.com/expert-content-society

B2B Go To Market Strategy: Why Your Lead Gen Is BrokenYour lead gen program is filling a CRM and burning your market at the same time.In episode one of The 15 Minute GTM Fix, a miniseries with our friends at Dealfront, George Coudounaris and Kevin Chen break down why so many B2B go to market programs quietly fail. If you run marketing in a small team and you are stuck firefighting instead of building, this one is for you.We pull apart the gated ebook play every marketer gets asked to run, why it destroys buyer trust before sales ever picks up the phone, and what to do instead. Then we walk through the Five BEs framework - the flywheel we use to move a go to market motion from reactive chaos to something that scales.Tune in and learn:+ Why traditional lead gen produces MQLs that never convert+ What 95% of your market is doing while you chase the other 5%+ The difference between capturing demand and shaping future demand+ How brand marketing and demand marketing work together+ The five stages of the BEs framework and how they compoundIf you are a marketer in a small B2B team being asked for leads with no time, no budget, and no strategy behind it, start here.-----------------------------------------------------SUBSCRIBE to our channel: https://www.youtube.com/@theb2bplaybookSUBSCRIBE to our newsletter: https://theb2bplaybook.com/newsletter/GET the latest CONTENT: https://theb2bplaybook.com/-----------------------------------------------------00:00 95% of Your Market Is Not Ready to Buy00:32 Welcome to the 15 Minute GTM Fix01:00 Why Lead Gen Is Broken in B2B Right Now01:20 Vanity Metrics and MQLs That Never Convert01:40 The Sales and Marketing Tension Nobody Fixes01:55 How Lead Gen Burns Your Own Market02:10 The Gated Ebook Play Every Marketer Gets Asked to Run02:35 What Happens When Sales Calls a Cold Ebook Download02:50 The Playbook That Keeps Destroying Buyer Trust03:05 Capturing Demand vs Shaping Future Demand03:25 Only 5% of Buyers Are In Market Today03:45 The Five Stages of Awareness Explained04:00 Brand Marketing vs Demand Marketing04:30 Why Holistic B2B Marketing Needs Both05:00 The Chaos Small Marketing Teams Live In05:30 Reactive Marketing Is Killing Your Pipeline06:00 Why Fundamentals Beat Tactics Every Time06:30 Five BEs Framework: Be Ready07:00 Be Helpful - Earning Trust With Content07:30 Be Seen - Amplifying to Your Dream Customers08:00 Be Better - Optimising With Data08:20 Be the Best - Future-Proofing Your Strategy08:40 Why Every Great Framework Is a Flywheel09:00 What to Expect From This Miniseries-----------------------------------------------------

What happens when a marketing leader goes all in on AI, not just for himself, but for his entire team? Ronan Bray, Head of Marketing & Growth at Cloud Assess, joins the podcast to unpack exactly that. From a two week Christmas break spent teaching himself to build apps, to rolling out a fully connected go to market platform that pulls live data from HubSpot, Google Search Console, and Notion, Ronan shares the real story of AI adoption inside a B2B marketing team, mess, momentum, and all. This episode is a practical playbook for any marketing leader wondering how to move a team from AI curiosity to AI capability. Ronan gets specific about what worked (starting small with personal projects), what didn't (announcing a team wide AI mandate with almost no context), and where he still won't let AI near the steering wheel, like paid ad spend and image or video creation. Guest Introduction Ronan Bray is Head of Marketing & Growth at Cloud Assess, where he leads a global marketing team driving pipeline with over 85 percent of ARR from inbound. Over 16 years he has scaled B2B marketing for ASX listed companies and his own startups (three reaching acquisition or buyout), building on experience at HubSpot and Drift. Key Topics Ronan's personal path into AI, from everyday ChatGPT use to picking Claude as the team's core tool to avoid spreading focus too thinHow a two week Christmas break and a personal "vibe coding" project (a lawn care scheduler built in Lovable) became the spark for wider team adoptionThe simple three question framework Ronan uses with his team: where's your time going, what's repetitive, and what's the ideal end stateBuilding a go to market hub in Lovable that connects HubSpot, Google Search Console and Firecrawl to surface content gaps and sales insights automaticallyWhy Ronan's team keeps a human in the loop on all content, even though AI can draft it, because audiences and algorithms can both tell when something is fully AI generatedThe security guardrails Cloud Assess put in place around domain locking and vulnerability scanning when building internally with LovableWhy Ronan won't hand over paid ad spend decisions to AI, even with tools connected to Google AdsWhat's next for Ronan's team: using AI for image and video generation to communicate fast moving product releases to sales and customers Resources & Links Companies & Tools Cloud Assess: Ronan's company, an AI powered training and assessment platform, referenced throughout as the environment for his AI rolloutLovable: the AI app builder Ronan and his team use to build internal tools, including their go to market hubClaude: the AI assistant Ronan's team standardised on for everyday tasks and custom team projectsHubSpot: the CRM feeding deal and pipeline data into the go to market hubFirecrawl: the web scraping tool connected to their platform to analyse blog and competitor contentChatGPT: the tool Ronan first used for personal AI adoption before switching to ClaudeNotion: used by Cloud Assess's product team to track features, later integrated into the go to market hubHiggsfield: an AI image and video tool Ronan tested via MCP, which he found fell short for a recent website rebuild Contact & Credits Host: Shahin Hoda Guest: Ronan Bray Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell Edited by: Alexander Hipwell & Dave Somido Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder Podcast Co-ordinator: Jonah Igsie APAC's B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

Ronnie Kwesi Coleman is a serial entrepreneur whose career has centred on using technology to solve complex, labour-intensive problems. After building a global creative marketplace that created more than 100,000 jobs across Africa, scaling content operations for Fortune 500 marketing teams and co-founding a workforce platform that exited for $40 million, he turned his attention to one of the most overlooked bottlenecks in consumer goods: the manual review of packaging and marketing content. Ronnie founded PunttAI after seeing companies spend millions on repetitive checks for brand consistency, claims, legal requirements and regulatory compliance—and watching talented people become frustrated by the work. In this episode, he explains how AI can reduce rework, accelerate approvals and free teams to focus on more strategic decisions, sharing tangible results including review cycles shortened from one week to two hours and accuracy improving from 70% to 95% in just three weeks. Tune in to hear about: Why manual packaging reviews are slowing down time to market How AI can reduce costly rounds of rework Improving review accuracy from 70% to 95% Reducing approval cycles from one week to two hours Supporting legal and regulatory teams without replacing human judgment Preparing packaging for AI search and the new digital shelf More Audio Mixing by Modest Ferrer Voice Acting by Jason Martorell Parsekian Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the individual guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of The FMCG Guys (Dwyer Partners SL) or its partners. The FMCG Guys make no representations or warranties about the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of any information discussed, and accept no responsibility for any decisions or outcomes based on this content. Listeners are encouraged to seek their own professional advice before acting on any of the topics covered.

"The answer to every problem is a model."Parag Agrawal shares the ideas behind Parallel: products that continuously learn, and teams designed around versatile problem solvers.He also shares why he built an AI agent for himself, anyd why AI's biggest opportunity is expanding what people can achieve.Guest: Parag Agrawal, founder and CEO of Parallel, and former CEO of TwitterConnect with ParagXLinkedInConnect with MamoonXLinkedInConnect with JoubinXLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.comFollow Grit on: LinkedInX​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

Pour l'épisode de cette semaine, je reçois Pierre-Eliott Lallemant, le CEO et cofondateur de Gojiberry.Gojiberry développe des agents IA capables d'automatiser le go-to-market des entreprises B2B. Leur premier agent identifie les meilleurs prospects, construit les séquences de prospection et booke des rendez-vous commerciaux.Au cours de cet épisode, nous sommes revenus sur le parcours de Pierre-Eliott et de ses associés, de la création puis la vente d'un premier SaaS de marketing WhatsApp au lancement de Gojiberry. Pour valider leur idée, ils ont commencé par vendre le produit avant même de l'avoir construit, puis ont réalisé manuellement le travail promis à leurs premiers clients.Nous avons ensuite parlé de leur croissance particulièrement rapide : 20 000 euros de MRR en décembre, plus de 40 000 en février, 80 000 en mars, puis un passage de 1 à 3 millions d'ARR pendant leurs trois mois chez Y Combinator.Pierre-Eliott détaille également les canaux d'acquisition qui ont alimenté cette croissance : utilisation de leur propre produit, influenceurs LinkedIn, lead magnets, affiliation, ads, vidéos en motion design, founder-led content sur X ou encore une stratégie particulièrement agressive sur Reddit.Enfin, nous avons parlé de leur expérience chez Y Combinator, de l'importance de se fixer des objectifs très ambitieux, de leur volonté de construire une entreprise internationale et de la manière dont Gojiberry souhaite créer une véritable défensibilité grâce aux données accumulées par ses agents.Vous pouvez suivre Pierre-Eliott sur X.Bonne écoute !Mentionnés pendant l'épisode :Y CombinatorStarter StoryMy First MillionPagerDutyApolloClaylemlistInstantlyOutreachGongModjoPour soutenir SaaS Connection en 1 minute⏱ (et 2 secondes) :Abonnez-vous à SaaS Connection sur votre plateforme préférée pour ne rater aucun épisode

In this special episode of Sales Pipeline Radio from the Forrester B2B Summit 2026 marketplace floor, Matt spoke with Dave Frankland, Vice President, Research Director, Forrester. Matt interviews the best and brightest minds in sales and Marketing.  If you would like to be a guest on Sales Pipeline Radio send an email to acceleration@heinzmarketing.com. Sales Pipeline Radio was recently listed as one of 30 Best Sales Management Podcasts and Top 60 Sales Podcasts Don't miss an episode! You can subscribe right at Sales Pipeline Radio and/or listen to full recordings of past shows everywhere you listen to podcasts! You can even ask Siri, Alexa and Google or search on Audible!

Sales organizations stall when knowledge stays trapped in the heads of a few experienced people. In this Revenue Builders replay, Frederik Maris explains how leaders turn field experience into repeatable execution through sharper qualification, stronger frontline management, and deliberate coaching. He shares how conscious competence helps managers teach what top performers do instinctively, why early wins matter for new reps, and where leaders must take accountability when talent fails to develop. The conversation gives CROs a practical view of the systems, behaviors, and management discipline required to build a team that can scale. Frederik Maris is the Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer of EliteGTM, where he helps founders and revenue leaders build more predictable go-to-market organizations through advisory, recruiting, and enablement. His career includes senior leadership roles at Splunk, Zoom, DataRobot, BMC, Veritas, and PTC, giving him firsthand experience building and transforming complex enterprise sales teams. Connect with Frederik: LinkedIn Resources mentioned: The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor Key takeaways from this episode:  08:44 – What it really takes to uncover the customer pain and internal support that move complex deals forward. 04:51 – Why sales leaders need a clear understanding of the methods behind their own success. 26:16 – What CROs often overlook about the frontline manager's role in seller ramp and retention. 28:13 – Why a new rep's first deal can shape confidence, momentum, and long-term performance. 40:36 – Frederik Maris's perspective on the traits that matter most when hiring for growth. 45:06 – A look inside the interview signals that reveal self-awareness and emotional intelligence. 01:01:07 – The leadership question that creates accountability when performance falls short. Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: LinkedInYouTubeForce Management

What if the biggest bottleneck in your business isn't your team, your budget, or your idea, but simply the fact that you haven't asked AI the right question yet? In this episode of The Happy Hustle Podcast, Michael Ballard closes out our AI Masterclass Workshop with maybe the most tactical, business first talk of the whole event. Michael is the founder of SlashDev, a software development agency that builds websites, mobile apps, CRMs, and lead generation systems for clients across a wide range of industries. He studied finance and entrepreneurship at the University of Washington, and back when vision models were just starting to recognize objects, he spent a year deep in a machine learning program dreaming up things like inventory scanners. He later worked at Ericsson on their automation and AI team, watching firsthand how a massive company rolls out new technology slowly and carefully. For the past five years he has poured that experience into SlashDev, and if you have seen the Happy Hustle Club's software platform, the one built around our Ten Alignment System, that is his team's work too. This episode matters because Michael does not talk about AI like a shiny new toy. He talks about it like a business owner who has to justify every dollar spent. His whole framework comes down to three questions. Does this generate revenue? Does it cut costs? Does it improve the product? If the answer is no to all three, skip it, no matter how cool the demo looks. One of the most useful ideas he shares is running a full audit of your business using a tool like Claude Code. Talk through your marketing channels, your partnerships, your team, your SOPs, even the salaries tied to certain tasks, and ask AI what the highest value opportunities are. He points out something a lot of us miss, which is that if everyone in your industry is showing up to a certain conference or using a certain channel and you are not, that is free money sitting on the table. He also gets real about content. Michael says he genuinely dislikes making content and barely uses Instagram, yet his team used AI voice cloning and animation tools to produce reels that pulled in twelve million views without him ever sitting in front of a camera. That is not about replacing authenticity, it is about removing the excuse that content takes too much time. The lead generation piece might be the most eye opening stat in the whole talk. His team scraped 49,000 leads for 158 dollars and used AI to score over 3,600 of them as ideal fits, ready for custom outreach that used to take a whole team to pull off. He also walks through building AI systems that answer texts after hours so hot leads never go cold, and one that studies your best sales calls so your entire team starts closing the way your top performer already does. Michael does not shy away from the limits either. When a listener asked about HIPAA compliance for a medical business, he was honest that it is still a real legal risk worth caution, and he pointed to cloud providers with compliant setups as a starting point rather than pretending there is a shortcut. If you are running a business and wondering where to actually point AI first instead of just experimenting for the sake of it, this episode gives you the exact lens to look through. Go listen to the full conversation at https://caryjack.com/podcastin/ and start with just one high ROI move this week. That is usually all it takes to see what is possible. Connect with Michaelhttps://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100076038248142https://www.instagram.com/slashdev.iohttps://www.youtube.com/@slashdevio/featuredhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/slashdev-io/ Find Michael on this website: https://slashdev.io/ Connect with Cary!https://www.instagram.com/caryjack/https://www.facebook.com/SirCaryJackhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/cary-jack-kendzior/https://twitter.com/thehappyhustlehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFDNsD59tLxv2JfEuSsNMOQ/featured Get a copy of his new book, https://www.thehappyhustle.com/book Sign up for The Journey: 10 Days To Become a Happy Hustler Online Course @ https://thehappyhustle.com/thejourney/ Apply to the Montana Mastermind Epic Camping Adventure @ https://thehappyhustle.com/mastermind/ “It's time to Happy Hustle, a blissfully balanced life you love, full of passion, purpose, and positive impact!” Episode Sponsors: If you're feeling stressed, not sleeping great, or your energy's been kinda meh lately—let me put you on to something that's been a total game-changer for me: Magnesium Breakthrough by BiOptimizers. This ain't your average magnesium—it's got all 7 essential forms that your body needs to chill out, sleep deeper, and feel more balanced. I take it every night and legit notice the difference the next day. No more waking up groggy or tossing and turning all night If you're ready to sleep like a baby, calm your nervous system, and optimize your recovery, go grab yours now at https://www.bioptimizers.com/happy and use code HAPPY10 for 10% OFF. =================================================================== My Green Mattress If you've been waking up with back pain, feeling stiff, or just not getting that deep, quality sleep. This might be what you're missing: My Green Mattress. It's made with clean, non-toxic, and eco-friendly materials, so you're not just sleeping better, you're sleeping healthier too. The comfort and support are on another level, and you can really feel the difference night after night. If you're ready to invest in better sleep and better recovery, check it out at https://thehappyhustle.com/mygreenmattress =================================================================== Ozlo Sleep If you've been struggling to fall asleep, stay asleep, or just wake up feeling actually rested, let me put you on to something that's been a total game-changer: Ozlo Sleep. These aren't your typical sleep buds. They're designed to block out noise and help your brain fully relax, so you can drift off faster and stay in deep, uninterrupted sleep. Perfect if you're a light sleeper or just want that next-level rest. If you're ready to upgrade your sleep and wake up feeling recharged, check out https://ozlosleep.com and save $80 OFF using code HAPPY.

"There's 20 fires going on at every moment in the office and you have enough water to put out four."Mark Roberge shares what it takes to build and scale a company, from finding product-market fit to knowing when it's time to grow.He also shares the framework behind his new book, The Science of Selling, and why founders should scale based on their own data, not another company's success.Guest: Mark Roberge, Founding CRO of HubSpot, HBS Professor, and Co-Founder at Stage 2 CapitalConnect with Mark: XLinkedInConnect with Joubin:XLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.comFollow Grit on: LinkedInX​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

On prend du recul sur le rôle du PMM à travers les yeux d'une responsable Marketing & Revenue.Selma, CRO chez Agorapulse partage sa vision de la fonction et les situations dans lesquelles elle crée le plus de valeur pour l'entreprise. Elle revient aussi sur un choix organisationnel fort chez Agorapulse : déplacer l'équipe PMM initialement au Produit sous son aile, puis faire évoluer progressivement son périmètre vers une équipe Go-To-Market qui ne se limite plus aux recommandations stratégiques, mais qui porte les sujets de bout en bout, de l'analyse du marché à l'exécution, avec des KPI directement liés au business.Selma nous partage des exemples concrets de collaboration avec le content, la lead gen et la brand pour arrêter de se marcher dessus mais aussi de ce qui permet à un PMM d'obtenir une place à la table des décisions.Enfin, elle revient sur plusieurs pivots de carrière qui ont marqué son parcours et partage ses réflexions pour faire des choix professionnels qui semblent contre-intuitif mais qui permettent de progresser sur le long terme.Si vous cherchez à renforcer votre impact business en tant que PMM, à confronter vos idées reçues et à mieux comprendre ce que la fonction Product Marketing  peut apporter à une organisation, cet épisode va vous donner quelques pistes de réflexion.Bonne écoute.RESSOURCES

Connect Claude to your CRM, start asking questions, trust the answers — that's how most teams begin with AI. The problem: your agent has all your data and none of the context behind it. It doesn't know why a field exists or which one to trust, so it hands you a confident answer built on the wrong foundation.Ronnie Duke joins Chris Strom to break down the context problem behind AI agents and what it takes to fix it. Plugging in a tool, Ronnie explains, is like giving a new hire every login on day one and walking away. The logins aren't the hard part. The tribal knowledge is.In this episode:Why "just connect it and ask" breaks down — and the hidden cost of confident-but-wrong answersThe layers of context agents need: structural docs, repeatable process docs, and data dictionaries (including the backstory behind why things were set up the way they were)Where to store shared context so it's not trapped in one person's private chat historyKeeping documentation current with governance and self-healing workflowsThe real answer to "am I training my replacement?"Whether you just signed up for Claude or you've been token-maxing for six months and your CFO wants answers, this one's a map for where to go next.

The Go-to-Market Slide Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso -- your daily shot of startup funding and investing. The Go-to-Market slide is important for seed-stage companies pitching for funding. It shows how the startup will enter the market. Consider setting up an initial target market. List the top twenty customers who will buy your product and gather them into a group called the beachhead market. This shows a focused strategy with a predetermined list of companies to pursue. Show how these companies are a great fit for your product. Then mention that you have already talked with all of them and they are interested in buying. Next, show how these companies will lead to more and bigger companies in the market. Avoid the percent of market approach in which 1% of a billion-dollar market is a big number. This fails with investors as it doesn't indicate what customers you are going to pursue. It demonstrates a lack of understanding of the market. Focus on identifying the customers and their segment and show how you have already sold to them. Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let's go startup something today. _______________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at: http://investorconnect.org Check out our other podcasts here: https://investorconnect.org/ For Investors check out: https://tencapital.group/investor-landing/ For Startups check out: https://tencapital.group/company-landing/ For eGuides check out: https://tencapital.group/education/ For upcoming Events, check out https://tencapital.group/events/ For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group Please follow, share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of Bensound.

Many stalled deals do not fail because the solution is weak. They fail because the team moved too fast before the buyer had a reason to care, a sponsor willing to mobilize, and enough confidence to take the risk. Randy Riemersma joins John McMahon and John Kaplan to unpack how false velocity, shallow discovery, and weak executive alignment create fragile opportunities that collapse late. He explains why elite sellers slow down early, uncover real business pain, connect operational problems to strategic outcomes, and manage the emotional side of buying when the decision starts to feel personal. Randy Riemersma is the founder of Sell with Precision, where he helps sales leaders strengthen go-to-market execution, leadership effectiveness, and sales operating discipline. He has spent decades in B2B sales, leadership, consulting, and executive coaching, with a focus on helping teams sell with greater clarity, precision, and business relevance. Connect with Randy: LinkedIn Website Resources mentioned: The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos - The Hidden Beliefs That Shape Your Happiness with Shawn Achor Key takeaways from this episode:  00:00 - Why many late-stage deals are lost long after the buyer has agreed with the business case. 02:37 - What leaders often overlook when early deal momentum feels too good to be true. 03:51 - A look inside the moment elite sellers create the urgency that average reps never uncover. 12:53 - Why many CROs see strong operational engagement fail to translate into executive sponsorship. 16:41 - The six emotions that drive buyer decisions and how to leverage them across deal stages. 28:24 - What it really takes to build buyer belief when the risk of saying yes starts to feel personal. 40:28 - Why the best discovery conversations feel less like qualification and more like understanding. Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: LinkedInYouTubeForce Management

AI is revolutionizing how private equity-backed startups scale, but revenue leakage is quietly costing them millions. Discover how deploying AI agents in your Go-To-Market strategy can slash manual quoting time by up to 90 percent and plug the gaps in your revenue operations.   In this episode of Born in Silicon Valley, Jake Aaron Villarreal sits down with Miguel Vasconcelos, CEO and co-founder of TechTorch. They dive deep into the world of AI-driven digital transformation, specifically focusing on how mid-market companies and private equity portfolios are leveraging AI agents to automate the deal desk and streamline Go-To-Market workflows.   Miguel shares his journey from Nike to founding TechTorch, revealing why traditional tech consulting models are broken and how outcome-based, agile AI deployment is the future. Learn the secrets to identifying revenue leakage, managing a global remote team of AI-native engineers, and why upskilling your workforce is critical to beating the AI hoarding trend.   Chapters 00:00 Navigating the Talent War in AI 02:54 Miguel's Journey: From Portugal to Tech Torch 05:54 Identifying Market Gaps: The Birth of Tech Torch 08:36 Focusing on Go-to-Market Strategies 11:42 Unique Value Proposition: Blending Software and Services 14:31 Targeting Private Equity Backed Companies 17:43 Operational Pain Points in Revenue Management 25:47 The Transformative Power of AI in Business 28:08 Building Trust and Long-Term Relationships 29:32 Outcome-Based Approaches to Client Engagement 33:08 Identifying Key Stakeholders in Client Companies 35:40 Consultative Approaches to Problem Solving 38:47 Navigating Talent Acquisition in a Competitive Market 42:53 Upskilling and Knowledge Sharing Among Teams 48:43 Addressing AI Hoarding and Fostering Collaboration 50:42 Recruitment Strategies for Growing Teams 53:33 Future Hiring Needs and Opportunities   Host: Jake Aaron Villarreal leads the top AI recruitment firm in Silicon Valley, www.matchrelevant.com, uncovering stories of funded startups and going behind the scenes to tell their founders' journeys. If you are growing an AI startup or have a great story to tell, email us at: jake.villarreal@matchrelevant.com

Your revenue problem may not be your sales team. It may be the go-to-market strategy behind them. The fastest-growing companies can still lose months of revenue when urgency replaces buyer clarity. Many CEOs push harder when growth stalls: more activity, more pipeline, more hiring, more pressure. But when the market message, buyer definition, and revenue process are not aligned, additional effort can amplify the wrong direction. The cost is not just missed deals. It shows up in wasted sales capacity, longer cycles, unpredictable forecasting, weaker EBITDA performance, and valuation pressure when future growth is questioned. Revenue engines become difficult to diagnose when leadership cannot see where demand breaks down or why opportunities stop moving. Mike Brunnick, CEO of VALR Advisors, shares the hard-earned perspective gained from years leading revenue growth and helping companies understand where go-to-market strategies lose momentum—and why impatience can become one of the most expensive decisions a CEO makes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2020, Airwallex lost nearly half its revenue overnight. Today it's worth $11 billion.Jack Zhang reflects on the decisions that kept the company alive, raising capital during uncertainty, and leading through its toughest chapter.This episode is a candid look at why Jack chose to keep building, even when a $1.2 billion acquisition was on the table.Guest: Jack Zhang, founder and CEO, AirwallexConnect with Jack ZhangXLinkedInConnect with JoubinXLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.comFollow Grit on: LinkedInX​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

حلقة النهاردة من بودكاست "ما لا يخبرونك به عن التسويق" مع إيهاب درويش، هنتعرف على واحد من أكتر المجالات اللي بيكبر بسرعة في العالم دلوقتي: Go-to-Market Engineering. مجال بيجمع بين التسويق، والمبيعات، والبيانات، والأتمتة، والذكاء الاصطناعي، وبيغير الطريقة اللي الشركات بتوصل بيها لعملائها.هنتكلم عن إيه اللي بيعمله فعلًا الـ GTM Engineer، وإيه الفرق بينه وبين أدوار زي SDR وBDR، وليه شركات كتير برا بدأت تعتبره من أهم الوظائف في فرق النمو.كمان هنتناقش في إزاي الشركات تقدر تبني أنظمة نمو تعتمد على التكنولوجيا بدل الشغل اليدوي، وإمتى يكون من الأفضل تكون فريق GTM داخلي، وإمتى الاستعانة بخبرة خارجية يكون افضل.ولو بتفكر تدخل المجال، الحلقة دي هتساعدك جدا وهتعرفك على أهم المهارات، وأفضل المصادر، والأدوات اللي ممكن تبدأ بيها، وإزاي تجهز نفسك لمجال بيتوقع له ناس كتير إنه هيكون من أهم المسارات المهنية خلال السنوات الجاية.

Russ d'Sa (CEO & Co-founder @ LiveKit) joins the show to deconstruct the "Product Paradigm Shift" toward voice-driven interfaces and agent-centric UX . We dive into LiveKit's high-stakes scaling lessons: from powering OpenAI and Character AI's voice mode, how they navigated real time bottlenecks to hit the next level of scale, the architectural necessity of a multi-cloud strategy, and the foundations of a co-founder relationships that can effectively blend engineering & business strategy.   ABOUT RUSS D'SA Russ is a startup vet who founded his first company in the 2007 YC batch and was the 2nd frontend engineer hired at Twitter, Russ d'Sa now leads voice AI unicorn LiveKit. They're the backbone of ChatGPT Voice Mode, Salesforce Agentforce, Grok, and roughly 30% of US 911 calls.   ABOUT LIVEKIT LiveKit is an open source framework and cloud platform for building voice, video, and physical AI agents. It provides the tools you need to build agents that interact with users in realtime over audio, video, and data streams. Agents run on the LiveKit server, which supplies the low-latency infrastructure (including transport, routing, synchronization, and session management) built on a production-grade WebRTC stack. This architecture enables reliable and performant agent workloads.   SHOW NOTES: The product paradigm shift toward voice-driven apps and natural human-computer interfaces (2:44) Voice-apps in practice: How these trends impact the strategy of product building today (5:32) Early adopters: Why legacy industries like healthcare use voice AI (7:55) Reevaluating and building product experiences optimized for AI agents (12:52) How AI trends will impact roadmaps and Go To Market (18:16) The origin of LiveKit: Building real-time infra for the pandemic (21:07) The OpenAI moment: Powering the fastest-growing consumer app (23:48) Scaling with OpenAI: Navigating the challenges of balancing time-to-market with system design (25:39) The Character AI outage: Solving cross-continental state sync and hitting the next level of scale (29:00) The problem: When telemetry breaks first: Managing analytics and logging for millions of concurrent AI sessions (32:04) Architecting for resilience: Multi-cloud from day one and why treating infra as a utility matters (33:22) Co-founder dynamics: Blending engineering strategy with business outcomes (37:15) Rapid Fire Questions (40:51)   This episode wouldn't have been possible without the help of our incredible production team: Patrick Gallagher - Producer & Co-Host Jerry Li - Co-Host Noah Olberding - Associate Producer, Audio & Video Editor https://www.linkedin.com/in/noah-olberding/ Dan Overheim - Audio Engineer, Dan's also an avid 3D printer - https://www.bnd3d.com/ Ellie Coggins Angus - Copywriter, Check out her other work at https://elliecoggins.com/about/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What if one proven methodology could turn B2B market share from stagnant to soaring, with a track record of guaranteed growth, yet almost no U.S. company has heard of it? In this episode of Predictable B2B Success, we speak with Hugo Van Den Biggelaar, a former Nike brand strategist turned evangelist for Bitsing, a 33-year-old European methodology that has fueled BMW, Shell, HP Enterprise, and thousands of organizations, with no failures on record. Hugo, now based in Brooklyn, New York, challenges core assumptions about B2B growth. He says most companies aren't failing because they do the wrong things, but because they do the right things in the wrong order and at the wrong time. What is the hidden sequence behind sustained revenue, and why is “brand awareness” sometimes a death trap? Hugo reveals why even the most successful B2B teams often aim at the wrong goals, how to build a “golden egg” competitors can't copy, and why emotional preference, not rational decision-making, drives billion-dollar deals. Why your growth efforts stall or how sales, marketing, and product can actually align, this conversation will leave you rethinking everything you know about predictable B2B success. Some topics we explore in this episode include: The Bitsing Methodology: Origins, proven track record, and impact on companies worldwideRight Actions, Wrong Sequence: How companies undermine growth by doing the right things in the wrong orderFinancial Goal Setting: The necessity of clear financial (not just KPI) goals: continuity, ambition, and dreamOrganizational Alignment: The need for unified goals and eliminating departmental silosThe Seven Principles/Steps: The stepwise framework that drives predictable growthData-Driven Focus: The Pencil Method: Using facts (not gut) to determine where revenue actually comes fromThe Golden Egg: Emotional Differentiation: Creating an emotional, uncopyable reason for customers to choose your brandStrategies vs. Goals: The common mistake of confusing means with ends 17:12.Driving Preference and Loyalty: Preference as the key to growth and how to create genuine, unconditional loyaltyPlan Execution & Guaranteed Results: The phases of implementation and what “guaranteed growth” means with Bitsing

AI may change software overnight, but company building still takes time.Ryan Smith explains why, despite the pace of AI, “the race is going to be way longer than anyone thinks.”He reflects on Qualtrics surviving multiple market cycles and ultimately being acquired by SAP for $8 billion days before going public.Guest: Ryan Smith, co-founder QualtricsConnect with Ryan SmithXLinkedInConnect with Joubin:XLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.comFollow Grit: LinkedInX​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

By Moshe Beauford In this episode, Dan Belanger, President of the Americas at NiCE, reveals how strategic partner enablement drives success in the technology channel. He shares NiCE's go-to-market approach, emphasizing how equipping partners with the right tools, preventing overlap, and aligning sales teams creates scalable growth across the Americas.

This week's show is entitled, "The Tactical Execution of Your Go-To-Market (GTM) Strategy" and my guest is John E Flannery, President, Flannery Sales Systems. Tune in as we discuss... Your sales process is only as good as your understanding of how buyers actually buy. If your process doesn't match how your customers make decisions, you're creating friction that kills deals before they start. Every company says they have a commercial strategy. The real question is what your customer-facing people are actually doing, conversation by conversation, once they walk out the door. Entrepreneurship isn't a rocket ship, it's a slog. But when you get clear on what you're working toward, the hard work starts to mean something. Listen Now | Watch the video HERE Matt interviews the best and brightest minds in sales and Marketing.  If you would like to be a guest on Sales Pipeline Radio send an email to acceleration@heinzmarketing.com. Sales Pipeline Radio was recently listed as one of 30 Best Sales Management Podcasts and Top 60 Sales Podcasts You can subscribe right at Sales Pipeline Radio and/or listen to full recordings of past shows everywhere you listen to podcasts! You can even ask Siri, Alexa and Google or search on Audible!  

Too many B2B marketing teams are still talking leads when they should be talking revenue. In this episode, Shahin sits down with David Heyworth, GTM advisor and former Head of Marketing at Vocus, to unpack what it really takes to drive commercial outcomes in the second half of 2025. From ditching MQL vanity metrics to building genuine alignment with sales, finance, and product, David brings hard-won lessons from complex B2B environments in Australia. This is a conversation packed with practical frameworks and honest war stories, including one of the most creative ABM activations you'll hear about: a commissioned coin ceremony at the Australian War Memorial, hosted by former Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove, that cemented a 20-year defence sector partnership without a single sales pitch. Guest Introduction David Heyworth is a GTM advisor and CMO with deep experience leading marketing in complex B2B environments across Australia, including his tenure as Head of Marketing at Vocus, one of Australia's leading fibre and network solutions providers. He specialises in go-to-market strategy, sales and marketing alignment, and account-based selling for enterprise and government markets. Key Topics Why agility, balance, and growth are the non-negotiables for B2B marketing teams in the second half of 2025Shifting the conversation from lead generation to revenue opportunities and why talking in dollars gets marketing a seat at the tableHow marketing can own the full GTM motion: building interlocks with sales, finance, and product leadership rather than operating in isolationThe case for an inside sales or sales discovery rep function that sits within marketing and how to prove the model before committing headcountWhy ABM works better when reframed as account-based selling (ABS) and how to sequence one-to-many, one-to-few, and one-to-one engagementBattle-tested lessons from event marketing gone wrong and how champions and pre-agreed outreach schedules turned it aroundA standout defence sector ABM case study: creating a custom commemorative coin and hosting a ceremony at the Australian War Memorial to honour a 20-year partnershipGo-to-market fundamentals that get skipped: market definition, value proposition, messaging frameworks by segment and buyer persona, and why these must come before the marketing plan Resources & Links People Peter Cosgrove-former Chief of the Defence Force and 26th Governor-General of AustraliaSeth Godin - Author and marketing thought leader; David recommends his book Purple Cow on differentiation. Companies & Tools Vocus -Australian telco where David served as CMO.Akimbo -Seth Godin's Podcast Books Purple Cow by Seth Godin Contact & Credits Host: Shahin Hoda Guest: David Heyworth Produced by: Shahin Hoda and Alexander Hipwell Edited by: Alexander Hipwell Music by: Breakmaster Cylinder APAC's B2B Growth Podcast is Presented by xGrowth

Most founders think they have a sales problem. According to Lou Shipley, they usually have a customer understanding problem.Lou is a 3x CEO, Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School, former CEO of Black Duck Software, and co-author of Unlikely Entrepreneurs.During his time at Black Duck, Lou repositioned the company from open-source compliance to open-source security, quadrupled revenue, and helped lead the company to a $565 million acquisition by Synopsys.In this conversation, we discuss: Why founders should not hand off sales too early  The real purpose of your first 100 customer conversations  How to know if you're solving a painful enough problem  Why competitive markets can be better than new markets  The go-to-market framework that helped scale Black Duck  How to identify product-market fit before building too much  What causes churn and how to spot it before it happens  Why most founders misunderstand scaling a sales team  The reality of AI and what founders should pay attention to  Lessons from six startups, multiple exits, and decades of leadership This is a practical conversation about sales, positioning, product-market fit, scaling teams, and building companies that customers actually want.00:00 Introduction to Lou Shipley and Black Duck Software02:00 The Black Duck acquisition story and repositioning strategy04:30 Why founders should own sales longer than they think09:10 Learning from customers before chasing revenue12:00 Why competitive markets are often better opportunities15:00 The myth of the young founder and why experience matters18:40 Understanding customer pain deeply enough to build a company21:20 Signs you're building a solution nobody truly needs22:45 Building software for yourself vs guessing what customers want25:00 How Lou repositioned Black Duck around security27:30 Managing vs leading as your company scales31:00 Escaping the weeds and thinking like an investor33:10 The sales framework behind Black Duck's growth39:00 Churn, product-market fit, and customer retention43:30 AI, software startups, and what founders should watch51:30 What Lou learned after running multiple companies57:20 The one message every founder needs to hearUnlikely Entrepreneurs: Wins, Losses, and Crucial Lessons on Building Great Companies: https://a.co/d/0fPfhi1D

Marketing leaders are being asked to drive more growth with less budget, fewer resources, tighter timelines, and more pressure from every direction while AI is being treated like the shortcut to replace entire marketing teams. But AI will not fix bad strategy, weak alignment, poor customer understanding, or broken marketing fundamentals. In part two of this master class conversation with Matt Hummel, CMO of Pipeline360, the focus moves into what it really takes to become the kind of CMO AI cannot replace. Not by chasing every new tool, adding more MarTech, or hiding behind automation, but by understanding the business as a whole, building trust across departments, speaking the language of revenue, and creating alignment between marketing, sales, product, leadership, and the customer. To lead marketing in a volatile market where expectations keep rising and the old playbook is no longer enough, you need to know how to: • Make sales an ally instead of your bitter rival • Build shared pipeline ownership across marketing and sales  • Communicate risk without becoming defensive • Connect marketing decisions to the larger goals of the business • Set clearer expectations with your team and leadership • Understand resource constraints without using them as excuses • Stay close to customers while leading strategy • Create momentum without pretending there is an easy button The best marketing leaders are not just managing campaigns, tools, reports, and dashboards. They are translating complexity into strategy the business can trust. The reminder is clear: AI will not fix bad strategy. More MarTech will not fix bad marketing. The CMO AI cannot replace is the one who understands the business, earns trust, aligns with sales, leads the team, knows the customer, and gets back to real marketing when everyone else is hiding behind tools. (P.S. If you haven't, listen to Ep. 149 for part one of this masterclass episode) Beyond The Episode Gems: Connect With Matt Hummel on LinkedIn Listen To Troy On Matt's Podcast, Pipeline Brew: The Evolving Role of CMOs & Community Building Visit Pipeline360 website to learn more about how they solve B2B marketers' biggest headaches Buy Troy's Book, Strategize Up: The Blueprint To Scale Your Business StrategizeUpBook.com Discover All Podcasts On The HubSpot Podcast Network Get Free HubSpot Marketing Tools To Help You Grow Your Business Grow Your Business Faster Using HubSpot's CRM Platform Support The Podcast & Connect With Troy:  Rate & Review iDigress: iDigress.fm/Reviews Follow Troy's Socials @FindTroy: LinkedIn, Instagram, Threads, TikTok Subscribe to Troy's YouTube Channel For Strategy Videos & See Masterclass Episodes Need Growth Strategy, A Keynote Speaker, Or Want To Sponsor The Podcast? Go To FindTroy.com  

Great software companies often come from understanding pain points at a very deep level.On Grit, Aman Narang shares how Toast built trust with 171,000+ restaurant operators by helping restaurants manage everything from payments and online orders to staff scheduling and daily operations.He also reflects on lessons around product-market fit and scaling a company before it's fully ready.Guest: Aman Narang, co-founder and CEO, ToastConnect with Aman NarangLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aman-narang-155628/Connect with ToastLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/toast-inc/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toasttab/X: https://x.com/ToastTab?lang=enConnect with Joubin:X: https://x.com/JoubinmirLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joubin-mirzadegan-66186854/Email: grit@kleinerperkins.comFollow on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/kpgritFollow on X:https://x.com/KPGrit​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins:https://www.kleinerperkins.com/

Marketing leadership has become one of the most volatile seats in business. CMOs and marketing leaders are often expected to create immediate pipeline, prove instant ROI, fix deeper business issues they did not create, defend brand investment, align sales, understand customers, translate strategy across the organization, and still become one of the first functions questioned, blamed, or cut when growth slows. In part one of this master class conversation, Matt Hummel, CMO of Pipeline360, brings a clear reminder back to the table: great marketing starts with trusting the buyer, knowing the customer, and simplifying how you market. In a market obsessed with performance data, attribution, automation, dark social, buyer signals, and immediate results, more complexity does not automatically create better customer understanding. For aspiring CMOs, current CMOs, marketing leaders, founders, and business owners, this conversation is a valuable look at how to lead marketing without getting trapped in the pressure cooker. It challenges you to rethink what it really means to put the customer at the center, not as a tagline, not as another automation workflow, and not as another dashboard filled with signals, but as a deeper responsibility to understand the person, pressure, timing, risk, and decision behind the purchase. The conversation moves through buyer trust, brand versus demand, customer empathy, attribution, sales alignment, CMO pressure, market timing, and the difference between chasing pipeline and building LTV. It is also a reminder to get out of your lane, understand product, spend time with sales, listen to customers, and learn how the whole business works. Because the best CMOs are not just campaign operators. They are translators, mediators, trust builders, and business leaders who know how to connect marketing to revenue, customer experience, and long term growth. Beyond The Episode Gems: Connect With Matt Hummel on LinkedIn Listen To Troy On Matt's Podcast, Pipeline Brew: The Evolving Role of CMOs & Community Building Visit Pipeline360 website to learn more about how they solve B2B marketers' biggest headaches Buy Troy's Book, Strategize Up: The Blueprint To Scale Your Business StrategizeUpBook.com Discover All Podcasts On The HubSpot Podcast Network Get Free HubSpot Marketing Tools To Help You Grow Your Business Grow Your Business Faster Using HubSpot's CRM Platform Support The Podcast & Connect With Troy:  Rate & Review iDigress: iDigress.fm/Reviews Follow Troy's Socials @FindTroy: LinkedIn, Instagram, Threads, TikTok Subscribe to Troy's YouTube Channel For Strategy Videos & See Masterclass Episodes Need Growth Strategy, A Keynote Speaker, Or Want To Sponsor The Podcast? Go To FindTroy.com  

We want your feedback and questions. Text us here.In this episode, Jeff Hancher sits down with Sangram Vajre, co-founder and CEO of GTM Partners, bestselling author of MOVE, and one of the leading voices in go-to-market strategy. Sangram shares why CEOs must take ownership of go-to-market, how lack of clarity quietly stalls growth, and what leaders can do to align their teams around the right customers, metrics, and strategy.You'll learn why go-to-market is not just a sales or marketing function, how to identify whether your company is in problem-market fit, product-market fit, or platform-market fit, and why revenue per employee and net retention rate are two critical metrics every CEO should understand. Sangram also explains how AI can give leaders better visibility into their business, sales calls, pipeline, messaging, and customer conversations.Whether you are a founder, CEO, executive, or business leader trying to scale profitably, this conversation will help you build more clarity, improve alignment, and take smarter ownership of your company's growth.

In this episode, Peppa Wise, SVP of Go-To-Market at Multiverse, breaks down the real differences between scaling from 0 to 10 million, 10 to 100 million, and beyond. From early-stage hustle and chaos to building scalable systems, leadership teams, and world-class sales processes, this conversation is packed with lessons most operators only learn the hard way. Peppa shares the painful mistakes that shaped her leadership journey, including the year Multiverse fell behind on productive capacity, why hiring the wrong people can quietly destroy growth, and why great leaders must learn to balance accountability with empathy. The conversation also explores AI, workforce transformation, leadership psychology, sales rigor, emotional resilience, and why Multiverse believes the future of work depends on helping companies actually adopt AI — not just buy new tools. If you're building a startup, leading a sales team, scaling a company, or trying to become a better leader, this episode is full of hard-earned insights you can apply immediately. With thanks to our sponsors Aurasell. Timestamps: 0:00 — Trailer 1:18 — Introduction & Guest Overview 2:59 — What Separates the 0-10, 10-100 & 100M+ Stages 4:48 — Early Learnings & What to Overcome in the 0-10 Journey 7:00 — What Leadership Looks Like at 0-10 8:58 — Reflecting on Your 0-10 Self & Mistakes Made 10:24 — How Mentorship Fuelled Evolution Through Each Stage 13:01 — Is It Okay to Specialize in One Stage 15:38 — What Is Your Long-Term Ambition 17:12 — Have You Changed as a Person Through This Journey 19:46 — How to Coach Leaders Being Inauthentic 21:16 — Were There Any Real Career Low Points 24:26 — What Does Maniacal Productive Capacity Mean 25:57 — What Signals Show Someone Is Ready to Promote 28:38 — Where People Go Wrong With Productive Capacity 33:10 — How to Manage Emotion Under Pressure 37:54 — What Separates First From Second Line Leaders 40:13 — Do You Hire People Similar to Yourself 42:32 — What Changes Has Donn Driven in Year One 45:45 — What Excites You Most About This Next Phase 48:13 — Why Multiverse Is Still the Destination 49:46 — Common Misconceptions About Multiverse 51:17 — Closing & Final Thoughts

AI is transforming sales organizations faster than ever, but most leaders are still leaving revenue on the table by outsourcing too much judgment to technology. In this episode, Janice B Gordon explores with her guest how rapid market shifts, generational diversity, and the rush to deploy AI are disrupting commercial models. What you'll learn: a) Why scenario planning is essential for leaders facing unpredictable market change b) How to balance human judgment with the adoption of AI in go-to-market strategies c) The biggest revenue mistakes companies make with premature (or hesitant) AI deployment Today, Janice B Gordon is joined by Maria Bolden, a C-suite advisor specializing in profitable revenue generation and leading world-class commercial teams. Timestamps: 04:17 Discussing scenario planning and pre-mortems 08:02 Addressing AI concerns and workforce adaptation 12:27 Comparing ChatGPT with Beyonce launch 14:53 Decision-making frameworks and considerations 21:04 Discussing current sales challenges 22:58 Importance of change management in AI 24:44 Focusing on AI impact measurement 28:58 Reverse mentoring for leadership growth 33:45 Importance of diverse perspectives 37:21 Embracing servant leadership and balance 39:41 Reflecting on true motivations   Connect with Maria https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-boulden-8a778b11/   Connect with Janice Book Janice to speak at your next sales or leadership event: https://janicebgordon.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/janice-b-gordon/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janicebgordon Scale Your Sales Podcast: https://scaleyoursales.co.uk/podcast Enjoy the episode? Share your takeaway in the comments and leave a review on Apple Podcasts to help more leaders discover the show.

Founder quality becomes more important as startups become easier to build.Trae Stephens, co-founder of Anduril and partner at Founders Fund, has spent years backing founders with strong conviction, including most recently at Roadrunner.He shares why too much capital too early can hurt startups, and why the best companies are built by teams with complementary strengths.Guest: Trae Stephens, co-founder, Anduril and Partner, Founders FundConnect with Trae StephensXLinkedInConnect with Joubin:XLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.comFollow Grit on LinkedInFollow Grit on X​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

On this episode, Amy Kramer, Head of the Go-To-Market Operating Group at Level Equity, shares findings from their 2026 Go-To-Market Insights Report—a benchmark study covering sales efficiency, marketing spend, headcount, compensation and AI adoption across their portfolio companies.Amy and Shiv dig into what the data shows: why SDRs are having to reach out to more prospects to book the same number of meetings, how the best-performing teams are breaking through the noise with smarter targeting and more direct outreach, and why companies are shifting more budget toward brand and top-of-funnel. They also cover the rise of AI visibility as a pipeline driver, how teams are restructuring around rev ops and product marketing, and what the shift in go-to-market rhythm means for how companies hire and retain customers.The information contained in this podcast is not intended to constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice.

Send us Fan MailMarketing doesn't fail in Web3 because people “don't get crypto”. It fails because teams treat distribution like a one-time stunt, then wonder why the world forgets them 24 hours later. We sit down with Jack Haldorsson, Managing Partner and Co-Founder at Lunar Strategy, to map a smarter approach: build an always-on social baseline first, then run marketing in deliberate seasons that compound momentum over time.We get specific about what that looks like in a real go-to-market strategy. Jack walks through starting at the top with the “why”, defining the actual target user (not “everyone in crypto”), and turning that into a messaging framework before choosing channels. From there, we talk sequencing: teasers, waitlists, countdowns, beta launches, and product launches as separate campaigns that create a clear user journey and real business outcomes, not vanity metrics.We also dig into modern growth realities: AI agents that can automate research, admin, decks, and landing pages, and why the winning edge is still human taste, judgment, and knowing what to remove. On the market side, we discuss institutional adoption, stablecoins moving into mainstream rails, and why grabbing influencer and creator mindshare now can put you in pole position when retail momentum returns.This episode was recorded through a Descript call on May 6, 2026. Read the blog article and show notes here: https://webdrie.net/the-web3-go-to-market-playbook-from-baseline-to-launch-momentumIf you care about Web3 marketing, community building, product-market fit, and AI-powered growth engines that do not destroy trust, you'll leave with a playbook you can apply immediately. Subscribe, share this with a founder or marketer who needs a better launch plan, and leave a review so more people can find the show........................................................................... 

What does it take to consistently drive revenue growth in private equity in a market where traditional levers are exhausted, buyers are more independent than ever, and go-to-market has become the primary driver of value creation?In this episode, host Linnea Jungnelius sits down with AJ Gandhi, one of the most experienced go-to-market operators in private equity. Having worked across more than 100 companies—from Bain and Alexander Group to Salesforce, RingCentral, and Marlin Equity Partners—AJ has built and scaled commercial engines at every stage of growth.From why go-to-market performance doesn't break, but drifts, to how the best companies dominate their core before expanding, to what separates pipeline activity from real revenue progression, AJ breaks down the systems anddecisions that actually drive growth.For private equity investors, CEOs, and operators, thisconversation reveals what it takes to engineer go-to-market as a system, and why revenue growth is now the most underleveraged (and most critical) lever in value creation.What You'll Learn:• Why go-to-market performance rarely breaks, andhow it quietly drifts over time• Why “dominating the core” is the most overlooked growth strategy• Why marketing is the most underinvested (and misunderstood) function in PE-backed companies• The two go-to-market models emerging in private equity and which one is winning• Why fragmentation is the biggest constraint on growth• How to align go-to-market around systems, not silos, to drive predictable outcomesTimecodes00:34 Guest Intro: AJ Gandhi, Go-To-Market Private Equity Value Creation1:24 Before AJ Sold Anything, He Sold Berkeley3:11 Learning the Science of Sales 11:00 Selling to Skeptical Sales Leaders 15:24 Why You Should Never Hire the Oracle Rep 17:03 Enterprise Selling Lessons From Salesforce 20:41 What Holistic Go-To-Market Actually Means 22:40 The EQ Awakening 23:14 Building GTM From Scratch at Marlin 29:00 Why Go-To-Market Is Now a Valuation Issue 33:54 Why Go-To-Market Drifts Before It Breaks 36:38 The #1 Lever PE Firms Overlook 40:00 STEER and PISTON, Explained 47:33 Peak Performance 48:35 Sources of Inspiration 49:28 Advice for the Next Generation 52:01 Lightning Round: Personal ReflectionsResources:AJ Gandhi: LinkedIn: ⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/anjaigandhi/Linnea Jungnelius:LinkedIn: https://⁠www.linkedin.com/in/linneajungnelius ⁠X: ⁠https://x.com/itslinnea⁠Explore the Podcast:Spotify: ⁠ Apple Podcasts: ⁠ Blog: ⁠ Found Value?

What does it take to run a company where the business is risk itself?In conversation with Joubin Mirzadegan, Peter Zaffino shares what the role demands at AIG, including high stakes decisions, constant responsibility, and sacrifice. This episode looks at his journey as CEO ahead of his transition to Executive Chairman this June.Leading at a global scale across 200+ countries.Guest: Peter ZaffinoConnect with Peter ZaffinoLinkedInConnect with Joubin:XLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.comFollow on LinkedInFollow on X​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

Episode 153 of “The Trusted Advisor” features Zack Kass, the former Head of Go-To-Market for OpenAI and “one of the world's foremost authorities on applied AI.” Kass was the featured guest for a recent RSPA Emerging Technologies Advisory Group meeting.  Kass is an Executive-in-Residence at the University of Virginia, Chair of the Ruder Finn AI Advisory Council, and author of the new book The Next Renaissance: AI and the Expansion of Human Potential. Kass first crossed paths with many RSPA members when he keynoted BlueStar's VARTECH 2025 Conference in the Bahamas. “The Trusted Advisor,” powered by the Retail Solutions Providers Association (RSPA), is an award-winning content series designed specifically for retail IT VARs and software providers. Our goal is to educate you on the topics of leadership, management, hiring, sales, and other small business best practices. For more insights, visit the RSPA blog at www.GoRSPA.org.  The RSPA is North America's largest community of VARs, software providers, vendors, and distributors in the retail, restaurant, and grocery verticals. The mission of the RSPA is to accelerate the success of its members in the retail technology ecosystem by providing knowledge and connections. The organization offers member-to-member warm introductions, education, legal advice, industry advocacy, and other services to assist members with becoming and remaining successful. RSPA is most well-known for its signature events, RetailNOW and Inspire, which provide face-to-face learning and networking opportunities. Learn more by visiting www.GoRSPA.org. 

For more thoughts, clips, and updates, follow Avetis Antaplyan on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/avetisantaplyan⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠In this episode of The Tech Leader's Playbook, Avetis Antaplyan sits down with Chaitra Vedullapalli, President of Women in Cloud and a global go-to-market strategist who has driven billions in economic impact. Chaitra shares her mission to democratize economic access in an AI driven world, highlighting the reality that while information is abundant, true opportunity remains scarce and unevenly distributed.The conversation dives into her framework for creating economic pathways through careers, entrepreneurship, and leadership, each requiring distinct strategies and operating systems. Chaitra explains how AI is reshaping the value chain by shifting focus from role based work to workflow orchestration, and why leaders must rethink how they position themselves to stay relevant.She introduces the concept of iconic leadership, where success is measured by the ability to create access and multiply opportunities for others. The discussion also covers systemic barriers, especially for women founders, and why infrastructure investments in AI represent one of the biggest long term opportunities.This episode delivers a practical breakdown of leadership, access, and scalable growth in the evolving AI economy.TakeawaysAccess to economic opportunity, not just information, is the real advantage in today's economyConfidence is built through exposure and execution, not personalityThe three pathways are career, founder, and leadership, and each requires a different approachAI is shifting value from role based work to workflow based thinkingLeaders must move from doing to orchestrating and from knowing to decidingIconic leaders create systems that allow others to succeed at scaleIndecision, indifference, and insecurity are the biggest leadership blockersGrowth comes from an investment mindset, not a what's in it for me mindsetCo launch strategies allow companies to scale trust and distribution fasterInfrastructure such as compute, energy, and data is where long term wealth is builtMost people fail because they do not know how to create access for othersSuccess in AI depends on where you sit in the value chain, not just what tools you useChapters00:00 The Access Problem in Today's Economy00:36 Introducing Chaitra Vedullapalli01:22 Origin Story and Early Inspiration03:36 Confidence, Access, and Global Inequality08:57 Why One Path Doesn't Fit All13:19 AI's Impact on Opportunity Distribution19:11 Barriers for Women in Tech and Funding23:39 What Defines an Iconic Leader25:07 Leadership in the Age of AI28:05 The Three Leadership “Diseases”37:12 The Power of Creating Access42:11 Co-Launch Go-To-Market Strategy49:45 Creating vs Competing in Markets50:49 Why AI Infrastructure Wins Long-Term52:12 Signals for Future Investment Opportunities53:50 Books and Influences56:42 Final Advice for Leaders in AIChaitra Vedullapalli's Social Media Link:https://www.linkedin.com/in/chaitrav/https://www.instagram.com/chaivedulla/Chaitra Vedullapalli's Website Link:https://chaitravedullapalli.com/Resources and Links:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.hireclout.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.podcast.hireclout.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/hirefasthireright⁠

Dave "CAC" Kellogg and Ray "Growth" Rike discuss the ICONIQ 2026 State of GTM Report, a 32-page benchmark study based on a January 2026 survey of 155+ B2B SaaS executives across CROs, CEOs, and RevOps leaders. The pair digs into what the data says about how high-growth companies go to market differently, how usage-based pricing is reshaping sales compensation, and where AI in the GTM stack is actually delivering results versus falling short.Topics CoveredGTM Motion Mix: Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up vs. Hybrid. The data shows roughly 60% of companies use a hybrid motion, but high-growth companies skew more toward bottom-up and PLG. Ray and Dave unpack the ICONIQ "variable growth bar" definition and what the motion mix signals about the source of growth.Channel and Partnership Revenue Is Bigger Than Expected. ICONIQ reports channel partnerships representing 27-31% of revenue for high-growth companies. That is well above the 11-15% Ray typically sees in comparable reports. Dave calls it the long-awaited comeback of channel in SaaS, and both hosts flag the near-absence of self-serve as a surprise.Quota Setting and Commission Structures in a Usage-Based World. For the first time in a major GTM benchmark, ICONIQ covers how companies set quotas and structure commissions in a consumption and outcome-based pricing environment. 30% of respondents use forecasted consumption to set quota. Commission payout timing is split across four models, signaling how unsettled the go-to-market compensation playbook remains.Clawbacks Are Back. With usage-based and prepaid consumption models on the rise, 45-50% of companies now have clawback provisions in sales compensation. Ray and Dave discuss why clawbacks are a morale killer for sales teams and what the smarter alternative looks like in practice.POC and Free Trial Conversion Rates. POC-to-paid conversion improved from 36% to 50% year over year. Ray and Dave discuss resource allocation for proof-of-concepts, including dedicated versus shared solution architects, and raise the question of where forward-deployed engineers fit into the picture.AI in GTM: Where It Is and Isn't Working. Lead gen and call transcription top the adoption charts, but AI-driven forecasting sits at only 38%. Ray flags the gap between AI-native and traditional SaaS companies in GTM AI adoption. Dave points to slide 30 as a reality check: pipeline efficiency and unit economics are not yet showing meaningful improvement from AI investment.If you are responsible for GTM strategy, sales compensation, or measuring the ROI of AI investments, this episode gives you a practical lens on one of the best benchmark reports published in 2026. Ray and Dave go beyond summarizing the slides. Dave and Ray flag caveats in the methodology, challenge the data where it warrants scrutiny, and connect the findings to real-world operating decisions on quota design, commission structures, channel strategy, and AI adoption. If you only have time for one GTM benchmark deep-dive this year, this is the episode to start with.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In a market that hadn't changed in decades, Linear didn't win by being faster. They won by being more thoughtful.Karri Saarinen helped shape design at Airbnb and Coinbase before building Linear around small teams and high standards.On Grit, he shares how Linear is building for a new era of software development.Guest: Karri Saarinen, co-founder and CEO of LinearConnect with Karri SaarinenXLinkedInConnect with Josh Coyne:XLinkedInConnect with Joubin:XLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.comFollow on LinkedInFollow on X​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

Heading to Vegas this May? Join Josh at Pulse 2026 and come say hi—your oversized fluorescent daiquiri is on him. No catch.Grab your ticket at gainsightpulse.com and use code UNCHURNED for a special rate.Watch Eric Gilpin, President of Go-To-Market at G2, reveal how he's building the first-ever unified revenue org in a 210,000-product marketplace. In this episode, he takes us behind the scenes of G2's “zero daylight” alignment strategy and how it led to a game-changing 31% YoY traffic spike. Discover why G2 made the controversial bet to let LLMs scrape their data (and why competitors are now paying the price), how to flip buyer intent into “churn intent” to catch customers before they leave, and how the difference between “freelancers” and “contractors” became worth $600M+ in revenue. This is marketplace strategy 101, told by someone who's spent 25+ years perfecting it. Essential listening for GTM leaders, CS teams, and anyone building in B2B SaaS.---Timestamps0:00 - Preview & introduction1:28 - Meet Eric Gilpin & overview of G26:50 - How Upwork scaled from $30M to $650M in gross sales volume10:00 - Building G2's first President of Go-To-Market role11:13 - Zero daylight: Aligning marketing, BDRs, and all revenue teams16:42 - Pivoting narrative from “SEO review site” to AEO visibility engine18:15 - G2's “Hunter Hunter” post-sales org (60% growth from expansion)21:00 - The highest-value CS activities (hint: it's not quarterly review sends)23:23 - Self-serve + AI automation for the 150,000 SMB products25:23 - The churn intent27:28 - Why G2 allowed LLMs to train on their data31:55 - Nostalgia and denial kill businesses---What You'll Learn- How to eliminate silos by achieving “zero daylight” between marketing, sales, and revenue teams- The whitespace model G2 uses to find expansion revenue- How to build a “churn intent” system using buyer signals to catch churn before it happens- Why allowing LLMs to scrape your data early creates a competitive moat- The subtle power of reframing to unlock enterprise adoption and market perception- Why is constantly challenging your own status quo the only defense against disruption---Want the playbook, not just the conversation? Subscribe for deep-dive, actionable breakdowns from every episode at unchurned.substack.com.---Where to Find Eric GilpinLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericgilpin/---Where to Find Josh:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jschachter/Unchurned Substack: https://unchurned.substack.com/

What does security look like when attackers use AI better than you do?Armadin recently raised $200M to build for the “attacker of the future,” where attacks are autonomous and harder to contain.On the Kleiner Perkins Grit podcast, Kevin Mandia joins Joubin Mirzadegan to share how he's thinking about this shift, why cybersecurity has always been a calling, and why customer trust is what ultimately compounds into market leadership.Guest: Kevin Mandia, Founder and CEO, ArmadinConnect with Kevin MandiaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-mandia-0a07173/Connect with Josh Coyne:XLinkedInConnect with Joubin:XLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.comFollow on LinkedInFollow on X​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

Emil Michael went from scaling Uber across 600 cities to rewiring the world's largest military.In the midst of the Pentagon-Silicon Valley debate, the now U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering opens up about what a real partnership demands from both sides.He also shares how he's built three new entry points for defense tech companies, and why America's military is called the "Department of War" again.Guest: Emil Michael, U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Research and EngineeringConnect with Emil MichaelXLinkedInConnect with JoubinXLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.comFollow on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/kpgritFollow on X:https://x.com/KPGrit​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins