Podcasts about GTM

Brian Balfour, Founder & CEO of Reforge and former VP of Growth at HubSpot, joins Mostly Growth to explore why product-market fit is a moving target. He introduces the concept of the Product-Market Fit Treadmill, a state where rising customer expectations and competitive pressure make it harder than ever to stay ahead. Brian breaks down how AI has accelerated PMF collapse, explains the hidden costs of product adoption, and shares how Reforge shipped five AI-native products with a team of just 20 people. Packed with frameworks, strategic insight, and startup realism, this episode is essential listening for product leaders, operators, and founders navigating the next wave of GTM.—SPONSORS:Pulley is the cap table management platform built for CFOs and finance leaders who need reliable, audit-ready data and intuitive workflows, without the hidden fees or unreliable support. Switch in as little as 5 days and get 25% off your first year: https://pulley.com/mostlymetricsMetronome is real-time billing built for modern software companies. Metronome turns raw usage events into accurate invoices, gives customers bills they actually understand, and keeps finance, product, and engineering perfectly in sync. That's why category-defining companies like OpenAI and Anthropic trust Metronome to power usage-based pricing and enterprise contracts at scale. Focus on your product — not your billing. Learn more and get started at https://www.metronome.com—LINKS:Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comCJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/Brian Balfour: brianbalfour.comBrian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bbalfour/Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/https://brianbalfour.com/four-fits-growth-frameworkhttps://x.com/amasad/status/1981201454032703662?s=46https://getlatka.com/companies/firefliesaihttps://x.com/rowancheung/status/1988218743952916537?https://gamma.app/insights/how-we-built-a-usd100m-business-differently—RELATED EPISODES:When the marketing math doesn't math | with Emily Kramerhttps://youtu.be/sSuoV_YSrlwWhy Founders Are Posting Sad Dinnershttps://youtu.be/Zl6NSIHF2Gk—TIMESTAMPS:00:00:00 Preview and Intro00:01:51 Sponsors – Pulley, Metronome00:04:11 Introducing Brian Balfour & Reforge background00:07:22 Evergreen frameworks & Four Fits resurgence00:11:01 PMF treadmill and rising expectations00:14:26 AI shocks and PMF collapse (Chegg)00:16:43 CRM expectations & AI-native workflows00:20:44 R&D as ongoing cost to serve00:22:26 Customers buying based on future product velocity00:24:32 Communicating rapid releases & driving adoption00:25:17 Reforge's expanding AI product suite00:27:52 Product delivery vs. product adoption bottlenecks00:29:32 Platform distribution shifts introduction00:30:51 Evaluating emerging platforms00:32:04 The open → close platform cycle00:33:31 Moats, escape velocity & platform dominance00:36:32 Choosing major vs. emerging platforms00:40:22 ChatGPT dominance in AI discovery00:42:16 Hiring, resumes & filtering AI-generated applications00:43:30 AI note-taking market & “Flintstoning”00:47:03 Trying Gamma & AI-generated presentation tools00:50:08 AI onboarding innovations (WhatsApp agent)#MostlyGrowthPodcast #ProductMarketFit #BrianBalfour #StartupStrategy #Reforge This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cjgustafson.substack.com

Srikrishna Swaminathan is the Co-Founder and CEO of Factors.AI, a platform that helps B2B marketers understand, attribute, and optimize their go-to-market performance through data-driven insights. With a career spanning product, sales, and strategy, Sri has built and scaled high-performing teams, including a $100 million business unit at InMobi, before turning his focus to marketing analytics and revenue intelligence.At Factors.AI, Sri has led the company's mission to simplify complex marketing data by unifying customer journeys, automating attribution, and surfacing actionable insights for marketers. He emphasizes the importance of connecting marketing activity to real business outcomes, advocating for transparency, precision, and measurable impact in every GTM motion.In this episode we cover:00:00 - Intro01:21 - Understanding the Buyer Journey05:27 - The Role of AI in Marketing Execution11:02 - Navigating Privacy and Personalization in Ads14:37 - Leveraging Intent Data for Targeting19:53 - The Emergence of GTM Engineering22:06 - Creating a Unified Data View for Decision Making25:31 - Personal Insights and Advice from Sri26:00 – Sri's Favorite Activity to Get Into a Flow State27:22 – Sri's Advice for His Younger Self29:12 – Biggest Challenges and Goals for Factors AI31:06 – Instrumental Resources for Sri's Success33:09 – What Does Success Mean for Sri Today35:26 – Get in Touch with SriGet in Touch with Sri:Sri's LinkedInSri's EmailMentions:Abraham EralyBen Horowitzfactors.aiInMobiHubSpotG2BomboraZapierWebflowSlackWhatsAppClickUpNotionBooks:The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben HorowitzTag Us & Follow:FacebookLinkedInInstagramMore About Akeel:Twitter

In this episode of OnBase, host Chris Moody sits down with Corrina Owens to explore the evolution of account-based marketing, the misconceptions that still persist, and why most companies miss their biggest growth opportunity: their existing customers.Corrina details her non-traditional path into marketing, the value of being a generalist, and how ABM shifted from a set of disconnected tactics to a true go-to-market operating model. She breaks down the critical role of ICP development, the importance of analyzing first-party data, and why sales alignment is still the strongest predictor of ABM success.The conversation also dives into customer expansion strategies, the rise of AI as a democratizer of data, and the ABM plays every B2B organization should be running. Corrina shares practical examples, thoughtful commentary on relationship-building skills in the age of automation, and the mindset sellers and marketers need to stand out in modern B2B.Key TakeawaysABM is a go-to-market strategy, not a set of tacticsMost teams still define ABM as direct mail or targeted ads, but sustainable ABM success requires cross-functional alignment, sales process maturity, and clarity on the ICP.Your first-party data holds the real ICP insightsInstead of wish-list accounts or executive bias, the strongest ICP definitions come from analyzing a full fiscal year of closed-won and closed-lost data to uncover patterns.Customer expansion is the biggest missed opportunityOn average, companies land only about 30% of a customer's total ARR potential on initial purchase. Yet most marketing and ABM efforts stop immediately post-sale. Customer ABM should be a core motion.AI is democratizing data accessWhat once required multiple tools and data science resources can now be achieved with ChatGPT and well-structured prompts. AI helps teams iterate faster, brainstorm creatively, and pressure-test messaging.Human connection is the new differentiatorSellers struggle with relationship-building across channels, especially in a digital-first world. The ability to communicate authentically, not from templates, is becoming a critical skill.Give-first ABM plays drive the deepest brand impactPodcast invitations, industry award nominations, and sponsoring internal team events create memorable, non-transactional experiences that earn trust.Quotes“The best ABM plays are pure give tactics. You're not asking for anything back.”Tech recommendationsLovableChatGPTGeminiResource recommendationsThe Power of Onlyness by Nilofer Merchant – a powerful exploration of embracing your unique perspective and bringing your fullest self to your work.12 ABM plays by Corrina OwensShout-outsChristina Le, Head of Marketing at Plot.About the GuestCorrina Owens is the go-to GTM mind behind some of the most effective ABM plays in B2B SaaS. She's led award-winning programs at Gong and now works fractionally, advising and implementing pipeline-driving strategies at companies like Orum, TripleLift, Navattic, and UserGems.⁠Connect with Corrina⁠.

Jonny Adams brings decades of hands-on experience driving high-impact transformation and commercial excellence across professional services, technology, and financial sectors in Europe and the US. In this episode, he dives deep into what it takes to achieve Go-to-Market (GTM) transformation, aligning strategy, people, and technology to deliver measurable growth.You'll learn:What GTM transformation really means and why it matters for your growth mandate.Key internal and external components: market insights, proposition clarity, planning, team design, and tools.Triggers for transformation: investment growth, PE consolidation, and new C-suite hires.Leadership challenges in transformation: alignment, tenure, and change management pitfalls.How to select the right vendors and avoid technology fatigue.The importance of people, mindset, and capability assessment to ensure the right talent in the right roles.Multi-functional alignment: why Marketing and Sales KPIs must talk the same language.0:00 - GTM transformation overview6:32 - Core components of GTM transformation8:59 - Transformation triggers & investment impact10:56 - Leadership challenges: tenure, alignment & change14:52 - Leadership as the hub & change management gaps20:31 - Communication risks in transformations23:10 - Vendor strategy & tech considerations28:09 - Watchouts: tech fatigue & CRM reliance30:28 - Talent, mindset & capability assessment36:51 - Multi-functional alignment for Marketing & Sales40:27 - Closing remarks

In our latest episode, our co-hosts Robby and Tim talk with Yoni Michael and Kostas Pardalis, Co-Founders of Typedef. Both have deep backgrounds in data infrastructure (Starburst, Tecton, etc.) and, after meeting through a "blind date" at Blue Bottle Coffee, decided to team up to address the growing brittleness of large-scale data pipelines - issues made worse by the rise of AI.They explain how traditional systems like Spark weren't designed for today's AI workloads, especially unstructured data and LLM inference. Fenic was their answer: an open-source engine and DataFrame library built specifically for LLM workflows, multi-step reasoning, and agentic systems - without the operational complexity.Their biggest lessons: start GTM early, talk to as many data leaders as possible, and keep validating - insights that led directly to open-sourcing Fenic and building its MCP-powered developer experience.

After 20+ years at some of the most important Silicon Valley tech companies like Yahoo, LinkedIn, Oracle, Informix and NerdWallet, Bhaskar today leads investment of enterprise infrastructure companies at 8 VC.Bhaskar Ghosh spent 20+ years at some of the most important Silicon Valley tech companies before moving into venture capital as a Partner at 8VC.After completing his PhD in computer science from Yale, he worked across Yahoo, LinkedIn, Oracle, Informix and NerdWallet. He brings this experience to founders building the next generation of enterprise infrastructure companies.In this episode Bhaskar explains how IT services are being reimagined for India, a country that over the last 25 years turned its skilled workforce into a global services engine. We discuss the shift happening inside workflows most people do not think about: mid-office ops, call centers, insurance, travel and HR. These are areas where thousands of people move information every day, and where AI is now good enough to take over entire workflows.Bhaskar talks about the founders already building in this space, including those buying traditional services companies and rebuilding them with AI at the core. He also explains why this new wave will not behave, scale or be valued like SaaS, because this is no longer pure software. It is the reinvention of services.If you are a founder making engineering decisions, someone curious about the less visible layers of software, or interested in people who move technology forward, this conversation with Bhaskar is for you.00:00 –Trailer03:03 – How India will reimagine IT services (TCS, Infosys)04:32 – “why now” of services06:07 – How unstructured data became easier to handle?07:53 – What LLMs can do today with high precision10:35 – Use of GenAI will increase margins in services11:54 – Front & mid offices will become more productive and lean14:30 – Will a pure services business scale anymore?15:55 – Legacy service businesses + AI-first software20:04 – Real challenge to operate and scale such businesses20:33 – 3 reasons on why SaaS companies get higher multiples?22:06 – Network-effect players win big in SaaS24:18 – Replacing software v/s replacing services26:16 – Business without inherent network effects (yet)28:22 – Is AI unlocking TAM larger than Software era?30:57 – How prosperity of a country influences growth of Co's32:50 – India's tech talent is key to India-US corridor39:36 – Deeply disruptive AI Co's will come from India43:04 – How new-age AI services companies of India should grow in US?44:39 – Current BPOs have an unfair advantage47:21 – Will older BPOs understand the importance of AI?49:22 – A Moat in outcome-based pricing can replace old businesses51:50 – Has the US ever been sensitive to cost?55:23 – The new AI-enabled services have a Palantir-risk flavour58:47 – Where to build when model Co's eat forward & backward revenue?01:06:10 – What type of founding teams are needed?01:08:10 – How founders think about GTM is changing-------------India's talent has built the world's tech—now it's time to lead it.This mission goes beyond startups. It's about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.What is Neon Fund?We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that's done it before.Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we're doing it all at Neon.-------------Check us out on:Website: https://neon.fund/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonSend us a text

Defense technology has shifted from a social liability in Silicon Valley to commanding 35-40% of venture capital allocation—up from a historical 10%. This isn't just trend-following; it reflects fundamental market dynamics as SaaS becomes hypercompetitive and AI lowers barriers to entry, pushing capital toward deep tech where moats still exist. Blacklake, a defense holdco based in Austin, helps emerging defense companies navigate government procurement and expand into Europe, Asia-Pacific, and allied markets. In this episode, Jeff Crusey, EVP of Technology & Acquisition at Blacklake, reveals the emerging defense tech playbook, explains why lobbying ROI dwarfs traditional GTM spending, and details what actually matters when hardware meets government procurement. Topics Discussed: Why VC capital is rotating from SaaS to deep tech and defense The defense tech go-to-market playbook versus enterprise SaaS mechanics SBIR grant programs as non-dilutive capital for hardware development Lobbying and appropriations as core revenue drivers, not nice-to-haves Field deployment and operator feedback as the only viable iteration strategy Investor evaluation criteria for hardware-intensive defense businesses Emerging threat vectors in Arctic defense and orbital domain awareness GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Launch lobbying concurrent with SBIR Phase 1 applications: Companies initiating lobbying and appropriations work at the moment they apply for SBIR grants hit revenue milestones materially faster than those treating government affairs as a later-stage function. This means seed-stage companies maintain Capitol Hill presence—a pattern that didn't exist five years ago. The talent profile matters: government affairs hires need proven relationships within specific congressional committees and appropriations staff. Initial engagements typically involve external lobbying advisors with established networks, transitioning in-house at Series A when contract pipeline justifies dedicated headcount. This is consistently the highest-ROI channel in defense GTM. Optimize for deployment speed over system perfection: Modern conflict operates as continuous technological adaptation where capabilities become obsolete within weeks, not years. Companies achieving persistent field presence with operators—not laboratory perfection—win iterative cycles. The tactical approach: deploy minimum viable hardware to operational environments, capture real-world performance data and failure modes, then rapidly incorporate feedback into next iterations. This contradicts traditional defense procurement assumptions about "exquisite systems" and requires founders to resist over-engineering before battlefield validation. Solve the prototype funding problem through non-dilutive capital: Defense investors require working prototypes before capital deployment due to hardware risk profiles—fundamentally different from software's low marginal cost of iteration. This creates a chicken-and-egg problem: prototypes require capital, but capital requires prototypes. The solution path combines bootstrapping to early proof-of-concept, then leveraging SBIR Phase 1 grants (tens of thousands) to reach demonstrable prototype stage. Phase 2 awards (single-digit millions) fund production validation. Strategic founders pursue direct-to-Phase-2 pathways when possible, compressing the timeline from concept to validated demand signal. Strip technical complexity from investor communications: Defense founders with deep domain expertise consistently over-index on technical sophistication during fundraising conversations, losing investor attention before reaching commercial traction narratives. VCs evaluate market timing, defensibility, and path to scale—not engineering elegance. The correction: communicate technology at middle-school comprehension levels. This isn't condescension; it's recognizing that capital allocators optimize for portfolio construction, not technical peer review. Founders often feel they're "dumbing down" their innovations, but clarity on problem-solution fit and market size matters infinitely more than technical specifications during early fundraising stages. Treat SBIR phases as progressive demand validation, not just funding: The phased SBIR structure functions as government-backed demand signaling: Phase 1 validates concept feasibility, Phase 2 confirms development viability, Phase 3 demonstrates production readiness for potential program of record status. Investors decode these phases as risk reduction milestones. Phase 1 awards indicate government interest; Phase 2 awards (especially direct-to-Phase-2 or enhanced Phase 2) signal validated customer pull; Phase 3 contracts position companies for program of record awards worth hundreds of millions annually. Beyond capital, SBIR progression provides founder-market fit evidence and customer commitment that traditional LOIs cannot match in defense contexts. // Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe. www.GlobalTalent.co // Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM

Amit walked away from being President of 1-800-Flowers after scaling it from $500M to $2B because he saw smart people trapped in dumb systems. His insight: half of global GDP is 90% manual work—salespeople entering data instead of selling, technicians reading manuals instead of fixing. He started Instalily in Spring 2023 when everyone said AI agents were impossible. Instead of replacing workers, he built AI that finds signals in noise—telling each salesperson exactly which deal to focus on right now. The results are insane: $1M ARR within months, tripling revenue year two, delivering $150M+ value to single customers. His secret? While competitors pitched flashy demos, Amit's team attended 100+ trade shows to understand actual operator pain. They hired fresh AI grads who "shipped fearlessly" instead of senior talent stuck in old paradigms.Why You Should Listen:How "operator market fit" beats product market fit for enterprise salesThe GTM playbook that hit $1M ARR in months by attending 100+ trade showsWhy hiring AI-native grads crushed hiring senior talent for AI productsHow focusing on time-to-value unlocked enterprise dealsThe counterintuitive approach: augment the best parts of jobs, not the worstKeywords:startup podcast, startup podcast for founders, Instalily, Amit Shah, AI agents, enterprise sales, operator market fit, B2B SaaS, AI automation, vertical SaaS00:00:00 Intro00:04:42 Leaving 1-800-Flowers00:09:55 Starting when everyone said AI agents were impossible00:11:51 The vision—amplify the best parts of work, not replace the worst00:16:59 Operator market fit over product market fit00:20:48 Landing first $2B enterprise customers 00:29:00 The 100+ trade show GTM strategy that actually worked00:33:02 Why they hired AI-native grads instead of senior talent00:34:51 Hitting $1M ARR in monthsRetrySend me a message to let me know what you think!

Jyoti Bansal is the co-founder and CEO of Harness, the software delivery platform used by thousands of engineering teams, and previously founded AppDynamics, which he led from inception to a multibillion-dollar acquisition by Cisco. In this episode, Jyoti unpacks what it really takes to move from mid-market to enterprise, why he thinks in terms of “product-market-sales fit,” and how he structures Harness as a collection of “startups within a startup” to launch multiple “best-of-breed” products. In today's episode, we discuss: Why companies get stuck in the mid-market and struggle to move up into enterprise Why Jyoti deliberately lost Netflix as their customer The difference between product-market-sales fit, and product-market-fit How to build a scalable, capacity-driven go-to-market machine (instead of chasing deals) Diagnosing whether you have a product problem or a distribution problem How to hire and evaluate your first head of sales and top sales leaders Why Jyoti sold AppDynamics three days before IPO The “binary differentiator” rule for launching new products into crowded markets Why Harness runs 16 product lines under one roof Where to find Jyoti: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jyotibansal/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/jyotibansalsf Where to find Brett: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-berson-9986094/ Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/brettberson Where to find First Round Capital: Website: https://firstround.com/ First Round Review: https://review.firstround.com/ Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/firstround YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FirstRoundCapital This podcast on all platforms: https://review.firstround.com/podcast References: Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/ AppDynamics: https://www.appdynamics.com/ Barclays: https://home.barclays/ BIG Labs: https://www.biglabs.com/ Carlos Delatorre: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cadelatorre/ Charles Schwab: https://www.schwab.com/ Cisco: https://www.cisco.com/ Citi: https://www.citi.com/ Cloudability: https://www.apptio.com/products/cloudability/ Datadog: https://www.datadoghq.com/ Dynatrace: https://www.dynatrace.com/ Harness: https://www.harness.io/ Jeff Bezos: https://x.com/JeffBezos Microsoft: https://www.microsoft.com/ Nasdaq: https://www.nasdaq.com/ Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/ New Relic: https://newrelic.com/ Salesforce: https://www.salesforce.com/ Splunk: https://www.splunk.com/ Traceable: https://www.traceable.ai/ Unusual Ventures: https://www.unusual.vc/ VMware: https://www.vmware.com/ Timestamps: (01:48) Why do companies get stuck in the mid-market? (05:09) Designing a product for enterprise and mid-market (07:19) Why Jyoti lost Netflix as a customer - on purpose (10:18) Becoming a scalable GTM organization (12:32) The real signs of product-market fit (14:04) Have you delivered the value? (15:46) How to hire your first sales team (19:59) The four signs of excellent sales leaders (23:16) How to interview a sales leader (27:51) Where Jyoti developed his commercial taste (29:37) Why early founders need to learn sales (32:02) How AppDynamics began (36:36) Why Jyoti sold three days pre-IPO (41:55) What does a healthy board look like? (44:23) How Jyoti perceives competition (46:18) Why you need a binary differentiator (49:53) How to launch multiple products (52:00) “We need to be best of breed” (57:38) Why PMs are like mini-entrepreneurs (1:00:20) The startup within a startup (1:02:45) A culture of continuous improvement

Kellie Capote emphasizes the importance of having both a mentor and a sponsor in one's career. She explains the distinction between the two, highlighting that while mentors provide guidance, sponsors have the influence to promote and advocate for you within an organization. Kellie shares her personal experiences and stresses the need for individuals to advocate for themselves in their professional journeys.Kellie resides in Austin, TX, where she is a proud wife and mother to two daughters. She is the Chief Customer Officer at Bonterra, a social good software company supporting 15,000+ nonprofits and over half of Fortune 100 companies.  It has over 1000 employees.Between deep funding cuts and record-high service demand, nonprofits are facing an existential challenge. Kellie can offer a rare POV on (female) executive leadership in one of the most at-risk industries and how to rethink customerrelationships when the stakes are survival.Kellie also co-authored a book, Digital Customer Success: The Next Frontier on digital customer success, which Bonterra's Women in Tech Book Club read and discussed earlier this year. Energetic and results-driven customer success and GTM executive with 20 years of experience fostering customer relationships and leading customer facing teams. Proventrack record of driving customer growth, retention and reference-ability through building trusted advisor relationships and driving measurable business outcomes for customers. Deeply passionate about customer success being the growth engine of your organization.CURRENT PROJECTS TO PROMOTE:1.      October 1st: Bonterra launched Que,the first fully agentic AI platform purpose-built for the social good sector, spanning the entire ecosystem of funders, nonprofits, and supporters. 2.      September 8th: Bonterra released the Meetthe Moment: Navigating Funding Disruption report which reveals how federal budget shifts are straining organizations already stretched by rising community needs. The report is based on a survey of 2,608 nonprofit leaders and 107 funders.  bonterratech.com Kellie's Linkedin All social channels: @bonterratech            

When markets are kind, anyone can look like a genius. The test arrives when conditions turn—your systems, skills, and character decide what happens next.  What are the five drivers every leader must master? The five drivers are: Self Direction, People Skills, Process Skills, Communication, and Accountability. Mastering all five creates resilient performance across cycles. In boom times (think pre-pandemic luxury hotels in Japan) tailwinds mask weak leadership; in shocks (closed borders, supply chain crunches) only strong drivers keep teams delivering. As of 2025, executives in multinationals, SMEs, and startups alike need a balanced "stack": vision and values (Self Direction), talent and trust (People), systems and analytics (Process), clear messaging and questions (Communication), and personal ownership (Accountability). If one leg is shaky, the whole table wobbles. Do now: Score yourself 1–5 on each driver; identify your lowest two and set 30-day improvement actions.  Mini-summary: Five drivers form a complete system; strength in one can't compensate for failure in another. How does Self Direction separate steady leaders from "lucky" ones? Self-directed leaders set vision, goals, and culture—and adjust fast when reality bites. Great conditions or an inherited A-team help, but hope isn't a strategy. As markets shift in APAC, the US, or Europe, leaders with grounded values and a flexible ego change course quickly; rigid, oversized egos drive firms off cliffs faster. The calibration problem is real: we need enough ego to lead, not so much that we ignore evidence. In practice that means owner-dated goals, visible trade-offs, and a willingness to reverse a decision when facts change. Do now: Write a one-page "leader operating system": purpose, top 3 goals, non-negotiable values, and the conditions that trigger a pivot.  Mini-summary: Direction + adaptability beats bravado; values anchor the pivot, not the vanity. Why are People Skills the new performance engine? Complex work killed the "hero leader"; today's results flow from psychologically safe, capability-building teams.Whether you run manufacturing in Aichi, B2B SaaS in Seattle, or retail in Sydney, you need the right people on the bus, in the right seats. Trust is the currency; without it, there is no team—only compliant individuals. Servant leadership isn't slogans; it's practical: career conversations, strengths-based job fit, and coaching cadences. Climbing over bodies might have worked in 1995; in 2025 it destroys engagement, innovation, and retention. Do now: Map your team on fit vs. aspiration. Realign one role this fortnight and schedule two growth conversations per week for the next month.  Mini-summary: Build safety, match talent to roles, and coach growth; teams create the compounding returns, not lone heroes. What Process Skills keep quality high without killing initiative? Well-designed systems prevent good people from failing; poor processes turn stars into "low performers." Leaders must separate skill gaps from system flaws. Mis-fit is common—asking a big-picture creative to live in spreadsheets, or a detail maven to blue-sky strategy all day. Across sectors, involve people in improving the workflow; people support a world they help create. And yes, even "Driver" personalities must wear an Analytical hat for the numbers that matter: current, correct, relevant. Toyota's jidoka lesson applies broadly: stop the line when a defect appears, then fix root causes. Do now: Run a 60-minute process review: map steps, assign owners, check inputs/outputs, and identify one automation or simplification per step.  Mini-summary: Design beats heroics; match roles to wiring, make data accurate, improve the system with the people who run it. How should leaders communicate to create alignment that sticks? Great leaders talk less, listen more, and ask sharper questions—then verify that messages cascade cleanly.Communication isn't a TED Talk; it's a discipline. Listen for what's not said, surface hidden risks, and test understanding down the line. In Japan, nemawashi-style groundwork builds alignment before meetings; in the US/EU, crisp owner-dated action registers keep pace high without rework. In regulated fields (finance, healthcare, aerospace), clarity reduces audit friction; in creative and GTM teams, it accelerates experiments. Do now: Install a weekly "message audit": sample three layers (manager, IC, cross-function) and ask them to restate priorities, risks, and decisions in their own words.  Mini-summary: Listen deeply, question precisely, and ensure the message survives the org chart; alignment is measured at the edges. Where does Accountability start—and how do you make it contagious? Accountability starts at the top: the buck stops with the leader, without excuses—and then cascades through coaching and controls. As of 2025, boards and regulators demand both outcomes and evidence. Strong leaders admit errors quickly, fix them publicly, and maintain systems that track results and compliance. Accountability isn't blame; it's ownership plus support: clear goals, training, checkpoints, and consequences. In startups, this prevents "move fast and break the law"; in enterprises, it fights bureaucratic drift. Do now: Publish a one-page scoreboard each Monday (KPIs, leading indicators, risks) and hold a 15-minute review where owners report facts, not stories.  Mini-summary: Model ownership, build coaching and monitoring into the cadence, and make evidence a habit—not a surprise inspection. How do you integrate the five drivers across markets and company types? Balance is contextual: tighten controls in high-risk/low-competency zones; grant autonomy in low-risk/high-competency zones. Multinationals can borrow playbooks (RACI, stage gates), but SMEs need lightweight equivalents to preserve speed. Startups should resist the "super-doer" trap by delegating outcomes early; listed firms should fight analysis paralysis by protecting experiments inside guardrails. Across Japan, the US, and Europe, leaders who pair people development with process discipline outperform through cycles because capability compounds while compliance holds. Do now: Build a "risk × competency" grid for your top workflows and adjust oversight accordingly within 48 hours. Review monthly as skills rise.  Mini-summary: Tune people and process to context; move oversight with risk and capability, not with habit. Conclusion: strength in all five, not perfection in one Leadership success is engineered, not gifted by luck. When conditions turn, Self Direction provides the compass, People Skills provide power, Process Skills provide traction, Communication provides cohesion, and Accountability provides grip. Work the system, in that order, and your organisation will keep moving—legally, safely, profitably—even when the weather's foul.  Author Credentials Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie "One Carnegie Award" (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across all leadership, communication, sales, and presentation programs, including Leadership Training for Results. He has written several books, including three best-sellers — Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery, and Japan Presentations Mastery — along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigyō (ザ営業), Purezen no Tatsujin (プレゼンの達人), Torēningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemashō (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのはやめましょう), and Gendaiban "Hito o Ugokasu" Rīdā (現代版「人を動かす」リーダー).

70% of enterprise AI projects never reach production. The solution: Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs). In this episode, Vikram Vaidyanathan and Rocketlane CEO, Srikrishnan Ganesan unpack the rise of the FDE model, from Palantir's origins to how AI companies use it today to bridge the gap between prototypes and production. They discuss why traditional SaaS orgs break in AI, the governance needed to scale FDE teams, and why India is emerging as the global engine room for AI deployment. A crisp breakdown of the role shaping the future of enterprise AI. Chapters  00:01:29 -  Introduction to the Z47 podcast  00:04:16 - The 70% problem: Why enterprise AI fails to scale 00:05:25 - The origin story: Inside Palantir, where it all began 00:12:43 - Evolving from deployment to GTM engine 00:14:23 - The Vision Selling era: from POCs to production ROI 00:17:09 - What does a great FDE motion look like? 00:18:59 - Building with FDE DNA: How Rocketlane practices what it preaches 00:24:06 - Product, success, or stand-alone: Where should FDEs sit? 00:26:22 - Scaling the FDE model: from speed to structured governance 00:33:38 - Pairing on-site FDEs with India's 24×7 talent engine 00:34:21 - AI adoption as India's next big export 00:37:49 - FDEs: The human bridge between AI promise and delivery  

In this CRO Spotlight episode, host Warren Zenna sits down with Steven Birdsall, CRO at Alteryx, to unpack a sweeping leadership transition and how a newly formed C‑suite aligned on product and go‑to‑market. Steven shares how a product‑centric CEO and a servant‑leader CRO combine to create clarity of mandate, performance culture, and human‑first execution across sales, CS, partners, and solutions engineering.The conversation dives deep into Alteryx's evolution from workflows feeding BI to becoming the governed “canvas” for AI and agent use cases. Steven explains how business users can blend structured and unstructured data, enforce governance and access controls, and then safely bring LLMs into the same environment—pushing compute down to cloud data platforms like BigQuery, Databricks, and Snowflake.For CROs, Steven details practical AI operationalization: SDR personalization at scale, three‑dimensional agents trained on company knowledge, and revenue insights built directly on internal data. He outlines how to raise sales efficiency without scaling opex linearly, and why fast experimentation with new AI tools is now core to modern GTM orchestration.Steven closes with hiring and leadership principles for today's CRO: prioritize grit, perseverance, and customer centricity over pedigree; remove roadblocks for the field; and mentor generously. He shares how to balance data‑driven rigor with empathy, build alignment with marketing regardless of reporting lines, and stay entrepreneurial—even inside a large, complex organization.

Most teams think the answer to growth is simple. Add more. More markets, more products, more layers, more plays. The layer cake approach.It almost never works.It adds complexity, drains focus, and breaks what was already working.In this episode, Toni Holbein and Personio's Koen Stam talk about a better path. Instead of piling on new initiatives, fix the foundation. Improve the things that already drive revenue. Tighten ICP. Narrow focus. Sell better. Enable buyers. Strengthen the ecosystem around you. Document the process so the business does not depend on a few heroes.Do less. Execute better.This episode is brought to you by ZoomInfo, the Go-To-Market Intelligence Platform. ZoomInfo gives you high-quality B2B data and sales intelligence on in-market buyers across companies of all sizes, powered by AI-driven automation with integrated outreach tools to help your GTM teams build pipeline and close deals faster. Check them out at zoominfo.com/revenue-formula Want to work with us? Learn more: revformula.io(00:00) - Introduction (04:37) - Addressing the Great Pipeline Starvation (07:22) - Challenges of the Layered Approach (14:58) - Understanding Revenue Sources (19:19) - Data-Driven Decision Making (24:36) - The Parking Lot Exercise (27:43) - Vanity in Expansion (30:28) - Understanding Y our ICP (31:43) - Building a Target List (34:23) - Enabling Buyers (38:51) - Leveraging Ecosystems (43:55) - Process Over People (48:35) - Final Thoughts and Wrap-Up

Guest: Brian Gustason, Operating Partner at Craig Group Host: Alex Rawlings, Founder of Raw Selection

How do companies like Salesforce and Dell scale intelligence across every cloud?Aidan Gomez, co-founder and CEO of Cohere, explains how they're building AI that works across all enterprise systems and deploys anywhere, giving companies true flexibility and security.He joins Joubin Mirzadegan for a wide-ranging conversation on why synthetic data went from dismissed to indispensable, and how the race among AI labs is really unfolding.Guest: Aidan Gomez, co-founder and CEO of CohereConnect with Aidan: XLinkedInConnect with Joubin: XLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.comLearn more about Kleiner Perkins

In this HANDS-ON episode of GTM Live, we're ditching theory and building a real go-to-market strategy live—using AI, public data, and a completely different approach to finding and messaging prospects.Join host Amber Williams and special guest Jordan Crawford, the "OG GTM Engineer" and early advisor to Clay, for a masterclass in pain-qualified segmentation. Watch as Jordan demonstrates how to use ChatGPT to identify prospects who actually need your solution and craft messages that deliver independent value before you ever ask for a meeting.What You'll Learn:Why traditional ICP scoring is "mental masturbation for executives" and what to do insteadHow to work backwards from customer pain using public data and AIThe game-changing concept of "the list is the message"How to identify demonstrable value props that competitors can't replicateWhy vertical SaaS has a hidden advantage (and what horizontal SaaS can learn)PLUS: Real-time walkthrough: Finding pain-qualified prospects for a clean energy platform using only ChatGPT and public dataAI has transformed tools from "access" to "power tools" overnight. Leaders can no longer delegate strategy to RevOps and hope for the best. You need to get your hands dirty with the data to understand what's actually possible.

**GPT-5.1 just changed the AI game with 3 superpowers most people are completely missing.** In this complete guide, I break down exactly how to use Speed + Warmth, Adaptive Reasoning, and Instruction-Following Precision to 10x your productivity in sales, marketing, and strategy.**What You'll Learn:**✅ How to choose between GPT-5.1 Instant and Thinking modes for maximum ROI✅ The secret adaptive reasoning feature that makes GPT-5.1 85% more accurate✅ Why speed + warmth eliminates endless revision cycles (and saves hours weekly)✅ The 4-part prompt framework for repeatable, reliable AI workflows✅ Real-world applications across sales, marketing, GTM, and executive decisions✅ 5 workflows you can implement TODAY to delegate entire projects to AI**Quick Answer: What is GPT-5.1?**GPT-5.1 is OpenAI's November 2025 release featuring two modes: Instant (prioritizes speed + warmth with adaptive reasoning) and Thinking (deep analysis for complex tasks). It scored 85% on AIME 2025 benchmarks and introduces 8 personality presets for tone control.**Quick Answer: What are GPT-5.1's 3 Superpowers?**1. Speed + Warmth - 2x faster on simple tasks with conversational, human-like tone2. Adaptive Reasoning - Automatically decides when to think deeper (85% AIME score)3. Instruction-Following Precision - Follows specifications exactly, enabling repeatable systems**Quick Answer: Should I use GPT-5.1 Instant or Thinking mode?**Use Instant for 80% of daily tasks (emails, content drafts, quick research). Instant now has adaptive reasoning that automatically engages deeper thinking when needed. Use Thinking mode only for complex strategic decisions, multi-step analysis, or long-context workflows requiring 196K token limit.**Q: What is GPT-5.1?**A: GPT-5.1 is OpenAI's November 2025 AI model release featuring adaptive reasoning, speed optimization, and improved instruction-following. It comes in two modes: Instant (default, fast, with adaptive reasoning) and Thinking (deep analysis for complex tasks).**Q: What are the 3 superpowers of GPT-5.1?**A: 1) Speed + Warmth - 2x faster responses with natural, conversational tone, 2) Adaptive Reasoning - automatically decides when to think deeper (85% AIME benchmark), 3) Instruction-Following Precision - executes exact specifications for repeatable workflows.**Q: Should I use GPT-5.1 Instant or Thinking?**A: Use Instant for 80% of tasks (emails, content, quick analysis). Instant has adaptive reasoning built-in. Use Thinking only for complex strategic decisions, multi-step reasoning, or tasks requiring the 196K token context window.**Q: How much does GPT-5.1 cost?**A: GPT-5.1 is available to ChatGPT Plus ($20/month), Pro ($200/month), Team, and Enterprise users. Free tier access rolled out after paid users. API pricing varies by mode (Instant vs Thinking).**Q: Is GPT-5.1 better than GPT-5?**A: Yes. GPT-5.1 scored 85% on AIME 2025 (vs GPT-5's 75%), responds 2x faster on simple tasks, follows instructions more precisely, and includes adaptive reasoning which GPT-5 lacked. Users describe it as "what GPT-5 should have been."----------------Your competitors are already using AI. Don't get left behind. Weekly strategies used by PE Backed and Publicly Traded Companies → https://www.aiforrevenue.com/superhumanrevenue-newsletterRyan Staley - https://ryanstaley.io/podcast/LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-staley/Explore the latest advancements in **artificial intelligence** with GPT-5! This video explores how to leverage **chatgpt** and other **ai tools** to create powerful **ai productivity tools**. Discover the potential of **generative ai** and create your own **ai teammate** with the newest **gpt5** features.

#304 | AI Buying Shift | This episode is from a recent Exit Five live session where I pulled together Lindsay O'Brien (Head of Marketing & Operations, Predictiv), Tom Wentworth (CMO, incident.io), and Aditya Vempaty (VP of Marketing, MoEngage) for a real talk on how AI is completely rewiring the B2B buying journey. We got into why buyers no longer need your pretty funnel, how AI-powered research changes the sales call, and what that means for your GTM strategy.Timestamps(00:00) - – Intro + Dave Sets the Stage (04:07) - – How AI Is Changing B2B Buying (11:07) - – The Big Shift: Taste, Unscalable Work, and Distribution (16:07) - – Getting Exec Buy-In for “Unmeasurable” Marketing (20:07) - – Does the Funnel Still Matter? (24:07) - – Dead Tactics: Gating, A/B Testing, Lead Score Theater (30:53) - – AI That Actually Works (Real Use Cases) (37:53) - – Team Size, Skills, and the New CMO (43:53) - – Authenticity vs AI: Creative, Video, and Brand (58:53) - – Content Attribution + Final Takeaways Join 50,000 people who get our Exit Five Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletterLearn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/***Today's episode is brought to you by Paramark.It's November. 2026 planning is already here. And the stuff you're doing right now will decide how next year plays out. But here's the problem: most teams are still planning next year's marketing strategy based on the WRONG DATA because of broken attribution and a misleading gut feel.  And you can't make smart budget calls if you're just guessing what's working, what's not, and where to put your next dollar.That's where Paramark comes in. They help you replace the guesswork with actual insight backed by $2 billion in analyzed marketing data. They've figured out what actually drives incremental growth across every channel including LinkedIn, Meta, TikTok, Google, CTV, even OOH.And right now, they're offering a private 1:1 consultation with their CEO and CMO, Pranav and Sam, who have led marketing teams at companies like Dropbox, Adobe, Microsoft, and Shutterfly. In this 45-minute strategy session, they'll help you measure the real impact of every marketing dollar, pull insights from your current media mix, and design a 2026 roadmap that's rooted in data, not gut.This is a heck of an offer. And it's real. And will go fast. So if you want to future-proof your marketing strategy for 2026, don't miss out on this offer.Grab your spot at paramark.com/brand-consult.***Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.Visit hatch.fm to learn more

On this episode of Embracing Erosion, Devon sits down with Evan Goldberg, the Vice President of Product Marketing at LastPass. Evan's spent over 20 years leading go-to-market and product marketing teams across cybersecurity and SaaS.In their conversation, they discuss how cybersecurity marketing is evolving in an AI-driven world, including the tension between productivity and protection, and how AI is reshaping both attack and defense. They also explored emerging trends like digital risk protection, compliance automation, and the future of executive cyber defense.Evan shared his perspective on what makes for a great PMM leader, how to diagnose the health of a GTM org, and why curiosity and candor are critical to developing world-class teams. Enjoy the conversation!

Why Trust Breaks Down and What To Do About It In this episode, Marcus talks with Charles Green, one of the genuine heavyweights in the world of trust and commercial relationships. If you lead a mid market scaling tech firm and you suspect your sales or GTM function is underperforming for reasons no dashboard can explain, this conversation will feel uncomfortably accurate. Together they explore how fear, uncertainty, and internal pressure quietly poison performance. Forget the usual talk about activity ratios and pipeline hygiene. This is a candid look at the human drivers behind buyer reluctance, stalling, and ghosting, and why most attempts to “solve” these problems only make them worse. Charlie argues that instead of trying to measure trust, leaders should focus on spotting and removing the behaviours that actively destroy it. If you are grappling with the tension between short term targets and long term customer value, this episode will challenge how you think about leadership, incentives, and your culture. Key Takeaways for Scaling Founders, GTM Leaders and Sales People Trust is lived, not conceptual. It is emotional as much as rational. Charlie draws a clear distinction between thin, institutional trust and thick, personal trust. Trust is often built in moments. Reliability takes repetition, but intimacy is created quickly. How you pause, how you listen, and how you look at someone all matter more than your slide deck. Over promising is lying twice. One promise on the way in, one on the way out. It corrodes trust faster than anything. Fear drives most distrust. Buyers who feel uncertain catastrophise. That is what creates anticipatory buyer remorse and pipeline ghosting. The antidote is to name the fear out loud. Once spoken, it loses power. Repair beats perfection. A relationship that has been broken and then repaired well is often stronger than one that never faced a test. Repair requires vulnerability and accountability, not ego. The Trust Equation and Why Most Firms Focus on the Wrong Bits The Trust Equation helped popularise the components of trustworthiness. Most leaders obsess over credibility and reliability because they are convenient to measure. Charlie explains why they are nowhere near the strongest drivers. Intimacy. By far the biggest factor. It is about making the other person feel safe, understood, and genuinely heard. Nurses top trust rankings for a reason. Low Self Orientation. The second strongest factor. Hard to measure and impossible to bribe into existence. Fear drives self orientation. Freedom from fear frees you to focus on others. Scaling, Money, and the Uncomfortable Truth About Culture Charlie and Marcus tackle why trust based, customer centric selling so often collapses once a company grows beyond 100 or 200 people. Money permeates culture. Investors and boards often prioritise valuation over outcomes. This shifts intent and corrodes trust without anyone noticing. Ideology shapes behaviour. Modern management is built on economic beliefs that favour short term gains and things that are easy to measure. Mixed messages destroy conviction. Telling teams to “do the right thing” while driving absurd stretch targets creates confusion and cynicism. The Bill Green example. When the former Accenture CEO was challenged about incentives conflicting with doing the right thing, he told the room to do the right thing first, then fix the incentives later. That clarity changed the behaviour of forty senior leaders immediately. Practical Trust Based GTM Moves These are the actions Charles Green recommends leaders adopt straight away. Be transparent on price early. Withholding price to “build value” creates anxiety. Give a ballpark early to remove fear. Stop using discounts as currency. It destroys trust. Offer only standard, published discounts such as volume or non profit rates. Protect existing customers first. Expansion and net new wins come after that. Repeat business is far more profitable and far less stressful. Measure Time to Value, not NPS. Buyers rent an outcome. How quickly they reach it tells you more about your trustworthiness than a score. Build your trust muscle. Make many small promises and keep every one of them. It is astonishing how fast this compounds. Model the behaviour you want. Trust others first and show your workings. A simple line such as “I could be wrong, but it seems this is an issue. Is it?” creates space for honesty. Final Thoughts and What Happens Next Trust is built in tiny moments. Charlie encourages listeners to choose two or three insights, write them down, and let them settle into daily practice. Marcus points out that a 0.1 percent daily improvement compounds to roughly 30 percent over a year. The benefits start immediately. Listeners are invitated to join Sellers Anonymous, a community helping salespeople strengthen their trust muscle Subscribe to hear the next episode: Marcus and Charles will dissect how the Trust Equation applies to negotiation, objections, and winning second and third waves of business.   Links to books discussed Adam Smith Wealth of Nations The Theory of Moral Sentiments   Frederick Reichheld The Loyalty Effect   Peter Boghossian How to have impossible conversations Manual for creating atheists   Contacts Connect with Charlie on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/charleshgreen/ Connect with Marcus https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcuscauchi/ And if you'd like to be a guest contact me https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzannecauchi/

What's Next for Outbound Sales? Aaron Ross (Predictable Revenue) & Adem Manderovic (Closed Circuit Selling)Outbound sales is at a crossroads.Automation is everywhere. AI is flooding inboxes. Meetings are harder to book than ever.So we sat down with Aaron Ross, author of Predictable Revenue and From Impossible to Inevitable, to ask one question:What's next for outbound sales?Alongside Aaron, Adem Manderovic (Closed Circuit Selling, CRO School) breaks down why GTM teams misread Predictable Revenue, how outbound drifted into “meetings at all costs,” and what a modern outbound system actually looks like. We dig into market validation, cataloguing timing signals, emotional intelligence, relationship systems, and why AI is forcing teams back to fundamentals.If you sell, market, or run a revenue team, this conversation will change how you think about outbound.Tune in and learn:+ Why Predictable Revenue was never meant to be a “meetings engine”+ How outbound broke – and how to rebuild it around market validation+ Why the future of outbound is more human, not more automatedIf you're trying to fix noisy outbound, align sales and marketing, or build a modern revenue system, this episode is a must-watch.-----------------------------------------------------

The best B2B brands don't just tell a story. They live it across every team, channel, and touchpoint.  But how do you get everyone aligned — from sales to customer success — without the story getting lost in translation (or buried in features)?  That question sits at the center of this conversation, as Drew talks with Marca Armstrong (Sensera Systems) and Caitlin Cassady (Beyond) about how to build a team of company-wide storytellers. From capturing customer language to coaching teams on how to use it, they reveal how to make your story stick—and scale. In this episode:  Marca starts with a simple headline story ("build with confidence") and ensures it shows up consistently in every GTM motion.  Caitlin turns real customer stories into marketing fuel, using a "so what?" filter to connect features to real outcomes.  Together, they treat storytelling as everyone's job, so marketing, sales, and CX all carry the same story.  Plus:  Measuring story-led work vs. feature blasts  Spotting what moves pipeline  Keeping language sharp so customer phrasing shows up in deals  Making storytelling a team sport across the company If you want a story your customers instantly recognize—no matter who they talk to—this episode gives you the moves to make it happen.  For full show notes and transcripts, visit https://renegademarketing.com/podcasts/ To learn more about CMO Huddles, visit https://cmohuddles.com/

CFOs are abandoning quarterly planning cycles for week-by-week assessments as trade tensions, tariff uncertainty, and supplier volatility force a new short-term reality onto financial leadership. Seamus Smith, EVP and Group President of Automated Finance at FIS, and Chrissy Wagner, SVP of GTM at FIS, break down how finance leaders can balance urgent risk management with strategic growth positioning through data quality, automation, and AI. Smith and Wagner reveal that cybersecurity tops the list of CFO concerns, but inefficient processes and lack of visibility into money flows are the real operational killers, particularly as organizations grow through M&A. They explain how FIS helped clients navigate recent tariff disruptions through better data visibility, why paper checks remain one of the biggest fraud vectors in modern finance, how supply chain finance is underutilized in the US compared to Europe, and why AI is already delivering $3.70 in returns for every dollar invested in credit underwriting and collections.

Gaurav Bhasin is the founder and managing director of Allied Advisers, an M&A advisory firm whose principals have completed over 100 sell-side transactions for software and tech founders. After two decades in investment banking and tech M&A, Gaurav is a sell-side advisor to B2B software founders who have built successful businesses and want to explore selling their companies. Allied Advisers typically works with founders selling their businesses for $20M–$200M, helping them prepare materials, run a competitive process, and negotiate terms. We discuss how today's M&A market looks very different from the 2021 bubble. Valuations have normalized, deal timelines have increased, and buyers are more disciplined. But the demand for profitable, steadily growing SaaS companies is stronger than ever. Gaurav breaks down strategic and private equity buyers, what metrics matter most, how AI influences valuations, and why most founders underestimate the emotional and operational effort required to sell. For practical founders thinking about an exit in the next few years, this episode provides clear expectations and tactical guidance. Key Takeaways Profitable Growth Wins — Buyers prefer SaaS companies growing 20–50% with real profits over faster revenue growth fueled by burn. Metrics Drive Valuation — Net retention above 110%, gross retention above 90%, and >75% gross margins increase valuation and buyer interest. Run a Real Process — A single buyer gives you no leverage. Multiple qualified buyers improve pricing, terms, and closing certainty. AI Is Lipstick — But Real — You don't need to be AI-native. Practical AI that improves product, margin, or GTM still increases buyer interest.   Quote from Gaurav Bhasin, founder and managing director of Allied Advisers "The good news for SaaS founders is that the private equity community has raised about $1.5 trillion of capital, and more is being raised. And they also have access to debt. So there's $7 trillion of dry powder to do deals. Private equity is not paid to sit on the cash. And they love recurring revenue software.  "Private equity investors will typically move much faster than strategic buyers. Strategics will take a while. You need a business unit sponsor to buy into the vision, and then they will push the corporate to do the deal. But with the private equity, they will look at your financial metrics and if you fit in, they can move pretty fast.  "The one caveat with private equity compared to strategic is they generally pay a little bit less than the strategics because strategics have established distribution and GTM for higher growth, so private equity will index more on the financials." Links Gaurav Bhasin on LinkedIn Allied Advisers on LinkedIn Allied Advisers website 2025 Vertical SaaS Report - Allied Advisers Podcast Sponsor – Fraction This podcast is sponsored by Fraction. Fraction gives you access to senior US-based engineers and CTOs — without full-time costs or hiring risks. Get 10 to 30 hours per week from vetted and experienced US-based talent. Find your next fractional senior engineer or CTO at fraction.work. You can start with a one-week, risk-free trial to test it out. The Practical Founders Podcast Tune into the Practical Founders Podcast for weekly in-depth interviews with founders who have built valuable software companies without big funding. Subscribe to the Practical Founders Podcast using your favorite podcast app or view on our YouTube channel. Get the weekly Practical Founders newsletter and podcast updates at practicalfounders.com. Practical Founders CEO Peer Groups Be part of a committed and confidential group of practical founders creating valuable software companies without big VC funding.  A Practical Founders Peer Group is a committed and confidential group of founders/CEOs who want to help you succeed on your terms. Each Practical Founders Peer Group is personally curated and moderated by Greg Head.

Episode SummaryIn this episode of the Thread Podcast, host Justin Vandehey sits down with John Queally, Senior Director of Revenue Operations at Clari, to explore how RevOps is evolving in the age of AI, and what it really means to build a data-driven go-to-market organization.John's career spans consulting, analytics at JP Morgan, leadership roles at American Express and Qualtrics, and now Clari — one of the companies that helped define modern RevOps. He shares how his early assumption that tech companies were “amazing at data” turned out to be completely wrong, and why that realization led him to see RevOps as the spinal column and nervous system of every go-to-market organization.Together, they dive deep into:How to unify fractured data systems across sales, marketing, CS, and productThe difference between “tools” and true data architectureWhy AI is exposing every fault line in go-to-market organizationsThe human side of RevOps: partnerships, trust, and communicationWhat “world-class” looks like for RevOps in 2025 and beyondHow to balance machine intelligence with human intuition in salesAnd how leaders can prepare for the next generation of revenue operationsChapters00:00 – Introduction Justin introduces John Queally and his path from consulting and banking to RevOps leadership at Clari.01:10 – From JP Morgan to Clari: The Data Reality Check John shares how his early experience in finance led him to realize how disorganized data is across tech companies — and how that sparked his RevOps journey.03:30 – Defining RevOps as the Spinal Column Why RevOps should serve as the connective nervous system for GTM — ensuring every function operates from the same base of facts.05:00 – What “World-Class” RevOps Looks Like Today John explains how the definition of world-class RevOps is shifting toward data ownership, cohesive field experiences, and AI-enabled decision-making.06:30 – AI vs. Human Intuition The ongoing tension between automation and human instinct in sales — and why RevOps needs to serve as a checkpoint, not a replacement.08:15 – The Future of CRM and GTM Systems A look ahead at how the sales tech stack is evolving beyond monolithic CRMs into a connected ecosystem of specialized tools.10:00 – Machine Learning and Predicting Customer Behavior John shares how Clari partnered with data science firm QuadSci to achieve 94% churn prediction accuracy — and how that insight gets surfaced seamlessly to the field.13:00 – Cross-Functional Alignment at Scale Why true RevOps alignment comes from people, not tickets — and why John's team embeds directly within every GTM function.15:30 – Developing the Next Generation of RevOps Leaders The skills operators need to thrive in this next era — including data fluency, architectural thinking, and strategic ownership.18:00 – The AI Wake-Up Call Why 80% of AI projects fail — and how RevOps leaders can prepare their orgs by fixing data quality and alignment first.20:00 – Closing Thoughts John's reflections on RevOps as a community-driven discipline, the future of collaboration, and why every GTM leader must now own their data story.

Wisdom AI sells to enterprise data teams, empowering them to deploy AI data analysts that automate analytics functions traditionally handled by human analysts. As a former Rubrik co-founder and Google search ranking engineer, Soham identified the analytics problem firsthand while scaling Rubrik from intuition-driven to data-driven operations. In this episode of Category Visionaries, Soham shares how four Rubrik alumni are building a category-defining solution in the data analytics space, the tactical insights from targeting mid-market accounts to optimize deal velocity and onboarding experience, and how AI buying committees shifted from experimental budgets in 2024 to gatekeepers requiring departmental champions in 2025. Topics Discussed: Leveraging mid-market focus to compress sales cycles while refining onboarding as core product differentiation The transition from gut-based decisions to data-driven operations and why analytics remains unsolved Taming LLMs for precision and explainability requirements in enterprise analytics contexts Strategic navigation of the data ecosystem following the FiveTran-DBT merger and positioning against Snowflake, Databricks, and cloud providers Overlaying product-led trial motions on enterprise sales to maintain momentum during extended procurement cycles AI committee evolution from 2024's experimental phase to 2025's security-focused consolidation mandate Pursuing 10x productivity gains versus incremental improvement in established analytics markets GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Use mid-market to build onboarding velocity as moat: Rubrik deliberately targeted mid-market accounts despite being an enterprise product that closed eight-figure deals. This served two strategic purposes: compressed sales cycles enabled faster learning loops, and the necessity of quick onboarding forced the team to build exceptional admin experiences that became their primary differentiation. For B2B founders, mid-market isn't just easier logos—it's a forcing function for product refinement that creates competitive advantages when moving upmarket. Find problems through operational scar tissue, not market research: Wisdom AI originated when Soham tried moonlighting as engineering's data analyst during Rubrik's scaling phase and discovered he couldn't do it effectively. This wasn't a customer interview insight—it was firsthand recognition that even sophisticated technical leaders with dedicated focus couldn't wrangle data for operational decisions. The problem proved ubiquitous across every business leader optimizing top line, bottom line, and operations. B2B founders building for enterprises should prioritize pain points they've personally hit in operational contexts where existing solutions demonstrably failed them. Engineer time-to-value in minutes for PLG overlay on enterprise sales: Wisdom AI's experiential quality—users get excited when they try it, not when they see slides—creates PLG opportunity despite enterprise positioning. The critical difference: sales-led motions tolerate weeks to first value and build confidence through process, but self-serve requires hook-to-value in minutes with zero support. Soham's insight is using PLG not for credit card swipes but to maintain champion enthusiasm during lengthy procurement processes. B2B founders should architect trial experiences that deliver standalone value pre-data connection, creating internal advocates who sustain momentum through AI committee reviews. Treat ecosystem navigation as first-class GTM workstream: Wisdom AI's success depends on partnership execution with Snowflake, Databricks, and cloud providers—all potential competitors with their own AI initiatives. The FiveTran-DBT merger created immediate dynamic shifts requiring repositioning. Rather than viewing partnerships as business development, Soham frames ecosystem navigation as core GTM infrastructure requiring dedicated strategy and repeatable playbooks. B2B founders in platform-adjacent spaces should staff for partnership complexity early, recognizing that integration points and co-selling motions often determine market access more than direct sales capacity. Architect for AI committee gatekeepers with departmental executive sponsorship: The market fundamentally shifted from mid-2024's "experimental AI budgets, try everything" to 2025's centralized AI committees focused on security, tool consolidation, and preventing organizational wild west scenarios. Soham's tactical response: secure champions owning specific important departments who can navigate approval hierarchies while trial experiences maintain grassroots excitement. The implication for B2B AI founders—assumption of longer cycles, security scrutiny as table stakes, and explicit strategies for climbing from individual enthusiast to organizational deployment become non-negotiable enterprise sales requirements. // Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe. www.GlobalTalent.co // Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM

Head of Global ABM & Campaigns at Datadog, Kevin Driscoll leads a global team driving pipeline through integrated, data-led programs. With experience at IBM and Anaplan, he blends demand generation, growth marketing, and competitive strategy to unite sales and marketing around impact. His focus on scalable personalization, creative testing, and bridging PLG and SLG motions has made him a leading voice in account-based growth.Watch this episode and learn:How Datadog evolved from PLG to a focused, account-based growth model.Why a “two-hat” ABM structure strengthens GTM alignment.What B2C-style creativity can teach B2B marketers about engagement.How AI enhances research and personalization while keeping ABM human-led.

Marta leads the EMEA ABM strategy at Ping Identity. With expertise spanning marketing strategy, GTM planning, and creative campaign execution, she has a proven ability to deliver measurable impact through data-driven programs and innovative partnerships. Known for aligning Sales and Marketing around high-value accounts, Marta blends strategic vision with a results-focused mindset, helping organizations strengthen engagement, accelerate pipeline, and achieve revenue growth at scale.Watch this episode and learn:How “scaling down” unlocked greater impact and deeper engagementWhy ABM must be a long-term relationship program and not a “campaign in a box”What it takes to win alignment across Sales, CS, and leadershipHow to co-create value with partners and measure success beyond pipeline

In this podcast episode, Dr. Jonathan H. Westover talks with Francoise Brougher about rethinking the workforce of the future. Francoise Brougher is a pioneering technology leader with more than 25 years of experience scaling category-defining companies and driving AI-first business transformation. She currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer and Board Member at Pebl (formerly Velocity Global), where she is leading the company's reinvention as an AI-first global workforce platform. Under her leadership, Pebl is reshaping the Employer of Record industry by combining 10+ years of compliance precision with AI-driven simplicity, speed, and transparency, empowering companies to hire and manage talent across 185+ countries. Francoise has a proven track record of building and scaling global organizations responsible for multi-billion-dollar revenue growth. She took both Square (2015) and Pinterest (2019) public as the executive leader of GTM strategy. Earlier at Google, she scaled SMB Global Sales and Operations into a 15B+ business, pioneering the application of machine learning to customer engagement. She currently serves on the boards of Qonto (Chair, Compensation Committee), Too Good To Go, and as a Board Observer at Alan. She started her career in Japan, working for L'Oreal in a manufacturing plant for three years, where she installed a Computer-Assisted Manufacturing System. After her MBA, she joined Booz Allen and Hamilton in Paris and San Francisco. Check out all of the podcasts in the HCI Podcast Network!

Boris Sofman is the CEO and Co-Founder of Bedrock Robotics, a company turning existing construction equipment into fully autonomous fleets through same-day hardware upfits. With over $80 million in funding from Eclipse, 8VC, NVIDIA Ventures, and former Waymo CEO John Krafcik, Bedrock is tackling a major bottleneck in the global economy: a massive construction labor shortage just as demand for data centers, clean energy projects, housing, and manufacturing is skyrocketing. In this episode, Boris shares how his experience building autonomous vehicles at Waymo inspired him to apply similar AI and machine learning approaches to heavy equipment. He explains why full autonomy matters in construction, what it unlocks for efficiency and safety, and how Bedrock plans to accelerate infrastructure and industrial development through robotic automation.Episode recorded on Sept 30, 2025 (Published on Nov 13, 2025)In this episode, we cover: [02:45] Boris's background in robotics and autonomous vehicles[04:50] Learnings from Waymo applied to construction[10:09] Boris's predictions for autonomous vehicles in the future[18:44] Why he left Waymo to start Bedrock Robotics[22:59] Choosing construction as the first market for autonomy[25:26] How Bedrock upfits machines without permanent modifications[26:25] Why excavators are the first target use case[28:20] Training AI to navigate changing job site environments[30:54] Skipping teleoperation and going straight to autonomy[35:52] Bedrock's GTM focus on heavy industrial sectors[40:46] How to work with traditional industries effectively[43:55] How autonomy solves labor shortages and safety challenges Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at info@mcj.vc.Connect with MCJ:Cody Simms on LinkedInVisit mcj.vcSubscribe to the MCJ Newsletter*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Join hosts Ken Roden and Erin Mills as they reflect on an incredible Season 2 of the FutureCraft GTM podcast. From pilot purgatory to agent swarms, they unpack how AI in go-to-market evolved throughout the year, share their biggest lessons learned, and make bold predictions for 2026. Key Topics Covered Season 2 Reflections [00:01:00] The slow start vs. strong finish of AI adoption Pilot purgatory and why 95% of AI rollouts struggled The accordion effect of AI tools throughout the year Guest Predictions Review - "They Called It" [00:04:00] Rachel Tru Air on AI SDRs: Still a work in progress Chase Hannigan on no-code agentic systems: Ahead of the curve Liza Adams on EQ being the edge: Called it perfectly Major Themes That Emerged [00:08:00] Adoption over tools as the key to success AI as teammate vs. AI as output generator The "sandwich model" - humans at both ends, AI in the middle Curiosity and EQ as critical differentiators What Failed This Year [00:10:00] AI vendor spray-and-pray marketing Custom GPT overload (600 GPTs at one company!) Rolling out LLMs without proper change management Business Impact Wins [00:17:00] Speed to market improvements Analytics accessibility for non-technical users 600% more time on site from AI-driven traffic Time auditing as a measurement strategy Personal Lightning Round [00:32:00] Most overhyped buzzword: AIEO Underrated tool: N8N Biggest personal unlock: Self-regulation with AI use Best use case: Digital twins and content workflows 2026 Predictions [00:24:00] Agent swarms and workforces (Erin's pick) Digital twins as the hero (Ken's pick) Closed company-specific LLMs Fractional AI experts with their own agent teams New organizational structures emerging Notable Quotes "AI is like an intern with a PhD who doesn't have any business experience" - Ken "Digital twins are great, but I think it's gonna be swarms" - Erin "It's 90% focus on the people and 10% on the execution now, not the other way around" - Erin "Get your hands dirty. Because this is new to everybody, there's a real need to understand what your team is going through" - Erin Guests Mentioned This Episode Liza Adams Rachel Truair (Simpro) Chase Hannegan Sheena Miles Rebecca Shaddix Chris Penn Key Takeaways Change management is critical - 80% focus on people, 20% on execution Start with boring problems - Don't chase the sexiest AI use cases Define acceptable mistakes - Know when to call a pilot a failure Agent swarms are the future - Moving beyond single-purpose tools Communities matter - AI has opened unprecedented knowledge sharing Speed to market - Months-long processes now taking days or hours Resources Mentioned N8N workflow automation platform Relevance AI Lindy ElevenLabs (voice) Planet Money AI recruiting segment Chris Penn's analytics community Coming in Season 3 (March 2026) Human agentic workflows with verification stopgaps Agent swarm implementations New modalities: voice and video applications More on the Iron Man suit approach to fractional AI work Share what you want to see in Season 3 & Connect with the Hosts: Ken Roden Erin Mills   About FutureCraft Stay tuned for more insightful episodes from the FutureCraft podcast, where we continue to explore the evolving intersection of AI and GTM. Take advantage of the full episode for in-depth discussions and much more. To listen to the full episode and stay updated on future episodes, visit our website, https://www.futurecraftai.media/ Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered advice. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are our own and do not represent those of any company or business we currently work for/with or have worked for/with in the past. Music: Far Away - MK2

Refine Labs CEO Megan Bowen joins Evan Kirstel for a deep-dive into how B2B marketing must evolve for the AI era. The conversation covers modern go-to-market models, buyer-centric strategies, and how Refine Labs helps companies drive measurable pipeline growth through data, experimentation, and cultural excellence.1. Speakers and RolesMegan Bowen – CEO of Refine Labs. With 20 years in B2B SaaS at companies like Zocdoc, Grubhub, and WeWork, she brings deep expertise in modernizing go-to-market strategy and redefining marketing measurement.Evan Kirstel– Host and interviewer. Brings over 30 years in tech sales and marketing leadership.2. Topics CoveredThe evolution of B2B buying and selling from the analog to the AI era.Why traditional MQL-based marketing is outdated.The “Brand, Demand, Expand” model for full-funnel growth.Refine Labs' AI strategy and benchmarking methodology.Alignment between sales and marketing in 2025.The future of content creation and human creativity in an AI-driven market.Building company culture around people-first principles.The Refine Labs Vault: democratizing growth frameworks and insights.3. Questions This Video Helps AnswerWhat's fundamentally broken about traditional B2B marketing models?Why is the MQL metric no longer a reliable measure of success?How should marketers adapt to buyer-led decision-making?What is the “Brand, Demand, Expand” framework, and how does it work?How is AI transforming marketing operations and customer acquisition?How can companies build a people-first culture that drives performance?4. Jobs, Roles, and Responsibilities MentionedCEO, CMO, VP of Marketing, Sales teams, Customer Success and Account Management, Marketing Operations and Creative roles, Content strategists and paid media managers5. Frameworks and Concepts MentionedBrand, Demand, Expand (three-pillar GTM framework)Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)Buyer-centric marketingAI-powered benchmarksRevenue funnel analysis and pipeline conversion optimization6. Related ResourcesRefine Labs: https://www.refinelabs.comThe Vault: access to Refine Labs frameworks and community.HubSpot (mentioned as part of inbound marketing evolution)Grandin Holdings (Refine Labs investment partner)

In this episode of the B2B Go-To-Market Leaders Podcast, Vijay Damojipurapu sits down with Gamiel Gran, Partner at Mayfield, to explore how decades of GTM experience—from IBM and Oracle to BEA Software and now venture capital—have shaped his philosophy on customer-centric growth and founder leadership.Gamiel shares timeless lessons from building sales teams, scaling enterprise software in the early internet era, and coaching today's AI-first founders through the next great technology shift. His message is simple but profound: it's not about you—it's about them.They dive into:How curiosity and empathy separate great salespeople from quota chasers.Lessons from IBM's legendary consultative sales training and Oracle's “win at all costs” culture.The importance of founder clarity—why every word you say shapes how your team sells.How defining who not to sell to creates stronger product-market fit.The discipline of persona mapping: knowing your buyer so well you could do their job.Why AI isn't just another wave—but a complete redesign of the IT and GTM stack.How agentic workflows will change selling, buying, and business process itself.Why founders must balance open-mindedness with focus—clarity is leadership.And the advice Gamiel gives every entrepreneur: Be your own North Star.From fax-era product-led growth to AI-native go-to-market design, this conversation is a masterclass in how technology, empathy, and leadership evolve together.Connect with Gamiel Gran on LinkedInConnect with Vijay Damojipurapu on LinkedInBrought to you by: stratyve.com

The journey from aerospace engineering at NASA to serial entrepreneur isn't a well-trodden path but it's one that's worked for Adam Markowitz. In this episode of The SaaS Revolution Show, Alex Theuma talks with the Drata Co-founder and CEO about the journey from NASA, to edtech, to Drata and how lessons at each stage led him to the next. From finding product-market fit and executing at speed, to building a culture of trust and timing the market just right, Adam shares the learnings behind Drata's rapid rise from $0-100M ARR in four years. Listen to learn: - How NASA inspired Adam's founder mindset and approach to problem-solving - The “lightning in a bottle” moment that catapulted Drata's product-market fit - How strategy, execution, and timing team became Drata's competitive advantage - Why a partner-led GTM strategy helped Drata scale faster - How AI is transforming compliance and customer expectations in SaaS Guest links: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/markowitzadam/ Website - https://drata.com/       Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward: 

Most sales leaders start with the comp plan - but the smartest start with strategy. In this episode of the B2B Sales Trends Podcast, host Harry Kendlbacher sits down with Jahangir Iqbal, VP of Central Operations and Sales Compensation at Palo Alto Networks, to unpack how strategic sales compensation can activate your GTM strategy, drive the right behaviors, and inspire sales teams to perform with clarity and purpose.

Databox is an easy-to-use Analytics Platform for growing businesses. We make it easy to centralize and view your entire company's marketing, sales, revenue, and product data in one place, so you always know how you're performing. Learn More About DataboxSubscribe to our newsletter for episode summaries, benchmark data, and moreWhat if the secret to hitting your sales targets isn't hiring more reps – but adjusting just three levers?In this episode, we sit down with Dougie Loan, Chief Revenue Officer at SourceWhale, to break down the simple but powerful sales planning formula that's reshaped how his team forecasts growth. Spoiler: It has nothing to do with throwing more headcount at the problem.Dougie walks through how his team shifted from boardroom wishful thinking to a data-driven forecasting model built on three core metrics: Qualified Held Meetings, Close Rate, and Average Deal Value. You'll hear how they use this model to build annual plans, set realistic targets, coach reps, align marketing and sales, and even decide where to invest R&D dollars.Watch the full interview to learn how Dougie:- Replaced headcount-based forecasting with a repeatable, lever-driven model- Redefined what actually counts as a qualified opportunity- Aligns marketing and sales teams around shared revenue metrics- Profiles churned vs. retained customers to refine their ICP- Uses CS adoption scoring to drive renewals and upsell strategy

"78% of salespeople miss their sales targets. That means your entire revenue forecast is riding on just 22% of your team."That's the brutal reality Matt Milligan discovered after spending years in go-to-market transformation – and it's what drove him to build Uhubs, a company that's now helping teams achieve 83% increases in revenue per head.In today's episode, I'm joined by Matt Milligan, CEO and Co-founder of Uhubs, Forbes 30 Under 30 honouree, and former professional golfer. After playing on the IGT tour in South Africa, Matt moved into consulting at EY, where he built their startup network and observed the massive gaps in how companies hire, enable, and manage their sales teams. His solution? Combine quantitative data, qualitative assessments, and call recording analysis to identify what actually separates high performers from the rest – then use AI to create roadmaps that close the gap.Together we unpack:Why relying on Salesforce dashboards alone misses the human component driving performanceHow first-time managers are the single greatest point of failure in most organisationsWhy managers spend all their time with underperformers (and how that kills your A players)The three data sources you need to truly understand what makes your best sellers greatWhy gut-feel hiring is killing your growth (and what to do instead)

Assembled is the AI customer support platform powering hundreds of modern enterprises including Stripe, Robinhood, Salesforce, and Ashley Furniture. The company's largest customer operates a 20,000-person contact center. With products spanning AI chat and voice agents that resolve 70-80% of tickets to sophisticated workforce management and forecasting systems, Assembled's core thesis challenges the industry narrative: the best support teams orchestrate humans and AI in perfect balance rather than replacing one with the other. In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, we sat down with Ryan Wang, CEO and Co-Founder of Assembled, to explore the company's journey from eight months to first customer to becoming the infrastructure behind customer experiences at scale. Topics Discussed: The reality gap between AI support demos and production deployment Why sophisticated buyers now demand quality benchmarks and latency metrics over feature lists The hidden complexity in contact center work: KYC compliance, fraud review, and multi-system workflows How the Klarna "fire everyone" approach failed and what it reveals about the market Patrick and John Collison's all-company support rotations at Stripe The product-market fit question that ended six months of wrong direction Enterprise destiny baked into early product decisions Converting LinkedIn discomfort into a systematic storytelling engine Path dependence from workforce management to AI automation products Why customer support problems rhyme with operations challenges across industries GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Quality-first positioning wins when buyers move past demo amazement: Ryan observed a critical market shift. Sophisticated buyers now run rigorous bake-offs with training data variability and ask for latency metrics, quality benchmarks, and production performance data. The last three AI deals Assembled closed required detailed competitive evaluations. When messaging emphasizes cost reduction over quality improvement, you lose credibility with buyers who understand that turning off support entirely would be free—they're investing in lifetime value and loyalty creation. Position around the buyer's actual objective hierarchy: quality first, efficiency as validation. The product-market fit question that encodes your entire GTM strategy: Ryan's co-founder asked prospects "What is software that you must have or you hate your options?" This single question revealed multiple strategic insights simultaneously: you're targeting painkillers in established categories, pursuing replacement sales against weak incumbents, and entering markets with demonstrated willingness to pay. For Assembled, this naturally surfaced workforce management—a must-have category with Windows 95-era tools serving 20,000-person teams. The question's elegance is how it filters for product-market fit and GTM approach in one conversation. Access the best through respect signals, not connections: When hiring his first engineering executive at 15 people, Ryan got an introduction to a former VP of Engineering at Facebook, then explicitly signaled time respect: requested only 15 minutes, clarified he wasn't recruiting, offered availability "Saturday 8pm or anytime," and had specific questions prepared. The call happened at an odd Saturday time. The insight wasn't just learning about "Dual Lands" leadership (a Magic: The Gathering reference)—it was understanding how exceptional minds construct mental models. You can reach these people through investor networks or multi-hop introductions, but earning their time requires demonstrating you'll use it surgically. Recognize when you're not "the company" to avoid strategic errors: A top recruiting firm told Ryan "you're not Stripe, so you can't sell people like you're Stripe." At any moment, one Silicon Valley company occupies a unique position—Stripe then, OpenAI now—where normal rules don't apply. That company can eliminate product managers, remove all titles, or make unconventional demands. Understanding you're not in that position prevents catastrophic hiring missteps. Ryan had to recalibrate from Stripe-era patterns where his recruiter became Anthropic's president and his onboarding buddy became OpenAI's president. Your positioning must match your actual market gravity, not your aspirational tier. Systematize founder storytelling to compound credibility: Ryan solved founder marketing discomfort by reframing from self-promotion to being an intermediary—sharing customer stories from Armenia, banking conferences, and global contact centers rather than broadcasting opinions. The system: Friday morning sessions with prompts ("interesting things from this week," "near-death moments," "challenges from 1-10M to 10-20M ARR," "why London now?"), team filters for compelling angles, three drafts weekly, then editing. The Science of Storytelling principles apply: narratives demonstrating lived experience build more credibility than thought leadership. This creates a flywheel where audience members surface their own stories in comments and DMs, feeding future content. // Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe. www.GlobalTalent.co // Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role.  Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM

Keye helps private equity investors accelerate deal evaluation through AI-powered quantitative analysis. In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, I sat down with Rohan Parikh, Co-Founder and CEO of Keye, to explore how his team bridges the gap between AI capabilities and the 100% accuracy requirements of financial due diligence—enabling PE firms to say no to deals earlier and focus resources on the right opportunities. Topics Discussed: Why ChatGPT-style search and summarization tools fail in PE workflows—summaries don't drive investment decisions The technical challenge of achieving 100% deterministic accuracy while maintaining AI contextualization capabilities How market timing created unexpected GTM momentum: PE operating partners watching portfolio companies transform with AI became receptive to internal tooling Persona-specific cold email strategies that demonstrate workflow understanding rather than biographical personalization Design partner economics in conservative industries: accepting

Newly promoted and still stuck in "super-doer" mode? Here's how to rebalance control, culture, and delegation so the whole team scales—safely and fast.  Why do new managers struggle when they're promoted from "star doer" to "leader"? Because your brain stays in production mode while your job has shifted to people, culture, and systems. After promotion, you're accountable not only for your own KPIs but for the entire team's outcomes. It's tempting to cling to tasks you control—dashboards, sequencing, reporting—because they're tangible and quick wins. But 2025 leadership in Japan, Australia, the US, and Europe demands more: setting strategy, articulating vision, and developing capability. The pivot is psychological—move from "I produce" to "I enable production," or you'll cap growth and burn out. Do now: List your top five "leader-only" responsibilities and five tasks to delegate this week; schedule handovers with owners and dates.  Mini-summary: New leaders fail by over-doing; succeed by re-wiring attention from personal output to team capability. What's the practical difference between managing processes and leading people? Managers ensure things are done right; leaders ensure we're doing the right things—and growing people as we go.Processes secure quality, timeliness, budget discipline, and compliance. Leadership adds direction: strategy, culture, talent development, and context setting. Across sectors—manufacturing in Aichi, B2B SaaS in Seattle, retail in Sydney—over-indexing on process alone turns humans into "system attachments," stifling initiative and innovation. Over-indexing on people without controls risks safety, regulatory breaches, and inconsistent delivery. The art is dynamic dosage: tighten or loosen controls as competency, risk, and stakes shift. Do now: For each workflow, rate "risk" and "competency." High risk/low competency → tighter checks; low risk/high competency → more autonomy.  Mini-summary: Processes protect, people propel; leaders tune both based on risk and capability. How much control is "just enough" without killing initiative or risking compliance? Use the guardrail test: prevent safety/compliance violations while leaving room for stretch, accountability, and growth. Post-pandemic supply chains, ESG scrutiny, and Japan's regulator expectations mean leaders can't "set and forget." Too few checks invite fines—or jail time for accountable officers; too many checks create Theory X micromanagement that freezes learning. Borrow from Toyota's jidoka spirit: stop the line when risk spikes, but otherwise let teams problem-solve. In SMEs and startups, standardise the critical few controls (safety, security, data) and keep the rest principle-based to preserve speed. Do now: Write a one-page "controls charter" listing non-negotiables (safety, compliance) and "managed freedoms" (experiments, pilots, scope to improve).  Mini-summary: Guardrails first, freedom second—enough control to stay legal and safe, enough autonomy to develop people. How do I stop doing my team's work and start scaling through delegation? Delegate outcomes, not chores—and accept short-term pain for long-term scale. Many first-time managers keep their player tasks because they distrust others or fear being accountable for mistakes. That works for a quarter, not a year. By FY2026, targets rise while your personal capacity doesn't. Multinationals from Rakuten to Siemens train leaders to assign the "what" and "why," agree on milestones and quality criteria, then coach on the "how." Expect a temporary dip as skills climb; measure trajectory, not perfection. Do now: Pick two tasks you still hoard. Define success, constraints, and checkpoints; delegate by Friday, then coach at the first checkpoint.  Mini-summary: Let go to grow; specify outcomes and coach to capability. How can I balance micro-management and neglect in day-to-day leadership? Replace "hovering" and "hands-off" with scheduled, high-leverage follow-up. Micromanagement announces low trust; neglect announces low care. Instead, run structured check-ins: purpose, progress, problems, pivots. In regulated environments (banks, healthcare, manufacturing), confirm evidence of controls; in creative or GTM teams, probe learning, experiments, and customer signals. Across APAC, leaders who share decision frameworks (RACI/DACI; risk thresholds; escalation paths) cut rework and surprise escalations. Do now: Implement a weekly 20-minute "PPP" per direct report—Progress (facts), Problems (risks), Pivots (next choices)—with artefacts attached in advance.  Mini-summary: Neither smother nor ignore—use predictable, evidence-based check-ins to align and de-risk. When should leaders "lead from the front" versus "get out of the way"? Front-load leadership in ambiguity; step back once clarity, competence, and controls exist. In crises, new markets, or safety-critical launches, visible, directive leadership calms noise and sets pace (think: first 90 days of a turnaround or a factory start-up). As routines stabilise, flip to servant leadership: remove blockers, broker resources, and celebrate small wins. In Japan, Nemawashi-style groundwork before meetings accelerates execution; in the US and Europe, crisp owner-dated action registers keep speed without rework. The best leaders oscillate based on context, not ego. Do now: For each initiative, label its phase (Explore/Build/Run). Explore = lead hands-on; Build = co-pilot; Run = empower with audits.  Mini-summary: Lead hard in fog; empower once the road is clear and guardrails hold. Conclusion: your real job is capability, culture, and controlled freedom Great organisations don't trade people for process or vice-versa—they orchestrate both. As of 2025, the winners grow leaders who tune controls to risk, develop people faster than targets rise, and delegate outcomes with smart follow-up. Stop carrying the team on your back. Build a team that carries the work—safely, compliantly, and proudly.  Optional FAQs Is micromanagement ever right? Only for high-risk, low-competency tasks; use it briefly, with a plan to taper. What if my team is slower than me? That's normal initially; coach cadence and quality, not perfection. How do I avoid regulator trouble? Document controls, evidence checks, and incident response paths; audit monthly. What do I say to ex-peers I now manage? Reset expectations: new role, shared goals, clear decision rights, and escalation routes.  Next steps for leaders/executives Write your one-page controls charter and review it with Legal/Compliance. Convert two "player" tasks into delegated outcomes this week. Install weekly PPP check-ins with artefacts attached in advance. Map each initiative to Explore/Build/Run and adjust your involvement accordingly.  Author Credentials Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie "One Carnegie Award" (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across all leadership, communication, sales, and presentation programs, including Leadership Training for Results. He has written several books, including three best-sellers — Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery, and Japan Presentations Mastery — along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigyō (ザ営業), Purezen no Tatsujin (プレゼンの達人), Torēningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemashō (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのはやめましょう), and Gendaiban "Hito o Ugokasu" Rīdā (現代版「人を動かす」リーダー). Greg also publishes daily business insights on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, and hosts six weekly podcasts. On YouTube, he produces The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show, Japan Business Mastery, and Japan's Top Business Interviews. 

Recorded live at the SaaS Summit in Amsterdam, this episode of the Grow Your B2B SaaS Podcast dives into a focused conversation with Mark Appel, Chief Marketing Officer at Sendcloud. As one of Europe's fastest-growing B2B SaaS platforms, Sendcloud operates across eight European markets, generating close to 60 million in annual recurring revenue with a team of about 450. In this discussion, Mark reveals how Sendcloud approaches international scaling, builds cross-functional go-to-market alignment, identifies and prioritizes compounding growth loops, and integrates AI agents across marketing and GTM operations. He also reflects on what he would do differently if he could rebuild a SaaS go-to-market motion from scratch, what early-stage founders should focus on to reach their first 10K MRR, and how to evolve from feature-led messaging to a brand-led narrative on the path to 10 million ARR.Key Timecodes(00:00) – Intro: Scaling B2B SaaS, Growth Loops & AI GTM 2026(01:10) – Guest Intro: Mark Appel, CMO of Sendcloud(01:39) – Company Snapshot: €60M ARR, 450 Employees, 8 Markets(02:20) – 2026 Focus: International SaaS Scaling Strategy(02:36) – Cross-Functional GTM: Marketing, Sales & CS Alignment(03:26) – GTM Motion: Hybrid PLG + SLG in B2B SaaS(03:39) – Finding Growth Loops Across 8 Countries(04:34) – Working Growth Loops: Demand to Revenue Flywheel(05:15) – Platform Network Effects: Merchants, Carriers & Partners(06:13) – Built-in Virality: Tracking Emails as Growth Channel(06:51) – Ad Break: Reditus Affiliate & Referral Growth(07:35) – AI for GTM 2026: AI SDRs & Marketing Agents(08:50) – AI Implementation: Challenges & Early Adoption(09:55) – Biggest GTM Shift: Retention, Expansion & Automation(10:22) – PLG in Product: Driving Adoption via In-App Prompts(11:40) – Rebuilding GTM: Cross-Functional Pods by Segment(12:41) – Segmentation: Startup to Enterprise Strategy(13:21) – Future Growth Loops: Consumer Visibility for SaaS(14:41) – 0 to 10K MRR: In-Market Demand & Search Campaigns(15:34) – 10K MRR to €10M ARR: Brand-Led SaaS Growth(16:03) – Connect with Mark Appel: LinkedIn & Email(16:18) – Outro & CTA: Subscribe, Sponsor & Learn via Reditus

This episode of The Inquisitor Podcast features Parker Mills, Account Executive at ServiceNow and author of State and Local Government Sales: Beyond the Bid. Parker exposes the systemic dysfunction created when short-term sales culture sabotages long-term public value. With 11 years in U.S. state and local government (SLG) sales, he dissects the brutal misalignment where enterprise is the tail that wags the dog, corporate GTM strategy, incentives, and collateral all built for the wrong customer profile. For founders and C-suites, Parker calls out the dangerous internal pressure that fuels “optimism theatre” and quietly corrodes integrity and trust. His challenge: treat forecast accuracy as a measure of integrity, not compliance. Give your sellers the freedom to protect relationships from the distortions of quarterly panic. Why? Because government sales aren't built for sprints. The average deal runs 18 months, often tied to state fiscal calendars or biennial budgets. The only winning strategy is one built on patience, preparation, and principle. For sellers in the field, we unpack how to move Beyond the Bid, from chasing RFPs to driving pre-RFP collaboration 2–3 years before the funding ask. Parker reveals the practical shifts that separate average from elite: Stop prescribing and start co-developing Learn the policy backdrop, especially around AI (many states still ban GenAI) Read public strategic plans like they're account plans Map the second and third rooms to stop corridor kills before they happen And the biggest mindset shift of all: stop focusing on winning the bid.  Focus on deserving the renewal. Integrity is not a slogan, it's a skill. If you're ready to dismantle a commercial-centric GTM and align your quotas to public sector reality, this conversation will challenge your thinking. Parker shares a blueprint for turning forecast accuracy into integrity, handling ghosting with composure, and learning why slowing down is the fastest way to sustainable growth. Tune in to discover how integrity-led sellers shape the deal years before the RFP, and why that's exactly what the public sector deserves.   Contact Parker: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamills/ Email parkermills@stateandlocalsales.com Parker's book 'State and Local Government Sales: Beyond the Bid': https://amzn.to/445uJCz  

After selling your company for half a billion dollars, what do you do next? Our guest, Shay Levi, decided to start all over again with an even more ambitious mission. Shay previously co-founded the API security giant Noname Security, which was acquired by Akamai for a staggering $500 million.Now, he's back with Unframe, a company taking on the entire software industry with a radical promise: they'll build your custom software for free, and you only pay if it delivers a real impact.Today, Shay walks us through his incredible journey, the contrarian thinking behind his new venture, and how Unframe is using AI to build working solutions in just a matter of days.⭐ Sponsored by Podcast10x - Podcasting agency for VCs - https://podcast10x.comVC10X website - https://VC10X.com/Unframe website - https://unframe.aiShay Levi on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaylevi2

Informed buyers believe they don't need sellers - and in many cases, they're right. In this episode, Sarah Branfman, Global VP of ISV Sales & GTM at Databricks, explains how buying behavior has fundamentally shifted, why traditional selling fails in complex B2B sales, and what elite sellers must do to create value buyers can't get on their own. Explore more insights: www.globalperformancegroup.com Timestamps: 00:00 – “We don't need a rep anymore.” The hard truth 02:45 – From ballerina to VP: Sarah's nonlinear career path 06:18 – The rise of the informed buyer in complex B2B sales 09:40 – How modern buyers want to buy (and why sellers resist it) 12:52 – Comfort-zone selling and losing deals you could have won 18:10 – Value-based selling, decision-making psychology, and the cost of inaction 20:55 – Ruthless qualification vs. the hope-based pipeline 26:30 – Discovery never ends: re-qualifying through the buying journey 29:02 – Provocative questioning and generating unconsidered needs 33:40 – The 3 traits of elite sellers: drive, curiosity, coachability Modern selling isn't about pressure — it's about enabling informed decision-making through sharper sales discovery, stronger sales enablement, and real business insight. In this episode, Harry Kendlbacher sits down with Sarah, to explore the mindsets and behaviors top sellers use to stay relevant and win in today's complex B2B landscape. You'll learn: – Why buyers feel they don't need sellers – How to win them back with insight-driven conversations – How elite sellers qualify and re-qualify throughout the buying journey – How decision-making psychology and cost of inaction shape urgency Key Takeaways: • Buyers aren't distrustful — they're independent. Sellers must add value beyond what buyers can research or ask AI. • In complex B2B sales, discovery and qualification never end — every new stakeholder resets the process. • The cost of inaction is often a stronger driver of urgency than ROI. • Value-based selling works only when sellers provoke new insights buyers haven't considered. • Elite sellers share three traits: relentless drive, deep curiosity, and coachability. About Guest: Sarah Branfman is the Global VP of ISV Sales & Go-To-Market at Databricks, where she leads strategic partnerships with the world's leading software and data companies. With deep experience in hyper-growth environments like MongoDB and Databricks, Sarah brings a modern, practical perspective on selling to the informed buyer in complex B2B environments. Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahbranfman/ If this episode sparked new thinking, share it with your team. Subscribe for weekly insights on modern selling, leadership, and performance. Explore more at www.globalperformancegroup.com

The hardest company to build is the one you start after you've already succeeded.After scaling Yext into a platform powering millions of businesses, Howard Lerman chose to start over with Roam, the “Office of the Future,” where humans and AI work side by side from anywhere.On Grit, he joins Joubin Mirzadegan to talk about the solitude of leadership and what happens when you stop building for Wall Street.Guest: Howard Lerman, co-founder and former CEO of Yext, and founder and CEO of Roam​Connect with Howard LermanXLinkedInConnect with JoubinXLinkedInEmail: grit@kleinerperkins.com​Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

Boring Problems, Big Wins, Community‑Driven AI Adoption AI is not overhyped, it is under-implemented. Ken Roden and Erin Mills chat with Sheena Miles on how to move from tool obsession to behavior change, her three stage framework, and the practical KPIs that prove progress before revenue shows up. We also talk AI policy that unlocks safe experimentation, community as an accelerator, and Sheena demos how she spins up n8n workflows from a prompt. Chapter markers 00:00, Cold open and disclaimer 01:00, Is AI overhyped, what is really failing 03:20, Early indicators versus lagging revenue, set better goals 04:20, Exec view, target 3 percent faster time to market 06:00, Avoid AI slop, find repetitive, boring work 07:00, Guest intro 09:00, Real state of adoption, dual speed orgs and siloed champions 10:45, Teach concepts, not tools 12:00, Policy, security review, AI council 14:00, Behavior beats features 15:30, Community for accountability and shared assets 17:30, Live n8n demo, import a skeleton workflow and adapt 35:00, AI first versus AI native, embed into workflows 36:30, Influence without authority, solve a champion's boring problem 38:00, Inclusion and usage gaps, why it matters to the business 40:00, Skills that matter now, prompting, rapid testing, communicating thought process 43:00, Why to be optimistic 45:00, Lightning round 48:00, Host debrief and takeaways Key takeaways Hype versus reality, most failures are vague goals and tool-first rollouts, not AI itself. • Measure what you can now, speed to market, cycle time, sprint throughput, ticket deflection, before revenue. • Framework, Activate, Amplify, Accelerate, start small, spread what works, then institutionalize. • Policy unlocks velocity, simple rules for data and tool vetting plus a cross functional council. • Behavior over features, learn inputs and outputs so skills transfer across tools. • Community compounds, accountability and shared templates speed learning. • Start with boring problems, compliance questionnaires, asset generation, ticket clustering, call insights. • AI first versus AI native, move from sidecar to embedded with human review gates. • Inclusion is a business lever, close usage gaps or accept a productivity gap. Sheena's three stage framework Activate, prove value safely • Define the problem, validate AI fit, run a small pilot. • Track accuracy thresholds and time saved. • Example, auto draft responses to repetitive compliance questionnaires from a vetted knowledge base. Amplify, spread what works • Connect adjacent teams, add light governance, share patterns. • Run cross team pilots and publish playbooks. • Example, connect support tickets, payments, compliance, partner success to detect issues proactively. Accelerate, institutionalize • Assign ownership, embed training, integrate tools, set ROI guardrails. • Roll out across channels and systems with quality gates. • Example, ad copy system owned by demand gen, content as QA, used across paid, email, social. Hot Takes from Sheena “Policy enables speed if you write it to unblock safe experiments.” “Stop memorizing tool steps, learn the concepts so they transfer.” “Solve the boring problem first, that is where AI pays for itself.” “If NRR belongs to someone, it belongs to everyone.” Resources & Links Sheena Miles on LinkedIn Women Defining AI, podcast and community n8n About FutureCraft Stay tuned for more insightful episodes from the FutureCraft podcast, where we continue to explore the evolving intersection of AI and GTM. Take advantage of the full episode for in-depth discussions and much more. To listen to the full episode and stay updated on future episodes, visit our website, https://www.futurecraftai.media/ Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered advice. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are our own and do not represent those of any company or business we currently work for/with or have worked for/with in the past. Music: Far Away - MK2

The Biggest GTM Mistake (Spoiler Alert: Stop Chasing CAC!!!)Mark Roberge shares how AI is transforming sales, customer success, and go-to-market strategy. The former HubSpot CRO, now co-founder of Stage 2 Capital and senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, Mark Roberge breaks down the 4 phases of AI evolution that will redefine how companies sell, serve, and scale. From agentic AI to LTV-driven growth, this is a masterclass on what the next era of go-to-market looks like.Mark Roberge helped take HubSpot from $0 to $100M and literally wrote The Sales Acceleration Formula. Now, he's turning his attention to the AI transformation sweeping every GTM function. In this episode, Mark explains why it's time to stop obsessing over CAC and start optimizing for LTV—the customers who actually succeed—and how AI can make that possible at scale.He also shares bold predictions about the future of work, the death of departments, and why capitalism itself may need to evolve for the AI era.Timestamps0:00 – Preview & Introduction1:19 – Meet Mark Roberge: Co-Founder, Stage 2 Capital2:45 – The Early Days of AI in GTM6:33 – What's Slowing Down AI Adoption8:00 – Why Most AI Startups Are Still Too Iterative12:00 – The "Agentic" Shift: From Co-Pilots to Autonomous Agents14:15 – The 4 Phases of AI Go-to-Market Evolution20:35 – Managing Your Agents: The New CRO Skillset26:00 – Deciding the ICP: It's Not CAC29:35 – How AI Breaks Down Department Silos35:40 – Can Capitalism Survive the AI Era?46:00 – The Science of Scaling: Mark's Next Big Book---What You'll Learn* Why CAC is the wrong north star metric for GTM leaders* How to use AI to identify and retain high-LTV customers* The 4 phases of AI transformation in go-to-market* How agentic AI will redefine the roles of CROs, CSMs, and RevOps* Why AI will blur departmental boundaries and change the structure of business* How capitalism and work culture must evolve in the AI era---Check out the Key Takeaways & Transcripts: ⁠https://www.gainsight.com/presents/series/unchurned/⁠---Where to Find Mark:LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/markroberge/Where to Find Josh: LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jschachter/⁠---Resources mentioned:* Stage 2 Capital Blog – Go-to-Market AI Case Studies: https://www.stage2.capital * The Sales Acceleration Formula by Mark Roberge