GTM 147: RevOps Is a Hidden Growth Engine with Navin Persaud, VP of RevOps at 1Password

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May 20, 2025

Navin Persaud, VP of Revenue Operations at 1Password, leads a 30+ person team and boasts over 20 years in the field. He discusses why RevOps is crucial for scalable growth and the opportune moment to hire a RevOps leader. The conversation highlights AI's transformative impact on forecasting and operational efficiency. Navin also explores the rise of GTM Engineers and how RevOps should transition from execution to strategic partnership. He shares insights on effective data management and the importance of hiring curious early-stage ops talent.

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INSIGHT

RevOps as Growth Engine

RevOps becomes essential at the growth inflection point when chaos starts without someone managing systems and processes.
It ensures efficiency, accurate forecasting, and reduces friction for sellers.

ANECDOTE

RevOps Builds the Playing Field

Navin uses a sports field analogy where RevOps builds, rules, and manages the playing field for GTM teams.
Without RevOps, scaling results in chaos and inefficiency for sellers and marketers.

INSIGHT

AI: Scary and Liberating

AI is both daunting and liberating, simplifying mundane tasks in RevOps and freeing people to focus on strategic work.
Embracing AI is necessary as the business world evolves rapidly.

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Navin Persaud is the VP of Revenue Operations at 1Password, where he leads a 30+ person team supporting a GTM org of 450+. With over 20 years of experience across RevOps, SalesOps, and MarketingOps, including time at IBM and high-growth SaaS companies, Navin has built a reputation as one of the sharpest operators in the game. He’s known for building scalable systems, ruthless prioritization, and a clear-eyed view of how AI is reshaping operations.

Discussed in this Episode:

Why RevOps is the most essential team for scalable growth
The real signs that it’s time to hire your first RevOps leader
What AI is disrupting first in RevOps forecasting, enrichment, orchestration, and reporting
The rise of GTM Engineers and the shift toward intelligence-layer operations
Tactical frameworks for combining AI insights with human judgment
How RevOps should evolve from executor to strategic growth partner
Hiring advice: what makes a great early-stage ops hire and how to test for curiosity

Highlights:

05:00 - The sports field analogy: building the GTM pitch, not just playing on it

07:00 - AI is both the scariest and most freeing technology in ops today

09:00 - GTM Engineers and the orchestration opportunity ahead

11:00 - Product-market fit is the right time to invest in RevOps

13:00 Forecasting, enrichment, and demand routing—where AI adds leverage

17:30 -Why dashboards are dying and how ops will move to real-time insights

27:00 - How RevOps became a central GTM function

30:00 - Advice for founders on when (and how) to bring in ops leadership

33:00 - “Perfection is the enemy of pace”—a RevOps mantra

Guest Speaker Links (Navin Persaud):

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/navinpersaud/
1Password:https://1password.com/
1Password Careers:https://1password.com/careers

Host Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/
Newsletter:https://substack.com/@sophiebuonassisi

Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):

Website:https://gtmnow.com/
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/
Twitter/X:https://x.com/GTMnow_
YouTube:@gtm_now
The GTM Podcast (on all major directories):

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

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