GTM 150: 80% of Exec Roles Aren’t Posted, Here's How to Land Them Anyway with Andy Mowat

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Jun 11, 2025

Join Andy Mowat, Co-Founder of Whispered and a RevOps leader with experience at unicorns like Upwork, as he unveils the secret job market where 80-98% of exec roles go unposted. He shares strategies to effectively communicate career focus, emphasizes the importance of networking in securing hidden opportunities, and discusses the transformative role of AI in recruitment. Learn how to navigate the evolving landscape of executive hiring and the rise of fractional roles—all while honing your professional narrative for maximum impact.

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INSIGHT

Most Exec Roles Are Hidden

About 80% of VP roles and 98% of C-level roles in venture-backed companies are never publicly posted. - Executives often need to access hidden roles through networks or talent platforms like Whispered.

ADVICE

Articulate Your Career Focus

Articulate your career focus clearly to stand out to recruiters and networks. - Specificity in your goals and companies makes people more likely to remember and help you.

ADVICE

Create Target Company List

Build a target list of 20 to 30 companies tailored to your career goals. - Use databases like Whispered's to identify target companies based on sector, size, and investors.

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Andy Mowat is the Co-Founder of Whispered, and is responsible for building incredible RevOps and GTM systems at unicorns like Upwork, Box, and Culture Amp. With over two decades of experience leading marketing ops, sales ops, and go-to-market infrastructure, Andy is a true pioneer of modern RevOps. Today, he’s building tools to help tech executives collaborate on company insights, search strategies, introductions, and the deepest database of unposted GTM roles anywhere.

Discussed in this Episode:
- Why 80–98% of VP and C-level roles are never posted—and how to access them.
- The importance of clarity: how GTM operators should articulate their focus to stand out.
- How venture networks and backchanneling drive most executive hiring decisions.
- The rise (and limits) of fractional work as a bridge between full-time roles.
- What AI agents are doing behind the scenes at Whispered to match execs to roles.
- Why company stage, growth rate, and CEO quality are critical in picking your next role.
- What GTM functions (e.g. RevOps, Demand Gen) are most in-demand right now.

Highlights:
04:30 Why most executive roles are never posted
07:00 How Whispered operates as a curated talent network
13:30 Why GTM execs struggle to articulate their focus—and how to fix it
16:45 The right way to build a target company list
21:00 Engaging your network and VC talent teams the right way
28:00 What AI is (and isn’t) changing about hiring and team structure
34:00 How to evaluate growth-stage companies and pick winners
36:30 Head of vs. VP vs. CRO: The real meaning of title across company sizes
41:00 Most common mistakes execs make in their job search
44:30 Using customer advocacy and growth loops to scale Whispered
46:00 Is email dead? Why it's still critical to GTM and talent outreach

Guest Speaker Links (Andy Mowat):
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amowat/
- Whispered: https://www.whispered.com/

Host Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/
- Newsletter: https://substack.com/@sophiebuonassisi

Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):
- Website: https://gtmnow.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/GTMnow_
- YouTube: @gtm_now
- The GTM Podcast (on all major directories): https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

Sponsor: Qualified

Qualified is the Agentic Marketing Platform with the world's leading SDR agent, Piper the AI SDR. Marketing teams trust Piper to autonomously drive inbound pipeline at scale, delivering real-time engagement and conversion. Trusted by top brands like Asana, Box, Brex, Clari, GE Healthcare, and more, Qualified is redefining how companies generate pipeline in the age of AI.

Sponsor Link: https://www.qualified.com/plus/category/ai-sdr-summit?utm_source=gtmfund

The GTM Podcast
Don’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

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

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