E114: How Apollo Plans to Grow From $150M to $1B+ in ARR

Apollo co-founder and CEO Tim Zheng reveals the pivot that rescued his company from a 2:1 CAC payback ratio. This episode breaks down how Apollo transformed from a struggling $10K ACV sales-led model to $150M+ ARR by reducing prices to $99/mo and going all in on PLG.

Tim dives into why over 50% of Apollo's code is now written by AI, the challenge of finding executives who can scale across multiple growth stages, and how Apollo plans to break through the billion-dollar barrier that has proven elusive for many go-to-market tech companies.

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Key chapters:

(00:00) - Introduction to Topline Podcast and Guest Tim Zheng

(04:06) - Market Dynamics and Sales Funnel Insights

(09:47) - Transitioning from Sales-Led to Product-Led Growth

(12:34) - Re-architecting Business Models for Efficiency

(15:20) - Integrating Sales-Led and Product-Led Strategies

(17:14) - Challenges in Scaling Go-to-Market Tech

(20:08) - Data as a Competitive Advantage

(23:48) - Organizational Design and Cultural Shifts

(27:31) - Implementing AI in Product Development

(35:01) - Leveraging AI for Go-to-Market Efficiency

(40:16) - Understanding User Needs and Empathy in Product Development