The GTMnow Podcast
GTMnow
The GTMnow Podcast interviews well-known tech executive, VC, and founders - the expert operators in the trenches who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Sophie Buonassisi to dissect their stories, revealing expert insights around what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.This podcast is produced by GTMnow, the media brand of GTMfund - sharing insight on go-to-market from working with hundreds of portfolio companies backed by over 350 of the best go-to-market executives. GTMfund is an early-stage VC fund focused on investing in the most exciting, up-and-coming B2B SaaS companies across the world. The LP network consists of VP and C-level Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success leaders from companies like DocuSign, Salesforce, LinkedIn, Snowflake, Okta, Zoom, and many more.Visit gtmnow.com for more details and to sign up for our newsletter and other content resources.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jan 14, 2026 • 53min
GTM 174: The 7% Rule: How AI Is Rewriting Customer Success Budgets (From 10% to 7%) with Abbas Haider Ali
Abbas Haider Ali, a seasoned VP of Customer Success at GitHub, shares insights from his extensive experience in tech. He discusses the shift in customer success budgets from 10% to 7%, revealing reasons behind this change, including how AI can both enhance and obscure customer retention. Abbas emphasizes the importance of retention costs over customer acquisition in the AI era. He introduces a budget allocation strategy and explains the emergence of AI-powered specialized generalists transforming support frameworks.
Jan 7, 2026 • 37min
GTM 173: The PLG→Enterprise Playbook: Turning Product Signals into 9-Figure Revenue with Adam Carr
Adam Carr, Chief Revenue Officer at Apollo, dives into the world of product-led growth (PLG) and enterprise scaling. He shares insights on how to layer sales over a PLG foundation to maximize revenue. Adam emphasizes hiring for long-term talent density, seeking candidates with curiosity and system-thinking abilities. He introduces a bold new model by replacing traditional customer success managers with go-to-market engineers, and discusses how AI can enhance GTM operations. Celebrating customer value realization over mere contracts is his key takeaway.
20 snips
Dec 15, 2025 • 1h 9min
VC 2: How Cassie Young Picks Winners Before They Even Leave Their Jobs
Cassie Young, a General Partner at Primary Venture Partners, shares insights from her career transition from GTM leadership to venture capital. She discusses her innovative approach to sourcing founders before they leave their jobs and the importance of a strong founder outcomes framework. Cassie also emphasizes the difference between real market traction and misleading signals. Her preference for transformative GTM/AI tools over incremental improvements highlights her keen vision for the future of investing. Plus, she offers valuable advice for aspiring VCs.
38 snips
Dec 10, 2025 • 36min
Why Old Playbooks Are Breaking and How AI Assisted GTM Actually Works | Dave Boyce
In a fascinating discussion, Dave Boyce, a seasoned technology executive and author of 'Freemium', highlights the urgent need for B2B companies to ditch outdated sales and marketing playbooks. He unveils how the Bowtie model reveals hidden growth levers and why Product-Led Growth (PLG) thinking is crucial even for traditional sales. Dave explains three core principles of freemium—empathy, generosity, and metrics—while showcasing AI's role in streamlining customer journeys and enhancing self-service experiences. Tune in for insights on reimagining go-to-market strategies.
Dec 3, 2025 • 39min
GTM 171: How to Build a Partner Ecosystem That Sells for You | Brian Weinberger
In this engaging discussion, Brian Weinberger, Chief Revenue Officer at Sisense, unpacks 30 years of partner-selling experience. He explores the evolution of partner ecosystems, emphasizing a delivery-first strategy to drive retention. Brian argues that knowledgeable partners create 'superhuman' sellers and suggests a hybrid approach compared to Salesforce and Microsoft. He also outlines a 90-day playbook for building integrations and highlights the importance of hiring the right talents for successful partnerships.
36 snips
Nov 25, 2025 • 24min
MOMENT: How to Identify Exceptional People Early | Cristina Cordova (Stripe, Notion, Linear)
Cristina Cordova, a seasoned operator and current COO at Linear, shares her insights on identifying exceptional talent early in a startup's journey. She discusses looking for world-class founders who complement each other and how being exceptional aids in spotting talent in unfamiliar domains. Cristina emphasizes finding signs of beloved products through genuine customer conversations, starting with a sharp market wedge, and hiring salespeople skilled in technical sales. Her tactical frameworks provide invaluable guidance for building effective go-to-market strategies.
14 snips
Nov 16, 2025 • 1h 7min
VC 1: Inside the New Exit Economy: IPOs, Secondaries & AI with Meritech’s Alex Clayton
In this discussion, Alex Clayton, a General Partner at Meritech Capital known for his expertise in IPOs and AI-driven investments, shares insights on today's capital landscape. He explains why GAAP revenue and cash burn are the key metrics governing businesses. Alex predicts a surge in secondaries, even rivaling IPOs, and discusses how AI is transforming growth rates and pricing models. He also reveals strategies for effective S-1 teardowns and emphasizes the importance of founder intent before going public.
68 snips
Nov 11, 2025 • 51min
GTM 170: 0 Customers → $4B: Inside Snowflake’s GTM Machine with Chris Degnan
Chris Degnan, former Chief Revenue Officer of Snowflake, shares an incredible journey of scaling the company from zero customers to over $4 billion in ARR. He delves into the early days of selling a stealth startup, teaching listeners how to identify gritty sales talent with unique interview techniques. Degnan discusses the importance of sales-marketing alignment, pivotal moments like a near-fatal outage, and the strategy of relentless new logo acquisition. He also explores insights on AI's role in business and shares key lessons for early-stage founders from his new book, Make It Snow.
16 snips
Nov 4, 2025 • 48min
GTM 169: How Airbyte Hit $1B: The Open-Source, Community-First Playbook
Michel Tricot, co-founder and CEO of Airbyte, shares insights from over 15 years in data infrastructure. He discusses why Airbyte launched as an open-source platform, focusing on community contributions to meet connector demand. Michel differentiates project-market fit from product-market fit, emphasizing the importance of community building. He highlights the role of AI as data consumers and Airbyte's evolution beyond analytics. Challenges like hiring and cloud complexities are also explored, all while maintaining a commitment to transparency and control for users.
19 snips
Oct 28, 2025 • 51min
GTM 168: How ZoomInfo Built a $1B RevOps Engine, The Operating Cadence Behind Breakout Growth | Tessa Whittaker
Tessa Whittaker, VP of Revenue Operations at ZoomInfo, leads a 70-person team powering a $1B revenue engine. She discusses her innovative personal operating system, emphasizing the importance of mapping vision to actionable goals. Tessa also shares strategies for creating a predictable operating rhythm in RevOps and the counterintuitive approach of automating down-market tasks to free up resources for high-value enterprise accounts. Additionally, she highlights the role of clean data in deploying AI and democratizing tool adoption through internal hackathons.
