The GTMnow Podcast

Chris Donato, CEO of Esellas, shares his lessons and experiences in the sales profession. He talks about finding purpose in work, taking big risks, and turning ideas into opportunities. He also discusses the challenges in transitioning from mid-market to enterprise sales and the importance of understanding power dynamics and navigating organizational politics.

May Habib is CEO and Co-Founder of Writer, the full-stack generative AI platform for enterprises. Writer empowers your entire organization to accelerate growth, increase productivity, and ensure compliance. May has worked in NLP and ML for 10 years, and before Writer, she founded and built Qordoba, a localization software company. She is an expert in AI-driven language generation, AI-related organizational change, and the evolving ways we use language online.She sits on the board of TechWadi, an organization that bridges MENA-based entrepreneurs with Silicon Valley-based VC and talent networks, and is a MELI Fellow with the Aspen Institute.May graduated from Harvard University and spends her time between San Francisco, where Writer is based, and London, where her two children live.Highlights:(01:40)  May’s introduction.(04:15)  May’s learnings from Lehman Brothers and the economic crisis of 2008/2009.(08:40)  What you need to consider when accessing capital in 2023.(12:57)  How much attention should you be paying to AI and its impact?(21:17)  What is going to happen to AI in 2023.(23:55)  Writer’s product-led growth motion and stories.(30:24)  The importance of consultative sales and how it impacts everything else in the business.(37:08)  How to recruit A-players in the macro-environment.(43:52)  Summary of May’s career learnings.Guest Speaker Link:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/may-habib/Host Speaker Links:LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/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.

Lars Nilsson is the VP of global sales development at Snowflake. Prior Snowflake, Lars was the CEO of SalesSource, a premier RevOps consulting firm. Before that he was the VP of Global Inside Sales for Cloudera. Lars and his team at Cloudera developed the sales methodology known as account-based sales development, which has transformed how businesses approach high-value targets, and is an integral part of most teams playbooks today.Lars has also served in sales exec roles at ArcSight, Hewlett Packard, Riverbed Technology, and Portal Software, all three of which achieved IPOs.Lars starts this episode by sharing what he learned early in his career at Xerox and the world-famous Xerox Management Training Program. He then talks about Cloudera's account-based sales development method, including how it started and why it was successful.What You Will Learn:How to use personalization to your advantage.How to speak among people in a way that brings them together.What to look for when hiring a BDR.Highlights(05:00) Insights on nurturing young talent while fostering loyalty.(14:40) Cloudera's account-based sales development methodology: origins and early successes.(21:40) Insights on the power of personalization.(27:30) How to create a lasting impression in front of people and bring them together.(31:00) Why you should express gratitude or tell a story in front of people more often.(32:49) How to overcome fear and nervousness and find the courage to speak among people.(38:03) Things to look out for when hiring a BDR.(41:26) Summary of Lars’ career learnings.Guest Speaker Link:Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lanilsson/Host Speaker Links:LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/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.

Ashley Hansen Grech, COO of Recharge, shares her insights on scaling a team, the value of frontline managers, and principled decision-making. Topics discussed include Google's Project Starline, coaching frontline managers, and making yourself known in a large company. The podcast also explores improving communication, leadership development, and prioritizing diversity and inclusion.

What's new in the world of venture capital and the GTM Fund? Get up to speed in this update as Max Altsuchler, the firm's founder and general partner, joins Scott Barker.In this update, Max shares why first-mover advantage doesn't exist and cites examples where being first to market didn't help a company. He also talks about the deals and investments GTM Fund is doubling down on, why LPs are valuable for the future of the fund and the value of community to the fund.Make it a point to listen in and discover the latest in the VC landscape and the GTM Fund.Highlights:One thing you would be surprised about Max Altschuler.Deals that GTM Fund did.How founders are finding GTM Fund.Why first-mover advantage is not a real thing.Why LPs are important for the future of the fund.Investments that GTM Fund is doubling down on.Why community is important for the future of the fund.What’s next for the GTM community.The value of having more LPs in an area.Guest Speaker Link:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxaltschuler/Host Speaker Links:LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/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.

Kyle Norton, former VP of Sales at Shopify and current SVP at Owner.com, shares fascinating insights from his entrepreneurial journey. He discusses the state of the e-commerce sector and emphasizes the importance of prioritizing physical and mental health while scaling a startup. Norton advocates for a patient approach to business, arguing that moving slowly can lead to sustained growth. He also provides valuable tips on respectful disagreement with superiors and strategic hiring to thrive in competitive markets.

Friday Fundamentals 186: Patrick HudginsThe 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.

In this episode of the Sales Hacker Podcast, we have Patrick Hudgins, Co-Founder and CEO at Delegate. Join us for an in-depth conversation about scaling your company through incentives and employee retention, especially when facing a recession.What You’ll LearnCreating careers with incentive compensation to prevent off-shoringRunning a business on profitability when not sourced through outside capitalFocusing on the employee retention for company growthThe 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.

Brian Murray, partner and COO of Craft Ventures and the co-founder of Cabal, joins Scott Barker to discuss his experience in the startup world and the metrics that define a successful startup. Brian discusses the burn multiple and why it's a better indicator than ARR for gauging a startup's performance. He elaborates on the idea of intellectual honesty, the distinction between genuine and false signals, and the importance of recognizing the difference between the two when gathering information. You won't want to miss out on Brian's insights into what he's learned from his time in the startup world, both the successes and failures.Highlights:(04:19) How the venture capital landscape is changing.(04:45) The concept of burn multiple: How much burn does it cost to generate one new dollar of ARR?(07:31) The relationship between companies and investors and how to get the most out of them.(08:09) The misconception that more employees mean more success.(08:45) The story that shaped Brian's career.(11:46) The concept of intellectual honesty.(13:10) How to discern true signals from misleading signals.(17:22) Brian's achievements at Cotap.(21:39) Brian's experience at Cabal and key learnings from there.(26:27) Bitcoin as an inspiration.(27:25) Why "contributor" is a more suitable word for an advisor.(31:15) How much you should leave for strategic investors in an early round.(36:10) Brian's learnings in his career.Guest Speaker Link:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-m-b6952b15/Host Speaker Links:LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/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.

Friday Fundamentals 185: Ido Niv-RonThe 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.