Topline

This week, Doug Camplejohn, CEO of Airspeed joins the hosts to discuss the difference between building products and building culture, the true definition of workplace culture, and PQL (people query language). The group also touches on the lessons from Microsoft’s acquisition of LinkedIn, the rise of Slack, and how AI will integrate into our daily apps.

This week, the hosts discuss how productivity and performance are impacted by remote work, whether companies should require their teams to return to the office, and how generational differences in attitudes towards work impact productivity and working patterns. They also check in on the state of the market, and Sam questions whether all of the fundamentals underpinning SaaS growth strategies are actually wrong. 

While there’s a lot of buzz around the economy improving, Sam, AJ and Sad talk about the behind the scenes conversations they’re having with other founders, why all signs point to another 9+ months of challenges, how they’re coping with the ups and downs, and how the VC world has been impacted. 

On this week's Topline, the hosts talk about a recent article HubSpot founder Brian Halligan shared about 20 lessons he learned as CEO and debate whether being a CEO is overrated, why feedback is a gift, what culture really is, and more. There's also a lively discussion around what causes burnout, and observations about upcoming IPOs and what they mean for the broader tech landscape.

With inflation down and the probability of a soft landing increasing, the hosts talk about what this means for B2B tech, share their perspectives on Threads versus Twitter, and discuss the value of taking a pause and evaluating whether your life is truly in balance.

Sendoso CEO Kris Rudeegraap has lead the company through a growth journey from $0 to over $100 Million and in this episode, he shares lessons learned along the way. From using AI to summarize public company 10Q filings for the sales team, to offshoring to freelancers as a method of improving productivity and how he built a robust advisor community, Kris has leveraged a variety of strategies to stay scrappy and "do less, better" while powering the company's growth.

As we wrap up Q2, Sam, AJ and Asad talk through lessons learned from a tough quarter, share their outlooks on what Q3 has in store, and dive into the contentious waters of US politics, including recent Supreme Court decisions on affirmative action and student loans, the war in Ukraine, and more.

This week on Topline, Sam, AJ and Asad are joined by guest Mark Roberge. Mark as the original head of sales at HubSpot, and has gone on to teach at Harvard Business School and found Stage 2 Capital. Together, they discuss the implications of AI for go-to-market teams, inflated VC valuations, and how investors think about AI investments.

Insight Partners released new research this week on publicly traded PLG companies showing that sales led companies have higher valuations. The team digs into why and talks about Softbank’s recent announcement that it has funds to invest and is ready for a “counter offensive,” why Asad is sad the tech recession might end soon, and the biggest lessons they’ve learned from operating in a tight economy.

This week, the team talks about the state of the market and what it means for tech companies, how to drive engagement amongst employees in a tough economy, and whether burnout is really a problem and how to combat it.