Ralph Barsi is the VP of Sales at Kahua, a leading construction management platform. Prior to Kahua, Ralph held executive roles at Tray.io and ServiceNow. While at ServiceNow, he built and led a team of 230 people across the globe, during thecompany’s growth from from $1 billion to over $4 billion in revenue. Prior to ServiceNow, Ralph was the VP of Field Operations at Achievers (acquired by Blackhawk Network) and the Manager of Sales Development at InsideView (acquired by DemandBase). Ralph serves as an advisor to go-to-market leaders at Aircover, Scale Venture Partners, TopHap, and others. He is also a growth stage investor with the GTMfund. Barsi dedicates much of his time serving others. In addition to his work at Kahua, Ralphmentors and advises a host of SaaS leaders and leadership programs.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The importance of implementing systems and processes in sales and life.
• How frameworks like SCQA (Situation, Challenge, Question, Answer) and PAR (Problem, Action, Result) can improve communication.
• Strategies for delivering difficult messages, such as during a reorganization or reduction in force.
• The value of staying in touch with former colleagues and playing the long game in relationships.
• Tactics for maintaining a robust contact database and regularly checking in with people.
• How to motivate and guide reps who are facing a challenging selling environment.
• The significance of chronicling your work and keeping a record of your achievements.

Highlights:
(8:28) Introduction of the quote "Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets" by Edwards Deming.
(14:33) Discussion on using frameworks to communicate effectively with a large or small audience.
(24:27) Ralph's journey from Compliance360 to Kahua and the importance of maintaining long-term relationships.
(31:55) The system Ralph uses to stay in touch with his extensive network of contacts.
(35:41) Strategies for shifting focus and moving forward when facing challenges or setbacks.
(41:45) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Ralph thinks is bull$***(48:15) One thing that is working for Ralph in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Ralph Barsi):
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ralphbarsi

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with 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 Scott Barker 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 VC firm 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.

Visit gtmnow.com for more details and to sign up for our newsletter and other content resources.

Annelise Osborne is Chief Business Officer at Kadena, a Layer 1, POW blockchain where she is focused on upgrading finance. Annelise has 20 years of experience in traditional finance and seven years in digital assets. She is a thought leader, board advisor, university lecturer and author. Her book, From Hoodies to Suits: Innovating Digital Assets in Traditional Finance, hit shelves in June. Annelise holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA in Economics from The College of William and Mary.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The impact of cryptocurrency market fluctuations on the adoption of blockchain technology.
• How digital assets and blockchain are upgrading finance and why it matters for businesses.
• The changing demographics and demands of Millennial and Gen Z investors.
• The potential for blockchain to revolutionize the future of work and compensation.
• Advice for transitioning from traditional finance or software to a career in Web3.
• The importance of community building and learning from others in the blockchain space.

Highlights:
[3:47] – Annelise explains the relationship between blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.
[11:10] – The archaic nature of traditional finance and the need for modernization.
[18:01] – How companies can generate revenue and find opportunities in the Web3 space.
[26:02] – The main themes of her book "From Hoodies to Suits."
[31:49] – The potential for blockchain to democratize access to venture investing.[41:49] – How millennials invest differently and the future of fractionalized investments.
[44:11] – Blockchain's ability to trace data and enable real-time performance-based compensation.
[51:17] – One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Annelise thinks is bull$***
[52:27] – One thing that is working for Annelise in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Annelise Osborne):
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annelise-osborne-7611176/
Book: From Hoodies to Suits: Innovating Digital Assets in Traditional Finance

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with 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 Scott Barker 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 VC firm 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.

Visit gtmnow.com for more details and to sign up for our newsletter and other content resources.

David Greenberger leads CHEQ’s North America sales team. CHEQ is a cybersecurity platform primarily focused on protecting the Go-to-Market organization (preventing fake leads to sales team, skewed analytics from bots/malicious users etc). David is well-versed in building and perfecting Go-To-Market processes both from $0 and at 100 y/o companies. CHEQ is David’s 5th startup. Directly before CHEQ, David was in a leadership capacity at Hitachi Vantara, in the deep-enterprise Big Data / AI space. Prior to that he's built teams at Foursquare, Yext, Angi and Splash.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The importance of trust in building effective go-to-market strategies.
• Navigating the transition from startups to large enterprises in sales roles.
• Strategies for hiring and developing sales talent with non-traditional backgrounds.
• The value of long-term relationships and "compound interest" in professional growth.
• Balancing internal and external relationships in large organizations.
• The resurgence of old-school, in-person tactics in modern sales approaches.
• Addressing challenges of invalid traffic and bots in digital marketing.

Highlights:
[13:35] – Insights on managing generational differences and career development in sales teams.
[22:05] – David's experience transitioning from startups to a $90 billion organization.
[25:50] – The story of a successful SDR who rapidly progressed to closing multi-million dollar deals.
[37:49] – One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that David thinks is bull$***[40:04] – One thing that is working for David in go-to-market right now

Guest Speaker Links (David Greenberger):
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidgreenberger/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsors:

• Brought to you by Flex. Flex is a finance super app built around a credit card with unique Net-60 day terms that enables businesses to make an investment today and pay it back 60 days later with zero percent interest. If your business growth is constrained by the cashflow you need for inventory, advertising, or something else, Flex could provide you with an interesting growth lever.
• Brought to you by Orum. Orum is an AI-powered live conversation platform designed to supercharge sales activity, connect sales teams, and drive more revenue over the phone. Orum’s platform includes an AI-dialer that automates the manual aspects of calling and get sales reps into more conversations, a virtual sales floor for teams to build camaraderie and learn from one another, as well as analytics and coaching tools to help teams improve together.

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with 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 Scott Barker 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 VC firm 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.

Visit gtmnow.com for more details and to sign up for our newsletter and other content resources.

Nick Dolik is a NYC-based investor, currently the Managing Director at TriplePoint Capital, and is focused on supporting founders and funding high-growth technology companies. Nick is passionate about entrepreneurship and has spent the past ~10 years backing various startups, including multiple unicorns.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The current state of the financing environment for startups.
• Venture debt: what it is, how it works, and why it exists.
• Advantages of venture debt for founders and when to consider it.
• The importance of building long-term relationships in the venture capital world.
• Nick's unconventional path into venture capital and lessons learned.
• The value of getting "closer to the sun" when pursuing a career in VC.
• Common misconceptions about the founder-investor relationship.

Highlights:
[12:26] – The current financing environment for startups.
[24:45] – Nick explains venture debt and its benefits for founders.
[39:30] – Nick shares his journey from credit derivatives to venture capital.
[47:22] – The importance of getting "closer to the sun" in pursuing a VC career.
[51:30] – Advice for founders approaching their first fundraise.
[59:41] – One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Nick thinks is bull$***
[1:04:01] – One thing that is working for Nick in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Nick Dolik):
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ndolik/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsors:

• Brought to you by Flex. Flex is a finance super app built around a credit card with unique Net-60 day terms that enables businesses to make an investment today and pay it back 60 days later with zero percent interest. If your business growth is constrained by the cashflow you need for inventory, advertising, or something else, Flex could provide you with an interesting growth lever.
• Brought to you by Orum. Orum is an AI-powered live conversation platform designed to supercharge sales activity, connect sales teams, and drive more revenue over the phone. Orum’s platform includes an AI-dialer that automates the manual aspects of calling and get sales reps into more conversations, a virtual sales floor for teams to build camaraderie and learn from one another, as well as analytics and coaching tools to help teams improve together.

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with 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 Scott Barker 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 VC firm 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.

Visit gtmnow.com for more details and to sign up for our newsletter and other content resources.

In this milestone 100th episode, Scott is joined by Sophie Buonassisi, VP of Marketing at GTMfund and GTMnow and a key architect behind the media brand's growth. Sophie leads media, marketing and community across the fund and the media company.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The evolution of GTMfund's media strategy to multi-channel brand.
• Insights on building a profitable media company within a venture capital firm.
• Key metrics and growth strategies for the GTMnow brand and assets.
• Lessons learned from acquiring and rebranding a media property.
• The power of community-driven content and in-person events.

Highlights:
2:45 - Reflecting on the podcast's journey.
6:05 - Importance of in-person events.
14:04 - Reacquiring Sales Hacker and rebranding it as GTMnow.
16:15 - Content and metrics behind the media brand.
23:48 - Failed experiments and learning experiences.
28:34 - Leveraging ecosystem for distribution.
34:01 - Importance of in-person feedback.
36:39 - Content creation process and tools behind the media brand.
46:09 - Which episodes were the 10 podcast episodes!

Guest Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/
GTMnow Website: www.gtmnow.com/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsors:

• Brought to you by Flex. Flex is a finance super app built around a credit card with unique Net-60 day terms that enables businesses to make an investment today and pay it back 60 days later with zero percent interest. If your business growth is constrained by the cashflow you need for inventory, advertising, or something else, Flex could provide you with an interesting growth lever.
• Brought to you by Orum. Orum is an AI-powered live conversation platform designed to supercharge sales activity, connect sales teams, and drive more revenue over the phone. Orum’s platform includes an AI-dialer that automates the manual aspects of calling and get sales reps into more conversations, a virtual sales floor for teams to build camaraderie and learn from one another, as well as analytics and coaching tools to help teams improve together.

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with 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 Scott Barker 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 VC firm 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.

Visit gtmnow.com for more details and to sign up for our newsletter and other content resources.

Jon Dick is the Global SVP of Customer Success at HubSpot where he’s focused on helping millions of organizations grow better. Prior to customer success, Jon led marketing teams at HubSpot, Trunk Club, and Klout. He has a background in improvised comedy and earned his MBA from the Harvard Business School.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The rising importance of customer success in the age of AI and efficiency.
• Balancing proactive and reactive strategies to serve 200,000+ customers.
• The evolution of content marketing from "clicks to conversations".
• Choosing people over product and finding passion in your work.
• The power of generalists and the pitfalls of over-specialization in CS.
• Go-to-market tactics that are working for HubSpot, from chatbots to intent data.

Highlights:
3:22 - John's experience with improv comedy and how it applies to business.
9:45 - Is an MBA still relevant for today's fast-changing market?
13:44 - The new age of customer success and rising importance of AI.
18:49 - Balancing proactive and reactive strategies to serve 200,000+ HubSpot customers.
24:25 - The shift from "clicks to conversations" in content marketing.
34:29 - The power of working with people you like and Jon's HBS reunion story.
42:09 - Structuring customer success teams for series B companies.
48:15 - One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Jon thinks is bull$***: obsessing over lead volume instead of lead value.
50:49 - One thing that is working for Jon in go-to-market right now: leveraging chatbots and intent data to drive conversions.

Guest Speaker Links (Jon Dick):
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jondick/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsor:

• Brought to you by Demandbase. Demandbase helps B2B companies hit their revenue goals using fewer resources by using the power of AI to identify and engage the accounts and buying groups most likely to purchase. Their account-based technology unites sales and marketing teams around insights that you can understand and facilitates quick actions across systems and channels to deliver big wins. It’s flexible, scalable ABM built for you.
• Brought to you by Orum. Orum is an AI-powered live conversation platform designed to supercharge sales activity, connect sales teams, and drive more revenue over the phone. Orum’s platform includes an AI-dialer that automates the manual aspects of calling and get sales reps into more conversations, a virtual sales floor for teams to build camaraderie and learn from one another, as well as analytics and coaching tools to help teams improve together.

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with 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 Scott Barker 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 VC firm 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.

Visit gtmnow.com for more details and to sign up for our newsletter and other content resources.

Elizabeth Pemmerl currently serves as GitHub’s Chief Revenue Officer, where she oversees all facets of the company's go-to-market strategy and customer engagement, including sales, support, and operations. She joined GitHub in 2015 after a career in the public sector, and has since held leadership roles in nearly all aspects of GitHub’s enterprise business.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The journey from individual contributor to CRO and the lessons learned along the way.
• The impact of AI on GitHub's business and the future of software development.
• Strategies for pricing new products and cross-selling within an existing customer base.
• Insights on hiring, retention, and the power of promoting from within.

Highlights:
(9:13) Transitioning from IC to sales leadership and driving a forecast cadence.
(18:20) Navigating the acquisition of Semmle and lessons learned in M&A.
(25:58) Advice for startups on pricing strategy and identifying core buyer personas.
(30:58) The future of AI in business and the emergence of the Chief AI Officer role.
(42:08) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Elizabeth thinks is bull$***.
(44:07) One thing that is working for Elizabeth in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Elizabeth Pemmerl):
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-pemmerl-9172485/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsor:

• Brought to you by Demandbase. Demandbase helps B2B companies hit their revenue goals using fewer resources by using the power of AI to identify and engage the accounts and buying groups most likely to purchase. Their account-based technology unites sales and marketing teams around insights that you can understand and facilitates quick actions across systems and channels to deliver big wins. It’s flexible, scalable ABM built for you.
• Brought to you by Orum. Orum is an AI-powered live conversation platform designed to supercharge sales activity, connect sales teams, and drive more revenue over the phone. Orum’s platform includes an AI-dialer that automates the manual aspects of calling and get sales reps into more conversations, a virtual sales floor for teams to build camaraderie and learn from one another, as well as analytics and coaching tools to help teams improve together.

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with 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 Scott Barker 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 VC firm 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.

Visit gtmnow.com for more details and to sign up for our newsletter and other content resources.

Robert Brooks IV has spent 12 years leading sales, marketing and customer success at early-stage startups. Typically, he has served as the first sales (and first non-technical) hire reporting directly to a technical founder. Robert started his career at Charles Schwab but joined Stack Overflow ($1.8B exit), then Tempo Automation ($900M IPO) and is now part of the founding team and VP of Revenue at Lambda ($1.5B valuation). Robert is an advisor to several top-tier VC firms and some of the most high-profile AI startups in Silicon Valley.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The importance of deeply understanding your industry and product when selling AI.
• How to train your sales team to sell to highly technical buyers and decision-makers.
• Applying the concept of neural networks to enterprise sales processes.
• Strategies for turning around challenging customer relationships, with a case study on closing SpaceX and growing it from 0 to 10M ARR.
• The role of empathy, curiosity, and genuine care in successful sales and partnerships.
• Tactics for scaling revenue in tough economic times, from personalized executive briefings to strategic event presence.

Highlights:
(10:27) Robert's background and early involvement in AI startups.
(15:09) Convincing technical founders to value go-to-market expertise.
(19:06) Applying the concept of neural networks to enterprise sales.
(25:25) The importance of comprehension and curiosity in sales hiring.
(27:55) Delivering a crucial hardware project for SpaceX.
(33:37) The role of genuine care in building trust with customers.
(39:56) Balancing product training and sales process training.
(44:39) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Robert thinks is bull$***.
(49:02) The benefits of full-stack account executives in early-stage startups.
(53:27) One thing that is working for Robert in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Links (Robert Brooks):
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/boborado/

Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Sponsor:

• Brought to you by Demandbase. Demandbase helps B2B companies hit their revenue goals using fewer resources by using the power of AI to identify and engage the accounts and buying groups most likely to purchase. Their account-based technology unites sales and marketing teams around insights that you can understand and facilitates quick actions across systems and channels to deliver big wins. It’s flexible, scalable ABM built for you.

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with 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 Scott Barker 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 VC firm 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.

Visit gtmnow.com for more details and to sign up for our newsletter and other content resources.