GTM 148: Winning Every Tech Shift from a 3X Founder (From Internet to AI)
Sean Whiteley is a three-time founder and the Co-Founder of Qualified, the AI pipeline automation platform purpose-built for inbound GTM teams. Previously, he founded GetFeedback (acquired by Campaign Monitor) and Kieden (acquired by Salesforce), where he also served as SVP & GM. With over two decades at the forefront of tech’s biggest transformations—from on-prem to cloud to AI—Sean offers a rare, long-term view on how to build companies and go-to-market engines in the face of massive disruption.Discussed in this Episode:Why the speed of AI adoption outpaces every previous tech waveHow the role of RevOps and team design is being reshaped by agentic systemsWhy today’s buyer journey is nonlinear, AI-assisted, and fully in controlTactical breakdown: how Sean mapped and tagged every task at Qualified for AI automationWhy success teams must sit at the core of GTM strategy, not as an afterthoughtThe most common GTM myth Sean is seeing today—and why it’s outdatedThe characteristics Sean looks for in long-term co-founders and GTM hiresHighlights: 02:00 Sean’s journey through on-prem, cloud, and now AI05:00 Ops leaders as the new AI orchestrators inside GTM teams08:30 From workflows to autonomous agents: how org charts are shifting10:30 The “two-way doors” mindset for fast experimentation13:30 The future of GTM: agents, trust falls, and buyer-led journeys15:00 From personalization to “relevance at scale” in modern marketing18:00 AI unlocks speed and efficiency—how that reshapes CAC payback and TCO24:00 How Qualified created internal AI blueprints across every team28:30 Inside the AI SDR: replacing manual inbound sales with 24/7 automation32:00 Success is not post-sales—it’s the center of the GTM experience36:00 Reinventing yourself as a founder through three companies39:30 What still hasn’t changed: customer value and trusted partnerships47:00 GTM myth: “We control the buying process”—why that’s dead51:00 Where Sean learns about AI: customer conversations > thought leadershipGuest Speaker Links (Sean Whitely):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanwhiteleyQualified Website: https://www.qualified.comHost Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisiNewsletter: https://substack.com/@sophiebuonassisiWhere to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):Website: https://gtmnow.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnowTwitter/X: https://x.com/GTMnow_YouTube: @gtm_nowThe GTM Podcast (on all major directories): https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/The GTM Podcast The GTM 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.
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54:31
GTM 147: RevOps Is a Hidden Growth Engine with Navin Persaud, VP of RevOps at 1Password
Navin Persaud is the VP of Revenue Operations at 1Password, where he leads a 30+ person team supporting a GTM org of 450+. With over 20 years of experience across RevOps, SalesOps, and MarketingOps, including time at IBM and high-growth SaaS companies, Navin has built a reputation as one of the sharpest operators in the game. He’s known for building scalable systems, ruthless prioritization, and a clear-eyed view of how AI is reshaping operations.Discussed in this Episode:Why RevOps is the most essential team for scalable growthThe real signs that it’s time to hire your first RevOps leaderWhat AI is disrupting first in RevOps forecasting, enrichment, orchestration, and reportingThe rise of GTM Engineers and the shift toward intelligence-layer operationsTactical frameworks for combining AI insights with human judgmentHow RevOps should evolve from executor to strategic growth partnerHiring advice: what makes a great early-stage ops hire and how to test for curiosityHighlights:05:00 - The sports field analogy: building the GTM pitch, not just playing on it07:00 - AI is both the scariest and most freeing technology in ops today09:00 - GTM Engineers and the orchestration opportunity ahead11:00 - Product-market fit is the right time to invest in RevOps13:00 Forecasting, enrichment, and demand routing—where AI adds leverage17:30 -Why dashboards are dying and how ops will move to real-time insights27:00 - How RevOps became a central GTM function30:00 - Advice for founders on when (and how) to bring in ops leadership33:00 - “Perfection is the enemy of pace”—a RevOps mantraGuest Speaker Links (Navin Persaud):LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/navinpersaud/1Password:https://1password.com/1Password Careers:https://1password.com/careersHost Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/Newsletter:https://substack.com/@sophiebuonassisiWhere to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):Website:https://gtmnow.com/LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/Twitter/X:https://x.com/GTMnow_YouTube:@gtm_nowThe GTM Podcast (on all major directories):The GTM Podcast The GTM 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.
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42:16
GTM 146: The Future of Search, AI, and Digital Presence with Mike Walrath, CEO of Yext
Mike Walrath is the CEO and Chairman of Yext, a publicly traded digital presence platform that helps businesses manage and synchronize their digital presence across search engines, maps, apps, and voice assistants by ensuring that information like locations, services, FAQs, and brand content appears accurately and consistently wherever customers search.He also co-founded WGI Group, LLC, to provide growth capital to early and expansion stage startups in enterprise software, consumer internet and digital media industries. Previously, Michael was co-founder and Chairman of Moat Inc. which was acquired by Oracle in April 2017. In 2003, Michael founded Right Media - the world's first open exchange for digital advertising. He served as Chairman and CEO of the company until its acquisition by Yahoo! in July 2007. At Yahoo!, he was responsible for the operation of the global advertising marketplaces organization.Discussed in this Episode:Why marketers must now structure content not for humans, but for machines.How Yext evolved from managing listings to powering AI-ready data pipelines.Actionable steps SaaS companies can take to optimize for AI agents and search diversification.The role of hyperlocal data, competitive analysis, and personalized content in GTM strategy.Why software innovation must start with intelligence, not workflow.The decline of seat-based pricing and rise of outcome-based models.Highlights:[00:07:30] – How the iPhone created geo-aware fragmentation, and how Yext was born.[00:10:00] – Why Google still checks MapQuest (and what that means for SEO today).[00:11:30] – “We have to rebuild the digital presence for machines, not people.”[00:14:30] – The new battleground: how AI engines like ChatGPT shape discoverability.[00:18:00] – Practical data strategies for local businesses and SaaS marketers.[00:22:00] – Why structured data is the foundation of AI-first marketing.[00:26:00] – Bespoke GTM: why no two locations (or campaigns) should be the same.[00:29:00] – The shift from product-led to intelligence-led SaaS development.[00:31:00] – Seat-based pricing is dying – how to move to value-based contracts.[00:34:30] – Mike’s advice: get radically honest about macro changes, not just tactics.Guest Speaker Links (Michael Walrath):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-walrath-b63166/Yext: https://www.yext.com/Host Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/Newsletter: https://substack.com/@sophiebuonassisiWhere to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):Website: https://gtmnow.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/The GTM Podcast The GTM 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.
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38:43
GTM 145: What Happens When a CRO Owns the Entire Customer Journey, How to Build a Unified GTM Engine | Marcy Campbell
Marcy Campbell is the Chief Revenue Officer at AppFolio, where she leads sales and client services with a focus on delivering unified, end-to-end customer experiences. With over 30 years of experience scaling revenue teams across FinTech, SaaS, cloud computing, and communications, Marcy has held executive roles at Boomi and PayPal—where she led an 800+ person global team. Her deep expertise in aligning sales, customer success, and operations makes her a standout leader in the GTM space.What happens when a CRO owns the entire customer journeyDiscussed in this Episode:How AppFolio’s Unified Customer Experience (UCE) platform aligns marketing, sales, and customer service.The evolving role of the CRO and the importance of owning the entire customer journey.Why customer experience is a competitive differentiator in vertical SaaS.Tactical tips for early-stage startups on aligning go-to-market motion with product-market fit.The importance of cross-functional “stream teams” for accelerating GTM initiatives.How Marcy builds inclusive leadership cultures and mentors rising female leaders.Why how you make the number matters as much as making the number.Highlights:10:30 The Chief Revenue Officer's (CRO) responsibility to understand and optimize the entire customer journey.12:30 How the Unified Customer Experience (UCE) platform was formed and how it works.16:00 End-to-end GTM orchestration across sales, marketing, product, and CS.22:00 Results from the UCE initiative: accelerated deal velocity and customer retention.26:30 Advice for startups: identifying your ICP and fixing pipeline fundamentals.29:00 How to scale with customer empathy and GTM precision.31:00 Advocating for women in sales leadership and building inclusive teams.36:00 Marcy’s communication strategy for managing a 600-person org.39:00 Marcy's favorite business leadership tactic: “Take a beat” before reacting.40:00 What’s outdated: The belief that only numbers matter in sales.Guest Speaker Links (Marcy Campbell):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcyc/Appfolio: https://www.appfolio.com/Host Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/Newsletter: https://substack.com/@sophiebuonassisiWhere to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):Website: https://gtmnow.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/Twitter/X:The GTM Podcast The GTM 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.
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38:54
GTM 144: How AI is Rewriting Product and GTM Playbooks | with Oji Udezue (CPO - Typeform, Calendly)
Oji Udezue was most recently Chief Product Officer at Typeform, where he led product strategy across the company’s growing suite of tools. Previously, he was CPO at Calendly, where he helped scale one of the most beloved PLG tools in the market. Before that, he was Head of Product for Creation and Conversation at Twitter, leading core features like Tweets, DMs, and Spaces. At Atlassian, he led all communication products, including the launch of Atlassian’s first post-IPO product.Oji also spent years at Microsoft, building foundational experiences across Windows, Outlook, Hotmail, and Internet Explorer.In addition to his product leadership, Oji is the founder of Kernel Fund, an early-stage fund supporting startups across Africa. He writes about product, growth, and leadership at his newsletter Product Mind and is the author of the upcoming book Building Rocketships—a guide for high-growth product teams.Discussed in this Episode:When to hire your first PM (and what to look for).Why great product teams include marketing from day one.A framework for picking winning startup ideas.How AI is changing how we build (not just what we build).What product leaders can learn from Microsoft’s Longhorn failure.Why 3x better isn’t a nice-to-have — it’s a must.Highlights:04:52 – Why marketing is essential to product leadership.12:02 – How AI is transforming the process of building products.17:07 – Common product mistakes founders make early on.24:16 – Building Rocket Ships: Why Oji wrote the book.31:08 – Framework: Where to fish for unicorns.33:17 – The “3x better” rule for product value.37:07 – The challenge of true product differentiation.39:22 – What Microsoft’s Longhorn failure taught Oji.44:51 – When (and how) to hire your first PM.48:31 – The importance of fast, early customer feedback.54:46 – How AI is changing go-to-market strategy.57:32 – Why marketers must master signal in a noisy world.Guest Speaker Links (Oji Udezue):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ojiudezue/Kernel Fund: https://www.kernelfund.com/Product Mind: https://www.productmind.co/Building Rocketships (Book): https://a.co/d/0HGjf18SubStack: https://ojiudezue.substack.com/Host Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/Newsletter: https://substack.com/@sophiebuonassisiWhere to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):Website: https://gtmnow.com/LinkedIn: https:The GTM Podcast The GTM 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.
The GTM 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.
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