Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast
Hosted by GTMnow · EN
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.
43episodes
Episodes
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Inside Reevo's $80M Bet to Kill the $10B Frankenstein Stack | David Zhu, Cofounder & CEO
4d ago00:41:58Tap to summarizeAI is rewriting go-to-market and most companies are still operating with a “Frankenstein stack.”In this episode of GTMnow, we sit down with David, founder & CEO of Reevo, to unpack how AI-native companies will replace legacy GTM systems, why the future of sales teams looks radically different, and how AI agents are becoming the new operating layer for revenue teams.David shares why Reevo stayed in stealth while building a vertically integrated AI revenue operating system, the problem of institutional knowledge loss in sales organizations, and why the old playbook for SaaS and GTM is breaking in 2026.We also dive deep into:- AI-native go-to-market strategy- The death of the legacy SaaS tech stack- Revenue operating systems explained- AI agents for sales, marketing, and customer success- How founders should think about AI adoption- Building startups in the age of AI- Why “failure is the cornerstone of innovation”- AI-driven sales productivity and revenue efficiency- Founder-led sales in 2026- The future of CROs, CMOs, and RevOps- AI copilots, Jarvis-style workflows, and GTM automation- Scaling teams without scaling headcountIf you're a founder, CRO, CMO, GTM leader, SaaS operator, AI builder, or investor trying to understand where B2B software and go-to-market are headed next, this episode is for you.Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:20 Why Reevo built in stealth 04:50 Why AI can finally disrupt GTM tech stacks 09:20 What Reevo actually does 11:10 AI outcomes vs headcount growth 15:00 How AI changes leadership & innovation 19:00 Why legacy GTM teams are vulnerable 23:00 The future of AI-native GTM organizations 29:00 Running an AI-native company internally 34:00 David’s favorite AI workflows & tools 37:40 Advice for introverted founders & leadersHost: Sophie Buonassisi, SVP Marketing at GTMnowhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi Guest: David Zhu, Co-founder and CEO at Reevohttps://www.linkedin.com/in/zhuventures/Visit us on: https://gtmnow.comFollow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnowFollow us on X (Twitter): https://x.com/GTMnow_Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_nowFollow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gtmnow_Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gtmnow_/Sponsors: .Tech - Domains, where the next generation of builders is planting their flag. Secure your .tech domain today from any registrar of your choice. Transcript available under the episode here: https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/Subscribe to GTMnow for the latest episodes! https://gtmnow.comFor inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email gtmnow@gtmfund.comGTMnow is a media brand brought to you by VC firm, GTMfund: https://gtmfund.com/#AI #Sales #GTM #SaaS #ArtificialIntelligence #RevenueOperations #Startup #B2B #RevOps #AIAgents #Founder #SalesLeadership #CMO #CRO #GoToMarket #AIStartup #TechPodcast #SalesTech #FutureOfWork #AutomationThe 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.
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VC: "Software Is Basically Worth Zero Now" | Tyler Hogge, Ex-Pelion
6d ago00:47:40Tap to summarizeTyler Hogge helped take Divvy from zero to a $2.5B acquisition by Bill.com. Now, as General Partner at Pelion Ventures, he argues that charging for software is dead, per-seat pricing is collapsing, and the next decade of venture-scale companies will be built on outcomes, not subscriptions.In this episode of the GTMnow VC Podcast, Tyler sits down with Max to break down what comes after SaaS pricing, why founder intensity is the only trait that still matters in 2026, and how Pelion concentrates capital into its biggest winners (Cloudflare alone returned over $1B to the fund). He also shares why most startups won't survive going head-to-head with OpenAI and Anthropic, the "bent the odds" contract he signed with Redo's CEO, and the lesson from raising four kids that changed how he leads.This is an honest, no-fluff conversation about where venture is going as AI commoditizes software.Chapters:00:00 Intro01:14 Intro18:48 Tyler joins23:09 "Sell Jesus, sell anything"27:42 The $2.5B Divvy exit34:39 The "bent the odds" contract38:11 Startups vs. OpenAI and Anthropic39:05 "Software is worth zero"40:55 The death of per-seat pricing43:02 Lessons from raising 4 kids46:44 "LinkedIn is the trailer park"Connect with Tyler:https://x.com/thoggehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/thogge/Connect with Max:https://x.com/hackitmaxhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/maxaltschuler/Connect with Paul:https://x.com/PaulGTMhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/paulsirving/About Tyler Hogge:Tyler Hogge is a General Partner at Pelion Ventures, Utah's oldest and largest venture fund with $500M AUM across eight funds. Before Pelion, Tyler was VP of Product at Divvy, which sold to Bill.com for $2.5B in 2021. Earlier in his career, he was a product leader at Wealthfront under Andy Rachleff and Adam Nash. He's based in Utah and one of the most active venture capitalists on X.About GTMnow:GTMnow is the media arm of GTMfund, a pre-seed and seed-stage B2B SaaS venture firm backed by an LP base of 300+ C-suite and VP-level operators from the best go-to-market organizations in tech. The GTMnow VC Podcast publishes every other week with the investors and operators shaping the next decade of B2B software.Brought to you by: AngelListFrom starting as a small, operator-led rolling fund, to evolving to an institutional platform, AngelList has been a core partner in every phase of GTMfund’s growth. Their software-first fund admin infrastructure allowed us to scale without sacrificing agility, from onboarding hundreds of LPs seamlessly to handling compliance, capital calls, and reporting as our fund size evolved.Transcript available under the episode here: https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/Subscribe to GTMnow for the latest episodes! https://gtmnow.comFor inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email gtmnow@gtmfund.comGTMnow is a media brand brought to you by VC firm, GTMfund:https://gtmfund.com/Subscribe for new episodes every week#VentureCapital #VCpodcast #SaaS #AI #B2BSaaS #GTMnow #StartupFunding #TylerHogue #PelionVentures #FounderAdviceVisit us on: https://gtmnow.comFollow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnowFollow us on X (Twitter): https://x.com/GTMnow_Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_nowFollow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gtmnow_Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gThe 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.
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How AI Will Go From Influencing 20% to Making 90% of Your Decisions | Steve Lucas, Boomi CEO
2w ago00:12:43Tap to summarizeBoomi was founded in the early 2000s by Rick Nucci, acquired by Dell in 2010, and then spun out to Francisco Partners and TPG Capital in 2021. Today it powers 30,000+ enterprise customers globally and moves more data per second than the entire Visa card network, times two. What started as an integration platform has evolved into something bigger: the leading data activation company, purpose-built for the agentic AI era.Steve Lucas took over as CEO in early 2023, just as ChatGPT was about to reshape the entire software landscape. A three-time CEO with nearly 30 years in enterprise software, Steve previously led Marketo through its $4.75B acquisition by Adobe (the largest in Adobe's history at the time), scaled iCIMS into the world's leading talent acquisition cloud, and held senior roles at SAP, Salesforce, Adobe, and BusinessObjects. He's also the author of "Digital Impact: The Human Element of AI Driven Transformation," a book arguing that the AI revolution will stall unless companies fix the fragmentation of their data first.In this episode, Sophie Buonassisi sits down with Steve at HumanX in San Francisco to unpack why 2026 is the year AI moves from pilot to production, the three diagnostic questions every CEO should ask before deploying agentic AI, and why "change only happens at the speed of trust." Steve also gets candid about the internal protest that erupted when Boomi rolled out its first CSM agent, his prediction that AI will go from influencing 20% of executive decisions to making 90% of them within 2 years, and how he picked up Claude Code on an airplane to vibe-code a contracts agent for his sales team.If you're a founder, operator, or GTM leader trying to figure out whether your business is actually ready for agentic AI (or just chasing the buzzword), this one is for you.TIMESTAMPS0:00 Intro0:58 Welcome to GTMnow at HumanX1:10 Why 2026 is when AI moves from pilot to production2:32 Influencing decisions vs. making decisions: the next 2 years3:18 Digital Impact: why fragmentation will stall the AI revolution5:01 "Get your data to the gym": the new slogan5:20 The 3 questions to know if your company is AI-ready6:47 Change happens at the speed of trust7:53 The internal protest behind Boomi's CSM agent9:32 From integration platform to data activation: the strategic shift10:50 Steve's most transformative AI workflow as a CEO11:12 Vibe coding with Claude on an airplane12:20 Where to follow Steve and BoomiHost: Sophie Buonassisi, SVP Marketing at GTMnowlinkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi Guest: Steve Lucas, CEO at Boomihttps://www.linkedin.com/in/nstevenlucas/Visit us on: https://gtmnow.comFollow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnowFollow us on X (Twitter): https://x.com/GTMnow_Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_nowFollow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gtmnow_Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gtmnow_/Sponsors: .Tech - Domains, where the next generation of builders is planting their flag. Secure your .tech domain today from any registrar of your choice. Transcript available under the episode here: https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/Subscribe to GTMnow for the latest episodes! https://gtmnow.comFor inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email gtmnow@gtmThe 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.
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Okta's CRO: From $850M in Losses to $760M Profit (The AI Agent Bet) | Jon Addison
3w ago00:40:18Tap to summarizeOkta's CRO Jon Addison joins GTMnow host Sophie to break down the full story behind Okta's remarkable revenue turnaround, the launch of Okta for AI Agents, and the go-to-market playbook that's carrying them from $3B toward a $5B ARR target.From nearly $850M in operating losses to over $760M in operating income, Okta's transformation is one of the most significant turnaround stories in enterprise SaaS. In this episode, Jon pulls back the curtain on exactly how it happened.In this episode:- Why 91% of enterprises are already deploying AI agents but only 10% have a security strategy for them- How Okta's "AI governance gap" insight became the foundation for their biggest product launch in years: Okta for AI Agents- The GTM restructure around specialization that unlocked productivity and drove 40% higher average contract value on new product deals- How Okta became a partner-first company: 95% of their top 100 deals in the last fiscal year were partner-led, and what operationally made that possible- Why the first discovery call no longer exists, and how sellers need to show up differently in the AI era- Jon's new internal sales methodology, APEX, built on Command of the Message for the AI era- How Okta is using AI internally to transform their own go-to-market motion, from conversational intelligence to pre-sales assistants- What the path to $5B ARR actually looks like: enterprise expansion, international growth, public sector, and the massive new TAM unlocked by non-human identity- Jon's leadership philosophy: why human-centric selling is becoming more critical as AI takes over the repetitive workHost: Sophie Buonassisi, SVP Marketing at GTMnowhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisiGuest: Jon Addison, CRO at Oktahttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-addison-3399175Timestamp:0:00 - Cold open1:19 - Welcome + Jon's background: from London to Silicon Valley1:52 - How Jon got into software and identity management4:08 - Okta for AI Agents launch announcement5:04 - 90% of customers live with agents, only 10% confident in securing them6:31 - What's driving the governance gap in the market7:53 - Speed of agent innovation must be matched by security and governance8:36 - 40% higher ACV on deals that include new products9:43 - Why consolidation around a single identity platform is resonating11:45 - How AI agents unlock a massive new TAM for Okta13:05 - Okta's turnaround: from $850M operating losses to $760M operating income13:36 - Key decision 1: GTM specialization drove productivity15:02 - Key decision 2: becoming a partner-first company16:14 - What cracking the partner-led model actually looks like19:08 - How long it takes to see ROI from a partner-led pivot20:12 - The path from $3B to $5B: enterprise, international, public sector21:49 - Using AI internally: launching "Apex," the AI-era sales methodology23:04 - What the Apex sales methodology entails24:25 - Buyers now show up with strong opinions before the first call25:44 - How discovery is changing: human-centric selling in the AI era27:33 - Headcount and AI: what skills matter in the future29:31 - Why relationships are Okta's core competitive advantage30:36 - The role of experiences: F1, events, and the 7-touchpoint rule31:47 - Broad GTM surface area: ABM, ecosysThe 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.
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VC: Inside a16z's $1.7B Infrastructure Bet | Jennifer Li, General Partner
3w ago00:38:18Tap to summarizeJennifer Li, Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), breaks down why the firm allocated $1.7 billion of its latest $15 billion fund specifically toward AI infrastructure, and what she's betting on next.Jennifer has backed ElevenLabs from Series A all the way through Series D, watching it grow to an $11 billion valuation. In this episode, she explains what she saw in voice AI before anyone else did, what makes a founder worth backing regardless of the tech, and why the next wave of AI infrastructure is being rebuilt from the ground up.In this episode:- Why a16z bet $1.7B on AI infrastructure (and why now)- The shift from cloud to AI-native infrastructure: storage, compute, orchestration, memory- How ElevenLabs crossed the uncanny valley in synthetic voice- Voice agents as the first AI category to truly scale in the enterprise- What "king-making" in AI go-to-market actually looks like- The traits that made Jennifer write a check for ElevenLabs on founder conviction alone- Open source vs. frontier models: what 2027 looks like- Why world models and vision language models are the next unlock- AI and human creativity: why directors and authors won't be replaced- How a 1-2 person studio can now make a full movieHost: Sophie Buonassisi, SVP Marketing at GTMnowhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisiGuest: Jennifer Li, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitzhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferhli/https://x.com/JenniferHliConnect with Max: https://x.com/hackitmaxhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/maxaltschulerConnect with Paul:https://x.com/PaulGTMhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/paulsirvingTimestamps:0:00 - Cold open1:06 - Max & Paul intro: are we in a bubble?1:46 - AI vs. dot-com era: the key differences4:55 - B2B SaaS disruption and value destruction (Thoma Bravo / Medallia)6:39 - Intercom / Finn: crossing the chasm from legacy to AI-native8:08 - Introducing Jennifer Lee, a16z General Partner8:31 - Paul's key takeaway: the distribution era9:41 - Why speed to default brand has never mattered more11:33 - The ElevenLabs story: a16z led Series A, B, and C12:02 - Why the seed strategy still works13:37 - What the best founders do differently with model capabilities15:58 - Jennifer Lee joins: why a16z raised $1.7B for infrastructure16:22 - What existing infrastructure is being rebuilt for AI19:19 - Specific areas a16z is focused on: models, storage, dev tools, security20:35 - 90%+ of code now written by agents21:52 - What Jennifer saw early in the 11 Labs / voice AI space25:19 - Go-to-market in AI infrastructure: what's working27:29 - Becoming the default brand: the "Kleenex effect" in AI28:37 - What makes a founder worth backing on conviction alone30:48 - Predictions for 2026/2027: open source catching up fast31:39 - Most exciting new modalities: world models and vision language models32:07 - AI and human creativity: can they coexist?34:42 - What's blocking the creative AI future36:05 - "The best ideas live in the graveyard"36:57 - Closing advice: make AI tools your friendsVisit us on: https://gtmnow.comFollow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnowFollow us on X (Twitter): https://x.com/GTMnow_Follow us on 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.
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How Figma Scaled From $2M to IPO | Kyle Parrish (First Sales Hire)
4w ago00:47:08Tap to summarizeKyle Parrish joined Figma as the first-ever sales hire when the company was doing $2M in ARR and helped scale it to $950M ARR. Figma then went on to IPO (FIG). But the path there was anything but smooth.In this episode, Kyle breaks down what it actually took to build Figma's enterprise sales motion from scratch, including the no-discount rule that made procurement teams furious, the 40-hour interview weeks when hiring felt impossible to keep up with, and what it was like to lead a 300-person team through a failed $20B Adobe acquisition, and then have their best year immediately after.We cover:- Why Figma refused to discount, even when Microsoft pushed back- How to hire the right first sales rep as a founder- The PLG to enterprise transition most companies get wrong- What the Adobe deal collapse actually felt like from the inside- How Figma went from 3 products to 8 overnight and launched into an IPO- What great sales look like in the AI eraTimestamp:0:00 – Intro 1:02 – Guest intro: Kyle Parrish 1:35 – Joining Figma at $2M ARR in 2018 5:01 – First meeting with Dylan (Figma CEO) 6:13 – How to find your first sales hire 9:05 – Stage alignment in early hiring 11:43 – Early-stage operators need "scar tissue" 13:19 – Northstar metric at Figma 14:13 – Obsessing over customer conversations 16:44 – Building Figma's brand through community 17:31 – Scaling the "unscalable" 20:08 – In-person GTM vs. digital 22:47 – Was there a moment Figma might not make it? 24:48 – Pivoting after the Adobe deal collapsed 28:10 – Figma's no-discount rule 31:05 – Enterprise ELAs replacing discounting 34:47 – What makes a great salesperson in the AI era 36:56 – Missionaries vs. mercenaries in AI-era GTM 39:47 – Spotting the next Dropbox or Figma 43:46 – Kyle's post-Figma investing focus 45:58 – Family, travel & what's nextGuest: Kyle Parrish, former VP Sales at Figma LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kparrish8/X: https://x.com/KyleHParrishHost: Sophie Buonassisi, SVP Marketing at GTMnowLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/X: https://x.com/sophiebuonaVisit us on: https://gtmnow.comFollow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnowFollow us on X (Twitter): https://x.com/GTMnow_Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_nowFollow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gtmnow_Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gtmnow_/Sponsors: Nooks - the AI workspace for outbound teams: https://www.nooks.ai/gtmfund.Tech - Domains, where the next generation of builders is planting their flag. Secure your .tech domain today from any registrar of your choice. Transcript available under the episode here: https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/Subscribe to GTMnow for the latest episodes! https://gtmnow.comFor inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email gtmnow@gtmfund.comGTMnow is a media brand brought to you by VC firm, GTMfund: https://gtmfund.com/The GTMnow PodcastThe 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 intereThe 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.
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How AI Killed the Discovery Call | Sam Senior, Founder & CEO of TestBox
Apr 1600:57:06Tap to summarizeAI isn't just changing how we sell. It's changing how buyers make decisions before they ever talk to you.Sam, Founder and CEO of Test Box, joins Sophie on GTMnow to break down exactly what's happening to the B2B software buying process right now, and what go-to-market leaders need to do about it immediately.If you're a founder, CRO, or AE wondering why your pipeline feels different, this conversation will give you a clear framework for what's happening and what to do next.What we cover:Why 70-80% of purchase decisions are already made before the first call (and it's accelerating)The shift from discovery calls to validation calls, and how to prepareCEO (AI-version of SEO): how LLMs are shaping what buyers believe about your productThe "day one shortlist" shrinking from 3-4 vendors to 1-2 vendorsAgent-to-agent procurement: Sam's timeline for when AI agents fully take over buyingWhy the mid-funnel is actually getting longer, not shorterThe "Fake Nothing, Prove Everything" campaign that went viral post-Series AHow Test Box runs 15 AI experiments per week across the entire companyUsing Google Vertex video analysis to read prospect body language on sales callsHow to build an AI-first culture without burning out your teamBooks: The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership, No Ego, Courageous Marketing, Good to GreatTimestamps:0:00 - Cold open1:09 - What Test Box does2:43 - How buying has changed5:48 - What founders/CROs should do now7:05 - GEO: AI version of SEO9:02 - Why mid-funnel is expanding21:17 - Agent-to-agent procurement26:02 - All procurement by agents in 3-5 years29:09 - How vendors differentiate beyond product33:30 - The croissant campaign breakdown45:50 - 15 AI experiments per week47:10 - Analyzing prospects via video AI48:29 - Building AI culture in your team52:39 - Book recommendationsGuest: Sam Senior, Founder and CEO TestBoxLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelsenior/Test Box: https://www.testbox.comHost: Sophie Buonassisi, SVP Marketing at GTMnowLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/Newsletter: https://thegtmnewsletter.substack.comVisit us on: https://gtmnow.comFollow us on LinkedIn: / gtmnowFollow us on X (Twitter): https://x.com/GTMnow_ Follow us on YouTube: / @gtm_now Follow us on TikTok: / gtmnow_ Follow us on Instagram: / gtmnow_
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How AI Killed the Discovery Call | Sam Senior, Founder & CEO of TestBox
Apr 1600:57:06Tap to summarizeAI isn't just changing how we sell. It's changing how buyers make decisions before they ever talk to you.Sam, Founder and CEO of TestBox, joins Sophie on GTMnow to break down exactly what's happening to the B2B software buying process right now, and what go-to-market leaders need to do about it immediately.If you're a founder, CRO, or AE wondering why your pipeline feels different, this conversation will give you a clear framework for what's happening and what to do next.What we cover:Why 70-80% of purchase decisions are already made before the first call (and it's accelerating)The shift from discovery calls to validation calls, and how to prepareCEO (AI-version of SEO): how LLMs are shaping what buyers believe about your productThe "day one shortlist" shrinking from 3-4 vendors to 1-2 vendorsAgent-to-agent procurement: Sam's timeline for when AI agents fully take over buyingWhy the mid-funnel is actually getting longer, not shorterThe "Fake Nothing, Prove Everything" campaign that went viral post-Series AHow TestBox runs 15 AI experiments per week across the entire companyUsing Google Vertex video analysis to read prospect body language on sales callsHow to build an AI-first culture without burning out your teamBooks: The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership, No Ego, Courageous Marketing, Good to GreatTimestamps:0:00 - Cold open1:09 - What TestBox does2:43 - How buying has changed5:48 - What founders/CROs should do now7:05 - GEO: AI version of SEO9:02 - Why mid-funnel is expanding21:17 - Agent-to-agent procurement26:02 - All procurement by agents in 3-5 years29:09 - How vendors differentiate beyond product33:30 - The croissant campaign breakdown45:50 - 15 AI experiments per week47:10 - Analyzing prospects via video AI48:29 - Building AI culture in your team52:39 - Book recommendationsGuest: Sam Senior, Founder and CEO TestBoxLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelsenior/TestBox: https://www.testbox.comHost: Sophie Buonassisi, SVP Marketing at GTMnowLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/Newsletter: https://thegtmnewsletter.substack.comVisit us on: https://gtmnow.comFollow us on LinkedIn: / gtmnowFollow us on X (Twitter): https://x.com/GTMnow_ Follow us on YouTube: / @gtm_now Follow us on TikTok: / gtmnow_ Follow us on Instagram: / gtmnow_ The GTMnow PodcastThe 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.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.
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VC: Your First VC Meeting Will Be Agent-to-Agent | Auren Hoffman (Flex Capital)
Apr 1500:57:15Tap to summarizeAuren Hoffman (Flex Capital) joins the GTMnow podcast to share some of the most contrarian takes in tech today, from why AI moats are gone, to why your next VC meeting will be with a bot, to why AI is secretly going to trigger a baby boom.In this episode:- Why Auren runs 500+ AI agents to source deals, and what that means for founders raising capital- The "agent-to-agent" meeting prediction: by end of 2026, first VC conversations will be fully automated- Why every software moat has been "blown up" and what Salesforce, LinkedIn & DocuSign need to do to survive- The OpenAI x The Hustle acquisition breakdown: why it's the smartest (and cheapest) distribution play in AI- Why missing a great deal is 10x more painful than making a bad one, Auren's honest VC mistake framework- The baby boom thesis: why AI, IVF, self-driving cars & cheaper energy could reverse the fertility decline- Why companies won't sign yearly SaaS contracts anymore, and what that means for every B2B founderAuren Hoffman is the founder of Flex Capital, SafeGraph, and LiveRamp. He's an early backer of Replit, Perplexity, Rippling, Vercel, Coinbase, Chime, and AppLovin.Connect with Max: https://x.com/hackitmaxhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/maxaltschulerConnect with Auren:https://x.com/aurenhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/auren/https://www.youtube.com/@summationpodGTMnow shares how the best in tech build, scale and invest.Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes, The GTMnow Newsletter editions, and other content.GTMnow is run by GTMfund - we are an early-stage venture firm made up of 350+ go-to-market executives from the fastest-growing companies.Chapters:00:00 - Intro01:05 - GTMfund Q1 recap 02:38 - OpenAI x The Hustle breakdown 06:18 - Redpoint's optimal VC deployment period 11:24 - Auren Hoffman intro 13:04 - Why am I seeing this deal? 26:26 - Sizing up founders at Replit, Perplexity & Rippling 28:49 - What separates great founders 32:10 - 500+ AI agents for deal sourcing 33:40 - Agent-to-agent VC meetings by 2026 45:13 - Every software moat is blown up 49:09 - Who kills Salesforce next? 51:30 - Why no one signs yearly SaaS contracts anymore 51:50 - AI will trigger a baby boom 56:22 - Thinking generationally#AI #VentureCapital #GTM #StartupFunding #AurenHoffman #FlexCapital #SaaS #ArtificialIntelligence #Founders #SalesVisit us on: https://gtmnow.comFollow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnowFollow us on X (Twitter): https://x.com/GTMnow_Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_nowFollow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gtmnow_Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gtmnow_/The GTMnow PodcastThe 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.
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VC: Your First VC Meeting Will Be Agent-to-Agent | Auren Hoffman (Flex Capital)
Apr 1500:57:15Tap to summarizeAuren Hoffman (Flex Capital) joins the GTMnow podcast to share some of the most contrarian takes in tech today, from why AI moats are gone, to why your next VC meeting will be with a bot, to why AI is secretly going to trigger a baby boom.In this episode:- Why Auren runs 500+ AI agents to source deals, and what that means for founders raising capital- The "agent-to-agent" meeting prediction: by end of 2026, first VC conversations will be fully automated- Why every software moat has been "blown up" and what Salesforce, LinkedIn & DocuSign need to do to survive- The OpenAI x The Hustle acquisition breakdown: why it's the smartest (and cheapest) distribution play in AI- Why missing a great deal is 10x more painful than making a bad one, Auren's honest VC mistake framework- The baby boom thesis: why AI, IVF, self-driving cars & cheaper energy could reverse the fertility decline- Why companies won't sign yearly SaaS contracts anymore, and what that means for every B2B founderAuren Hoffman is the founder of Flex Capital, SafeGraph, and LiveRamp. He's an early backer of Replit, Perplexity, Rippling, Vercel, Coinbase, Chime, and AppLovin.Connect with Max: https://x.com/hackitmaxhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/maxaltschulerConnect with Auren:https://x.com/aurenhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/auren/https://www.youtube.com/@summationpodGTMnow shares how the best in tech build, scale and invest.Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes, The GTMnow Newsletter editions, and other content.GTMnow is run by GTMfund - we are an early-stage venture firm made up of 350+ go-to-market executives from the fastest-growing companies.Chapters:00:00 - Intro01:05 - GTMfund Q1 recap 02:38 - OpenAI x The Hustle breakdown 06:18 - Redpoint's optimal VC deployment period 11:24 - Auren Hoffman intro 13:04 - Why am I seeing this deal? 26:26 - Sizing up founders at Replit, Perplexity & Rippling 28:49 - What separates great founders 32:10 - 500+ AI agents for deal sourcing 33:40 - Agent-to-agent VC meetings by 2026 45:13 - Every software moat is blown up 49:09 - Who kills Salesforce next? 51:30 - Why no one signs yearly SaaS contracts anymore 51:50 - AI will trigger a baby boom 56:22 - Thinking generationally#AI #VentureCapital #GTM #StartupFunding #AurenHoffman #FlexCapital #SaaS #ArtificialIntelligence #Founders #SalesVisit us on: https://gtmnow.comFollow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnowFollow us on X (Twitter): https://x.com/GTMnow_Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_nowFollow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gtmnow_Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gtmnow_/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.
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