The SaaS Revolution Show: Inside ElevenLabs GTM – Speed, Culture, and Growth

Host: Alex Theuma (A)
Guest: Jean Chamouni, GTM at ElevenLabs (B)
Date: October 30, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode explores the go-to-market (GTM) strategies powering the explosive growth at ElevenLabs, focusing on their company culture, recruitment approach, and rapid experimentation within the AI-native SaaS landscape. Host Alex Theuma interviews Jean Chamouni, who shares lessons learned from leading GTM at high-growth startups (including Intercom and Lattice) and explains how ElevenLabs' unique culture—eschewing traditional job titles and promoting speed—has driven them to reach $200 million ARR in record time.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The ElevenLabs Mission and Product Use Cases

• ElevenLabs defines itself as "the voice of technology," offering advanced audio AI tools for various sectors:
  • Used by YouTube influencers to scale channels.
  • Partners with large enterprises (e.g., D Telecom) for immersive customer support and sales experiences.
  • Used for dubbing, SFX, and most recently, music generation.
    (02:38)
• Focused on bringing global knowledge and stories to life through voice AI.

2. Explosive Growth and the New AI Go-to-Market Playbook

• Achieved $200 million ARR in just 10 months, marking an extremely rapid scale compared to traditional SaaS firms like Slack.
  • “It was 10 months… The numbers are super amazing.” – Jean Chamouni (03:46)
• Success credited to:
  • Exceptional R&D and product innovation.
  • Recruiting high-agency, entrepreneurial talent.
  • Eschewing standard playbooks in favor of rapid experimentation and constant iteration.
  • “We don’t try to duplicate the old playbook…we try to move super fast on how we work and we’re coming with new ideas.” – Jean Chamouni (05:55)

3. Company Culture: Flat Structure and Role Fluidity

• No formal job titles within the team, everyone is part of “GTM” regardless of specific function.
  • “Job title is a distraction for you…We are looking for people who want to build with us and it makes a difference on the results that you will get from them.” – Jean Chamouni (06:29)
• Culture encourages lateral communication and initiative over hierarchical barriers.
• “The way we interact, you don’t think twice when you want to slack …someone who in a normal company will be a VP, for example, and think it makes a difference.” (06:57)

4. Speed and Experimentation as Core Values

• Speed is prioritized even if perfection is sacrificed; the team adapts to what works in the moment.
  • “Everything we do, we move extremely fast. Sometimes it’s not perfect and we know that, but we move super fast. And the speed, the speed is so important at the moment.” (00:01, 16:00)
• Recruitment focuses on ex-founders and those comfortable in startup environments, facilitating high adaptability.

5. Innovation in Sales Development: “Sales Development Labs”

• Creation of innovative GTM experiments:
  • Example: Built an AI agent using ElevenLabs’ own technology to qualify inbound leads in real-time, enhancing efficiency.
    • “I identified that…we can be more efficient on the way we manage the inbound leads. So I created…an agent that can help me to qualify in real time.” (07:38)
  • “Dogfooding” tactics: Using ElevenLabs’ text-to-speech to send personalized, cloned-voice audio messages to prospects.
    • Memorable message: "Hey, Alex, wanted to invite you to a demo, but actually you are already experiencing the demo because this is a clone of my voice." (08:28)

6. Channel Experiments and Customer Engagement

• Leveraging unconventional channels:
  • Success with WhatsApp and SMS for outreach in certain European markets.
  • Personalized LinkedIn audio messages using cloned voices.
    • “On LinkedIn…using my clone voice. Something that works really well.” (11:20)
• In-person events and face-to-face meetings at conferences like SaaStock are seeing a resurgence in effectiveness.
  “Connecting with you personally, meeting our leads face to face makes a difference.” (10:37)

7. Translating Content to Global Audiences

• Emphasized the importance of accessibility:
  • “80% of the world doesn’t speak English. So…translating your podcast will be a great start.” (12:30)
  • ElevenLabs tech makes translating and voicing content to many languages quick and easy (“just a couple of clicks”). (12:48)

8. Advice for AI-Native SaaS Companies on GTM Structures

• The flat, fluid org model is becoming more common in AI-native companies (e.g., OpenAI, Anthropic).
  • “It’s this new era of no job titles. Let’s just focus on our business and grow the company…It’s over, I think.” (13:39)

9. Favorite AI Tools Beyond ElevenLabs

• Granular AI: Used for meeting transcription/notes at events.
• ChatGPT: For personalization and meeting prep.
• Gong: For call analysis.
  “AI is almost everywhere when you are using…Gong or other tools. AI is everywhere.” (14:18)

10. Remote-First, Global Talent Recruitment

• ElevenLabs’ remote policy enables them to hire the best talent regardless of location, contributing to diversity and speed.
  • “If there is a great talent…in Barcelona, that’s not a problem at all. We will recruit this talent in Barcelona…” (17:45)

11. Looking Ahead: AI-GTM and Next Projects

• Focus on amplifying, not replacing, human reps with AI in sales and customer success roles.
  • “How we can go deeper into this AI motion. The thing is not to replace human … really how we can amplify the reps.” (18:39)
• Anticipates rapid advances and surprises from ElevenLabs over the coming months.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Speed:
  “The biggest difference is everything we do, we move extremely fast. And sometimes it’s not perfect and we know that, but we move super fast. And the speed, the speed is so important at the moment.” – Jean Chamouni (00:01)

• On Titles and Culture:
  “Job title is a distraction for you…We are looking for people who want to build with us and it makes a difference on the results that you will get from them.” – Jean Chamouni (06:29)

• On Dogfooding:
  “Every time I try to show the value of our products, when I prospect someone, so the kind of thing that we do…” – Jean Chamouni (08:28)

• On GTM Innovation:
  “We don’t try to duplicate the old playbook…we try to move super fast on how we work and we’re coming with new ideas.” – Jean Chamouni (05:55)

• On the Org Structure Trend:
  “It’s this new era of no job titles. Let’s just focus on our business and grow the company…It’s over, I think.” – Jean Chamouni (13:39)

• On the Importance of In-Person:
  “Connecting with you personally, meeting our leads face to face makes a difference.” – Jean Chamouni (10:37)

Segment Timestamps

• 00:01 – Speed as a differentiator
• 02:38 – What is ElevenLabs and latest product areas
• 03:46 – Growth milestones and industry context
• 05:55 – R&D, team, and culture as foundations of growth
• 07:38 – The “Sales Development Labs” and internal innovation
• 08:28 – Dogfooding: using own product in outreach
• 10:37 – The return to in-person sales and relationship building
• 11:20 – New channels: WhatsApp, SMS, LinkedIn, and voice cloning
• 12:30 – Accessibility through podcast translation
• 13:39 – Flat structure and org trends in AI-native companies
• 14:18 – Favorite GTM AI tools (Granular, ChatGPT, Gong)
• 17:45 – Recruiting globally and remotely for best-in-class teams
• 18:39 – The future: amplifying GTM through AI, not replacing humans

Conclusion

This episode captures ElevenLabs’ unique approach—eschewing hierarchy and static playbooks for a culture rooted in entrepreneurial spirit and action. Their willingness to experiment rapidly, leverage their own AI technology in creative GTM ways, and prioritize talent and culture over titles has resulted in extraordinary growth. The lessons shared are valuable for any SaaS founder rethinking GTM for the AI era.