The Goats of Growth Jay Webb

In this episode, Steve Travaglini, the CRO that led LinkSquares from $500K to an astounding $50M in ARR in just 5 years, shares his entire journey. 
Struggling with startup setbacks and doubt? Steve resilience, drive, and bias towards action, will inspire you in a way that could set you on path to the same kind of success. Of course, you'll have to do it without Steve.  
Tune in to discover Steve's insights on:
Uncovering Success: The journey from setbacks to triumph, and the lessons learned along the way.
Building a Sales Culture: Hiring for grit and optimism to create an unshakable team.
Driving Revenue: The pivotal role of a game-changing product in the sales landscape.
The Blueprint for Growth: Strategies for forging an unbreakable sales culture and fostering explosive growth. This episode is packed with actionable advice for entrepreneurs and sales leaders aiming to achieve extraordinary success!
Tune in and let us know your key takeaway.




Steves Linkedin Profile
00:00 Introduction and Background
03:01 Getting Fired and Joining Link Squares
08:56 Building the Sales Team at Link Squares
15:54 Lessons Learned and Adjustments Made
32:10 Continued Growth and Challenges Faced
37:55 The Evolution of a Sales Leader
38:22 Staying Involved in the Day-to-Day Operations
39:23 Building a Sales Culture and Scaling a Sales Organization
40:12 Delegating and Working on the Business
44:09 Introducing WinRate
48:45 Addressing Pain Points in Pricing, Packaging, and Value Presentation

On today's episode of The Goats of Growth, we have Tracy Sestili, Chief Revenue Officer of Intellimize!
Struggling to bridge the CMO-to-CRO gap? Tracy, a former CMO herself, reveals how marketing expertise can supercharge your CRO role. Can a marketing background be the secret weapon for CRO success? Tune in to discover Tracy's insights on:
Unlocking Growth: Collaboration, data-driven decisions, and the power of a user-friendly product. Scaling Revenue: Pricing, ICP, and the challenges (and rewards) of new market expansion. Product-Led Growth: Dominating your niche, lowering barriers to entry, and building brand advocacy. The Future of Sales: Adapting to change and the ever-evolving sales landscape. This episode is packed with actionable advice for marketing and sales leaders looking to drive explosive growth!
Tracys Linkedin Profile
00:00 Introduction and Tracy's Background.
03:30 The Value of a Marketing Background in the CRO Role.
11:45 The Importance of Cross-Functional Collaboration for CROs.
25:15 Addressing Pricing, ICP, and Product Feature Issues.
28:59 Strategies for Scaling Revenue.
32:19 Challenges of Expanding into New Markets.
35:35 The Challenges of Product-Led Growth.
37:24 Dominating a Market before Expanding.
39:12 Creating a Seamless User Experience.
44:09 Balancing Growth and Efficiency.
46:08 Motivation: Doing Impactful Work.
48:38 Personal Goals and Hobbies.
53:01 The Future of Sales Teams in 2024.

In this episode of The Goats of Growth, we're joined by Solomon Kahn, the CEO behind Delivery Layer. We discuss his data industry journey and the inception of his brainchild, unveiling the niche market's potential as well as Delivery Layer's mission: furnishing robust tools for seamless data sharing—a sector long overlooked.
From the exhilaration of securing the inaugural client to navigating the complexities of missed opportunities, Solomon shares candid anecdotes. Tune in as he unveils his LinkedIn playbook, deciphering how strategic audience cultivation fuels outreach and cultivates promising leads.
Solomons Linkedin Profile
00:00 - Introduction to Solomon Kahn and Delivery Layer
03:32 - The Need for Delivery Layer in the Market
08:35 - Building Delivery Layer and Pricing Strategy
11:34 - The Power of Building an Audience on LinkedIn
22:50 - Future Growth and Challenges for Delivery Layer
35:50 - Exploring the Use Cases of Delivery Layer
46:19 - Building Trust and Reliability in the Data Industry
53:27 - The Long-Term Vision for Delivery Layer
57:26 - Motivation and Learning in the Data Industry
01:02 - Navigating the Jump from $100K to $1 Million in ARR
01:05 - The Importance of Sleep and Personal Well-being

In this episode of "The Goats of Growth," I interview Jacco van der Kooij, founder of Winning by Design, about the challenges facing SaaS companies in achieving go-to-market fit.

Jacco explains that the "growth at all costs" mentality has led to inefficient spending on sales and marketing, resulting in unsustainable growth. Tune in to learn how he advocates for a shift towards process-centric strategies, emphasizing the need for data-driven decisions, cost efficiency, and the unique treatment of different market segments. 
Jaccos Linkedin Profile
Revenue Architecture (00:01:12)
Jacco's book "Revenue Architecture" and its insights into successful revenue leadership.
Has SaaS lost go to market fit? (00:01:48)
Discussion on a paper titled "Has SaaS lost go to market fit?" and its implications for venture-backed SaaS companies.
Product market fit and go to market fit (00:02:53)
Exploration of the concepts of product market fit and go to market fit, and their significance for sustainable growth.
SaaS companies' go to market challenges (00:04:23)
Analysis of the challenges faced by SaaS companies in maintaining go to market fit and the increasing cost of marketing and sales.
Impact of cost increase on go to market fit (00:05:22)
Discussion on the rising cost of acquiring revenue and its impact on go to market fit and sustainability.
Automation and evolving go to market strategies (00:11:13)
Insights into the potential impact of automation on certain tasks and the evolution of go to market strategies in response.
The role of the CFO and CRO in go to market strategies (00:13:47)
Exploration of the evolving roles of the CFO and CRO in managing go to market strategies for rapid growth companies.
Scaling and efficiency in go to market motions (00:17:25)
Consideration of tactics for scaling and maintaining efficiency in go to market motions for companies reaching the $200-300 million revenue level.
The importance of being process-centric (00:21:01)
Discussion on the shift from people-centric to process-centric organizations and the need for optimization and automation.
Impact of process automation on productivity (00:22:21)
Exploration of how automation and technology can increase productivity and revenue per headcount.
Skills and certification for executives (00:25:54)
Discussion on the necessary skills and certification for executives in the context of revenue architecture and the changing business landscape.
The need for education and certification in revenue architecture (00:29:32)
Exploration of the importance of education and certification for executives to understand revenue architecture and compound growth.
Investment in retention and expansion for revenue growth (00:32:10)
Insights into the shift from new revenue acquisition to investment in retention and expansion for revenue growth.
Challenges in shifting marketing and sales alignment (00:37:43)
Discussion on the challenges and time required for shifting marketing and sales alignment in organizations.
Balancing short-term demands and long-term growth (00:40:04)
Exploration of the paradoxical challenge of meeting short-term demands while focusing on long-term growth strategies.
Server, software, and GTM (00:41:13)
Discussion on the design and success rates of server, software, and go-to-market motion.
Success rates of server and software (00:41:57)
Explanation of the success rates of server (99%) and software (five nines).
Success rate of GTM (00:42:39)
Exploration of the success rate of companies in the go-to-market motion, defined as closing over a $3 million round in funding.
Vision and compound growth (00:45:41)
Discussion on the importance of vision and compound growth in go-to-market strategy.
Changing GTM motion (00:47:44)
Exploration of the evolving go-to-market motion and the need for proper architecture in sales strategies.
Exploring future topics (00:48:43)
Request for a future episode to delve into the seeds being pla

In this episode, you will hear the excerpts from 6 inetrviews I did for The GOATS of Growth book. I asked everyone the same question, which was, "What major setbacks did you face early on and how did you overcome them?"
In order of appearance, you will hear:
Ed Calnan Elissa Fink Mark Roberge John McMahon Laura Zwahlen Ryan Burke Each one of them has acheived, by definition, uncommon success, and all of them faced challenges early on in their journeys before they achived their respective success. Persistence, is the common theme that I took away from hearing their stories, and I think you will too. 
Enjoy

In this episode I had the pleasure of speaking with Kayvon Touran, CEO and Co-Founder of Zal.ai.
He shared how a career frustration he had inspired Zal which helps organizations implement career pathing and specifically to help them contextualize, apply and measure the efficacy of their learning and development programs. 
That said, more than anything, this episode is about the start of an entrepreneurial journey and how to take an idea and see it through all the way to builing a product with a market and a strategy to sell it. Lots of leanings along the way. 
Enjoy!
Kayvons Linkedin Profile

 
The ideation phase (00:02:05) Kayvon's journey in early stage technology startups.
The need for context in learning and development programs (00:03:19) Kayvon's realization of the context problem in workforce development and the need for personalized, dynamic, and applicable learning content.
Challenges in career pathing implementation (00:05:25) The difficulties and opportunities in implementing career pathing, the value of career pathing, and its challenges in terms of cost and time.
Creating alignment between strategic initiatives and career goals (00:07:11) The importance of creating alignment between an organization's strategic initiatives and employees' career goals, and the challenges faced in achieving this alignment.
The messy process of ideation and information gathering (00:16:56) The chaotic process of gathering information, following instincts, and overcoming doubts during the ideation phase.
Judging information and separating signal from noise (00:19:58) Kayvon's intuitive approach to processing information and the importance of combining different perspectives to determine the accuracy of the information.
Resources for Research (00:21:40) Kayvon talks about the various resources used for research, including programs and homegrown research.
Challenges in Job Architecture (00:25:33) Kayvon explains the challenges faced by companies in creating accurate job architecture and how Zol addresses these issues.
Career Path Tool and Skill Verification (00:28:44) Kayvon details the features of the career path tool and the importance of skill verification in their platform.
Staying Disciplined in Feature Development (00:30:54) Kayvon discusses the discipline required to avoid building unnecessary features and the focus on delivering value to users.
Building the First AI MVP (00:31:29) Kayvon explains the process of creating the first AI minimum viable product and the value-driven approach to development.
Customer Acquisition Strategy (00:37:40) Kayvon shares the strategy of building a community of interested individuals and incorporating customer feedback into the product development process.
Pricing and Commercializing (00:40:39) Discussion on pricing strategies and challenges in quantifying the value of solutions for changing job dynamics.
Iterative Process and Refinement (00:41:27) Emphasizing the iterative approach in developing the business, including pricing strategies and market positioning.
Investing in Company Growth (00:45:38) Strategies for reinvesting in the company to enhance product offerings and expand the customer base.
Target Market Segmentation (00:49:40) Segmenting the target market based on company size and tailoring offerings to specific audience and organizational needs.