WMYT - What makes YOU Tick? Tech Leaders Career Stories

Richard and Tolu @ Tick Talent
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Conversations with high-performing tech leaders, breaking down the decisions, failures, and strategies behind exceptional careers. It all starts by asking "what makes you tick?" Designed for founders and operators who want practical lessons from people who’ve built, scaled, and led in the real world. No theory. No hype. Just insights you can use.

  1. E.137 - AI and Leadership: How Do You Become Too Valuable To Replace? w/ Dan Hurwitz

    1d ago

    E.137 - AI and Leadership: How Do You Become Too Valuable To Replace? w/ Dan Hurwitz

    Dan Hurwitz, CRO and one of New York's most respected revenue leaders, joins Rich for a wide-ranging conversation on AI, value, and what modern selling actually looks like in 2026.Fresh from a panel in front of 70 enterprise AI tech buyers at New York Tech Week, Dan shares what the room was really talking about — why 95% of AI projects fail to deliver value, why success is still largely undefined, and why the biggest risk right now is doing nothing.The conversation covers why AI is replacing critical thinking in sales reps and what to do about it, why the turkey tinfoil story explains everything wrong with how businesses make decisions, what it really means to deliver value to a customer — and why that's what keeps them from leaving, how to run a hiring process that treats candidates like buyers, the difference between the job you take and the job you do, and why prompt engineering is now one of the most important skills in business. 🎙️ Guest: Dan Hurwitz — CRO 🔗 Connect with Dan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dahurwitz/ 🎙️ Host: Richard Washington — Founder, Tick Talent 🔗 Connect with Rich: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richwash/ 🌐 Tick Talent: https://www.tick-talent.com/ 👉 Subscribe so you never miss an episode — Making Revenue Tick drops regularly on the What Makes You Tick channel.

    1h 1m
  2. How To Get Hired Before The Job Is Advertised (The Job Search Playbook)

    3d ago

    How To Get Hired Before The Job Is Advertised (The Job Search Playbook)

    We are taught to look for a job the wrong way. The same way we did 10 years ago.We update their CV.We click Easy Apply.We submit hundreds of applications.Then wonder why nobody replies.The reality?The best opportunities are often filled before they ever reach a job board.In this episode, Richard Washington, Founder of Tick Talent and host of @whatmakesyoutick breaks down the sales-led job search strategy that's helped hundreds of revenue professionals stand out, create conversations with decision-makers, and land opportunities before they're publicly advertised.Whether you're an SDR, AE, Sales Leader, Customer Success professional, Recruiter, Founder, or simply considering your next move, this episode will completely change the way you think about finding your next role.You'll learn:✅ Why your CV isn't the most important asset in your job search✅ The mistake 90% of candidates make before they've even spoken to a hiring manager✅ Why the KPI for your job search should be conversations, not applications✅ How to identify your ideal companies using an ICP-driven approach✅ Why the best candidates approach leaders before vacancies exist✅ How to position yourself as the solution to a business problem✅ The outreach strategy top salespeople use to create opportunities✅ How to stand out in a market flooded with generic applicationsIf you're tired of being ghosted, rejected, or stuck waiting for recruiters to get back to you, this episode is for you.Stop applying for jobs.Start creating opportunities.🎙️ About Richard Washingtonhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/richwash/Richard Washington is a revenue leader, recruiter, podcast host, and creator of the Multiplier Matrix framework. He helps high-growth technology companies hire exceptional talent and helps ambitious professionals accelerate their careers by thinking like top-performing salespeople.Subscribe for more conversations on sales, leadership, hiring, career growth, startups, and revenue.#JobSearch #CareerAdvice #SalesCareers #SalesLeadership #TechSales #JobSearchStrategy #Recruitment #Hiring #CareerGrowth #whatmakesyoutick #CVtips #resumetips #howtogetired #salescareers #salesjobs #AE #SDR #jobsearchstrategy #hiringmanager #B2Bsales #salesrecruitment #careertips #whatmakesyoutick #ticktalent #richwashington #jamesbissell #jobsearchtips #salesleadership #GTM #careeradvice #linkedinjobs #salesrecruiting

    21 min
  3. E.136 - The Neuroscience of High Performance, Ambition & Happiness w/ Kevin Bailey

    Jun 10

    E.136 - The Neuroscience of High Performance, Ambition & Happiness w/ Kevin Bailey

    What if half your performance had nothing to do with skill — and everything to do with your mental wiring? In this episode, Rich and Tolu sit down with Kevin Bailey, founder of Dream Fuel and neuroscience master's graduate from King's College London, to explore the science behind high performance, the difference between happiness and pleasure, and why most ambitious people are running on the wrong fuel. Kevin shares how a burnout moment at his first startup sent him down a 15-year rabbit hole of breathwork, neuroscience, and mental performance — and how the same tools used by elite athletes can unlock extraordinary results in sales teams and founders. 🔑 Key Takeaways: – Why dopamine (pleasure) and serotonin (happiness) are different — and why balance between them is the key to peak performance – The "mental skills gap" and how closing it can boost A players by 10-15% and C players by up to 50% – How visualization actually works neurologically — and why most people are doing it wrong – What non-dual awareness is and why Kevin calls it "a good buzz, without the hangover" – The difference between dreams and goals — and how to get back in touch with the real ones – Why founders don't fail — they quit internally first 🎙️ Guest: Kevin Bailey — Founder, Dream Fuel 🔗 Connect with Kevin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinjamesbailey/ 🌐 Dream Fuel: https://dreamfuel.com 🎙️ Hosts: Richard Washington & Tolu Adebekun 🔗 Rich: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richwash/ 🔗 Tolu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toluadebekun/ 🌐 Tick Talent: https://www.tick-talent.com/ 👉 Subscribe so you never miss an episode — new episodes every Wednesday, Best Bits every Sunday.

    1h 18m
  4. Why 89% of Startup Hires Fail (Hint: It’s Not a Skill Problem)

    Jun 7

    Why 89% of Startup Hires Fail (Hint: It’s Not a Skill Problem)

    Most hiring failures aren't about skills, they're about behaviours. In this Best Bits episode, Richard Washington, Founder of Tick Talent and creator of The Multiplier Scorecard™, breaks down the CORE4 framework: the four behaviours that separate a Multiplier from an Adder, Subtractor, or Divider, and why the old models are failing modern startups.If you're building a team and making hiring decisions right now, this one will change how you think about it.🔑 Key Takeaways:– 89% of mis-hires fail due to attitude and cultural misalignment (Sequoia data)– Only 15% of businesses have defined what a top performer actually looks like in their company– The 4 types of hires: Multiplier, Adder, Subtractor, Divider– CORE4: Collaborative, Ownership, Resourcefulness, Execution– Why "A player" is meaningless without a shared definitionHeath Barnett — VP Revenue, MixmaxConnect with Heath: https://www.linkedin.com/in/builtgtm/Richard Washington — Founder, Tick TalentConnect with Rich: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richwash/Tick Talent: https://www.tick-talent.com/👉 Watch the full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBorRCk8apg🔔 Subscribe so you never miss an episode---What Makes You Tick is the podcast for ambitious professionals who want to understand what separates the best from the rest. New episodes every Wednesday. Best Bits every Sunday.

    15 min
  5. Why Enterprise Buyers Lose Confidence | Brent Adamson (The Challenger Sale)

    May 31

    Why Enterprise Buyers Lose Confidence | Brent Adamson (The Challenger Sale)

    Why do enterprise deals stall even when the buyer likes your product? Why do great sales calls lead to “let me think about it”? And why do so many B2B buyers disappear after showing genuine interest? In this Best Bits episode of Making Revenue Tick, Brent Adamson — co-author of The Challenger Sale and author of The Framemaking Sale — breaks down the psychology behind modern enterprise buying decisions, why complex B2B sales feel increasingly difficult, and what elite sellers do differently. Watch the Full Episode: E.131 - Sell More by Boosting Customer Confidence (from Challenger to Framemaking) https://youtu.be/-QJaJvzXSV4?si=1i-YzCjwPvC91ois One of the biggest ideas in this conversation: Customers rarely need more information. They need more confidence. Brent explains why the real blocker in enterprise sales is often not your competitor, your pricing, or your product. It is the buyer’s confidence in: - their decision - their internal alignment - their ability to navigate risk - their organisation’s readiness for change This episode explores: - Why enterprise deals stall - Why B2B buyers ghost sales teams - The psychology behind complex sales - How top enterprise sellers build buyer confidence - Why customers freeze on high-stakes decisions - How to improve win rates in B2B sales - The evolution from Challenger Sale to Framemaking - Why customer uncertainty kills momentum - How elite sellers help buyers make sense of complexity - Why modern sales is shifting from persuasion to guidance If you work in: - Enterprise Sales - SaaS Sales - Revenue Leadership - B2B Sales - Sales Enablement - Go-To-Market - Customer Success - Founder-led Sales …this conversation will completely change how you think about buying behaviour. About Brent Adamson Brent Adamson is one of the most influential thinkers in modern B2B sales. He is the co-author of: - The Challenger Sale - The Challenger Customer and author of: - The Framemaking Sale His work focuses on: - enterprise buying psychology - customer decision-making - commercial leadership - sales strategy - buyer confidence - complex B2B sales Brent regularly advises executive teams and revenue leaders around the world and is also a contributor to Harvard Business Review. Connect with Brent: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brentadamson/ Framemaking Sale YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheFramemakingSale Brent’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BrentAdamson-m2f Connect with Richard Washington: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richwash/ Read the Growth Magnet newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7083793079794556928 Subscribe for more conversations with elite founders, CROs, sales leaders, and operators: @whatmakesyoutick

    22 min
  6. Champion Burnout & the Culture Metric [WMYT Edition]

    May 26

    Champion Burnout & the Culture Metric [WMYT Edition]

    Two topics. Against the clock.James opens with something he sees constantly, deals that look live and aren't. He gets into why champions burn out mid-process, why buyers go dark on the people they like most, and what the research says is the single biggest factor in whether a deal closes or dies.Rich follows with a metric most businesses aren't tracking, even though it takes five minutes to measure and will tell you more about the health of your culture than any employee survey ever will. New episodes every week with James Bissell and Rich Washington.Set the chicken. We're on the clock.Learn more  @fieldnotespodcast  Field Notes is sponsored by Tick Talent and The Revenue Enabler.If your sales team is missing quota and you're not sure why, The Revenue Enabler works with sales organisations to fix the fundamentals — from sales stage design through to seller capability. Find out more at therevenueenabler.comIf you're looking to hire exceptional sales and revenue talent across the tech sector, from your first AE hire through to VP level, get in touch with the team at tick-talent.com#FieldNotes #ChampionSales #SalesGhosting #ChampionBurnout #BusinessCase #CustomerConfidence #MEDDIC #ChallengerSale #SalesDiscovery #B2BSales #TechSales #SalesLeadership #CompanyCulture #InternalReferrals #EmployeeReferral #TalentAcquisition #SalesHiring #StartupCulture #ScaleUp #SalesEnablement #RevenueGrowth #GoToMarket #SalesTips #SalesCoaching #B2BPodcast #salespodcast

    28 min
  7. E.135 - Does Your Startup Have Product-Market Fit… Or Just Early Traction? w/ Mike Peroni

    May 20

    E.135 - Does Your Startup Have Product-Market Fit… Or Just Early Traction? w/ Mike Peroni

    Startups think they’ve found product-market fit because the graph went up for a few quarters. Mike Peroni explains why that false sense of PMF is exactly what causes so many SaaS companies to stall before $10M ARR. - Messaging confusion. - Founder-led growth. - Feature creep. - ICP drift. the stuff that quietly kills scale. when you know what the difference is, you're much more likely to have a system that can sail past $10M ARR. In this episode of What Makes You Tick, Richard Washington sits down with Mike Peroni to unpack one of the biggest questions in SaaS growth: How do you know if you really have product-market fit? Together, they break down: why so many SaaS companies plateau after early growth the difference between traction and true product-market fit why founder-led sales eventually stop scaling how ICP drift quietly kills momentum why adding more features can actually slow growth what happens between $5M and $25M ARR when messaging becomes unclear how scaling companies lose narrative clarity as products expand If you’re a SaaS founder, CRO, VP Sales, GTM leader, or startup operator trying to scale from Series A to Series B, this conversation is packed with practical insight on: SaaS growth strategy scaling product-market fit startup positioning founder-led sales go-to-market alignment ICP strategy SaaS messaging scaling revenue teams startup growth challenges why SaaS growth stalls Mike shares real-world lessons from working with scaling SaaS companies, including why many businesses mistake early momentum for sustainable repeatability — and how to diagnose the warning signs before growth plateaus. This episode also explores: why feature-led messaging creates confusion how startups become “feature catalogues” the hidden risks of expanding beyond your core ICP why clarity is often the real competitive advantage how the best SaaS companies scale without losing focus In This Episode: What product-market fit actually looks like Why startups plateau between $5M and $25M ARR How to know when your GTM motion is breaking Why messaging complexity kills growth How founder intuition must evolve into scalable systems Why ICP clarity matters more as you scale The biggest scaling mistakes SaaS founders make Who This Episode Is For SaaS founders Startup CEOs Revenue leaders CROs and VP Sales Series A and Series B companies GTM and product leaders Startup operators scaling revenue Connect With Mike Peroni https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeperoni/ Connect with Richard: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richwash/ Read Growth Magnet newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7083793079794556928/ Subscribe to @whatmakesyoutick Conversations with founders, operators, and revenue leaders exploring: startup growth hiring scaling leadership GTM strategy and what really makes high-performing companies tick #ProductMarketFit #SaaSGrowth #StartupGrowth #FounderLedSales #SeriesA #SeriesB #GTMStrategy #SaaS #RevenueGrowth #StartupScaling

    1h 1m
  8. Welcome to the first episode of Field Notes [WMYT Edition]

    May 15 ·  Bonus

    Welcome to the first episode of Field Notes [WMYT Edition]

    Two topics. Against the clock. James opens with something he's seeing across almost every sales org he works with right now — pipelines that look healthy and aren't. He gets into why it keeps happening, and what needs to change before you spend another penny on training. Rich follows with something two of the most elite EMEA Sales VPs he's ever interviewed both said, word for word, about how they ran their teams. One phrase. Two completely different companies. And a hiring insight that most sales leaders are missing entirely. New episodes every week with James Bissell and Rich Washington. Set the chicken. We're on the clock. -- Field Notes is sponsored by Tick Talent and The Revenue Enabler. If your sales team is missing quota and you're not sure why, The Revenue Enabler works with sales organisations to fix the fundamentals — from sales stage design through to seller capability. Find out more at therevenueenabler.com If you're looking to hire exceptional sales and revenue talent across the tech sector, from your first AE hire through to VP level, get in touch with the team at tick-talent.com USEFUL LINKS James Bissell on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-bissell1/Rich Washington on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richwash/The Revenue Enabler: https://therevenueenabler.com/Tick Talent: https://www.tick-talent.com/ #FieldNotes #SalesPipeline #SalesLeadership #B2BSales #SalesEnablement #PipelineManagement #SalesHiring #QuotaAttainment #TechSales #GoToMarket #SalesProcess #CRMTips #SalesTraining #RevenueGrowth #SalesCoaching #StartupSales #SalesTips #DiscoveryCall #DealSlippage #SalesForecasting #VPofSales #SalesManagement #SDR #AccountExecutive #SalesPerformance #RevenueEnablement #B2BPodcast #SalesPodcast

    36 min
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Conversations with high-performing tech leaders, breaking down the decisions, failures, and strategies behind exceptional careers. It all starts by asking "what makes you tick?" Designed for founders and operators who want practical lessons from people who’ve built, scaled, and led in the real world. No theory. No hype. Just insights you can use.

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