The Science of Scaling

4.9 (91)
MANAGEMENT
UPDATED WEEKLY

Each week, host Mark Roberge (Sr. Lecturer at Harvard Business School, Co-Founder at Stage 2 Capital, Founding CRO at HubSpot) talks with the most successful sales leaders in tech to find out the science behind scaling a company’s revenue and sales.

JUN 11

Every Founder Needs To Sell w/ Frederic Kerrest (Co-Founder, Okta)

Get the Science of Scaling Database! Real Playbooks from Billion-Dollar Companies: ⁠⁠https://clickhubspot.com/scienceofscaling Every founder needs to sell. If you're not comfortable selling, then get comfortable. I see too many founders think that once they've secured the first revenue & gotten Series A they can hire a professional sales team. Wrong. Today's guest Frederic Kerrest (Co-Founder, Okta) tells us why it's so important for founders to be salespeople, and the when & how to start building your team. Use referral code: SOS to request your spot at this year's ⁠⁠HubSpot AiSummit 2025⁠⁠ in San Francisco on June 11. The Science of Scaling is a HubSpot Media podcast in partnership with Hubspot for Startups// ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Learn more about HubSpot for Startups⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ // Produced by Matthew Brown

38 min
JUN 4

Rule of 40 vs Grow At All Costs w/ Mark Wayland (CRO, Box)

Get the Science of Scaling Database! Real Playbooks from Billion-Dollar Companies: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://clickhubspot.com/scienceofscaling⁠⁠⁠⁠ When budgets are tight and every rep needs to perform, you need force multipliers, not more headcount. Sometimes you need Rule of 40 -- a private equity orientation that can still lead to great success for the founders, the executives, and the investors. Mark Wayland (CRO, Box) talk about how only a few months into his grow at all costs company he found himself with an activist investor and a pivot to Rule of 40. The Science of Scaling is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by HubSpot Media in collaboration with ⁠HubSpot For Startups⁠ // Produced by Matthew Brown.

40 min
MAY 28

How to Pivot The Model, The Playbook & The Team When The Macro Changes w/ Carina Brockl (fmr. CRO, Aurora Solar)

Get the Science of Scaling Database! Real Playbooks from Billion-Dollar Companies: ⁠⁠https://clickhubspot.com/scienceofscaling You've navigated your company to unicorn status. Crack the champagne, ring the bell, and hang the banner. Only, months later the macro changes. Now, you need to pivot the model, pivot the playbook, and pivot the team. Today I'm joined by Carina Brockl, (fmr. CRO, Aurora Solar) who faced these challenging shifts and tells us how she navigated them. The Science of Scaling is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by HubSpot Media in collaboration with ⁠HubSpot For Startups⁠ // Produced by Matthew Brown.

38 min
MAY 21

GTM in the AI Era w/ Andy Shorkey (CRO, Writer)

Get the Science of Scaling Database! Real Playbooks from Billion-Dollar Companies: ⁠⁠⁠https://clickhubspot.com/scienceofscaling There's tremendous conviction that AI is eating the software ecosystem. Well, today we speak with Andy Shorkey (CRO, Writer). Not only is he navigating all the complexities of bringing native AI products to market, he's also reinventing the way that go-to market is done internally in a far more efficient way in the post AI world. LINKS Exclusive ICP Expansion Guide: https://clickhubspot.com/ahk The Science of Scaling is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by HubSpot Media in collaboration with ⁠HubSpot For Startups⁠ // Produced by Matthew Brown.

37 min
MAY 14

How to Cold Call When 90% Hang Up (Roleplay)

Get the Science of Scaling Database! Real Playbooks from Billion-Dollar Companies: ⁠⁠https://clickhubspot.com/scienceofscaling Send me your cold calls! Email us at TheScienceofScaling@gmail.com. I'll help you set more meetings &. we'll use your call in an upcoming video. So Producer Matthew fails at cold calling. But he learns the framework that actually works. *Stop freezing up on sales calls, get a script!* 🔗 https://clickhubspot.com/29868f I roped in Producer Matthew to actually try selling me a pizza. It was terrifying. But even if you're good at this, you get hung up on 90% of the time. I break down what makes effective cold calls work - from the opening line that gets you past those crucial first seconds, to handling objections without needing people to like you (apparently my people-pleasing instincts are a sales career killer). You'll learn Sam Nelson's proven framework that even Harvard Business School students use, why sounding like a "nervous 14-year-old" is actually better than sounding polished, and how to stay in the objection "flywheel" until you get that meeting. If you're still reading this, go ahead and drop a cold calling story in the comments. I'll be waiting!! Follow us on YouTube at The Science of Scaling: 🔗 www.youtube.com/@ScienceofScaling

22 min
MAY 7

The Founder Selling to Professional Sales Transition w/ Dmitry Shevelenko (CBO, Perplexity)

Get the Science of Scaling Database! Real Playbooks from Billion-Dollar Companies: ⁠⁠https://clickhubspot.com/scienceofscaling Perplexity is attempting something no one thought possible: Challenging Google for search dominance. Dmitri Shevelenko was advising five different orgs, before fully signing on to Perplexity. What energy and pull he found from this vision? And he unpacks how Perplexity successfully transitioned from founder selling to professional sales. The Science of Scaling is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by HubSpot Media in collaboration with ⁠HubSpot For Startups⁠ // Produced by Matthew Brown.

39 min
APR 30

The Day-One Enterprise Strategy w/ Ed Calnan (Co-Founder, Seismic)

Get the Science of Scaling Database! Real Playbooks from Billion-Dollar Companies: ⁠⁠https://clickhubspot.com/scienceofscaling Imagine passing $5 million with three customers. That is whale hunting. Going after big customers with big deals from day one isn't advisable. But sometimes it's the only path. Today, Ed Calnan (Co-Founder and Fmr. CRO, Seismic) walks us through how to get big account's attention, get through procurement, get through security, all solve for all the things that kill the startups that try this path. The Science of Scaling is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by HubSpot Media in collaboration with ⁠HubSpot For Startups⁠ // Produced by Matthew Brown.

39 min
APR 23

The Critical Importance of Focusing Your ICP w/ Dan Sperring (Founder, AlignICP)

Get the Science of Scaling Database! Real Playbooks from Billion-Dollar Companies: ⁠⁠https://clickhubspot.com/scienceofscaling Companies with a very tightly defined ICP that is operationalized on the frontline spend 50% less on sales and marketing. They have CAC payback periods that are 24% shorter than the mean, and those ICP customers have a 425% higher expansion rate in the first 12 months compared to those that are not. Today Dan Sperring (Founder, AlignICP) explores how product success is often determined by specific use cases rather than customer demographics, and challenges the common startup approach of targeting broad markets too early. The Science of Scaling is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by HubSpot Media in collaboration with ⁠HubSpot For Startups⁠ // Produced by Matthew Brown.

32 min

See All (50)

TRAILER

Introducing... The Science of Scaling

So look, there’s reams of research that show as an ecosystem, we’re not very good at scaling revenue and sales. Each week, host Mark Roberge (Sr. Lecturer at Harvard Business School, Stage 2 Capital, fmr CRO at HubSpot) is talking with the folks who’ve scaled the most successful sales teams in tech to give us the answers. Hear from CROs and sales leaders like Aliisa Rosenthal (OpenAI), Oliver Jay (Asana), Kyle Parrish (Figma), Jay LeBoeuf (Descript), and more. The Science of Scaling is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network.

06/13/2023

•

3 min

4.9

out of 5

91 Ratings

Keep Producing!!

09/28/2023

traveling 12344

My favorite feature is when Mark makes personal comments and thought on the items being discussed. Often I do not know the guests but I trust Mark from having read his book, listened to interviews and having read The Science of a Scaling. It helps me organize my thoughts and strategies. Keep producing!! Even if shows are just Mark taking us through Harvard Case Study type situations.
Reality and context

09/07/2023

DuaneDufault89

Too many other podcasts that cover sales & GTM feel way to prepped and sugar coated, or it’s given by the person who doesn’t actually do the work. But this show gets into the weeds from how the work gets done, the steps along the way and the progression along the growth journey. Not just a “sell sell sell” podcast. Plus, Mark has the leverage to get pretty much any buddy he wants on the show lol
Strategy Plus Tactics

08/23/2023

Philip Wegner

Mark does an excellent job of hitting high level strategy then unpacking the details of how to do something. Fantastic podcast.
Practical advice

08/27/2023

Nbkmom

I’m three episodes in now and the break for commentary format is growing on me. I’d still prefer a more natural flow but I’ve taken some great pieces of advice away recently.

Each week, host Mark Roberge (Sr. Lecturer at Harvard Business School, Co-Founder at Stage 2 Capital, Founding CRO at HubSpot) talks with the most successful sales leaders in tech to find out the science behind scaling a company’s revenue and sales.