The GOATS of Growth

Would you hire a recently fired VP of Sales to lead the GTM strategy for your $500K start-up, especially if that candidate had absolutely no industry experience? Likely not, right? Well, LinkSquares did. And I bet they were happy with that decision! So, what's the story? How (and why) did Steve Travaglini (Pavilion 2023 CRO of the year) get fired from one VP of Sales role, after scaling sales from $0-$7M, only to lead growth at LinkSquares from $500K to $50M in ARR over the ensuing 5 years? In the clip below he talks about what he learned in the early days of their rapid growth and what he would change going forward. You can hear the entire episode for yourself on today's episode of The GOATS of Growth podcast, but if he were one of my candidates, here is how I would summarize his attributes: --Gritty --Resilient --Adaptable --Resourceful --Optimistic --Humble And, most importantly, a STRONG bias towards action which was, in opinion, the bedrock for their strong sales culture. Steve, I had been looking forward to interviewing you for a long time and I'm happy I finally got the chance. Thanks for being such a great guest! Please follow Steve to watch as he builds his own startup, Winrate, in public. Listen to the full episode here: https://buff.ly/3Cjhr6Q

I was asked the other day to describe the pressure of running a business. This is basically what I said. Imagine every day feels like Game 7. It's the bottom of the 9th. 0 balls... 2 strikes... 2 outs... You're down 4 runs with nobody on base. You're constantly trying to out-think the pitcher. What pitch are they going to throw next? What pitch do they think I think they are going to throw next? Fastball low and outside? A change-up high and in? Should I look for a breaking ball out over the plate? How will I react when the pitch is thrown? Will I be ready? Have I prepared enough? Should I swing for the fences or just try to get on base and let the next batter drive me home? Is a walk just as good as a hit? Because even if I hit a homerun, we'd still be down 3 with 2 outs. And over the years I've seen a lot of pitches. I've fouled off most of them, just to stay up to bat. I've hit lots of singles. Some extra base hits. Even a few home runs. Then I said, I can handle the pressure because I love the game. It would be much harder if I didn't love the game. And it's much better to be the batter than to have never played the game at all. Because being the batter is a privilege. Pressure is a privilege. Shout out to JR Butler and the Shift Group for the daily reminder and the swag. #allgasnobreaks

The 2021 Unicorn CRO Job Description vs. the 2024 Donkey CRO Job Description. Inspired by the incomparable Sam Jacobs' post yesterday about the role of the CRO in 2021 vs. what's needed in a CRO in 2024. (Check in out in the comments.)

6 questions I would ask CRO candidates for my hypothetical $30M SaaS company, based on the interview I just published with 🐶 Jacco van der Kooij, founder of Winning by Design. Find the full interview in the comments. 1. If I were to give you $____, where and how would you spend it? 2. The goal is 25% growth this year, but we need to cut costs. How have you solved for that in the past couple of years? 3. How much of the budget should be allocated towards new logo vs growth and expansion? 4. How many go-to-market motions do we have and how many should we have based on what you know so far? 5. Our reps are struggling with cold outreach. Have you had that challenge before and how did you solve it? 6. Give me an example of a strategic decision you made in the last 18 months, based on data. Why that data? What was the result? TL;DR SaaS has lost GTM fit and CROs need to be more analytical and strategic than they were just 3 years ago. 

"What major setbacks did you face early on and how did you overcome them?" That was one of the 26 questions I asked the GOATS who agreed to let me interview them for the GOATS of Growth book so far. Many more interviews to publish, but wanted to release an excerpt to that question about setbacks now, given the challenges many companies have faced over the last 18 months or so. Each person shared a different set of challenges, but one common theme I picked up on was their ability to persist and persevere when things got hard. You can hear more of each of their answers on today's episode of The GOATS of Growth by searching for it in your listening apps or simply clicking the link in the comments below. Big thanks and shout out to John McMahon, Elissa Fink, Ed Calnan, Mark Roberge,Laura Zwahlen, and Ryan Burke for agreeing to set aside your valuable time to be interviewed. Turns out that another theme has emerged; Great leaders are also gracious people.

If your LTV:CAC is 3:1, what does that mean and what decisions need to be made? If it's 4:1 or 2:1, what does it me and what decisions should be considered and made? All I knew before my interview with 2X CEO, Meshach Amuah-Fuster was that 4:1 was much better than 2:1, but what I didn't know was how to inspect and scrutinize those ratios to make better decisions for my business. And now I do. That's the best part about hosting a podcast like The GOATS of Growth. I don't have an MBA, but I can learn directly from successful, and current, operators and then share what I learn with other people. It's almost like being the professor and the student at the same time! So, if you're a lifelong learner, geek out on data, and want to temporarily satisfy your curiosity about how other operators are making decisions about growth and profitability, you will LOVE this episode! Check out this quick mashup for some data-driven dopamine and listen to the full episode wherever you listen to your podcasts--or just click the link below in the comments. Meshach, thanks for joining the show and teaching me about something I didn't know before!

Check out my interview with CRO/Operating Partner, Sherri Sklar, about how her success at a portfolio company led to her an Operating Partner opportunity with Edison Partners. We cover a range of topics including: --What a Private Equity Operating Partner does --How she got her first Operating Partner opportunity --How she makes strategic decisions that drive growth and increase commercial value --Why pattern recognition is critical to success --Common challenges growth-stage companies face and how to handle them --The significance of recruiting, assessing, and hiring top talent --And much more In the clip below, you'll hear Sherri talk about how she got started with a company she was brought in to help, the challenges they were facing, and how she helped them grow 200% in 6 months. The link to the full episode will be in the comments. Sherri, thanks for all you shared on The GOATS of Growth!

After researching tens of thousands of candidates over the years, I'll share an observation and some advice for hiring managers trying to cap the downside.    It may not be the "job hoppers" you should worry about "hopping" again.   It may be the "job holders" you need to worry about.   I've noticed a trend in people who have a high likelihood of quitting their next job within a year are those who just finished, or are coming close to finishing, a long run at their previous company.    They're now on the hunt for something new and exciting and hope your opportunity will be the ONE.   But it doesn't quite measure up to their expectations, or it's harder than they expected, so they leave quickly in search of the next one.   Could THEY be labeled as a job hopper now?   Could the traditional "job hopper" dig into their next opportunity and stabilize because they have more to prove?   Possibly.   But just don't assume someone with longevity is a better candidate simply because they're not a "job hopper".   They may likely be an even GREATER flight risk from what I've seen.   Approach with caution

Thanks to Scott Anderson and Jason Ingargiola from And1 Advisors for joining me on The GOATS of Growth to discuss something that is always at the top of my list when matching candidates to companies---and that's culture. Especially in the early days. So, after holding many leadership roles from early-stage to Fortune 500 companies, I wanted to have them on to talk about the must haves when building a team and developing the right culture--at any stage and size. Below is a short excerpt from the episode, but to hear the entire episode, please search for The GOATS of Growth in your podcast listening app, or simply look for the link to the show in the comments below. Scott and Jason, thanks for joining me on the show!

In full transparency, I started using RevenueBase recently and invited my friend, and Co-Founder/ CEO, Mark Feldman on to talk about contact data and how to use it. I was particularly interested in tapping into his growth marketing expertise to learn the nuances of email marketing and how to strike a balance between quantity and quality. Can you personalize at scale and if so, how? Please check out the full episode by searching The GOATS of Growth in your preferred podcast listening app, or look for the link below in the comments. Mark, thanks for joining me my friend. Much appreciated!