What AI Agents Mean for How You Build and Sell Software with Brian McCarthy

What AI Agents Mean for How You Build and Sell Software with Brian McCarthy

Today’s conversation features Brian McCarthy, President of Global Revenue and Field Operations at Cursor and former CRO at Rubrik, where he helped scale the business from $118 million to $1.5 billion in ARR. In this segment, Brian breaks down the rapid evolution of AI in software development, from simple code autocomplete to fully autonomous agent-driven environments, and what that shift means for competition, product strategy, and go-to-market execution. He also explains how Cursor’s multi-model approach creates a unique advantage in a fast-moving market, and why aligning that innovation with focused sales execution is critical to winning. Brian McCarthy is President of Global Revenue and Field Operations at Cursor and former CRO at Rubrik, where he helped scale the company from $118M to $1.5B in ARR. He is known for building high-performance revenue organizations and execution-focused cultures in complex enterprise environments. Connect with Brian: * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkmccarthy/] Resources mentioned: * Ep. 71 - What the Best Sales Leaders Do with Brian McCarthy [https://podcasts.apple.com/no/podcast/what-the-best-sales-leaders-do-with-brian-mccarthy/id1610203369?i=1000621729762] * All In Podcast with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/all-in-with-chamath-jason-sacks-friedberg/id1502871393] Listen to the full episode: * Why Sales Execution Wins in an AI-First World with Brian McCarthy, President of Global Revenue and Field Operations at Cursor [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/why-sales-execution-wins-in-an-ai-first-world-with/id1610203369?i=1000763245657] Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results.    This show is brought to you by Force Management [https://www.forcemanagement.com/]. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale.    Connect with Us:  * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/revenue-builders-podcast/] * YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@Forcemanagement] * Force Management [https://www.forcemanagement.com/]

The Hidden Cost of False Velocity with Randy Riemersma

Many stalled deals do not fail because the solution is weak. They fail because the team moved too fast before the buyer had a reason to care, a sponsor willing to mobilize, and enough confidence to take the risk. Randy Riemersma joins John McMahon and John Kaplan to unpack how false velocity, shallow discovery, and weak executive alignment create fragile opportunities that collapse late. He explains why elite sellers slow down early, uncover real business pain, connect operational problems to strategic outcomes, and manage the emotional side of buying when the decision starts to feel personal. Randy Riemersma is the founder of Sell with Precision, where he helps sales leaders strengthen go-to-market execution, leadership effectiveness, and sales operating discipline. He has spent decades in B2B sales, leadership, consulting, and executive coaching, with a focus on helping teams sell with greater clarity, precision, and business relevance. Connect with Randy: * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/randallriemersma/] * Website [https://sellwithprecision.com/] Resources mentioned: * The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos - The Hidden Beliefs That Shape Your Happiness with Shawn Achor [https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-laurie-santos/the-hidden-beliefs-that-shape-your-happiness-with-shawn-achor] Key takeaways from this episode:  * 00:00 - Why many late-stage deals are lost long after the buyer has agreed with the business case. * 02:37 - What leaders often overlook when early deal momentum feels too good to be true. * 03:51 - A look inside the moment elite sellers create the urgency that average reps never uncover. * 12:53 - Why many CROs see strong operational engagement fail to translate into executive sponsorship. * 16:41 - The six emotions that drive buyer decisions and how to leverage them across deal stages. * 28:24 - What it really takes to build buyer belief when the risk of saying yes starts to feel personal. * 40:28 - Why the best discovery conversations feel less like qualification and more like understanding. Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results.    This show is brought to you by Force Management [https://www.forcemanagement.com/]. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale.    Connect with Us:  * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/revenue-builders-podcast/] * YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@Forcemanagement] * Force Management [https://www.forcemanagement.com/]

AI Is Redefining Seller Productivity with Alex Varel

Seller productivity is being redefined in real time, and the divide is no longer about effort or experience. In this segment, Alex Varel shares a grounded look at how AI is already reshaping the role, from a RevOps leader training multiple agents in a single weekend to the expectation that sellers will augment their own output. The conversation highlights a growing reality for revenue teams: those who get hands-on with AI will operate at a different level, while those who don’t risk falling behind faster than they expect. Alex Varel is EVP of Worldwide Sales at Cerebras Systems, where he leads global go-to-market efforts at the forefront of AI infrastructure. He has built and scaled high-performing teams across MongoDB, Zscaler, and Multiverse, driving growth through IPO, hyper-scale expansion, and emerging technology shifts. Connect with Alex: * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexvarel/] Resources mentioned: * "The Power of Myth" by Joseph Campbell [https://www.amazon.com/Power-Myth-Joseph-Campbell/dp/0385418868] * "AI Superpowers" by Kai-Fu Lee [https://www.amazon.com/AI-Superpowers-China-Silicon-Valley/dp/132854639X] * “Leonardo da Vinci” by Walter Isaacson [https://www.amazon.com/Leonardo-Vinci-Walter-Isaacson/dp/1501139150] * "No Country for Old Men" by Cormac McCarthy [https://www.amazon.com/Country-Old-Men-Cormac-McCarthy/dp/0375706674] * "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy [https://www.amazon.com/Road-Cormac-McCarthy/dp/0307387895] * “The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley” by Jimmy Soni [https://www.amazon.com/Founders-Paypal-Entrepreneurs-Shaped-Silicon/dp/1501197266] Listen to the full episode: * How AI Is Rewriting the Sales Playbook and Raising the Bar on Human Performance with Alex Varel [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-ai-is-rewriting-the-sales-playbook-and-raising-the/id1610203369?i=1000764776651] Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results.    This show is brought to you by Force Management [https://www.forcemanagement.com/]. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale.    Connect with Us:  * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/revenue-builders-podcast/] * YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@Forcemanagement] * Force Management [https://www.forcemanagement.com/]

How Revenue Leaders Scale Beyond Hero Sellers with Jason Forget, CRO Behind Multiple Startup-to-Scale Journeys

Revenue growth becomes harder to sustain when leadership relies on a handful of top performers, inconsistent processes, or reactive decision-making. Jason Forget, President and CRO of Cockroach Labs, shares lessons from building revenue organizations from the earliest startup stages through large-scale growth, explaining why sales motions must continuously evolve as companies scale. The conversation explores the role of RevOps as a strategic advisor to leadership, the importance of building a strong middle class of sellers, hiring for adaptability and coachability, and creating cultures where problems surface early. Jason also shares how open-source adoption can be transformed into enterprise-wide business outcomes through disciplined account planning, executive engagement, and scalable go-to-market execution. Jason Forget is President and CRO of Cockroach Labs and has spent his career building revenue organizations from multiple vantage points, including finance, RevOps, sales, and executive leadership. That uncommon path has shaped his approach to predictable growth, helping companies scale from early-stage startups to enterprise revenue organizations through operational discipline, coaching, and repeatable sales systems. Connect with Jason: * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-forget-3960241] Resources mentioned: * "The Locker Room is Not for Sale" by Coach Brian White [https://www.amazon.com/Locker-Room-Not-Sale-Always/dp/B0GLV43YRQ] Key takeaways from this episode:  * 00:00 – Why the most effective RevOps leaders act less like operators and more like trusted advisors to the business. * 02:52 – What it really takes to turn product adoption into an executive-level business conversation. * 05:26 – A look inside how enterprise momentum is built long before an executive meeting is secured. * 12:26 – Why many CROs underestimate how dramatically a sales motion must evolve as a company scales. * 21:38 – What leaders often overlook about the group that drives the most predictable revenue growth. * 37:08 – Why the best hires are not always the most experienced candidates on paper. * 54:31 – The mistake many leaders make when performance issues appear without understanding the full context. Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results.    This show is brought to you by Force Management [https://www.forcemanagement.com/]. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale.    Connect with Us:  * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/revenue-builders-podcast/] * YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@Forcemanagement] * Force Management [https://www.forcemanagement.com/]

You Can’t Delegate Sales Early with Lou Shipley

In this minisode, we hear from Lou Shipley, a three-time CEO, Harvard Business School professor, and author who has spent his career building and scaling venture-backed companies. This clip focuses on a critical mistake early-stage founders make: delegating sales before they truly understand the problem they’re solving. Lou walks through how he validated a company by getting directly in front of customers, why founders have to act as the first salesperson, and how real product-market fit only emerges through those early conversations. For leaders, this is a reminder that sales is not something you hand off. It’s how you learn, refine, and prove the business. Lou Shipley is a three-time CEO, Harvard Business School professor, and author of Unlikely Entrepreneurs. He has led multiple startups and previously taught sales at MIT. Connect with Lou:  * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/loushipley/] * Website [https://www.loushipley.com/] Resources mentioned: * Unlikely Entrepreneurs: Wins, Losses, and Crucial Lessons on Building Great Companies by N. Louis Shipley and Patricia Favreau [https://www.amazon.com/Unlikely-Entrepreneurs-Lou-Shipley/dp/1394345895] Listen to the full episode: * Sales as the System and Why Founders Must Own the Problem with Lou Shipley [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sales-as-the-system-and-why-founders-must-own-the/id1610203369?i=1000761806906] Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results.    This show is brought to you by Force Management [https://www.forcemanagement.com/]. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale.    Connect with Us:  * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/revenue-builders-podcast/] * YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@Forcemanagement] * Force Management [https://www.forcemanagement.com/]