The Enterprise GTM Podcast

Founder-led sales are common in early-stage startups. But, they could be much more effective with a deeper understanding of sales fundamentals. Joining us today is Leslie Venetz, founder of The Sales-Led GTM Agency to discuss how founders can level up their skills and transform their sales. Drawing on her extensive history in B2B sales, which includes over 250,000 cold calls, Leslie covers everything founders need to know, from earning the right to your prospect’s attention to efficiently managing your time during the sales process. She shares her top tips on crafting concise, value-driven emails, how to use AI in sales without over-relying on it, and how to strategically time your demos. Leslie also shares her unique perspective on objections, including how to figure out which objections are worth addressing, and why you should always lead with curiosity. Key Points From This Episode:  * Some background on Leslie Venetz and her extensive background in sales. * Improving founder-led sales, especially in early-stage startups. * The key to developing active listening skills and why it is essential in sales. * Cold emails: best practices and common mistakes. * Key components of highly relevant messaging and how to audit your emails. * What your initial email outreach should look like. * Why you need to earn the right to write longer emails. * Leslie’s advice on how to use AI in sales – and how not to use it. * The importance of personalized outreach in the age of AI. * How to strategically time your product demos in a prospective customer call. * Recognizing different types of objections and how to address them. * Utilizing events as part of a multi-channel marketing approach. * Leslie answers our rapid-fire questions on AI, cold-calling, and more! Quotes: “Founder-led sales, which is usually the norm for early-stage startups, can be so much more effective if only founders could better understand some of the foundational aspects of sales.” — @veenormous [https://twitter.com/veenormous] [0:04:17] “It is your responsibility to earn the right to your prospect's time” — @LeslieVenetz [https://x.com/LeslieVenetz] [0:11:41] “We want to do everything that we can to reduce the cognitive load – and make it easy for them to scan and digest that email.” — @LeslieVenetz [https://x.com/LeslieVenetz] [0:15:16] “Especially for early-stage founders. You all are busy. – You do not have the time to spend an hour sending an email to a prospect that doesn't actually want you to email them.” — @LeslieVenetz [https://x.com/LeslieVenetz] [0:34:05] Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: Leslie Venetz [https://salesledgtm.com/] Leslie Venetz on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslievenetz/]Jill Konrath [https://www.jillkonrath.com/] Snap Selling [https://www.jillkonrath.com/snap-selling] Tim Zonca on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/timzonca/] Tim Zonca on X [https://twitter.com/timzonca] Vidya Raman on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/vidyaraman/] Vidya Raman on X [https://twitter.com/veenormous] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit veenormous.substack.com [https://veenormous.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Barry Dauber is the VP of Sales and Business Development at MosaicML (recently acquired by Databricks) which is centered on making generative AI easy to use and widely accessible. Today, Barry joins us to discuss the role of sales, marketing, and business development in early-stage startups with a specific emphasis on MosaicML.  Key Points From This Episode:  * Barry Dauber walks us through the evolution of MosaicML's core offering.  * His thoughts on sales and in particular, how to know when it's time to scale.  * Barry's protocol for when the scaling plan includes bringing in new partners. * How to stay in your lane as a startup with great ambitions, and why this matters.  * Our guest unpacks the differences and similarities between market adoption of big data and generative AI.  * The major roadblocks that slow and prevent the evolution of ML and GenAI. Quotes: “As we learn in sales, especially in the startup world, 'no' is almost as exciting as ‘yes.’” — @barrydauber [https://x.com/barrydauber] [0:15:07] “The easiest way to drive a partnership, especially as the small company, is you need to bring a customer.” — @barrydauber [https://x.com/barrydauber] [0:19:27] “If an early-stage startup positions themselves as a platform, it would be disqualified by enterprises” — @barrydauber [https://x.com/barrydauber] [0:23:31] “Gen AI SaaS will win over DIY efforts in large enterprises.” — @barrydauber [https://x.com/barrydauber] [0:42:32] “Business users will be the primary users of ML/AI tools 5 years from now.” — @barrydauber [https://x.com/barrydauber] [0:48:38] Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: Barry Dauber on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/bdauber]  Barry Dauber on X [https://x.com/barrydauber] MosaicML [https://www.databricks.com/blog/databricks-mosaicml]  Databricks [https://www.databricks.com]  Tim Zonca on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/timzonca/] Tim Zonca on X [https://twitter.com/timzonca] Vidya Raman on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/vidyaraman/] Vidya Raman on X [https://twitter.com/veenormous] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit veenormous.substack.com [https://veenormous.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

In this episode, three-time tech company founder Chet Kapoor joins us to offer his insights on finding the right tech waves to ride and timing them well. Chet shares the principles that underpin his professional identity and decision-making process and highlights the importance of creating and maintaining momentum. Chet provides some timeless advice on how to approach enterprise sales for developer tools, the right kinds of partnerships to prioritize, his outlook on competition, and so much more. He also answers a number of rapid-fire questions that reveal his predictions for the future of data infrastructure, LLMs, data engineering, and more! Key Points From This Episode:  * Introducing Chet Kapoor and his experience launching three tech companies.  * Experiences that have defined his professional identity, from growing up in Calcutta to working alongside Steve Jobs. * The two key principles that inform all of Chet’s decisions. * Why momentum is so important in startups.  * A simple yet powerful framework to create a large company. * Datastax’s place in the current AI landscape and what it aims to do.  * Why Chet looks most forward to transformative use cases.  * Advice for approaching enterprise sales. * Two ways that Chet classifies partnerships.  * Applying caution to partner relationships. * Chet's evolving relationship with competition.  * The importance of leaning into your uniqueness and modifying your approach as needed. * Predictions for how data infrastructure will change in the next five years.  * Why he believes that LLM agent-based applications are geared to reinvent most of the enterprise software landscape as we know it.  * Perspectives on which players stand to gain the most with the development of AI.  * Whether or not the demand for data scientists and engineers is going to increase.  Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: Chet Kapoor on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/chetkapoor/] Chet Kapoor on X [http://www.x.com/ChetKapoor] Datastax [https://www.datastax.com/] Tim Zonca on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/timzonca/] Tim Zonca on X [https://twitter.com/timzonca] Vidya Raman on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/vidyaraman/] Vidya Raman on X [https://twitter.com/veenormous] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit veenormous.substack.com [https://veenormous.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Developer-facing startups drive software innovation, crafting tools tailored for developers' needs, but how do they differ from traditional startups? In this episode, we sit down with Adam Frankl to unpack the nuances of startups focusing on the development tool space. Adam Frankl is a seasoned marketing strategist focused on empowering startup founders in the tech industry. With a rich background as the first VP of Marketing at three developer-facing unicorns—JFrog, Neo4j, and Sourcegraph—Adam brings a wealth of experience to the table. He is also writing a book called The Developer Facing Startup which focuses on helping leaders of start-ups navigate the developer landscape. In our conversation, we unpack why understanding the mindset of developers is crucial to adoption, why developers are highly skeptical of marketing, and the concept of social proof. Discover the common pitfalls marketing executives make when working with developers, why timing in marketing is crucial, and the nuances of selling the solution. Explore why founders should be posting on social media every day, the advantages that startups have, steps for shifting from a point solution to a platform solution, his alternative to the traditional marketing funnel, and more! Tune in and learn the basics of founder-led marketing with Adam Frankl! Key Points From This Episode: * Background about Adam and details about his upcoming book. * How developers differ from the traditional technologist in the B2B space. * Learn about the fundamentals that make developer tool startups unique. * He unpacks the myth that developers hate marketing. * Hear how founders should approach working with marketing and developers. * Steps for identifying the best time to enter the market. * Adam explains his idea of selling the category rather than the solution. * When founders should consider implementing marketing strategies. * What kind of experience is needed for a marketer to work in B2D. * Compare platform and point solutions for applications. * Ways the marketing funnel does not apply to dev tool startups. * Common evaluation pitfalls founders make and how to avoid them. * Memberships as a way to foster and grow a community. * We end with Adam answering our set of rapid-fire questions. Quotes: “Developers don’t lie to other developers.” — Adam Frankl [6:00] “Every company needs to have a technical advisory board.” — Adam Frankl [13:47] “You are not going to be successful by being clever in a conference room. – You are going to be successful when you talk to large numbers of developers.” — Adam Frankl [13:57] “Marketing is having a point of view and expressing it in a way that people can interact with it, engage with it, and follow you. Social media is a great gift.” — Adam Frankl [21:34] “Developer curiosity destroys most of the [marketing funnel] metrics because developers are always discovering and researching.” — Adam Frankl [31:40] Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: Adam Frankl on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamfrankl/] JFrog [https://jfrog.com/] Neo4j [https://neo4j.com/] Sourcegraph [https://sourcegraph.com/] GitLab [https://about.gitlab.com/] The Art of Community [https://www.amazon.com/Art-Community-Building-New-Participation/dp/1449312063] Unfair Mindshare [https://www.amazon.com/Unfair-Mindshare-community-led-marketing-product-led/dp/B0CMWNXV7Z/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=] Tim Zonca on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/timzonca/] Tim Zonca on X [https://twitter.com/timzonca] Vidya Raman on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/vidyaraman/] Vidya Raman on X [https://twitter.com/veenormous] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit veenormous.substack.com [https://veenormous.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

In this episode, we discuss what it means to build a business based on open source for infra and dev tool founders. Sharing her broad and deep insights with us is Emily Omier, the world’s leading expert in positioning OSS companies for success. Key Points From This Episode: * The Perennial and fundamental challenge for an OSS company is building a business while still having an OSS project that delivers clear value in and of itself and is entirely free to the world! * Understand the difference between project-market fit and product-market fit. (Hint: assume them to be the same at your peril). * Most founders and investors expect that a sure % of their OSS users will, over time, become paid customers. It is dangerous to assume a linear relationship between the two. Instead, it is best to truly engage in customer discovery and understand what your users might be willing to pay for. It is common for your OSS and commercial offering to cater to two different personas and markets–this makes customer discovery vital. Done right, startups will not just assume that there is naturally a market for their SaaS offering. So, first, test the hypothesis instead of spending expensive resources to build a SaaS offering on the back of an OSS project. * OSS business models are often tricky for early-stage startups because of the inevitable spread of resources between completely different offerings, customers, and sales and marketing efforts. * OSS companies do not need to build a community. Similarly, a community of users can be built even if the company doesn’t have an OSS offering. So, it is essential to be clear about your goals with OSS, community building, and everything that goes with initiatives that require a reasonably long timeline. * The business of OSS continues to evolve as we speak. Rather than being an OSS purist or zealot, it helps to continuously evaluate the value OSS offers over a business’s existence. * Bonus! Insider details about an exciting upcoming open-source conference. Quotes: “You have project market fit, and then you have product market fit, and having one does not mean you have the other.” — @EmilyOmier [https://twitter.com/EmilyOmier] [0:07:28] “OSS companies are already spreading themselves thinner than non-OSS companies. One of the biggest risks for OSS companies is taking on too much” — @EmilyOmier [https://twitter.com/EmilyOmier] [0:21:00] “Open Source is often idolized, especially by leaders drawn to large companies' attractive aspects. Large adoption, a thriving community that advocates on their behalf, and the assumption that it's an easy flip of the switch from adoption to commercialization” — @ [https://twitter.com/EmilyOmier]TimZonca [0:25:00] “Community building is a long game.” — @EmilyOmier [https://twitter.com/EmilyOmier] [0:37:55] Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: Emily Omier [https://www.emilyomier.com] Emily Omier on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilyomier/] Emily Omier on X [https://twitter.com/EmilyOmier] The New Stack [https://thenewstack.io] The Business of Open Source [https://www.emilyomier.com/podcast] Open Source Founders Summit [https://05f5.com] Tim Zonca on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/timzonca/] Tim Zonca on X [https://twitter.com/timzonca] Vidya Raman on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/vidyaraman/] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit veenormous.substack.com [https://veenormous.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]