Grit
Episodes
CMO Samsara, Sarah Patterson: What You Do vs. Why It Matters
28 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah Patterson, CMO of Samsara, doesn’t believe in keeping your armor up around your coworkers: “You’ve got something else on your mind, it’s...
CRO Calendly, Kate Ahlering: Embracing Leadership - On and Off the Basketball Court
21 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Kate Ahlering might be the perfect guest for this podcast. She eventually worked her way up to Chief Sales Officer of Glassdoor, but when she joined i...
CEO Loom, Joe Thomas: Communication, the Mother of All Skills
14 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When Rippling CEO Parker Conrad was raising a massive $250 million round last year, he didn’t start by presenting his deck to venture capitalists in...
President at Databricks, Andy Kofoid: Reinvention at Any Stage
07 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When Andy Kofoid was growing up in the working-class town of Joliet, Illinois, he dreamed of getting to college and — like a lot of his relatives —...
Former CEO Splunk, Doug Merritt: Creating 360° Order in Chaos
31 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Doug Merritt joins this episode on the tail end of his impressive run as Splunk’s CEO. With decades of leadership in what can be described as an “...
CEO Stord, Sean Henry: Supply Chains... Are Fun?
24 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Stord, a Kleiner portfolio company, and its co-founder/CEO, Sean Henry, are defying a multitude of limits. While Sean is ranked as the youngest unicor...
Former President at NetApp, Tom Mendoza: Sustaining Urgency and Injecting Tension
17 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Tom Mendoza, former President at NetApp, knows that there is a way to do business while bringing out the good in it. Tom has embedded this throughout ...
President, Global Strategic Customers at Salesforce, Jim Steele: Measuring Your Facetime
10 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Jim Steele, President of Global Strategic Customers at Salesforce, is the man, the myth, and the legend who helped increase Salesforce’s revenue fro...
CMO Attentive, Sara Varni: Cold Beer and Cheeseburgers
03 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
B2B marketing powerhouse, Sara Varni joins this episode on her final day at Twilio to discuss her journey and what lies ahead as she steps into her ne...
CRO Nextdoor, Heidi Andersen: Nurturing an Elastic Mind
27 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Many people run from uncomfortable situations. Heidi Andersen, CRO at Nextdoor, isn’t like most, as she embraces new challenges and makes mental tou...
CMO Rippling, Matt Epstein: Building the Supermarket of SaaS
20 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes social media works and sometimes it doesn’t. For Matt Epstein, Chief Marketing Officer at Rippling, it is a little bit of both. In 2011, M...
CMO TripActions, Meagen Eisenberg: The Joy of Living in Awkward
13 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There is a litany of analogies for marketing. An art, a technique, a skill. Yet few strive to combine a multitude of approaches. For Meagen Eisenberg,...
CRO Unqork, Philip Lacor: Playing the Infinite Game
06 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For some, expanding their horizons is something that they, as individuals, strive to do. Fortunately, Philip Lacor, CRO at Unqork, takes those expansi...
CBO Duolingo, Bob Meese: Carrying Culture Through Language
29 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Language is without doubt the single most valuable tool we use, and in its use, it ironically builds barriers. Fortunately in recent years with the ri...
CRO Pendo, Jennifer Brannigan: Un-designing Your Leadership Path
22 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
To make the leap from HR to sales may seem like a significant obstacle to surmount. For Jennifer Brannigan, CRO at Pendo, it was an easy choice to mak...
CRO Rubrik, Brian McCarthy: Embedding Missionary Values Into Company Culture
15 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Integrity and humility barely begin to describe Brian McCarthy, CRO at Rubrik. Brian’s story is one of hard-won progress that is bound to inspire an...
President and COO Coinbase, Emilie Choi: Rising Through the Crypto Ranks
08 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
"Crypto" is a term that has recently re-shaped the way the world thinks about money. For Emilie Choi, President and COO at Coinbase, it has been at th...
COO Bloomreach, Christy Augustine: Thin Mints and Company Building
01 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Carving her own path is certainly one way to describe how Christina Augustine, COO at Bloomreach, has chosen to do her work. With a distinct set of ex...
CEO Alteryx, Mark Anderson: Transformation Starts with Leadership
25 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Mark Anderson, CEO at Alteryx, joins Joubin to talk about how he crafted his leadership ethos, which he often compares to a great game of golf. While ...
CEO Relativity, Mike Gamson: Fueling the Next Technology Ecosystems
18 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Mike Gamson, CEO of Relativity, has joined the show this week to provide his take on leadership, sales, and the evolution of his career leading up to ...
CRO Stripe, Mike Clayville: Building Tornado Companies
11 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Mike Clayville, CRO at Stripe, joins this week’s conversation to discuss what it's like to turn companies into forces of nature, using Mike’s chos...
Chief Business Officer at Compass, Rob Lehman: Leadership by Fire
04 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Rob Lehman, Chief Business Officer at Compass, has an entrepreneurial spirit that has already set him forward in a burgeoning and exciting career at a...
COO Cameo, Brian Frank: From Professional Networks to Celebrity Networks
27 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
To say that Brian Frank, Chief Operating Officer of Cameo, comes from a non-traditional background into the career field of sales might be an understa...
President of Field Operations at BetterUp, Marc Maloy: Building Better Organizations by Building Successful People
20 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Marc Maloy’s storied career with IPOs and acquisitions has helped him develop essential insights into career success, leading him to become Presiden...
CEO Incorta, Scott Jones: From Running Sales to Running a Company, and Everything in Between
13 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Since the 1990s, Scott Jones has had a successful career working in sales at technology companies including SAP, Tableau, and Alteryx. In early 2021,...
Head of eSports at Activision Blizzard, Brandon Snow: Building 'Generational Fandom' of Professional Video Game Teams
06 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Ever wonder how McDonald’s came up with its famous “I’m Lovin’ It” tagline? Brandon Snow knows all about it — in fact, he worked for the G...
Head of Revenue and BD at Asana, Oliver Jay: The Cutting Edge of Product-Led Growth
30 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When Oliver Jay worked for venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates in the late 2000s, he found that the most rewarding aspect for him was worki...
SVP Sales at Affirm, Eric Morse: Exploring The Partnership Between Engineering and Sales
23 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Eric Morse is unabashedly a “super nerd.”With a degree in physics from Duke University, Eric taught himself how to program and joined a consulting...
CRO Front, LB Harvey: Moving Up-Market + Operational Excellence
16 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Many successful LinkedIn alumni have been welcomed as guests on this podcast — and this week, the insightful LB Harvey will be joining those ranks.A...
CRO/CSO Dialpad, Dan O’Connell: Taking Risks and Running a Company
09 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Dan O’Connell’s career is an impressive display of how hard work can catapult a person from the bottom of the sales hierarchy to the very top of b...
CCO Figma, Amanda Kleha: The Strategies Behind Figma’s $10 Billion Valuation
02 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to building a profitable business, Amanda Kleha has learned by doing. Amanda’s seven-year tenure in multiple senior marketing and sal...
CRO Okta, Steve Rowland: Identifying and Developing Future Business Leaders
26 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When Steve Rowland studied at Texas A&M University to get his degree in engineering, he likely wouldn’t have expected that his career would shif...
CRO Thrive, Renu Gupta: Building Positive Personal and Professional Habits
19 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Take one look at Renu Gupta’s resume and it’s immediately clear that she is a talented — and successful — sales leader. With experience at co...
SVP Sales at Iterable, Jan Zeman: Hiring and Coaching Successful Sales Talent
12 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When Jan Zeman was hired as a sales development representative in the early 2000s, he had a unique background in management consulting and venture cap...
Chief Customer Officer at Xero, Rachael Powell: The Power of Positive Psychology: Creating Authentic Company Cultures
05 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Not many people can say they’ve held leadership positions in marketing, sales, and HR during their business career. Well, maybe except for Rachael P...
President of Sprout Social, Ryan Barretto: Establishing a Compelling Company Vision
28 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Ryan Barretto knows all about what it takes to successfully scale a business.After an impressive 10-year career in sales leadership roles at Salesforc...
SVP Revenue at GitHub, Erica Anderson: Combining Top-Down and Bottom-Up Sales Motions
21 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Erica Anderson had never carried a bag before she was promoted to Vice President of Worldwide Sales at GitHub in 2019. With a successful career as a ...
CRO DataStax, Harry Ault: The Three Steps to a Successful Tech Company Turnaround
14 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Growing up in a farm town in Pennsylvania with a population of just 183 people, Harry Ault had big career aspirations.After working for CitiGroup in m...
VP Unity Technologies, Laura Palmer: Going The Extra Mile: Forging Meaningful Customer Connections
07 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Laura Palmer will never forget the first big technology sales deal she ever closed.Having only worked professionally as an inside sales rep, Laura too...
President and COO Golden State Warriors, Brandon Schneider: Building One of the NBA’s Most Valuable Teams
31 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Throughout his over 18 years working for the Golden State Warriors, Brandon Schneider has held several positions and seen it all.From the depths of ra...
CRO RealReal, Kayti Sullivan: Setting Priorities in Work and in Life
24 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
By her own admission, Kayti Sullivan was having a “quarter-life crisis” when she realized the jobs she could get with her Masters degree in Early ...
CRO UiPath, Thomas Hansen: Balancing the Art and Science of Sales
17 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For Thomas Hansen, chasing a passion was key to unlocking the path toward an impressive career. An avid windsurfer, Thomas started his professional li...
VP of Global Professional Services at PayPal, Marcy Campbell: Risk and Reward: Creating Successful Sales Organizations
10 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Marcy Campbell knows a thing or two about taking risks. Over her almost 40 years in business, Marcy’s worked at 11 different startups — building ...
CRO Gong, Ryan Longfield: Finding Comfort in the Uncomfortable: Redefining Failure
03 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 2008, when Ryan Longfield took a contracted account executive position at LinkedIn without any prior sales experience, he knew he had to be “all-...
CEO Cassidy Ventures, Brendon Cassidy: LinkedIn, Echosign + Talkdesk: Building Successful Startup Sales Teams
26 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to building startups from the ground-up, Brendon Cassidy knows it all: Having held some of the first sales leadership roles at LinkedIn,...
CRO Box, Mark Wayland: Forging Positive Sales Cultures
19 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As Chief Revenue Officer of cloud content management and file sharing company Box, Mark Wayland and his team have taken on a “land, adopt, and expan...
VP Sales Impossible Foods, Dana Worth: From Gourmet to Fast-Food: How He Built Impossible Foods’ Go-To-Market
12 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Impossible Foods has a mission to eliminate the use of animals in the food system by 2035. With the growing success of the company’s plant-based mea...
CRO Cloudflare, Chris Merritt: Creating an Authentic Content-driven Strategy
05 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Just take it from website security industry executive Chris Merritt — the internet was not designed with security and performance in mind. As Presi...
SVP Salesforce, Mike Wolff: Tips for Becoming a More Effective Sales Leader
29 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After 18+ years working in multiple high-level sales positions at Salesforce, Mike Wolff knows what makes a good leader. On this week’s episode of ...
CSO Relativity, Peter Kim: The Values of a People-Centric Leader
22 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Leadership is in Peter Kim’s DNA. Since he got his first management job running a Subway on the weekends when he was 14-years-old, Peter has built s...
CRO PagerDuty, Dave Justice: The Principles of Successful Crisis Leadership
15 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Dave Justice knows a lot about crisis leadership. Over his almost 21 years in sales, he’s successfully navigated through the dotcom and housing bubb...
CRO Amplitude, Matt Heinz: Exploring The Mindset of a Successful Sales Leader
08 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When Matt Heinz took a quota-carrying sales job in 2011 after having worked in sales leadership, he knew that “it was a step back, from the way that...
SVP Global Strategic Services at UiPath, Jay Snyder: Driving Customer Engagement Through Value-Based Selling
01 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
If a customer doesn’t understand how a product will provide a positive impact to their business, will they buy it? It may seem like a simple questio...
CRO Clari, Kevin Knieriem: Exploring the Benefits of Data-Driven Sales
22 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
No matter how advanced sales technology gets, it’s still imperative for Kevin Knieriem to listen to his gut intuition when it comes to making busine...
CRO ServiceTitan, Ross Biestman: ‘Team Before Self’: Motivating High-Performing Salespeople
15 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
If you ask Ross Biestman about the highest-performing environment he’s ever been a part of, you might be surprised to hear nothing of his time as an...
CRO Snowflake, Chris Degnan: Building Snowflake’s Successful Sales Organization from the Ground Up
08 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Cloud-based data storage company Snowflake made headlines this past September when it underwent the highest-valued software IPO in stock market histor...
CRO Flexport, Will Urban: Streamlining Global Trade With Revolutionary Technology
01 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Global trade is as complex as it is essential to worldwide economic stability. From organizing freight shipped through the air or over oceans, to cust...
Founder and CEO of Applied Intuition, Qasar Younis: Creating Customer-Oriented Company Cultures
25 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to building a company from the ground up, Qasar Younis has done it all. A mechanical engineer by trade and entrepreneur at heart, Qasar...
Board Director at Fastly, Kelly Wright: How She Went from Selling Door to Door to Board Director
11 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Kelly Wright has had a remarkable career in sales, from her early days selling books door to door to joining Tableau as a developing startup and helpi...
CRO Auth0, Dave Wilner: Discussing Growth and Leadership
28 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dave Wilner joined Auth0 in November of 2014, and has played an instrumental role in growing the company to $1 billion in valuation.In this episode of...
CRO Atlassian, Cameron Deatsch: Exploring Atlassian’s Unorthodox Strategy
14 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Atlassian is one of the most unorthodox technology companies in the world. Almost everything the company does is completely different than what you wo...
CRO Twilio, Marc Boroditsky: A Behind the Scenes Look at Twilio’s Go to Market Strategy
30 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Marc Boroditisky brings a unique perspective to the table as CRO of Twilio, as a founder and builder who has led several companies. In this episode o...
SVP and Head of Sales at AppsFlyer, Mar Brandt: Leadership Insights
16 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Mar Brandt is a sales veteran and ad tech expert who has spent time at leading organizations including Experian, Sitecore, and most recently AppsFlyer...
COO of LinkedIn, Dan Shapero: Discussing Go to Market Leadership
02 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine taking a company like LinkedIn to a billion dollars in sales in just a few years, only to leave at the top of your game to rebuild your career...
B2B General Manager of Calm, Jim Herbold: Describing ‘Unicorn Meat’
19 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Jim Herbold played an instrumental role in scaling Box, growing the company from $600k to $200m over the course of seven years — only to pivot and l...
VP and GM at Shopify, Loren Padelford: Breaking the Rules in Sales
05 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sales is full of doctrines, or commonly shared beliefs, that are repeated over and over again, often without question — from hiring to business deve...
SVP Sales Modern Health, Hannah Willson: Overcoming the Stigma of Mental Health in Sales
21 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Go to Market Grit, Modern Health VP of Sales Hannah Willson explains how Modern Health is working to normalize and de-stigmatize co...
Chief Sales Officer at Brex, Sam Blond: Recruiting Talent
08 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If there’s one person who knows a thing or two about sales growth, it’s Brex Chief Sales Officer Sam Blond, who has been a part of some legendary ...
CRO Cockroach Labs, Jeff Miller: Building an Effective Open Source Go to Market Strategy
24 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In a study from Red Hat, 95 percent of respondents said open source was strategically important to their organization, while 77 percent agreed that op...
VP Sales at Mixpanel, Meka Asonye: Exploring Analytics, High Velocity Sales, and Stigmas
10 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Topics:Is there a stigma around intelligence in sales?How to enable high velocity salesMany organizations today are struggling to strike a balance bet...
CRO CircleCI, Jane Kim: Leading with Vulnerability and Making Mistakes
27 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Go to Market Grit, CircleCI CRO Jane Kim shares valuable insight about her experiences growing a global organization, and trying to...
CRO TripActions, Carlos Delatorre: The Science of Sales
13 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Go to Market Grit, TripActions CRO and Silicon Valley sales legend Carlos Delatorre opens up about what it takes to build powerful ...
CRO Obsidian Security, Bob Kruse: Building a Winning Sales Culture
29 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Go to Market Grit, Obsidian Security CRO and sales veteran Bob Kruse shares his thoughts on culture, and how it impacts sales teams...
VP of Sales at Palo Alto Networks, Jeff StClair : Discovering, Recruiting, and Coaching Sales Talent
22 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Jeff StClair, currently VP of Sales at Palo Alto Networks and most recently VP Sales at Evident.io shares his thoughts on how startup...
Chief Sales and Success Officer at Slack, Bob Frati: Exploring Slack’s Key Growth Levers and Competition
16 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode #1 of Go to Market Grit, Slack’s SVP of Sales and Customer Success, Bob Frati, gives the inside scoop about the company’s sales and go-...
Grit Trailer
20 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
About the Joubin MirzadeganJoubin has been with Kleiner Perkins since 2019 where he advises the KP portfolio companies on how to build and scale a rob...