Topline
Episodes
TOPLINE HOTLINE: Addressing early termination requests from customers
26 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A listener asks how to deal with a situation where a customer asks to churn in the first year of a multi year contract, where there was no fault by th...
E28: State of the Market, and Balancing Efficiency with Innovation
23 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this week's episode of Topline, the hosts review the state of the market and talk about how to balance the need for efficiency in business with tak...
TOPLINE HOTLINE: How should SaaS companies be thinking about price increases for 2024?
19 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There are two schools of thought about price increases heading into 2024. While the data shows that the average ACV for B2B SaaS products has increase...
E27: Recap from GTM2023
16 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
With all three hosts in Nashville for GTM2023, this week's episode recaps key learnings from the event, including why alignment is so critical for gro...
TOPLINE HOTLINE: How Do You Forecast Churn?
12 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of Topline Hotline, the hosts answer a question about how GTM leaders forecast churn, and whether they rely simply on historic data or...
E26: Kelly O'Halloran Shares Results from the QuotaPath Compensation Study
09 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
QuotaPath's Kelly O'Halloran shares findings from the company's recent compensation study, which found that it takes employees 3 to 6 months to unders...
TOPLINE HOTLINE: What should sales teams be doing to increase inbound lead flow?
05 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this week's Topline Hotline, the hosts answer a community question about what to do when inbound lead flow slows and your sales team has excess cap...
E25: Peter Walker on the Findings from Carta's State of Startup Compensation H1 2023
02 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Carta Head of Insights Peter Walker joins Topline to talk about key findings from the company's State of Startup Compensation Report for H1 2023, incl...
TOPLINE HOTLINE: How much experience does an SDR actually need?
28 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, the hosts discuss how much experience an SDR needs to be successful in the role. Hint: Traits like ambition, curiosity, and persistence mat...
E24: 2024 planning, forecasting, and trends
25 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Sam, AJ, and Asad talk 2024 planning, positive signs in the market, their approach to forecasting, and employee attrition trends heading in...
TOPLINE HOTLINE: Which SaaS metrics should I present to the board?
21 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, the hosts discuss how to present to the board when you're still navigating product-market fit and the need to expand into new markets. Subm...
E23: New CPI report, the impact of retention, and how to leverage CS
18 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, the hosts talk about CPI increases, the impact of retention, how to effectively run customer success, and valuations.
TOPLINE HOTLINE: Acquiring your first B2B customers
14 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How do you acquire your first 10 B2B customers without funding? The hosts discuss reverse engineering, doing things that aren't scalable, and selling ...
E22: Positive Economic Signals, Seasonality of Software Sales, and Aligning Objectives with Compensation
11 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, AJ, Asad, and Sam discuss recent positive economic signals compared with the findings of Pavilion's latest Pulse survey, the seasonality of...
TOPLINE HOTLINE: Moving From Incentive-Based to Fixed Sales Compensation Models
07 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Should you move to a fixed compensation model for your sales team? Will it hurt or help productivity? How will it impact your ability to recruit top t...
E21: The Return of the IPO Market, Why Early Stage Execs Should Study the Public Markets, Cultivating an Efficient Growth Mindset
04 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The IPO market is heating up again, and AJ, Asad and Sam talk about lessons from Klaviyo, Instacart and Arm's S-1s, why so many companies are shifting...
E20: Go-To-Market Alignment, the Role of the CMO, the Return of Events and Anxiety
28 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week on Topline the hosts talk about the importance of a unified approach to go-to-market, dig deeper into the specific challenges CMOs are facin...
E19: Doug Camplejohn on Building Culture and the Future of People Query Language
21 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Doug Camplejohn, CEO of Airspeed joins the hosts to discuss the difference between building products and building culture, the true definit...
E18: Building a Performance Driven Culture, Are SaaS Fundamentals Flawed?
14 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, the hosts discuss how productivity and performance are impacted by remote work, whether companies should require their teams to return to t...
E17: Immaculate Disinflation, Surviving a Down Market, and The VC Reset
07 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
While there's a lot of buzz around the economy improving, Sam, AJ and Sad talk about the behind the scenes conversations they're having with other fou...
E16: CEO Lessons from HubSpot, What Causes Burnout, and the State of the IPO Market
31 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this week's Topline, the hosts talk about a recent article HubSpot founder Brian Halligan shared about 20 lessons he learned as CEO and debate whet...
E15: State of the Market, Twitter v. Threads, and The Value of Taking a Pause
24 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
With inflation down and the probability of a soft landing increasing, the hosts talk about what this means for B2B tech, share their perspectives on T...
E14: Kris Rudeegraap on the Journey from $0 to $100 Million
17 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sendoso CEO Kris Rudeegraap has lead the company through a growth journey from $0 to over $100 Million and in this episode, he shares lessons learned ...
E13: Q2 Wrap Up, the State of US Politics, and the Outlook
10 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As we wrap up Q2, Sam, AJ and Asad talk through lessons learned from a tough quarter, share their outlooks on what Q3 has in store, and dive into the ...
E12: Mark Roberge on the Implications of AI For GTM Teams and Inflated VC Valuations
03 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week on Topline, Sam, AJ and Asad are joined by guest Mark Roberge. Mark as the original head of sales at HubSpot, and has gone on to teach at Ha...
E11: PLG Valuations, Softbank's Counter Offensive, Lessons from the Tight Economy
26 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Insight Partners released new research this week on publicly traded PLG companies showing that sales led companies have higher valuations. The team di...
E10: State of the Market, Employee Disengagement, Burnout
20 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, the team talks about the state of the market and what it means for tech companies, how to drive engagement amongst employees in a tough eco...
E9: Lessons from Bezos, Selling Outside of Tech, and Fostering a Culture of Innovation
13 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this week's episode, Sam, Asad and AJ reflect on Jeff Bezos' leadership style, how it has impacted Amazon's growth, and the lessons it holds for st...
E8: Business Performance in a Down Economy, AI-Driven Career Opportunities, and Side Hustles
05 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The guys talk about level setting the way we assess business performance in the current economy, why multiples for AI companies are way up, how AI is ...
E7: Regulating AI, Technology as a Distraction, Using Data to Make Decisions
29 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Sam, AJ and Asad reflect on recent congressional testimony about whether and to what degree AI should be regulated, and share insights arou...
E6: The Ideal Profile of a Seller, Hiring Market Updates, and Being More Data-Driven
22 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sam, Asad and AJ catch up on what's happening with the economy and the hiring market and talk through what the ideal profile of a seller is, what the ...
E5: Jamie Barnett on How GTM Leaders Should be Thinking About Generative AI
15 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of Topline, Sam, Asad and AJ speak with special guest, Jamie Barnett, who currently serves as the Interim CEO for Writer. Jamie shares...
E4: Growth Stage Risks, Bridge Rounds, Bare Minimum Mondays
08 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sam, AJ and Asad talk about the challenges that growth stage companies face when it comes to fundraising and company building. The conversation also t...
E3: Andrea Kayal on the Move from CMO to CRO, What's Driving Growth, and Expectations for 2023
01 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sam, AJ and Asad are joined by Teampay CRO Andrea Kayal for a discussion about her career and the transition from CMO to CRO, the lessons she learned ...
E2: Is Tech the Canary in the Coal Mine, AI as the Singularity, What Makes a Great Board Meeting
24 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Is tech the canary in the Cole mine of the economy? And is this a good thing in the sense that we'll recover first? Sam, AJ and Asad cover this, along...
E1: Recession or No, Changing Valuations, and Managing Mental Health in Turbulent Times
16 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Are we really headed for a recession? How should tech entrepreneurs and GTM leaders be thinking about sales quotas, compensation, and valuations? Have...