Most companies think of education as a support function, the real shift is treating it as a go-to-market engine.In this episode of the UnChurned Podcast, Josh Schachter and Samantha Murray sit down with Yash Tekriwal, Head of Go-to-Market Engineering Ecosystem at Clay, to unpack how he became the company's first-ever GTM Engineer, why Clay rebranded its entire education team, and what it actually takes to build a learning ecosystem people don't just consume, but live inside of.Yash shares the origin story of the GTM Engineer role, why he believes "education" has become a dirty word in tech, and how Clay is rethinking everything from LMS platforms to certification to attribution.They also dive into:- The origin story behind the first-ever "GTM Engineer" title- Why Clay killed its education team and rebranded to a GTM engineering ecosystem- Why traditional LMS platforms get learning fundamentally wrong- The "control the environment, not the process" philosophy of learning- Why brand affinity and "vibes" matter more than marketing attribution- Rethinking certification and skill assessment in the age of AIIf you're building a GTM team, leading customer education, or trying to figure out how learning and community actually drive growth, this episode is a masterclass in building an ecosystem instead of a content library.Want the playbook, not just the conversation? Subscribe for deep-dive, actionable breakdowns from every episode at unchurned.substack.com.Chapters00:00 – Intro & Backstory01:03 – Yash's Pre-Clay Career and Failed Startups05:30 – Why He's More Of A Founder Than When He Was One06:32 – Becoming Clay's First-Ever GTM Engineer09:41 – Category Creation and Market Sizing13:42 – "We Killed The Education Team At Clay"15:36 – Why Education Became A Dirty Word In Tech21:08 – Yash's Path From Teacher To GTM Engineer24:54 – The Build vs. Buy Problem With LMS Platforms28:09 – Control The Environment, Not The Process32:37 – Why Attribution Doesn't Matter — It's All Vibes36:18 – Inside Clay's Six-Pod GTM Ecosystem42:16 – Yash's One-Year Goal: Rebuilding CertificationJosh is writing a book on building customer relationships. Follow his journey and insights at www.joshschachter.comWhere to Find the Guest:Yash's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yashtekriwalWhere to Find the Hosts:Josh's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jschachter/Unchurned Substack: https://unchurned.substack.com/Samantha's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-murray613/

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