Hunters and Unicorns

A deep dive into the AI talent war inside top startups and venture firms. Conversations about massive compensation, new equity models, and how culture now competes with pay. Why velocity and go-to-market discipline are winning traits. Tips on building VC relationships and spotting founders worth backing. Exploration of where AI, robotics, life sciences, and hardware bets are heading.

From Downing Street to Disrupting the Future of Work! What does it really take to build a $500M+ company that’s reshaping how the world learns and works? In this episode, Euan Blair, Founder & CEO of Multiverse, joins us for a candid, high-energy conversation on building a mission-driven business that actually scales. From reimagining apprenticeships as a global workforce revolution to breaking down the science behind elite B2B sales, this episode is packed with insights most founders never hear. We dive into the reality of the journey. Key hires, tough mistakes, and the inflection points that change everything, alongside a powerful perspective on AI and why it will either transform or disrupt the future of work as we know it. If you're interested in startups, sales, AI, or building something that truly matters, this is one you don’t want to miss! With thanks to our sponsors Aurasell. Timestamps: 0:00 — Trailer 0:54 — Euan Blair Introduction 01:49 — Sponsor: Aurasell 03:07 — Why Euan Chose Founding Over Politics & Finance 05:11 — Was Being a Founder Always the Plan 07:36 — Shaping the Vision & Early Surroundings 09:00 — Why VCs Invested in Multiverse 11:10 — Preparing for First Fundraise 12:34 — Life After Getting the Money 14:20 — Jeremy: The Game-Changing Hire 22:44 — Building the First Sales Team 26:10 — Tough Learnings & Biggest Mistakes 28:30 — Moments of Self-Doubt as a Founder 30:36 — What Really Motivates Euan 33:55 — AI & Workforce Displacement 36:04 — Why Euan Appointed Don D'Arcy's 40:22 — Keeping Pace with AI Change 42:32 — How the CEO Role Is Evolving 43:50 — Multiverse vs Typical SaaS Model 46:00 — What It Takes to Succeed Here

Doug May, SVP of Productivity at Harness and former leader at Datadog and Databricks, has a track record cutting ramp time and boosting rep output. He explains the F1 engineering analogy for GTM support. He discusses measuring microscopic metrics, optimizing hiring and onboarding, using productivity as an investor signal, and which questions candidates should ask to de-risk their next role.

Anish Agarwal, CEO and co-founder of Traversal and former Columbia professor in causal AI, explains building AI-native infrastructure for observability and reliability. He contrasts superficial AI wrappers with infrastructure-first companies. Short, punchy takes cover technical moats, moving pilots into production, and the rise of forward-deployed engineers in sales.

Paul Klein, founder and CEO of BrowserBase who raised $70M to build browser tooling for AI. He separates AI hype from real technical value. He explains the Logo Flywheel, using PLG as a lead engine, and how infrastructure companies win with developer-first growth and elite sales teams.

John Lack, Global Head of BizDev at Airtable and veteran sales leader from Oracle and MongoDB, shares career-defining lessons in software sales. He talks pay and how BDRs can earn six figures early. He explains why pipeline generation is the foundation, how to evaluate company development programs, and what milestones move you from BDR to AE.

In this episode, we welcome Joe Eskenazi, CRO at Kong, to discuss the critical transition from an elite salesperson to a top-tier business leader. Joe shares how he bypassed the typical "salesperson" label by treating every interaction as a business consultancy, fueled by a concurrent MBA and an early career in sports broadcasting. We dive deep into the reality of the CRO role—orchestrating cross-functional ecosystems rather than just closing deals—and the personal journey of managing high-intensity burnout. Joe also offers powerful advice on finding an authentic leadership voice and why organizations must prioritize leadership training to protect their talent. 🙌 Thanks To Our Sponsor! Aurasell AI: https://www.aurasell.ai 🏹 Key Topics Covered 00:00 - Intro 01:57 - The Reputation and Rise of a CRO 03:39 - Viewing Sales as Business Optimization 06:47 - The Calling Card for Success 13:50 - The Cross-Functional Ecosystem 19:30 - The Strength and Weakness of Intensity 25:00 - Navigating Burnout 33:14 - The Kobe Bryant Lesson 42:34 - Finding Your Own Voice 46:36 - The Era of AI Governance and APIs   💥 3 Biggest Lessons: Be a Business Leader, Not a Sales Leader: To reach the executive level, you must shift your mindset from selling products to solving strategic business challenges. Joe argues that a true business leader drives cross-functional alignment and won't do "bad deals" just for a commission because they are focused on the long-term health of the organization. You Can’t Outwork the Job: High-performers often fall into the trap of trying to out-hustle every problem, which inevitably leads to burnout. True leadership requires ruthless prioritization, mental resilience practices like breathwork or cold plunging, and recognizing that your effectiveness is compromised if you neglect your health or family. Never Compromise the Standard: Influenced by mentors like Cedric Pech and Luca Lazzaron, Joe believes in maintaining an unshakeable standard of excellence. He uses the "Touch the Line" philosophy to remind leaders that shortcutting small details eventually leads to personal and professional erosion. 💬 Notable Quotes "Find your voice. Find out who you are as a leader". "I tell AEs who become leaders, you can't outwork the job. Just know that". "I realized that I love what I'm doing because I love to help businesses optimize and transform". "Preparation was always my calling card... I absolutely have a big fear of failure". "There’s no AI without APIs... we like to be the picks and shovels leading to the gold". 🙌 Thanks for listening! This episode was hosted by Simon Kouttis and Ollie Kuehne, founders of Hunters & Unicorns, and post-produced by the team at videoforce.pro. If you enjoyed this episode, please drop a like/share and subscribe to our channel! 🦄 Connect with Hunters & Unicorns Website: http://huntersandunicorns.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/HuntersUn1corns Instagram: http://instagram.com/huntersandunicorns Blog: http://huntersandunicorns.com/blog #softwaresales #huntersandunicorns #playbookuniverse

Join Carl Mattsson, VP & GM EMEA at Kong, who played a pivotal role in scaling the company from $1M to nearly $100M ARR. He sheds light on hiring for character over experience, emphasizing innate curiosity and grit. Carl discusses the culture shift from a family vibe to a robust team focus and how a personal story about pasta solidified his commitment during tough times. He also shares insights on blending creativity with science in sales and positioning Kong as a leader in AI governance.

Steve Rog, Chief Revenue Officer at Cyera, shares his remarkable journey from a technical background to a leading role in cybersecurity sales. He dives into the significance of humility and teamwork in building a successful culture at Cyera. Steve emphasizes the value of Emotional Intelligence in leadership—highlighting that effective delivery of messages is crucial. He also discusses the importance of mentorship, reflecting on key figures who shaped his career, and how authentic leadership involves empowering others to excel.

Jason Eubanks is back to answer the question every revenue leader is asking: Will AI kill sales jobs or make great sellers unstoppable? He drops hard stats (91% of B2B teams missed quota, top 25 % drive 80% of revenue at 11× productivity) and explains why AI is a superpower for elite performers, a wake-up call for the bottom quartile, and a complete game-changer for SDR outreach, buyer trust, and hiring. If you lead a sales org, this 35-minute conversation is required listening. 🙌 Thanks to Our Sponsor! Aurasell AI The first AI-native GTM platform: https://aurasell.ai 🏹 Key Topics Covered 00:00 - Intro & Jason returns 01:38 - AI: replace or superpower? 03:07 - Top 25% dominate revenue 04:38 - 91% teams miss quota 09:40 - AI’s impact on SDRs 12:46 - Outreach volume vs buyer fatigue 16:52 - Human trust + real-time signals 25:14 - Hiring for the AI era 28:25 - Will AI make sellers lazy? 31:12 - Keeping top talent engaged   💥 3 Biggest Lessons: 1. AI Widens the Performance Gap Top 25 % already produce 11× more — AI will make them unstoppable while exposing under-performers. 2. Bottom Quartile Must Adapt Fast If you don’t aggressively adopt AI tools, you’ll fall further behind as others 2–4× their productivity. 3. Hire Character, Teach Skills Work ethic and engagement can’t be automated — get these right and AI turns good sellers into great ones. 💬 Notable Quotes “AI will be a superpower… it will unlock new levels of productivity that allow your top sellers to become even more productive.” “91 % of all B2B sales teams didn’t hit their revenue targets.” “80 % of the revenue was generated by only 25 % of the sellers.” “I don’t buy that AI makes sellers lazy — laziness exists for other reasons.” 🙌 Thanks for listening! This episode was hosted by Simon Kouttis and Ollie Kuehne, founders of Hunters & Unicorns, and post-produced by the team at videoforce.pro. If you enjoyed this episode, please smash like/share and subscribe! 🦄 Connect with Hunters & Unicorns Website: http://huntersandunicorns.com X: http://x.com/HuntersUn1corns Instagram: http://instagram.com/huntersandunicorns Blog: http://huntersandunicorns.com/blog #softwaresales #huntersandunicorns #playbookuniverse