Rev-n-u Unplugged

Culture is a never-ending journey. And accountability starts with figuring out what you're being accountable to."Ron Gupta, CRO at Vendavo, has spent 15 years taking mid-to-late stage startups through their messiest inflection points. In this episode, he pulls back the curtain on what actually works when scaling sales teams.The brutal truth? Your A-players don't leave after 3 years. They leave in the first 6 months if you get the onboarding wrong.In this conversation, we break down:→ Why culture falls flat in the second and third layer of leadership (not at exec level where you think it does)→ The difference between accountability and fear - and why managing by spreadsheets kills both→ How to interview A-players who are "master chameleons" - Ron's 3-stage process that actually works→ Why the first 6 months are make-or-break for top talent (and what you must do in that window)→ The nuances of vertical SaaS when your entire TAM is 60 companies and 300 people - you can't afford a single bad conversationPlus, Ron shares the story of hiring an "A-player" who had zero success for 10 months... then became number one by a mile at his next company. Context is everything.If you're hiring senior sales talent, scaling a team, or trying to build accountability without toxicity - this episode will save you from expensive mistakes.

The discussion kicks off with a focus on why executives must confront churn and enhance customer experiences. Insights reveal a deep dive into churn metrics, highlighting the leaky bucket analogy. The conversation emphasizes the importance of cascading accountability, ensuring each team understands their role in customer retention. Leaders are challenged to reflect on their responsibilities in reducing churn and improving overall retention strategies.

Churn isn't just a customer success problem—it's a sales problem. And it's costing you millions.In this episode, Vanessa Brangwyn pulls back the curtain on customer expansion revenue and why most companies are getting it completely wrong. She reveals the uncomfortable truth about early-stage churn, when to split customer success from account management, and how her company jumped gross retention by 5 percentage points using AI.If you're a CRO chasing new logos whilst revenue leaks out the back door, this conversation will change how you think about growth. Vanessa doesn't do corporate fluff—just honest talk about what actually works when your entire company needs to own retention.Key topics:Why 8 out of 10 onboarding churns are sales problems, not CS issuesWhen to specialise customer success roles (and how to comp them without warfare)Using AI to predict churn before renewal conversationsThe difference between CSMs who identify opportunities and account managers who close themHow to build a revenue engine from your install base, not just new logosVanessa Brangwyn is a software executive with two decades in B2B enterprise sales. She went from CSM to CRO over 12 years and has scaled revenue teams across HR tech and fintech.

Words of wisdom from James Bagan.

James Bagan has done due diligence on over 200 B2B tech businesses and doesn't pull punches.In this conversation, he breaks down why most boards misunderstand RevOps, what new CROs must do in their first 30 days to survive, and why promoting your top salesperson usually backfires.We also cover managing board relationships, the death of "growth at all costs," and why you should be interviewing candidates even when you're fully staffed.Straight talk for sales leaders who want to avoid expensive mistakes

Understanding what impact your product or service has on a customer is vital for new business.

Richard Perez from Apax Partners has spent 30 years optimising commercial engines for many portfolio companies within Apax. In this episode, he breaks down exactly why 50% of sales reps may miss target this year, and it's not what you think.You'll learn:Why sales leaders are spending $2+ to acquire every $1 of new revenue (and how to flip this)The four pillars of commercial excellence that actually move the needleHow to spot real buying signals versus reps peddling optimismWhy your install base is your easiest path to growth (and you're probably ignoring it)Richard's honest take on AI in sales what's working now and where to be cautiousThis isn't theory. It's the playbook PE firms use to drive efficient growth in their portfolio companies.Essential watching if you're building your 2026 revenue plan.

You know you can move forward as a leader once you have broken the silence.

Many Revenue Leades don't make it past 18 months. In this episode, Grant breaks down the exact weekly cadences that took Uberall's win rates from 9% to 32%. No theory. Just the playbook he used to win in the first 18 months of his tenure.You'll learn:Why weekly pipeline & forecast calls changed everythingHow to get buy-in from teamsThe difference between performance management and performance prediction

The number one principle of good leadership....