Closing Conversations

Ken Pouliot has led enterprise sales teams at Box, Gigya, Percolate, and SheerID—scaling revenue from $10M to $75M. In this episode, he joins Max to break down why most teams stall, what real enablement looks like, and how the best sellers stay relevant while the rest rely on shortcuts. No fluff. Just what it takes to win. In this episode, we cover:  – How AI is changing sales roles and startup st...

Bryan Lemster has advised hundreds of startups across AI, blockchain, wearable tech, and beyond. But he’s not interested in buzzwords—he backs companies solving real problems for real people. In this episode, we cover:  How to succeed in founder-led sales Why social proof should be your GTM backbone What happens when startups chase the wrong ICP When to flex your roadmap for big-name clients—and w...

In this no-BS conversation, host Max Notis sits down with Deepak Srivastava, co-founder of Sunrise AI, to unpack the art—and the necessity—of founder-led sales. Dive into the “Wild West” of scaling where your first round of funding means nothing without real market validation. Learn how to: 🔥 Presell before you code – use customer conversations as your R&D lab. 🤫 Listen 70% of the time – mea...

In this episode of Closing Conversations, Max Notis is joined by Josh Epstein, who has scaled revenue to over $200M across roles at VMware, HashiCorp, and now as CRO at Coder — but what makes him stand out isn’t just the numbers. It’s how he leads. Josh deepdives on what great revenue leadership really looks like: from gut-check accountability tools (“If I get defensive, they’re probably right”),...

In this episode of Closing Conversations, Max Notis is joined by Rob Gibbons, a seasoned sales leader who remains deeply involved in the day-to-day sales processes. Rob shares insights from his journey scaling teams, leading companies through transformational growth, and coaching sales reps. They discuss the importance of leading from the front, the nuances of effective coaching at scale, and the...

In this episode of Closing Conversations, Max Notice sits down with Tiffany Slowinski, CEO of Team Spark Advisors, to discuss the keys to hiring and leading top-performing sales teams. Tiffany shares her expertise on using data-driven tools like Culture Index to ensure the right hires, and emphasizes the importance of personalized management styles to retain and empower employees. The discussion c...

In this premiere episode of Closing Conversations, Max Notis sits down with Chris Brady, Betty Bungard, and Emily Botero from Sage’s GTM team to dissect one of the most important—and most misunderstood—topics in sales leadership: hiring. We explore why the “hire someone from that company” mentality is lazy, what actually makes top sellers say yes, and how the interview process often reveals more a...