Growth Elevated Leadership Podcast

In this episode of the Growth Elevated Leadership Podcast, host Julian Castelli converses with Tom Lineen, a seasoned leader in the payments industry and founder of West Town Payments. Launched during the COVID-19 pandemic in July 2020, Tom's company focuses on underserved markets like hemp and CBD. Tom shares his entrepreneurial journey, detailing the challenges of finding a banking partner a...

In this episode of the Growth Elevated Leadership Podcast, host Julian Castelli converses with Rob Kaminski, co-founder of Fletch Product Market Management. They explore the challenges technology startups face in product marketing and positioning. Key themes include the importance of clear messaging, the pitfalls of broad target definitions, and the necessity of a focused approach. Rob shares his...

In this episode of the Growth Elevated Leadership Podcast, host Julian Castelli interviews Kathy Slowinski, a turnaround CEO known for revitalizing distressed software companies at Trilogy Software. Kathy shares her journey in the tech industry and discusses her operational strategies, including cost-cutting, optimizing cloud infrastructure, and integrating AI to enhance business performance. She...

In this episode of the Growth Elevated Leadership Podcast, host Julian Castelli welcomes Dan Lambert, CEO of PathologyWatch. Julian introduces the podcast's focus on leadership and growth in tech companies and highlights the annual tech summit organized by Growth Elevated. Dan shares his entrepreneurial journey, discussing his ventures in grocery couponing and medical education before delving...

In this episode of the Growth Elevated Leadership Podcast, host Julian Castelli converses with Jonathon Fishman, a seasoned entrepreneur and leader in financial legal tech. Jonathon, a three-time founder, currently leads LeanLaw, a SaaS company that streamlines financial operations for law firms. The discussion explores Jonathon's journey, the evolution of LeanLaw, and the transformative impact of...

In this episode of the Growth Elevated Leadership Podcast, host Julian Castelli delves into the important topic of team optimization, focusing on the "pushers versus pullers" leadership concept. He encourages Team Leaders to take the time to categorizes team members as "pullers," who drive progress and inspire others, and "pushers," who are not really carrying their weight and require excessive su...

In this podcast episode, host Julian Castelli discusses the challenges technology companies face in scaling, particularly in sales and go-to-market strategies. Joined by Dale Zwizinski, Jake Reni, and Adam Jay, co-founders of Revenue Reimagined, the conversation delves into the "go-to-market gap" and the importance of foundational processes in order to generate consistent growth. The guests emphas...

In this episode of the Growth Elevated Leadership Podcast, host Julian Castelli interviews David Darmstandler, co-CEO and co-founder of Datapath, a managed IT and security company. They discuss the challenges of scaling a technology business, particularly in the managed services sector. David shares insights from Datapath's journey since its inception in 2005, emphasizing the importance of effecti...

In this episode of the Growth Elevated Leadership Podcast, host Julian Castelli converses with Cotter Cunningham, CEO of Expert Voice and former CEO of RetailMeNot. Cotter shares his entrepreneurial journey, focusing on his experiences with RetailMeNot, a leading coupon and savings platform. They discuss the company’s origins, growth, and challenges, including scaling and going public. Cotter high...

In this episode of the Growth Elevated Leadership Podcast, host Julian Castelli interviews Dan Chapman, a go-to-market advisor and fractional Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) specializing in early-stage B2B SaaS companies. Dan shares his journey from a technical founder to a GTM leader, emphasizing the importance of the "selling to learn" phase. He discusses key concepts such as product-market fit, the...

In this episode of the Growth Elevated Leadership Podcast, host Julian Castelli interviews Rob Silas, co-founder and CEO of ObservePoint. Rob details his journey in establishing ObservePoint, a Tech Company focused on data privacy and governance in marketing technology. He discusses the initial challenges of finding product-market fit, securing enterprise customers, and the funding journey. Rob al...

In this episode of the Growth Elevated Leadership Podcast, host Julian Castelli unpacks the 2nd half of the old adage Fire Fast/Hire Slow and digs into the details of how to hire well by hiring slow. He emphasizes the importance of a structured and data-driven hiring process, advocating for standardized job descriptions, candidate scorecards, and a consistent interview process. Key points include...

In this episode of the Growth Elevated Leadership Podcast, host Julian Castelli interviews Patrick Brandt, a seasoned entrepreneur and business leader. Patrick shares his entrepreneurial journey, detailing the challenges and successes he encountered while founding and leading various companies, including Shiftsmart. He discusses the impact of the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic on...

In this episode of the Growth Elevated Leadership Podcast, host Julian Castelli interviews Rob Castaneda, founder of ServiceRocket . They discuss the importance of SaaS companies understanding customer needs and filling service gaps beyond their core product offerings. Rob emphasizes the significance of building a profitable ecosystem with foundational partners to ensure dedicated attention and su...

In this episode of the Growth Elevated Leadership Podcast, host Julian Castelli interviews Blake Harber, a seasoned sales executive with experience in SaaS companies like HireVue Workstream and Lucid. Blake shares his stories from his leadership journey at Workstream, an applicant tracking system for the hourly workforce. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Blake led a strategic pivot to focus on the rest...

In this episode of the Growth Elevated Leadership Podcast, we interview Davis Bell, CEO of Canopy, a SaaS platform for accounting practices. They discuss Canopy's journey, including its growth from 100 to 170 employees and a 4-5x revenue increase since Bell joined in 2019. Bell highlights the challenges of prioritizing product development, navigating COVID-19, and raising capital, including a...

In this episode of the Growth Elevated Leadership Podcast, host Julian Castelli interviews Amelia Wilcox, founder and CEO of Nivati. They discuss the company's pivot during the pandemic from providing onsite massage therapy to virtual wellness services, addressing the increased need for accessible mental health resources. Amelia shares the challenges of adapting to market trends, selling to HR...

In this episode of the Growth Elevated Leadership Podcast, we speak with Dave Carruthers the Co Founder and former CEO of Voxpopme , a leading digital insights platform for large consumer product companies.  Dave describes the lessons from his journey of expanding into the US market and growing the Company into an industry leader. For more resources on how to be a a better leader in business, plea...

In this Growth Elevated Leadership Podcast episode, Deepak Sindwani , co-founder of Wave Crest Growth Partners , shares his experiences in the growth equity sector, focusing on B2B software companies. He recounts his path from Bain Capital Ventures and Comcast Ventures to establishing his own growth equity firm, emphasizing the importance of resilience and humility. Deepak explains Wave Crest'...

In this episode of the Growth Elevated Leadership Podcast, we hear from Andy Barraclough - Co Founder and CEO of Voxpopme .   Andy shares how he has led the innovation and R&D groups at the Company with a “Product First” approach.  This has allowed the Company to be at the leading edge of real time video feedback and work with some of the largest consumer product companies in the world!  Check...

Can the SaaS model be applied to professional sports? Join me as I speak with Chris Giles , CEO of FanRally who is pioneering a new subscription service for professional sports teams. Is this the wave of the future? Hear how Chris believes subscription and club benefits provide a way for teams to build more direct connectivity with their fans, and provide those fans with a more intimate, value add...

Lonnie Mayne, former President of SaaS Company InMoment shares the story of how he helped grow the Company as a member of the early founding team.  Later, as the Company grew Lonnie helped with mergers and acquisitions and played a critical role in shaping the unique culture of the Company that helped it compete for large clients like McDonalds.  Lonnie’s impact with culture was a hit, so much so...

Darren Dunn shares the story of how he founded Zartico⁠ , and built the team that helped grow the Company into a successful data driven SaaS/DaaS company. Zartico is a Company that powers the possibility of place by helping tourism boards and destination management organizations understand the who, what, when and where of their visitors. For more resources on how to be a a better leader in busines...

Eric Morgan shares how as CEO he grew ⁠⁠⁠⁠Workfront⁠ , a SaaS project management platform 5X in five years, and set the Company on a successful path to continued growth and an eventual $Billion+ strategic sale in 2020. For more resources on how to be a a better leader in business, please visit us at ⁠⁠GrowthElevated.com⁠⁠ , and follow us on ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠ .

Does closing your next round feel as hard as finding a good outcome for a losing land war in Asia? Unfortunately, you are not alone in this difficult financing environment. I have talked with so many Founders and Tech leaders who are currently struggling to get new equity financing. In this episode, we explore some of the most challenging cap table "traps" to avoid, and some strategies f...