Hunters and Unicorns

What does it really take to scale a software company from $35M to $2B ARR? In this episode of Hunters & Unicorns, Simon Kouttis and Ollie Kuehne sit down with Dan Barrett, SVP International at Figma and former MongoDB leader, to unpack the lessons behind one of SaaS's most remarkable growth stories. Dan shares why he hates the word "playbook," how MongoDB evolved through multiple sales transfo...

In this episode of Hunters & Unicorns, hosts Simon Kouttis and Ollie Kuehne sit down with Olivier Zieleniecki, Global Vice President of Partners at MongoDB, to discuss why the future of enterprise sales will be built around partnerships, ecosystems, and AI. As cloud marketplaces, hyperscalers, and AI continue reshaping how software is bought and sold, Olivier explains why traditional sales fra...

In this episode, Peppa Wise, SVP of Go-To-Market at Multiverse, breaks down the real differences between scaling from 0 to 10 million, 10 to 100 million, and beyond. From early-stage hustle and chaos to building scalable systems, leadership teams, and world-class sales processes, this conversation is packed with lessons most operators only learn the hard way. Peppa shares the painful mistakes that...

What does it really take to scale a sales team inside a billion-dollar company without losing culture, performance, and leadership quality along the way? In this episode, Peppa Wise and Euan Blair break down the real playbook behind scaling one of the fastest-growing teams in the UK. From the chaos of the 0 to 10 million stage to building sustainable systems at scale, this conversation dives deep...

What does the future of hiring, leadership, and company building actually look like in the age of AI? In this episode, Rhys Hughes, Executive Talent Partner at GV, joins us for a fascinating deep dive into the battle for talent happening inside the world’s fastest-growing AI companies. From billion-dollar compensation packages and the rise of vertical AI startups to what founders are really lookin...

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 breakin...

Today we sit down with Doug May, SVP of Productivity at Harness, to discuss one of the most critical yet overlooked aspects of a healthy organization: Sales Productivity. Doug has had an illustrious career at elite organizations including Datadog and Databricks, and he brings that expertise to Harness, where he has cut ramp time in half and increased per-rep contribution by 43%. We explore the "F1...

In this episode, we sit down with Anish Agarwal, CEO and Co-founder of Traversal, for a deep dive into the substance behind the AI noise. Anish, a former Columbia professor and researcher in causal AI, shares his unique journey from academia to founding an organization disrupting the site reliability engineering (SRE) and observability space. We explore the critical difference between "AI wrappers...

Today we tackle the noise surrounding the AI movement with Paul Klein, CEO and Founder of Browserbase. With a career spanning early-stage Twilio to raising $70 million in under two years for his own infrastructure startup, Paul brings much-needed critical thinking to the "AI bubble" debate. We explore the bridge between old-world sales principles and modern, developer-first GTM strategies. Paul br...

Today we sit down with John Lack, Global Head of Sales Development at Airtable, to demystify the world of software sales as a profession. John breaks down the immense rewards of the industry—from earning six figures right out of college as a successful BDR to mastering the "autonomy, mastery, and purpose" of high-level tech sales. We explore why the BDR role is the most critical time in a career f...

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-...

In this episode, we sit down with Carl Mattsson, VP & GM EMEA at Kong, to discuss one of the most remarkable scaling journeys in the industry. Carl joined Kong when it was at just $1M ARR in the EMEA market and has since spearheaded its growth to nearly $100M ARR. We explore the unique sales principles that shaped the organization, the "heart surrounded by science" culture, and how Carl naviga...

In this episode, we welcome Steve Rog, CRO at Cyera, one of the fastest-growing technology companies in the world. Steve opens up about his journey from a technical networking background to becoming a high-impact leader in cybersecurity. We unpick how he landed one of the industry's most sought-after CRO roles and why Cyera’s culture of humility and teamwork keeps them winning. Steve shares profou...

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...

In this episode, we talk to Jason Eubanks, CEO and Co-founder of Aurasell (our brand NEW Sponsor!), about his transition from a 20-year go-to-market operator to a builder and founder. Jason shares the exact moment he became obsessed with solving a major product problem, the complexity and low productivity caused by massive tool sprawl (over 20 products) and unintentional data silos in the go-to-ma...

In this episode of the Great Leaders UK series, we welcome Emma Maslen, author, angel investor, and founder of inspir'em. Emma draws on her successful career in large organizations like SAP and BMC to discuss the crucial difference between theoretical playbooks and their real-world, behavioral application. She stresses that the playbook is a framework to drive curiosity and risk mitigation, not a...

In this episode of Great Leaders UK, we are joined by Julia Weimer, Director of Solution Engineering UKI at Wiz, to discuss the critical, often underutilized role of pre-sales in driving elite sales execution. Julia shares her unique journey from Security Analyst in a SOC to leading a high-performing SE team , emphasizing why Sales Engineers must be viewed as equal business partners to Account Exe...

In this episode of the Playbook Universe, we speak with Kristian Kamber, CEO and co-founder of SPLX AI, about his journey from elite sales roles at AppDynamics and ZScaler to launching his own AI security startup. Kristian shares the inner drive and lessons learned, from a family restaurant business to the high-stakes world of Silicon Valley playbooks, that prepared him to lead a fast-moving, deep...

In this episode of East Coast Elite, we unpack the remarkable career journey of David Goodmark, VP of Sales at Wiz, a story that serves as a masterclass in strategic career building. Dave shares how he consistently prioritized mentorship and skill acquisition over title or compensation, knowingly taking roles as an Individual Contributor (IC) after being a leader just to learn from the best in the...

In this episode of the East Coast Elite series, we sit down with Nakul Mandan, founder and partner at Audacious Ventures, to discuss his unique approach to early-stage investing. After an 18-year career, Nakul discovered a powerful differentiator: an in-house playbook for recruiting exceptional talent and building scalable sales engines. He shares how his experience with a legendary sales leader t...

In this episode of the East Coast Elite series, we sit down with Madina Burkov, VP of Global Sales Development at Harness, to break down everything you need to know about starting a career in tech sales as a Sales Development Representative (SDR). Madina shares insights into the essential skills for success, how to assess if a company's SDR program is right for you, and the critical role SDRs play...

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Amber Selking, a high-performance coach with a Ph. D. in Applied Sports Psychology. Dr. Selking works with elite athletes, executives, and organizations to help them achieve their best. She's the mental performance coach for LSU football and the Chief Culture Officer at Lipper, a global manufacturing company. Amber unpacks the science behind high performance,...

In this episode of the East Coast Elite series, we sit down with Liam Mulcahy, Operating Partner at Kleiner Perkins. Having worked with over 100 startups, from first-ever sales rep to operating partner, Liam shares his unfiltered playbook for success in the chaotic world of early-stage companies. We cover how to identify the right opportunities, what a founder-led sales motion looks like, the red...

In this episode of The Playbook Universe, we sit down with Paul Cap, Chief Revenue Officer at MongoDB, to explore the core leadership principles and sales execution strategies that have driven one of the most explosive growth stories in tech. Paul shares his personal path from finance into sales, the pivotal mindset shifts that helped him lead at scale, and the mission-first approach that keeps Mo...

In this episode of the East Coase Elite series, we sit down with Yotam Segev, co-founder and CEO of Cyera, to explore the incredible journey of building a cybersecurity unicorn. From the early days of a "B-minus" idea, Yotam shares how a relentless focus on customer feedback, not internal opinions, became the company’s compass. He reveals the difficult but essential pivot from founder-led sales to...