Hunters and Unicorns

In this episode of the East Coast Elite series, we sit down with Austin Stefani, CRO at DBT Labs, to discuss his career journey from EMC to his current role.   austin shares his fundamental principles for sales leadership, emphasizing the importance of making every individual on the team successful.   We learn about his focus on skill acquisition, the value of learning from challenges, and why emp...

In this episode of the East Coast Elite series, we sit down with Brian Trowbridge, VP of Sales at FireHydrant, to explore the brutal truths of startup life. From making high-stakes decisions with limited runway to navigating board dynamics and founder alignment, Brian unpacks what it really takes to succeed in an early-stage company. We dive deep into how he evaluated FireHydrant before joining, w...

In this episode of East Coast Elite, Simon Kouttis and Ollie Kuehne sit down with Martin Mao, co-founder and CEO of Chronosphere. From his early days at Uber to founding one of the most disruptive startups in observability, Martin shares what it takes to navigate uncertainty, build conviction, and win at scale. We dive into the mindset shifts behind leaving a tech giant to build something bold, ho...

In this episode of Hunters & Unicorns, East Coast Elite, we sit down with Brian McCarthy, President of Global Revenue and Field Operations at Rubrik. With a remarkable track record scaling high-performing teams and navigating through IPOs, Brian shares the foundational principles that shaped his leadership, putting people first, leading with love, and building structures that drive consistent...

In this episode of Sales SOS, Hunters & Unicorns co-founders Ollie and Simon go head-to-head on one of the most misunderstood, yet business-critical skills in sales leadership: how to consistently hire A-players. Drawing from two decades of experience working with the world's most elite sales teams, we break down the true mindset, mechanics, and strategy behind world-class recruitment — and wh...

After 200+ episodes and thousands of hours with the world’s top SaaS sales leaders, Hunters & Unicorns presents Sales SOS raw, practical conversations that dive deep into the mindset, strategies, and frameworks behind elite career growth in tech sales. In this episode, Hunters and Unicorns very own Simon and Ollie answer four critical questions every ambitious sales professional should be aski...

In this episode of Hunters & Unicorns, Great Leaders UK, we sit down with Marina Ayton, VP UK&I at Wiz and co-author of The Female Sales Leader, to explore her remarkable journey from first-line to second-line leadership and back again. Marina shares hard-won lessons on building and recruiting world-class teams, navigating rapid promotions, overcoming imposter syndrome, leveraging EQ along...

In this episode of Great Leaders UK, we sit down with Alice Carlisle, VP UK&I at Wiz, to uncover how she rose from first-line leader to one of the most sought-after roles in the cybersecurity industry. From taking a struggling ZScaler team and transforming it in under three quarters, to embodying Wiz’s values of confidence and humility, Alice’s journey is proof that authenticity and unrelentin...

The Brutal Truth About Scaling Customer Success, w/ Natasha Evans   Today we’re joined by Natasha Evans, VP of Customer Growth at Hook. Natasha shares the raw reality of going from chaos to clarity while building the customer success function inside a hypergrowth rocketship. We dive deep into the strategic thinking and tough decisions that shaped her journey—from running toward the fire in Saleslo...

From MongoDB to Founder: How Deirdre Spillane bet on Herself Description In this episode of The Playbook Universe, we sit down with Deirdre Spillane, co-founder of Selr.ai and former sales leader at MongoDB and Segment. She shares her incredible journey—from building high-performing teams in one of the most feared sales orgs in tech, to stepping into the unknown and launching her own company. We d...

They Told Her Not to Work in Sales — She Proved Them ALL WRONG   Description In this episode of The Playbook Universe, we sit down with Libby Derbyshire, Sales Director at ComplyAdvantage, whose transformation journey is nothing short of extraordinary. From selling boat party tickets in Ibiza to leading with data and empathy at some of the UK’s fastest-growing startups, Libby shares the pivotal mo...

In this new episode of Hunters & Unicorns, we sit down with Shakira Talbot, the Group Vice President at ServiceNow, for one of the most inspiring conversations we've ever had. From growing up in foster care to leading revenue responsibility for over $10B at one of the most influential enterprise software companies, Shakira’s story is a masterclass in grit, champion building, and unapologetic a...

In this episode of THE PLAYBOOK UNIVERSE, we sit down with legendary CRO Dan Fougere, a pivotal force behind FOUR $1B IPOs. From engineering roots to building elite go-to-market engines, Dan unpacks the battle-tested frameworks that turned great ideas into generational companies. He shares hard-won lessons from PTC, BladeLogic, Medallia, and Datadog—including how to scale a sales org, recruit worl...

In this episode of RAW STORIES LIVE, we sit down with Jennifer Ortegón, Enterprise Account Executive at Harness, to hear how she saved a major account on the verge of churn. With an RFP already in motion and a competitor lined up to replace them, everything was stacked against her. Jennifer had to dig deep, rebuild trust, and take a bold approach. From gathering data to relentless preparation, she...

In this episode of RAW STORIES LIVE, we sit down with Josh Bey, VP of West & APJ at Obsidian Security, as he shares the gripping story of how he turned a seemingly unwinnable deal into a game-changing success. Facing financial pressure & personal life challenges, Josh breaks down the emotional investment, strategic pivots, and relentless determination that ultimately secured a massive win....

In this episode of RAW STORIES LIVE, we sit down with John Behm, VP of Enterprise Sales at Harness, and a seasoned sales leader with a track record of building elite sales teams. John shares his journey from the early days in sales to leading high-performing teams, diving deep into the mindset, strategies, and lessons that drive success. Whether you're a sales professional or a leader looking to e...

In this episode of RAW STORIES LIVE, we sit down with Hillary Unis, an account executive at Harness with a wealth of experience navigating high-stakes deals and driving impactful results. Hillary shares her journey through the challenges of enterprise sales, her approach to building trust with clients, and how she stays resilient in the face of adversity. This conversation is packed with actionabl...

In this episode of RAW STORIES LIVE, we sit down with Rush Williams, Area VP at Impact.com, about his journey to secure a $15 million deal with Amazon from a mere $300k start. Rush discusses the initial six months of no progress, highlighting the frustration of dealing with a giant like Amazon. Rush shares his strategic shift, focusing on research, pinpointing the right Amazon unit, and refining h...

In this episode of RAW STORIES LIVE, Lori Lipscomb shares her incredible journey in sales at Codeium. From early struggles to breakthroughs, she reveals how a single cold call worth $50,000 became the turning point in her career. Lori discusses the challenges she faced along the way, the lessons she learned, and the mindset shift that helped her close the deal of a lifetime. In a field dominated b...

In this episode of RAW STORIES LIVE, we sit down with Andreas Stange, a strategic account executive at Grafana, to uncover the story behind his first eight-figure deal and seven-figure paycheck. From immense personal stakes to relentless belief in his solution, Andreas shares how he transformed a potential failure into a life-changing success. Discover the strategies, mindset, and lessons that tur...

In this episode of RAW STORIES LIVE, we sit down with Tim Moxness, VP of Sales at Tessell, to discuss how he turned career setbacks into monumental success. From facing rejection and disillusionment to achieving 302% of his sales quota, Tim’s story is a testament to perseverance, mindset shifts, and relentless focus. Discover the strategies that helped Tim overcome challenges, reframe his approach...

In this episode of "RAW STORIES LIVE," we sit down with Michelle Bove, AVP East at Wiz, to discuss her incredible journey in software sales. Michelle shares how she turned rejection into motivation, built relationships that transformed her career, and mastered the balance between the art and science of selling. Discover her innovative strategies for breaking into accounts, winning deals, and conne...

In this episode of 'RAW STORIES LIVE' we sit down with David Habibian, VP of Channel and Alliances at Rubrik. David shares the story of his greatest career challenge—facing a seemingly insurmountable quota—and how his focus on temperament and ownership became the foundation for his leadership success. From massive wins to lessons learned through failure, David reveals the single most important tra...

In this insightful episode of Hunters & Unicorns, Simon and Ollie sit down with Zahir Abdelouhab, SVP EMEA at Navan, to discuss first-line leadership—the toughest role in software sales. Zahir shares his personal journey, the challenges he faced, and the lessons he learned to thrive as a first-line leader. This is his playbook. 🎓 Key Topics Covered: 00:00 Intro 01:25 Why First-Line Leadership...

In this engaging conversation, Varun Mohan, CEO and Co Founder of Codeium, shares his journey of building a unicorn AI company in just three and half years. He discusses the importance of having fun in business, the challenges of navigating the startup landscape, and the critical role of sales strategy and market fit. Varun emphasizes the future of AI and its impact on software development, as wel...