The Revenue Formula

Why are so many SaaS executives struggling to get hired? In this episode, Raul and Toni dive deep into the surprising stat that 25% of Pavilion members—many of them seasoned SaaS execs—are currently “on the bench.” We explore what’s really going on in the market, how layoffs and short stints are damaging even top-tier CVs, and why CROs are applying for AE roles just to stay in the game.   We also...

What if a company could hit $10M ARR per founder—with zero employees?  In this episode, Amos Bar-Joseph (CEO of Swan) joins Toni to break down their radical vision: scaling to $30M ARR with just three founders and an army of AI agents. They unpack what it really means to run an "autonomous business," why headcount isn't always the answer, and how AI is transforming go-to-market strategy from the i...

AI won’t fix your sales model if the foundation is broken. In this episode, Jacco van der Kooij explains why the old go-to-market playbook is collapsing—and what the new, AI-powered future actually looks like. Never miss a new episode, join our newsletter on revenueformula.substack.com (00:00) - Introduction (02:32) - AI and the old playbook (10:34) - The role of customers in growth (25:56) - Huma...

Thinking about adding AI SDRs to your sales team? In this episode, we break down what actually works—and what doesn't—when implementing AI in your sales development process. From common onboarding mistakes to where AI truly shines (and stumbles), here’s what you need to know before you plug it in. Articles mentioned in the episode: 11x CEO Hasan Sukkar steps down - https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/0...

Why aren’t more RevOps leaders getting promoted to VP or CRO roles? In this episode, we break down the biggest career blockers holding Revenue Operations professionals back, from focusing too much on tooling to missing what execs actually care about. (00:00) - Introduction (03:00) - RevOps not getting promoted? (05:40) - What does the CRO want to hear? (13:57) - Sales experience in RevOps (16:39)...

After building a successful VC-backed company, Esben Friis-Jensen took a different path — bootstrapping his next SaaS startup to $5M ARR with just a team of 3. In this episode, he shares why he turned down venture funding, how he built an efficient, product-led growth engine, and lessons on scaling smart without sacrificing ownership or speed. (00:00) - Introduction (00:32) - Meet Esben Friis-Jens...

If you're feeling anxious about AI. If LinkedIn's making you doubt your GTM. You need this episode. We break down what’s real, what’s hype, and why boring execution still wins. (00:00) - Introduction (02:51) - Don't believe the LinkedIn echo chamber (06:42) - Understanding Business Fundamentals (12:09) - Stop comparing yourself to AI companies (14:28) - Growing without outside capital (17:15) - Th...

No. This is not a tactical episode. But. You will get a real look inside of a company being created. (00:00) - Introduction (04:01) - Scar tissue (09:31) - Feedback and Market Research (13:28) - AI in Data Analysis and Future Prospects (16:06) - AI's Growing Influence in Business (18:06) - Exploring New Data Sources (19:05) - Challenges and Opportunities in AI Adoption (20:07) - Pivoting to Produc...

If you're running outbound. If you're using SDRs. Or planning to. You've got to listen to this episode. We got Morgan Ingram on the show, and he broke down his LinkedIn playbook to get replies at scale. (00:00) - Introduction (03:18) - Outbound Marketing and Career Choices (06:16) - Optimizing LinkedIn Profiles (07:45) - Common Mistakes in Outbound Messaging (11:34) - Effective LinkedIn Connection...

Over the last year or so, Klarna has been on a rampage to automate away. They've sliced tools, costs and staff. Begging the question... Is this just a VC narrative or is there more than meets the eye? (00:00) - Introduction (02:44) - Klarna's Journey and Financials (05:49) - AI's Role in Cost Reduction (07:51) - Customer Service Innovations (10:28) - Internal Knowledge Management (13:47) - Introdu...

We had to record this unusual episode. In what feels like a single day, a year's worth of drama has unfolded in software. It almost seems like John Oliver would talk about it. But since he's busy, we decided to do an episode for him on 11x and the chaos that's emerging. (00:00) - Introduction (02:03) - Deel, Rippling and the spy (05:35) - 11x (08:13) - TechCrunch acquired (09:33) - Fake Customers...

Getting AEs to self-prospect is fun: AEs will complain, procrastinate, and straight up not do it. In todays episode, we share some simple tricks to get account executives excited and motivated to self prospect (hint: it's about $). (00:00) - Introduction (03:12) - AI in Sales and Self Prospecting (05:41) - Challenges of Self Prospecting (07:57) - Incentives for Self Prospecting (11:43) - Pipeline...

How to scale past $10M ARR. GTM Engineering. How AI is changing the game and much much more. We got Maja Voje, also known as the GTM Strategist, to join us and share her thoughts on this and more. (00:00) - Introduction (02:34) - Challenges in Scaling Beyond 10 Million (03:30) - Inbound Marketing Struggles (04:50) - Outbound and ABM Strategies (07:05) - AI SDRs and Personalized Outreach (11:52) -...

Usually, we share advanced analysis to run, cases of amazing tech companies, or something else. Today, we're talking about an energy drink. Stay with us because this potent drink can teach tech a lot about advertising. (00:00) - Introduction (02:26) - Energy Boosts and Red Bull (14:29) - Red Bull's Media Empire (17:34) - Examples of Media and Community Acquisitions (19:15) - Red Bull's Endless Con...

If there's something we all love, it's to root for david beating goliath. And right now, there's a small team doing just that. Pylon, led by Marty Kausas, is going head to head with Zendesk. Naturally, we asked Marty to share their playbook. (00:00) - Introduction (01:17) - The Motivation Behind Building Pylon (01:52) - The Journey to Becoming A-List (02:19) - Board Games and Strategic Thinking (0...

With every new technology, there's a Kodak.. or Nokia.. For AI, that company is Chegg - a publicly traded, once highflying edtech company. We break down the story of Chegg, and distill four learnings for GTM leaders. (00:00) - Introduction (02:02) - The Role of AI in Our Show (05:34) - The Rise and Fall of Chegg (07:59) - Chegg's Business Model and COVID-19 Impact (13:44) - The ChatGPT Disruption...

Your main contact is not your champion. You champion might not be an experienced buyer. And the list goes on. The problem is: not getting this right can really hurt your ability to bring in newbiz revenue. That's why we invited Gal Aga from Aligned. Not only did he post a kick-ass meme on this problem, but he also has worked extensively with AEs and run into this problem too often. (00:00) - Intro...

So we've crossed 200 episodes. And we felt like, as usual, doling out some advice - this time focused on the thing we spend a lot of time on... Podcasts. Specifcally this one. If you've considered, or are constantly being suggested/told to do a podcast. This episode is for you. If not, maybe it'll just be fun to get a look under the hood. (and if nothing else? This episode also consist of non-work...

How's PLG different from outbound? We asked someone who's worked with both motions. And the interesting part?  They used a very simple trick to accelerate their PLG: Defining their ICP. (00:00) - Introduction (10:02) - Finding the ICP (19:37) - Acquisition and Sales Strategy (20:04) - Brand equity (22:53) - Trigger for engaging (25:55) - Self-Onboarding and Offboarding Dynamics (28:44) - Outbound...

Growth envy. We've all been there. Another company just blows up in what feels like seconds. Immediately you wonder, how could we achieve the same? Well, first step is understanding, and in this episode we break down the conditions that enabled Cursor to grow incredibly fast. (00:00) - Introduction (02:20) - Cursor and 0-100 (05:09) - The Power of Top Funnel (11:56) - The Future of Code Writing (1...

There are 1000s of privately held unicorns. But for many of them, they will truly struggle to make a meaningful exit. We discuss why together with Roee. (00:00) - Introduction (02:25) - Understanding Zombie Unicorns (04:30) - The Rise and Fall of Valuations (06:33) - VC Expectations and Company Growth (12:01) - The Fragility of High Valuations (15:17) - Current Market Trends and Valuations (19:35)...

Are you about to report to the CEO? Are you already? In todays episode, we share our experience reporting to the CEO. (00:00) - Introduction (03:51) - Our first CEO (07:10) - Benefits and Challenges of Reporting to the CEO (13:03) - Effective Communication and Management Strategies (20:16) - Deliver 100% of your commits This episode is brought to you by Fullcast, the only AI-powered platform that...

Free trials don't work for AI products - so... what do you do? That's what we asked Chris, CEO and founder of Slite. (00:00) - Introduction (03:36) - Challenges in Selling AI (04:53) - Introduction to Slite and Super (06:31) - AI Implementation and Use Cases (08:50) - Customer Onboarding and Trials (10:15) - Why can't we just do freemium (13:10) - Overcoming AI Adoption Barriers (22:15) - Future o...

Wrappers are dead. LLMs are dead. SaaS is dead. The application layer is dead. It's moving pretty fast still in AI, and we thought it was time to take stock of what we know right now. (00:00) - Introduction (01:03) - OpenAI's Superbowl Ad Breakdown (02:29) - The Role of AI in Modern Life (03:16) - Teasing Future Content (03:50) - The Fast-Paced World of AI (05:35) - Understanding GPT Wrappers (07:...

If 4 developers at a unicorn got a $1m check, could they copy your feature? Well, yes. We discussed why this question is stupid, and how to build true competitive advantages. (00:00) - Introduction (02:11) - Remote Work and Team Dynamics (02:47) - Exploring New Features and Innovations (04:59) - Customer Experience and Building a Moat (15:05) - Sticky Features and User Retention (17:52) - Salesfor...