Discover why traditional funnels are collapsing—and learn how to rebuild them around buyers, not blind automation—in this episode of GTM Vault featuring Santosh Sharan, co‑founder and CEO of Zeer AI. Building on his experience scaling Apollo.io, Retention.com, ZoomInfo—and advising Gong, LeadIQ, Lusha, and ContactOut—Santosh dives deep into the shift from volume‑heavy outbound to high‑trust, buyer‑first engagement. He explains why LinkedIn outperforms cold email, how “agents” are replacing SDRs to pre-qualify leads, and why compounding systems consistently beat short-lived hacks.

Listen as Santosh unfolds the strategy behind his 100‑meeting LinkedIn playbook, pinpoints what most AI sales tools get wrong, and outlines how to blend product‑led, sales‑led, and data‑led GTM into a unified, scalable engine. Essential insights for any operator striving to reduce CAC, boost conversion, and ditch broken funnels for good.

Sponsored by ZoomInfo—GTM Intelligence that automates outreach, triggers plays, and turns signals into revenue. Learn more at zoominfo.com/gtmvault.

Vijay Rajendran — executive coach, venture builder, and author of The Funding Framework — joins GTM Vault to explore what it really takes to grow from founder to fundable CEO in today’s fast-moving startup landscape.

Vijay has helped founders raise capital in 80+ countries, led Portfolio Value at 500 Global, and now coaches high-growth leaders on how to lead with clarity, raise with confidence, and scale without burning out.

In this episode:

• Why confidence comes from clarity

• How to shift from reactive hustle to intentional leadership

• The role of GTM motion in making your startup default investable

• Fundraising strategy for founders outside SF and NYC

• How product-market fit has evolved in 2025

• What most CEOs get wrong about alignment, rhythm, and self-management

Whether you’re raising your first round or scaling toward $100M, this episode will help you grow your company by growing yourself first.

Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by ZoomInfo. Learn more at zoominfo.com.

Dave Boyce (Executive Chairman at Winning by Design, board member at Forrester) joins GTM Vault to break down why most SaaS onboarding fails — and how AI is redefining the Product-Led GTM playbook.

In this episode, we unpack:

• Why “time to first impact” is your most critical growth lever

• How AI agents can drive onboarding, retention, and renewal

• The difference between a PLG motion vs. a PLG company

• What to measure before revenue shows up

• When layering sales kills product-led growth

Dave built and sold companies to Oracle and Amazon, created the first MBA course on PLG, and now coaches the world’s top GTM teams.

If you’re building in SaaS, this is a must-listen.

🔗 Explore the full GTM course, tools, and operator playbooks at gtmvault.wiki

Michael Sarrugia is the #1 Clay GTM advisor in the world and the architect of a new GTM movement: the rise of the GTM Engineer.

In this episode, we break down:

• What a GTM Engineer actually is — and why this role is replacing traditional RevOps

• How Clay is powering AI-driven workflows across outbound, inbound, and RevOps

• The most effective Clay playbooks used by $50M+ ARR scale-ups

• Why “revenue per employee” is the new north star metric for GTM teams

• Common mistakes founders make when automating their GTM motion

Michael has trained 600+ operators and helped scale some of the fastest-growing SaaS companies. If you’re building or optimizing a modern GTM system, this conversation is a must-listen.

🔗 Explore Clay playbooks: https://clayoperator.com
📚 Join 20,000+ founders & operators inside GTM Vault: https://gtmvault.wiki

Needle AI isn’t just another ChatGPT wrapper — it’s building the AI intern your company actually needs.

In this episode, Rick Koleta sits down with Jan Heimes and Onur Eken, co-founders of Needle-AI.com, to unpack how they raised $2.2M to help companies become AI-enabled in one day.

We dive into:

• Why most AI tools become shelfware (and how Needle avoids it)

• Their pivot from RAG APIs to a full-stack execution layer

• The “intern, not overlord” mindset for integrating AI

• What convinced investors to back them early

• Their hybrid GTM motion: grassroots traction meets top-down sales

• How they build trust, ship fast, and get teams live in minutes

Needle connects to Gmail, Notion, HubSpot, Google Drive and more — giving you a command center for executing real work, not just chatting.

🔗 Learn more at https://needle-ai.com
🎯 Join 20,000+ founders at https://gtmvault.wiki

Charles Cormier has launched 10,000+ cold email campaigns, interviewed 2,500+ founders, and built a system that converts podcast appearances into high-ticket clients. In this episode, he shares his $200/month GTM stack, AI-powered follow-up workflows, and how to build a predictable lead gen engine in 2025.

Sean Ellis — the growth architect behind Dropbox, Eventbrite, and LogMeIn — reveals why most startups stall after early traction and how to build sustainable growth engines.

In this episode of GTM Vault, Rick Koleta and Sean break down:

• Why product-market fit still beats any AI hack
• How Dropbox’s real growth started before the referral program
• The freemium mistake that almost killed LogMeIn
• How to fix your activation flow and stop churn before it starts
• How to build a high-speed, learning-driven culture
• Why founders must personally own growth — not delegate it

Zayd Ali is the founder and CEO of Valley, an AI-powered outbound engine turning the LinkedIn sales tools industry upside down. With two prior exits, global team scaling experience, and backing from General Catalyst, Jason Calacanis, and top sales leaders, Zayd is on a mission to redefine outbound sales. Valley has already generated $120M in pipeline for companies like Front, Cardlytics, and 70+ startups backed by Sequoia, a16z, and more.

But here’s the bombshell: Valley is considering giving its core features away for free—undercutting competitors and forcing the industry to innovate or fade out. Is this a genius growth play or a death sentence for legacy tools?

Tune in to find out.In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• Why now is the perfect time to disrupt LinkedIn automation (and why incumbents are vulnerable)

• How Valley’s signal-based, hyper-personalized outreach achieves 60% reply rates

• The HubSpot-esque freemium playbook Valley is using to dominate the market• Why LinkedIn won’t crack down on automation (and how Valley avoids risks)

• The #1 operational mistake Zayd made scaling Valley (and how to avoid it)

• Fundraising insights from raising $3.2M: “Just build a fucking good company”

Episode 16 features Amos Bar-Joseph, CEO of Swan AI—a Tel Aviv-based startup using AI agents to supercharge human-led sales, not replace them. A 2x-exited founder and ex-KPMG advisor, Amos reveals why most teams use AI wrong and how to scale pipeline without sacrificing authenticity.

In this episode of the GTM Vault Podcast, we sit down with Selin Kocalar, co-founder and COO of Delve, the AI-powered compliance platform transforming how startups achieve SOC 2, HIPAA, and GDPR certifications. From leaving MIT to joining Y Combinator, running marathons, and even conquering a Navy SEAL bootcamp, Selin’s journey is nothing short of extraordinary.

We dive deep into:
🚀 The pivotal moment that led her to launch Delve and disrupt the compliance space
💡 How AI is revolutionizing compliance, slashing timelines from months to weeks
📈 Raising $3.3M and scaling to a multi-million dollar revenue run rate
📣 Why word-of-mouth is Delve’s #1 GTM motion and how viral moments on social media helped fuel growth
🏃 How personal resilience—through marathons and bootcamps—translates into leadership and startup success

Selin shares tactical insights on fundraising, growth strategies, and navigating the high-stakes world of AI compliance. If you’re a founder, operator, or investor looking to understand how AI is reshaping enterprise security and compliance, this episode is a must-listen.

🎧 Listen now and subscribe for more GTM insights!