GTM Vault

In this episode of GTM Vault, Ben Collins, co-founder and CEO of Woz (YC Winter ’25), reveals how AI agents are replacing the need for technical co-founders—launching software businesses in days, not months. Ben shares the story behind Woz, explains how AI-native tools mimic engineering and product teams, and why the human “last mile” remains critical for building trust. He also explores how AI shifts GTM strategy, redefines venture capital, and sketches a bold vision for autonomous company creation by 2030. Perfect for founders, operators, and investors navigating the future of AI-enabled entrepreneurship.

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

Discover how modern GTM engines evolve from product-led growth to sales-assisted—and why speed is the unlock for AI adoption—in this episode of GTM Vault featuring Branca Ballot, VP of Marketing at Glide.

Branca shares how her team grew signups 5x, increased sales-assisted ACV 10x, and launched 5 AI agents in just 40 days. She unpacks the myths around PLG companies adding sales, why RevOps accelerates GTM shifts, and how to align marketing with revenue without killing creativity.

With a background spanning GoDaddy, Zenefits, KKR, and BCG, Branca delivers a tactical playbook for founders, marketers, and operators building scalable GTM machines at the intersection of PLG, AI, and high-velocity sales.

Listen as she breaks down Glide’s modern growth system—self-serve, partner-led, and sales-led—and where AI is adding real value in GTM today.

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

Discover how affiliate-led GTM is evolving—and why it's becoming one of the most overlooked growth engines in modern go-to-market—in this episode of GTM Vault featuring Ian Brodie, CEO of Levanta. A repeat founder and Forbes 30 Under 30 alum, Ian previously co-founded Grovia (acquired in under two years) and led GTM at Acceleration Partners.

Ian shares how Levanta helps Amazon sellers connect with high-impact creators, and how they’ve scaled by turning agency partnerships into a performance flywheel. He unpacks why most affiliate programs fail, how AI is reshaping creator recruitment and segmentation, and what it really takes to scale a relationship-first channel in an AI-driven world.

Listen as Ian breaks down Levanta’s modern GTM system—powered by AI, fueled by partnerships, and built for multi-channel traction across Amazon, Walmart, TikTok Shop, and DTC.

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

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 Saruggia 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.wikiSaruggia

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