In this episode, I'm excited to welcome Mohit Aron back to B2BaCEO for the second time. As the founder of Cohesity and co-founder of Nutanix, Mohit is a titan in the world of enterprise GTM and infrastructure software. With two wildly successful companies under his belt, he's a true expert when it comes to building enterprise software businesses from the ground up.

In our conversation, Mohit shares his proven frameworks for validating startup ideas. He reveals hard-won lessons from starting Nutanix and Cohesity, with real-world examples that bring his advice to life. We explore product-market fit—what it really looks like in practice—as well as how to build a team and manage performance in a high-growth startup. We wrap up by discussing the topic du jour, generative AI, and the opportunities it opens for startups.

This episode is full of insights for technical founders. I hope you enjoy it!

(00:00) Intro

(00:21) Mohit's framework for a bulletproof startup hypothesis document

(07:53) Why your MVP shouldn't be your full vision

(10:39) Cohesity's journey from 0 to 1, 1 to 10, and 10 to 100+

(17:19) Examples of founders not being intellectually honest about their hypotheses

(20:35) How to accurately size your startup's market (TAM)

(23:55) Balancing founder conviction with naysayer feedback

(31:02) Adapting the hypothesis document for the generative AI era

(34:19) Mohit's definition of product-market fit

(39:05) When to hit the gas on sales hiring (and when not to)

(44:59) Mohit's system for competency-based hiring

(53:17) Implementing performance management via quarterly calibrations

(56:00) What Mohit would do differently as a technical founder

(58:07) Mohit's top advice for founders

(60:09) The industries ripe for disruption by generative AI

(62:04) Book recommendations for founders