Revenue Remix - Inspiring Visionary Leaders

Trade shows can be a powerful revenue channel… or a very expensive field trip with swag. In this classic Revenue Remix replay, Summer breaks down how to stop “showing up and dazzling” and start treating conferences like a structured growth channel.

At the time of this recording, Amy Silberman was a content marketing specialist and client success manager with Do What Works, a firm I still collaborate with today. Dave Lee and the DWW team now focus on fractional CMO work and AI-powered website audits, but the trade show strategy we walk through here is just as relevant for your next event season.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why “just getting leads” isn’t a real goal
  And what to track instead if you want to prove ROI to finance (and justify next year’s budget).
• How to plan 6–12 months ahead so your booth isn’t doing all the work
  Including what marketing assets you actually need before, during, and after the show.
• Designing clear, measurable conference goals
  From “grow our email list by 10%” to “increase trade-show-sourced pipeline vs. last year” — and how to instrument it.
• Building a dedicated trade show landing page that converts
  What to put on it (and what not to), how to align it with your website, and how to use it pre-show and post-show.
• Making your website and content actually support the booth
  Quick website audit ideas so prospects don’t bounce the second they click through from the conference app.
• Real-time conference tactics that compound your efforts
  Daily “thank you” emails, photos, and simple workflows that keep you top of mind while everyone else is just handing out pens.
• Post-show follow-up that doesn’t die in a spreadsheet
  How to tag contacts, drip on “not yet” leads, and plug everything into a defined sales process instead of hoping reps remember.

If you’re signing off on big booth and travel budgets this year, this episode will help you turn trade shows from a gamble into a repeatable, measurable pipeline engine.

Do What Works has since committed to a laser-focused AI Shortlist Audit service, find out more here.

Rise of Us has just opened up Revenue Diagnostics for 2Q. Perfect for a B2B SaaS, Fintech or professional service org that has growth aspirations for 2026 and knows that they shouldn't wait until 4Q to make adjustments. Find out more here.

When founders decide “it’s time to grow,” the default move is still: “We need a salesperson.” In Part 1, we talked about why that logic goes wrong so often.

In this bonus follow-up episode, we get practical.

Host Summer Poletti and returning VIP David Lee (founder of Do What Works, AI Shortlist Architect, and fractional CMO) unpack two real sales-hiring horror stories from David’s agency days — and use them to build a simple readiness framework you can apply before you post that job.

You’ll hear:

• Why “I’ll just hire a salesperson and let them do their thing” almost always backfires
• What happens when you hire a part-time BDR with no onboarding, no metrics, and no defined “what good looks like”
• How a virtual BDR team did everything “by the book” — booked meetings, got past gatekeepers — and still closed nothing because there was no follow-up process

• Summer breaks down the myth of the well-connected rep whose Rolodex magically converts
• Why intros and curiosity calls don’t turn into revenue without a sharp ICP, clear differentiation, and a reason to switch

Summer walks through what she looks for with founders who say “we’re ready for sales”:

👉 In the episode, Summer shares a lightweight qualification framework and readiness checklist founders can adapt to their own business.

• Why most owner-led sales orgs bleed opportunity simply because no one has time to follow up
• How an email nurture engine can quietly become your highest-converting channel
• The difference between “just checking in” and value-add follow-ups that build trust over 24+ touches

• David’s perspective as a marketer who refuses to run demand gen into a broken sales process
• Why your salesperson can’t be purely an “order taker” or the only source of leads
• How marketing can arm sales with content that gives them a real reason to call back (not just “me again!”)

• Why throwing an “experienced closer” into chaos is really setting them up to fail
• How to think about your first sales hire more like training for a marathon: prep, structure, and pacing
• When it makes more sense to bring in a sales consultant first, build the engine, then hire into it

If you’re a founder who’s:

• Thinking about your first salesperson
• Still feeling burned from a past hire that “should have worked”
• Or wondering what to fix before you scale sales

…this bonus episode gives you relatable horror stories and actionable steps to set your next hire up for success instead of disappointment.

👉 Connect with David on LinkedIn

Your first global step probably isn’t opening an office in London or Singapore. For most North American growth-stage companies, it’s something simpler:

👉 A fantastic candidate in Toronto
👉 A customer in New York who wants local support
👉 A test market just across the border

In this panel, I’m joined by Toronto-based leaders Eric Hachmer and Komal to unpack what it really takes to operate across the US–Canada border — beyond “just add a worker” in your payroll platform.

We talk about why Canada is often the first global footprint for US businesses (and vice versa), and how to do it in a way that supports long-term growth instead of creating messy cleanup work for future you.

Why “just hire someone in Canada/the U.S.” is not a global strategy We start with the common story: a key employee moves to Toronto, or a US founder decides “Canada seems easy enough.” Eric and Komal walk through the gap between employing someone cross-border and actually doing business in another country.

Structure before headcount: what to decide before you hire Eric shares why hiring is the easy part — and why your go-to-market model, sales design, and leadership attention matter far more than how quickly you can add someone in your payroll tool.

Incorporation, tax, and comp 101 (without putting you to sleep)
Komal breaks down:

• Why you should think about incorporation in Canada
• How federal vs provincial tax structures work
• Why Canadian taxes and cost of living factors into comp strategy

Benefits aren’t “copy/paste” across the border We talk through subtle but important differences, including:

• Maternity/parental leave expectations
• How stock options are taxed and perceived in each country
• Why your benefits need to be right-sized for each country

Culture, trust, and risk tolerance: the stuff the setup guide doesn’t tell you
This is the part you won’t get from your EOR or payroll provider:

• Importance and challenge of building trust
• Why Canadian teams often put more emphasis on relationship and intention before diving into numbers
• How risk appetite differs

Tech, fintech, and cross-border payments
We touch on the reality of:

• Why data residency, AML, and server location matter if you’re a SaaS or fintech selling into Canada
• How upcoming open banking in Canada (2026) could unlock new ways to move money and serve customers cross-border

A more hopeful take on “messy times” We close on why business leaders are often the ones quietly building bridges while politics gets loud — and how thoughtful, generous leadership and clear decision-making can make cross-border work a growth engine, not a headache.

If you’re a founder, CRO, CMO, or finance/ops leader thinking:

“Canada feels like the logical first place to go global… but I don’t want to step on a landmine.”

…this episode will help you see what’s really involved, what’s easier than you think, and where it pays to slow down and set things up right.

👉 Connect with Eric
👉 Connect with Komal

You don’t have a “lead problem.” You have a go-to-market alignment problem that’s quietly capping your growth.

In this mini-panel, we dig into why revenue plateaus at growth-stage B2B companies usually aren’t about “more pipeline” – they’re about sales, marketing, customer success, product, and finance all pulling in slightly different directions.

No scolding. No “you’re doing it wrong.” Just four operators and advisors comparing notes on what actually works when you want healthy, scalable revenue, not just a noisy top of funnel.

• Why “sales & marketing alignment” is table stakes now
  And why the real unlock is treating CS, product, and finance as part of one revenue team, not downstream order takers.
• The KPI trap that keeps teams stuck in silos Marketing measures activity, sales measures outcomes, CS measures retention—and almost no one agrees on what a qualified lead actually is.
• Customer success as your GTM secret weapon How involving CS before the sale changes who you sell, what you promise, and how long customers stay—without adding more headcount.
• Product is not your feature factory What happens when sales keeps asking for “one more feature to close this deal” and product’s roadmap gets held hostage by short-term revenue.
• Finance as a growth partner (not the ‘no’ department) How to get your CFO to trust your forecast so they’ll actually support your GTM investments instead of blocking every new idea.
• Practical ways to build internal bridges (starting this week) From “bridge coffees” to shared rituals, internal problem statements, and walking a mile in each other’s roles.

This conversation will land especially well if you’re:

• A B2B founder / CEO stuck at a revenue plateau and wondering if it’s really “just pipeline.”
• A CRO / VP Sales / VP Marketing tired of attribution fights and ready to build one revenue system instead of parallel empires.
• A Head of CS, Product, or Finance who knows you impact revenue but keeps getting brought in too late.
• Any GTM leader who wants to turn internal friction into a real competitive advantage.

By the end, you’ll have:

• A more honest way to talk about GTM misalignment without blaming people or departments.
• A simple starting point for shared KPIs that don’t trigger instant defensiveness.
• Language you can use with your CFO, CMO, CPO, and Head of CS to shift from “that’s your problem” to “this is our system.”
• A few stealable rituals (like bridge coffees and cross-functional problem statements) to start stitching teams together without a giant reorg.

Jay Brandon Daniel Shimon

Follow Summer on LinkedIn

When founders decide “it’s time to grow,” the first instinct is often: “We need a salesperson.”

But your first sales hire is too important (and too expensive) to toss in the deep end and hope they swim.

In this mini-panel episode of Revenue Remix, host Summer Poletti sits down with frequent collaborators JMS (John Mason-Smith) and Sean Parnell to unpack what really needs to be in place before you add that first sales rep.

• Why “I want to grow, so I’ll hire a salesperson” is a broken equation JMS explains why half the time, when a founder says “I need a sales rep,” the real answer is: “You need a sales process, not a salesperson.”
• How founders accidentally attract the wrong salespeople Summer and Sean talk about “job-hopper reps” who are great at selling themselves into a role… and then never close meaningful business — especially when there’s no process, no messaging, and no coaching.
• Lazy, or just lost? What’s actually going wrong with new reps JMS shares the story of a rep who was “working hard” but making 10 calls a day instead of 100 because he had no guidance on what mattered and what didn’t.
• The two big levers in any sales system Volume in at the top, conversion out the bottom. If you’re not measuring these (and the steps in between), you’re guessing — not managing.
• Why founder-led sales and rep-led sales are not the same game Founders close with trust, relationships, and gravitas. Your first rep doesn’t have that halo. Expecting them to hit your close rates and sales cycles without support is setting them up to fail.
• What “good” looks like before your first sales hire
  • Clear revenue goals that are more specific than “more”
  • A basic offer, ICP, and messaging that resonates
  • At least a sketch of a repeatable sales process
  • Leading indicators defined and tracked
  • A plan for coaching, not just “sink or swim”
• How marketing, content, and AI support your first rep
  Sean dives into why cold outbound with no brand, no demand, and no content is almost always a losing game — and how thoughtful marketing + smart use of AI can keep your rep focused on the right activities.
• The pre-mortem: how to spot failure before it happens
  JMS introduces the idea of a “pre-mortem” and how founders can use AI or trusted collaborators to stress-test their plans before hiring.
• Why founders need help focusing on what they’re bad at, not just what they love
  The group talks about coaching, business mentors, and using AI as a brutally honest sounding board instead of a cheerleader.

If you’re a founder thinking about that first sales hire — or wondering why the last one didn’t work out — this episode will help you feel more confident and a lot less alone.

JMS is the founder of Hirewith, a niche hiring platform for the HCM and payroll industry. He’s a former top rep who now helps founders think clearly about when (and whether) they’re truly ready for a sales hire.

👉 Connect on LinkedIn

Sean is the founder of InnovAxis, a B2B marketing firm. He’s obsessed with measurable strategy, leading indicators, and building marketing that makes sales easier instead of harder.
👉 Connect on LinkedIn

When the board sees “record quarters” and Finance sees paper-thin margins, you don’t have a growth engine — you have a slow-motion car crash.

In this episode of Revenue Remix, Summer Poletti (Founder & CRO of Rise of Us) sits down with William Lieberman, founder and managing director of The CEO’s Right Hand, to talk about what healthy growth actually looks like when sales, finance, and operations are rowing in the same direction.

William has sat in the room for the messy growth conversations most founders avoid: discounting that quietly destroys margin, bloated sales teams after a fundraise, and “crushing it” top line numbers that never translate to cash in the bank.

If you’re a CEO, CRO, or revenue leader trying to scale without breaking your economics, this one hits close to home.

• Why “we just need more pipeline” is usually the wrong diagnosis And how CEOs miss the real problem hiding in their back office, systems, and cost structure.
• The metric William checks first to see if growth is real or fake How to look at gross margin by product, service line, and client to decide what to scale and what to kill.
• A simple rule for firing unprofitable clients (and why it’s a finance job to say it out loud) Plus: how to align sales comp so reps stop dragging loss-leader deals in the door.
• What sales should never be allowed to do alone The deal-approval process William recommends so Sales, Finance, and Customer Success all sign off on pricing and scope.
• How to use new funding without ending up with a bloated sales org and fragile unit economics Including: what to model, who to hire first, and where nearshore + AI support actually makes sense.
• Sales comp mistakes that quietly blow up your P&L Why paying full commission on signature is dangerous, and how William structures payout to keep reps invested in profitable, live customers.
• The one recurring meeting where Sales and Finance actually help each other What should be on the agenda, who’s in the room, and how to make it about solving revenue problems instead of pointing fingers.
• A practical way for CEOs to stop the “it’s their fault” food fight William’s favorite role-reversal exercise to get leaders out of blame mode and back into solving hard problems together.

William Lieberman is the founder and managing director of The CEO’s Right Hand, a firm that provides fractional CFO, CHRO, and COO services to growth-stage companies that need serious strategic finance and operations support—without building a giant back office.

He’s a long-term operator and fractional CFO who:

• Has helped CEOs navigate fundraising, scaling, and restructuring
• Knows exactly what happens when sales is “crushing it” and the numbers still don’t work
• Brings a pragmatic, operator’s lens to aligning sales, finance, and operations around real, sustainable growth

If you’re a founder or CEO who suspects your P&L is hiding more than it reveals, William is the kind of partner you want in your corner.

• 🌐 Website: The CEO’s Right Hand – tcrh.co
• 📧 Email: [email protected]

If this episode hits a nerve, share it with a CEO, CRO, or sales leader who keeps saying “sales is crushing it” — and quietly worrying what Finance really thinks.

Your sales team says marketing's leads are garbage. Marketing says sales isn't following up. Product says everyone's requests are impossible. Meanwhile, customers are leaving.

This isn't a people problem. It's a systems problem.

In this episode, Brian Root breaks down the hidden bottlenecks that stall growth—even when every team thinks they're crushing it. You'll learn why sales and product teams work against each other, how to stop feature bloat, and why your compliance team might be your secret weapon.

If you're a B2B SaaS or FinTech founder stuck between $2M-$10M ARR and your teams are pointing fingers instead of solving problems, this episode is for you.

The Sales/Product Disconnect

• Why customers experience conflicting messages from different teams—and how it kills conversions
• The trade-off framework that forces sales to prioritize what actually matters
• How to align sales and product without making them best friends

Shiny Object Syndrome (AI Edition)

• Why founders chase AI features customers don't actually want
• The dual portfolio strategy: hype vs. real work
• How to focus on customer need instead of board pressure

Feature Bloat & Saying No

• Why startups keep adding features that create maintenance nightmares
• The one question every founder needs to answer before building anything new
• How to use strategic partnerships instead of building everything in-house

Fractional Leadership Reality Check

• The pattern-matching advantage outsiders bring
• Why founders are either the problem or complicit in allowing it

The Compliance Hack

• How to turn your "no hammer" compliance team into innovation partners
• Why involving compliance early unlocks faster launches in regulated industries

"Pick the Feature You're Willing to Delay"
When sales demands an urgent feature, product leaders should ask: "Which other feature on the roadmap are you okay with delaying?"

"If the Only Power Someone Has Is to Say No, They Use It Prolifically"
Compliance teams aren't the enemy—they're excluded. Invite them into ideation early, and they'll help you shape solutions instead of killing them at launch.

"You're Either the Problem or You're Allowing the Problem"
If you're the founder/CEO and your company has problems, assume you're responsible. You have the power to stop it.

"Your Customer Gets One Message From Sales, A Different Message From Product"
Even small disconnects between departments create "the ick" for customers.

"Pattern Matching Is the Fractional Advantage"
Experienced fractionals can diagnose fundamental problems quickly because they've seen the same patterns across dozens of companies.

Brian Root is the founder of Rooted in Product, where he helps growth-stage companies in fintech and beyond break through bottlenecks by aligning product strategy with business goals. With deep experience in fractional leadership and navigating heavily regulated industries, Brian has worked with companies ranging from early-stage startups to Amazon. He's also training for his eighth ultra marathon and builds mechanical watches for fun—because unlike software, you can't hack your way through either process.

Connect with Brian:

• LinkedIn: Brian Root
• Website: rootedinproduct.com

Is AI really about to take over B2B buying… or are the big firms just doing ✨Captain Obvious✨ with better branding?

In this Revenue Remix Roundtable, Summer brings back three of her top collaborators to run 2026 predictions through one ruthless filter: crystal ball or BS.

They dig into how AI agents will shape vendor research, why trusted beats loud in the new GTM reality, what happens when GenAI is left completely ungoverned, and why alignment (not more tools) is the real growth lever for B2B SaaS, fintech, and growth-stage tech.

If you lead sales, marketing, or revenue at a $2M–$20M ARR company and you’re trying to separate hype from “do this now,” this one’s for you.

00:00 – 04:30 • Setting the stage: 2026 predictions & the crystal ball vs. BS game

04:30 – 11:30 • Trend 1 – AI agents in B2B buying: sidekick or takeover?

• Sean on why agent-to-agent negotiation is mostly BS (for now) and the limits of AI without real pricing data
• Jenny on AI as a noise filter and claim validator, not a robot decision-maker
• Dave’s 3 jobs of the buyer: find vendors, shortlist vendors, validate vendors – and where AI fits in
• Summer on why we’re already living the “AI sidekick” era and why negotiation is a bridge too far

11:30 – 17:30 • Trend 2 – Trusted beats loud in 2026

• Jenny on why human connection + published policies, prices, and proof matter more than ever
• Dave on trust as the new currency and how case studies + proof assets carry more weight in the AI era
• Sean on old-school social proof (testimonials, thought leadership, real examples) as the “new” competitive moat
• Summer on why low-edit, authentic videos are outperforming polished AI content on social

17:30 – 24:30 • Trend 3 – GenAI in sales & marketing: governed systems or chaos machine?

• Dave on quality over quantity and why AI hates marketing fluff
• Sean on why volume is no longer a differentiator when everyone has AI, and why unedited AI content is “intern level” at best
• Jenny on using AI trained on your own work (LinkedIn exports, thought leadership, etc.) and where she still does things manually
• Summer on “human-led, AI-assisted” vs. “set it and forget it” and what “human in the loop” actually means

24:30 – 33:30 • Trend 4 – Alignment as the real growth lever

• Jenny on why misaligned data and siloed KPIs make AI useless (and why shared OKRs matter)
• Sean on marketing as macro selling and sales as micro selling, and why the narrative has to match across both
• Dave on how misaligned KPIs create the “your leads are crap / you can’t close” death spiral
• Summer on why she’s hard on CEOs and why “that’s just how Jimmy is” is not a leadership strategy

33:30 – 39:30 • Bonus – Getting the “quarreling siblings” to play nice

• Sean: set shared goals tied to revenue, EBITDA, and sales-qualified outcomes – not vanity metrics
• Dave: hold both sales and marketing accountable to new customers and revenue, not just MQLs or activities
• Jenny: stop the blame game, reset expectations, and get people together in person during work hours
• Summer: why sales needs to stop treating marketing as a vendor, stop taking solo victory laps, and start sharing credit

39:30 – End • Closing thoughts & 2026 send-off

• Summer’s final verdict

Women-led teams get 2% of VC funding. Add a male co-founder? That jumps to 17%. It's even worse for women of color.

Kruti Baires isn't waiting for the system to fix itself. As solo founder of The SprintFit, she's building AI infrastructure to bridge the access-to-capital gap for women and unseen founders—builders with traction who can't get in the room because they're in the wrong city, went to the wrong school, or don't fit the pattern VCs match.

In this episode:

• How Kruti launched an AI company in 90 days and shipped 4 product versions in one year
• The funding gap reality: Why underrepresented founders can't access capital even with traction
• The $4.2B workflow failure in early-stage investing keeping great deals invisible
• Avoiding product-market fit pitfalls ("this is cool" ≠ PMF)
• Why warm intros protect the status quo vs. how AI creates systemic discovery
• How The SprintFit helps small investors discover founders they'd never see while helping founders get funding-ready

Key Timestamps: [6:32] The 90-day AI MVP playbook [10:52] When data forced a complete ICP pivot [16:02] The $4.2B intake workflow failure [22:00] Funding gap stats costing investors better products [30:27] Why warm intros might be gatekeeping [37:33] Why burnout isn't a badge of honor

Steal-able Moments:

• "Your ICP isn't who you think needs you. It's who shows up and pays." [14:18]
• "If users say 'this is amazing' but never come back, you have a demo, not product-market fit." [10:08]
• "The funding gap isn't about representation. It's costing investors better products." [23:33]
• "Warm intros protect the status quo: wrong schools, wrong city, wrong background—you're invisible." [30:44]

Bio: Kruti Baires is founder/CEO of Sprintfit, bridging the access-to-capital gap for women and unseen founders. With 17 years at Fortune 500s and startups like Salesforce, she's fixing the $4.2B inefficiency in early-stage deal flow while expanding access for founders invisible to traditional VC networks.

Connect: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kruti-baires

How we met: Women X AI comment section—proof that engagement beats scrolling.

Subscribe: Revenue Remix delivers GTM strategy for B2B SaaS founders ($2M-$20M ARR). Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube.

Thank you for being part of the Revenue Remix community. This indie show was just named one of FeedSpot’s Top Revenue Podcasts of 2025—something that doesn’t happen without loyal listeners and guests who share their stories.

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Here’s to 2026—more guests, deeper topics, better conversations.