Lauren and Alex get real about the exact moments that pushed each of them out of a comfortable sales career and into founder mode. Lauren's seven-figure wake-up call at Salesforce, Alex's leap from Outreach into Alluviance and the fear, timing, and self-trust it actually took to make the jump.

Episode Navigation:

03:01 — Lauren’s path from Microsoft to Salesforce, and the entrepreneurial itch she didn’t notice at the time

05:48 — Hitting a seven-figure year at Salesforce, and realizing the money didn’t fix what was missing

07:01 — The financial advisor’s advice that changed everything: “Why don’t you do it now? Life is short.”

18:44 — What “feeling alive” actually meant, and why Lauren chose it over stability

24:45 — Zinnia’s pivot from offsite retreat planning to sales-intelligence software, and why LLMs upended it

30:08 — Alex’s exit from Microsoft to Outreach, and the three questions that shaped his next move

36:13 — Bringing Wim Hof breathwork into team meetings, and the pushback that came with it

42:53 — How “Alluvium” went from an invented word at breakfast to Alex’s company, Alluviance

53:13 — The two questions Lauren asks anyone wondering if it’s time to leave

Connect:

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@SalesWasJustTheStart

Sales Was Just the Start: saleswasjustthestart.com

Alluviance (Alex Kremer): alluviance.co

Sell with Goodell (Lauren Goodell): sellwithgoodell.com

Clustr (Lauren Goodell): getclustr.ai

Resources:

How to crush your quota without crushing your soul - https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2rGW9QG0MTuao6rwF1rkEiw

The 4 masks of sales - https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2NM3dwRaFTAKnZIWUZm7kGQ

The 5 day inner game reset challenge - https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2W1Ko6wnZQPazEVXSwXVD1A

Alex Kremer and Lauren Goodell break down the five mindset skills, attunement, uncertainty, resilience, quarterbacking a team, and vision, that turn top sales performers into founders.

Episode Navigation:

00:00 — The number was never the destination, it's the trailhead

01:45 — Skill 1: Attunement and curiosity

07:11 — Skill 2: Being willing to sit in uncertainty

11:31 — Skill 3: No fear of failure, and the resilience to keep going

17:28 — Skill 4: Becoming the quarterback, delegating, trusting, and calling the play

21:35 — Skill 5: Clarity of vision and the why behind it

26:53 — Tying every deal back to the real problem you're solving

28:28 — Selling the vision, whether to a customer, an investor, or your own team

28:54 — Lauren's top skill: resilience, and where it came from

32:08 — What each of them is working on right now: quarterbacking and vision

Connect:

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@SalesWasJustTheStart

Sales Was Just the Start: saleswasjustthestart.com

Alluviance (Alex Kremer): alluviance.co

Sell with Goodell (Lauren Goodell): sellwithgoodell.com

Clustr (Lauren Goodell): getclustr.ai

Resources:

How to crush your quota without crushing your soul - https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2rGW9QG0MTuao6rwF1rkEiw

The 4 masks of sales - https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2NM3dwRaFTAKnZIWUZm7kGQ

The 5 day inner game reset challenge - https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2W1Ko6wnZQPazEVXSwXVD1A

In this episode, Alex Kremer and Lauren Goodell get vulnerable about the depression, gender dynamics, and burnout culture hiding beneath their early sales careers, and land on a framework for building a career without losing yourself in it.

Episode Navigation:

00:49 — The Microsoft Academy of Collegiate Hires and starting out at 22

02:11 — Meeting in Atlanta and the speaker who planted the seed

04:56 — Walking into a boardroom as a 22-year-old woman in state and local government

08:36 — Why “sales was just the start”: sales as an operating system, not a career

09:49 — Crushing quota while quietly struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts

15:13 — Being the only woman on the team, and the CFO who changed everything

20:22 — Hustle culture, burnout, and learning to rest without guilt

25:03 — The “Sacred Third”: neither burnout nor escape, but a third way

29:46 — A full-circle dream: returning to inspire the next class

Connect:

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@SalesWasJustTheStart

Sales Was Just the Start: saleswasjustthestart.com

Alluviance (Alex Kremer): alluviance.co

Sell with Goodell (Lauren Goodell): sellwithgoodell.com

Clustr (Lauren Goodell): getclustr.ai

Resources:

How to crush your quota without crushing your soul - https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2rGW9QG0MTuao6rwF1rkEiw

The 4 masks of sales - https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2NM3dwRaFTAKnZIWUZm7kGQ

The 5 day inner game reset challenge - https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2W1Ko6wnZQPazEVXSwXVD1A

In this first episode, co-hosts Alex Kremer and Lauren Goodell trace their friendship back to a Microsoft training program over a decade ago. They reframe sales as a trailhead for self-discovery rather than a scoreboard. And they lay out why this show trades the highlight reel for the whole game.

Episode Navigation:

00:00 — Cold open: recording day one and why they're doing this podcast

00:26 — How they met: the Microsoft Academy of Collegiate Hires and the “MARK” program

04:17 — Redefining sales as humanity, not persuasion

05:44 — Introducing Alluviance and Sell with Goodell

09:32 — The breakdown that became a breakthrough

12:28 — Setting the show's vision: vulnerability over the highlight reel

15:37 — What's ahead: guests behind the mask, starting with Scott

19:30 — Reframing failure: “fail fast, learn faster”

21:07 — The Gap and the Gain: measuring progress instead of distance

24:15 — Community and mentorship as the foundation of growth

About Your Hosts:

Alex Kremer is the founder of Alluviance, a community built for sales leaders and founders doing the inner work alongside the outer grind, through retreats, coaching, and a mastermind community. Before leaving corporate life, he spent 15+ years in tech sales and leadership at companies including Microsoft, DocuSign, and Outreach. He lives with his wife, Alexia, who has also become a leader within Alluviance's community and retreats.

Lauren Goodell is the co-founder and CRO of Clustr, which helps organizations build real AI fluency and adoption starting with their people, and speaks and consults on human-first sales and AI through Sell with Goodell. She previously spent nearly a decade in enterprise sales at Microsoft and Salesforce before founding the sales tool Zinnia, which has since wound down. She's based in Charlotte.

Connect:

Sales Was Just the Start: saleswasjustthestart.com

Alluviance (Alex Kremer): alluviance.co

Sell with Goodell (Lauren Goodell): sellwithgoodell.com

Clustr (Lauren Goodell): getclustr.ai

Resources:

How to crush your quota without crushing your soul - https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2rGW9QG0MTuao6rwF1rkEiw

The 4 masks of sales - https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2NM3dwRaFTAKnZIWUZm7kGQ

The 5 day inner game reset challenge - https://ruvbi.share.hsforms.com/2W1Ko6wnZQPazEVXSwXVD1A