The Biggest GTM Mistake (Spoiler Alert: Stop Chasing CAC!!!)

Mark Roberge shares how AI is transforming sales, customer success, and go-to-market strategy.

The former HubSpot CRO, now co-founder of Stage 2 Capital and senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, Mark Roberge breaks down the 4 phases of AI evolution that will redefine how companies sell, serve, and scale. From agentic AI to LTV-driven growth, this is a masterclass on what the next era of go-to-market looks like.

Mark Roberge helped take HubSpot from $0 to $100M and literally wrote The Sales Acceleration Formula. Now, he’s turning his attention to the AI transformation sweeping every GTM function. In this episode, Mark explains why it’s time to stop obsessing over CAC and start optimizing for LTV—the customers who actually succeed—and how AI can make that possible at scale.

He also shares bold predictions about the future of work, the death of departments, and why capitalism itself may need to evolve for the AI era.

Timestamps

0:00 – Preview & Introduction

1:19 – Meet Mark Roberge: Co-Founder, Stage 2 Capital

2:45 – The Early Days of AI in GTM

6:33 – What’s Slowing Down AI Adoption

8:00 – Why Most AI Startups Are Still Too Iterative

12:00 – The "Agentic" Shift: From Co-Pilots to Autonomous Agents

14:15 – The 4 Phases of AI Go-to-Market Evolution

20:35 – Managing Your Agents: The New CRO Skillset

26:00 – Deciding the ICP: It’s Not CAC

29:35 – How AI Breaks Down Department Silos

35:40 – Can Capitalism Survive the AI Era?

46:00 – The Science of Scaling: Mark’s Next Big Book

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What You’ll Learn

* Why CAC is the wrong north star metric for GTM leaders

* How to use AI to identify and retain high-LTV customers

* The 4 phases of AI transformation in go-to-market

* How agentic AI will redefine the roles of CROs, CSMs, and RevOps

* Why AI will blur departmental boundaries and change the structure of business

* How capitalism and work culture must evolve in the AI era

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Check out the Key Takeaways & Transcripts: ⁠https://www.gainsight.com/presents/series/unchurned/⁠

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Where to Find Mark:

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/markroberge/

Where to Find Josh:

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jschachter/⁠

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Resources mentioned:

* Stage 2 Capital Blog – Go-to-Market AI Case Studies: https://www.stage2.capital

* The Sales Acceleration Formula by Mark Roberge