Shows / Topline
Topline
The #1 podcast for founders, operators, and investors in B2B tech. Tune in every week to hear Sam Jacobs, AJ Bruno and Asad Zaman discuss and debate the trends, news, and developments impacting the B2B tech world. Enjoy the hot takes, strong opinions, and dry humor.
Episodes
ToplineTOPLINE HOTLINE: How do I incentivize my AEs to outbound?
Another Thursday, another mini-episode! This time, Sam, AJ, and Asad tackle a question from the GTM community about creative ways to incentivize account…
ToplineE63: Insights on Brand-Led Growth with Kathleen Booth of Pavilion
Kathleen Booth, SVP of Marketing and Growth at Pavilion, joins Topline to discuss the evolving landscape of brand and demand generation. The conversation…
ToplineTOPLINE HOTLINE: How do I learn the skills to become a CRO as a young, top-performing sales rep?
This week's mini-episode, we tackle a question from a high-performing sales rep at a Series C startup. The rep, concerned about their lack of strategy and…
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E62: From Operator to Investor: Insights from Liz Christo of Stage 2 Capital
Liz Christo (Partner, Stage 2 Capital) joins the show to share her unique perspectives on diagnosing retention issues, experimenting with pricing models, and…
ToplineTOPLINE HOTLINE: How do I go about exiting an executive from our organization?
This week's mini-episode revolves around managing executive exits in organizations, including the challenges, best practices, and considerations involved. Our…
ToplineTOPLINE HOTLINE: Should I trust references when hiring if someone has not listed a direct manager?
In this episode of Topline Hotline, the conversation centers around the importance of references in the hiring process, including back channels and traditional…
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E61: What does Salesforce's revenue miss mean for SaaS?
In this week's episode, our hosts discuss the recent turbulence in the public markets, focusing on Salesforce's first revenue miss since 2006 and its…
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E60: The impact of loneliness in the workplace
In this episode of Topline, Sam, AJ, and Asad explore the impact of cloud technology on business viability, David Kellogg's Playing to Win vs. Playing to Make…
ToplineTOPLINE HOTLINE: How do I handle an AE who is creating a toxic work environment?
On Topline Hotline 35, our hosts tackle a two-part question seeking advice on sales leadership. The first issue involves an AE who schedules meetings with…
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E59: NRR vs GRR, usage vs seat-based pricing, and how to announce a product release
This week, our hosts discuss the impact of net revenue retention (NRR) and churn on SaaS companies, the challenges/opportunities of transitioning from…
ToplineTOPLINE HOTLINE: How can you avoid burnout as an executive?
Following the conversation from episode 57 around work-life balance, a member of the Topline Slack channel wants to learn more about how to avoid burnout as an…
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E58: Q1 2024 Market Update
In this episode of Topline, Sam, AJ, and Asad discuss the current state of the market, employment trends, and the challenges tech companies face. The trio…
ToplineTOPLINE HOTLINE: How will the role of venture adapt as companies reach profitability more cost-effectively?
Following the episode with Mark Roberge, your Topline hosts discuss the role of venture in a world where companies can achieve product-market fit and…
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E57: Finding and maintaining product-market fit
In this week's episode, Sam, AJ, and Asad explore the concept of product-market fit and its importance in building a successful business. They also touch on…
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E56: Exploring Sales Team Dynamics with Ryan Walsh of RepVue
Ryan Walsh, Founder and CEO of RepVue, joins hosts Sam Jacobs, AJ Bruno, and Asad Zaman to discuss the intricacies of sales organizations and the impact of…
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E55: The State of AI in GTM with Mark Roberge of Stage 2 Capital
Mark Roberge is the Co-Founder of Stage 2 Capital and author of The Sales Acceleration Formula. Mark joins the show to discuss the challenges and opportunities…
ToplineTOPLINE HOTLINE: How can we improve sales for our second solution?
This episode of Topline Hotline revolves around the challenge of selling a second solution that has a larger market but is struggling in sales. Sam, AJ, and…
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E54: Why are more CMOs becoming CROs?
Kathleen Booth, SVP of Marketing and Growth at Pavilion, joins the podcast to discuss the increasingly popular transition from CMO to CRO. Kathleen and the…
ToplineTOPLINE HOTLINE: How do I build a pipeline of VCs as I try to start my business?
In this episode of Topline Hotline, the hosts discuss the challenges faced by non-technical founders looking to raise a seed round for their startup. They…
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E53: Understanding software engineering as a non-technical founder
In this week's episode, join Sam, AJ, and Asad as they delve into Gong's State of Revenue Leadership Report, explore the challenges startups encounter in a…
ToplineTOPLINE HOTLINE: How do you address the pricing gap between early adopters vs new customers?
In this week's mini-episode, our Topline hosts and David Obrand of Salesloft discuss addressing the gap in pricing between early customers and new customers…
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E52: David Obrand of Salesloft on Successfully Navigating the Everchanging GTM Landscape
This episode officially marks one year of Topline! We are excited to kick off Season 2 with a very special guest: David Obrand, renowned SaaS leader and the…
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E51: How Adam Robinson Bootstrapped Retention.com to $22M ARR
Adam Robinson is among the most renowned founders in SaaS today. He has amassed nearly 75,000 followers on LinkedIn through building Retention.com "in public"…
ToplineTOPLINE HOTLINE: What creative initiatives can I implement to secure a better Q2?
In today's Topline Hotline, Sam, AJ, and Andrea Kayal of Help Scout discuss a question from a new CRO who is concerned about missing Q1 revenue after being in…
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E50: Improving Your CAC-to-LTV Ratio with Help Scout CRO Andrea Kayal
Andrea Kaya from Help Scout joins Topline to discuss the shift from growth at any cost to profitable efficient growth (PEG) and shares tips on how to tackle…
ToplineTOPLINE HOTLINE: What are the deadly sins of win-loss analysis?
Description: In this Thursday's mini-episode, Sam, AJ, and Asad discuss the deadly sins of win-loss analysis. They explore topics such as trusting CRM data…
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E49: A sneak peek into Pavilion's 2024 B2B Compensation Benchmarks
Be the first to hear insights from Pavilion's 2024 B2B Compensation Benchmarks. before its April 1 release to the general public. Pavilion members have early…
ToplineTOPLINE HOTLINE: What's the optimal way to structure my comp plan?
In this week's mini-episode, AJ Bruno, Asad Zaman, and Kevin Knieriem of Clari discuss the challenges of building a compensation plan for sales leaders. They…
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E48: Kevin Knieriem, President of Clari on expanding their serviceable addressable market and building a unified platform
Learn how revenue platforms like Clari, Gong, and Outreach have evolved over the years and how Clari's President, Kevin Knieriem, is expanding their SAM into…
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Steal the new model for the anti-bloated, recession-proof sales team
Instead of the usual Topline Hotline episode, we are excited to share Sam's guest appearance on the 30 Minutes to President's Club Tactic Teardown podcast…
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E47: Does the practice of co-CEOs actually work?
In last week's episode featuring Edward Chiu, it was revealed that he will serve as co-CEO alongside the CEO of Totango as the two companies merge. But how…
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TOPLINE HOTLINE: How can I establish a new operating cadence?
Our hosts answer a question from Pavilion's CRO Slack channel about driving organizational change, specifically focusing on enhancing operational rhythm after…
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E46: A New Era in CS - Catalyst CEO Edward Chiu on their Merger with Totango
Edward Chiu, CEO of Catalyst, breaks the news of their merger with Totango, another leading Customer Success platform. Edward sheds light on what led to this…
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TOPLINE HOTLINE: How do I pick the right lead qualification methodology?
In this mini-episode, Sam, AJ, and Asad discuss selecting the right lead qualification methodology and explore the challenges in using the BANT methodology for…
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E45: Crossbeam CEO Bob Moore on Leveraging Partnerships to Grow Your Business
Explore the world of partnerships and ecosystem-led growth with Bob Moore, CEO and Co-Founder of Crossbeam. Bob delves into his journey of building symbiotic…
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TOPLINE HOTLINE: Should I stay or should I go?
In this week's Topline Hotline, our hosts discuss a question from the Pavilion Slack surrounding whether a CRO at a Series A company should stay or go, given…
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E44: The 2024 M&A Landscape and How to Attract Acquisition Interest
Our hosts delve into the M&A landscape of 2024, dissecting how economic trends such as stagnant interest rates are hindering IPOs and how the ripple effects of…
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TOPLINE HOTLINE: How to get feedback as an executive
In this mini-episode, Sam, AJ, and Asad discuss getting executive feedback. They explore the benefits and challenges of getting feedback as an executive in…
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E43: Recap of Pavilion's CEO Summit
In this episode of Topline, our hosts recap their time at Pavilion's CEO Summit in Phoenix. They also discuss the impact of macroeconomic improvements on…
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TOPLINE HOTLINE: So, what's the deal with variable comp plans?
For this week's mini-episode, our hosts discuss a question from the Pavilion CRO Slack channel around the fairness and effectiveness of variable compensation…
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E42: Carta's Peter Walker on Fundraising, Valuations, and Shutdowns
Carta's Head of Insights, Peter Walker, joins our hosts to discuss the implications of economic rate cuts, company shutdowns, and the challenges founders face…
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Topline Hotline: Where should account managers sit within the organization?
In this episode of Topline Hotline, our hosts tackle a burning question from Pavilion's Slack community: where should account managers sit within the…
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E41: Unicorn Companies, Venture Capital Landscape, and Executive Hiring Insights
In this episode, hosts Sam Jacobs, Asad Zaman, and AJ Bruno delve into the dynamics of the late-stage tech market, discussing trends in unicorn companies, the…
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TOPLINE HOTLINE: What percentage of demand should be driven by the sales team?
In this episode of Topline Hotline, the hosts discuss the balance between inbound and outbound strategies for demand generation in a traditional SaaS business…
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E40: The Carta Controversy, Cloudflare's Viral Moment, and The Death of Growth at Any Cost
Our hosts discuss viral moments from the past two weeks, including Carta's exit of their secondary market business and Cloudflare's layoff of an AE that went…
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TOPLINE HOTLINE: How do you revamp a performance improvement plan so it's effective?
In this episode of Topline Hotline, our hosts delve into their personal experiences with performance improvement plans (PIPs). Drawing from their extensive…
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E39: Tomasz Tunguz of Theory Ventures on AI, 2024 Predictions, and Metrics That Matter
Founder and General Partner of Theory Ventures, Tomasz Tunguz, shares his founder story, his predictions for 2024, and his point of view on artificial…
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TOPLINE HOTLINE: What's the future of fractional leadership in 2024?
In 2023, we saw fractional leadership become increasingly popular. But will the pendulum swing in the opposite direction in 2024? Or is fractional leadership…
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E38: Decision Making: Speed vs Consideration
Our hosts cover a gamut of topics in our first episode of the new year. Since Harvard's President, Claudine Gay, resigned due to her response towards…
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E37: Fed updates and the fallout from the cancellation of the Adobe-Figma acquisition
This week on Topline, the hosts talk about the Federal Reserve's update on interest rates, the economic outlook for the tech sector in 2024, a new paper by…
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TOPLINE HOTLINE: Does gift giving build psychological captial?
On this week's Topline Hotline, a listener wonders if gift giving is still a thing. Does it build psychological capital? And does it differ between employees…
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E36: Further Reflections on 2023
This week, our hosts further reflect on 2023 from a business standpoint but also personal. This year was full of economic and individual challenges – including…
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TOPLINE HOTLINE: How do you stay informed on the global economy?
Making informed decisions is critical. In this week's mini-episode, our hosts discuss how to stay informed about the global economy, specifically when…
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E35: Lessons from 2023
As we near the end of 2023, our hosts wanted to provide listeners with actionable insights by discussing what worked well this year, important things they've…
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TOLINE HOTLINE: I want to transition my top AE to Team Lead. But is it worth the risk?
Not every good salesperson makes a good sales leader. In this week's mini-episode, our hosts discuss the challenges of having a Team Lead and offer insights to…
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E34: The Flaws of the Four-Day Work Week
Our hosts discuss changes in work culture, productivity, and how to screen for work ethic during the hiring process. They explore the flaws of four-day work…
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TOPLINE HOTLINE: When can startups establish and enforce a sales process?
In this week's mini-episode, our hosts discuss when to define and implement a sales process across the organization as a startup. Is it based on stage, the…
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E33: Valuations, Investing, and Market Dynamics with SaaStr's Jason Lemkin
Jason Lemkin, Investor & Founder Chairman at SaaStr joins the show to discuss investing, valuations, interest rates, and the challenges faced by the SaaS…
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TOPLINE HOTLINE: Can I transition back to a CRO role after serving as a CEO?
This week, our hosts discuss how to make a backward career transition after a colleague of Sam's shared that their organization is losing money, and they now…
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E32: 2024 Market Predictions
On this week's episode of Topline, we cover a range of subjects. We give 2024 market predictions as core CPI is the lowest it has been since March 2021, gain…