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The GTMnow Podcast

The GTMnow Podcast

Written by: GTMnow
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The GTMnow Podcast interviews well-known tech executive, VC, and founders - the expert operators in the trenches who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Sophie Buonassisi to dissect their stories, revealing expert insights around what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.

This podcast is produced by GTMnow, the media brand of GTMfund - sharing insight on go-to-market from working with hundreds of portfolio companies backed by over 350 of the best go-to-market executives. GTMfund is an early-stage VC fund focused on investing in the most exciting, up-and-coming B2B SaaS companies across the world. The LP network consists of VP and C-level Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success leaders from companies like DocuSign, Salesforce, LinkedIn, Snowflake, Okta, Zoom, and many more.

Visit gtmnow.com for more details and to sign up for our newsletter and other content resources.

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Episodes
  • Inside Merge: The $75M Bet on Open Source AI (Powering OpenAI, Netflix & Uber) | Shensi Ding, CEO

    Inside Merge: The $75M Bet on Open Source AI (Powering OpenAI, Netflix & Uber) | Shensi Ding, CEO
    Jul 22 2026
    The Co-Founder & CEO of Merge joins GTMnow to break down how she built a company that now powers integrations for OpenAI, Perplexity, Netflix, Uber, Mistral, and enterprise logos like Mastercard, JP Morgan, and Amex, backed by $75M from Accel and NEA.Shensi gets tactical on the GTM decisions behind that growth: why she went enterprise-first into greenfield, why she's now layering a self-serve motion back on top (20,000+ self-serve orgs, 400+ enterprise customers), how forward-deployed engineers turned a 1% edge case into 5 to 10x usage growth, and why she rebuilt marketing to run like an engineering team. She also gets candid on founder-led sales, the mercenaries-versus-missionaries hiring trap, the open-source model shift and the China question, and why every founder who started pre-AI should build one product 0-to-1 themselves.What you'll learn:- Why she reversed the standard GTM playbook (enterprise first, then PLG) and how to run both motions at once- How forward-deployed engineers close the 1% edge case that unlocks 5 to 10x enterprise usage- Why marketing now runs like an engineering function at Merge, and how it took her from 1 to 2 dinners a quarter to 3 to 5 a month- Why product got fast and go-to-market became the new bottleneck- How to know when to hire your first salesperson (hint: you should be "dying" first)- The mercenaries-vs-missionaries test, and the "anti-sell" she uses in hiring- The 2026 shift away from "token-maxing," and how model routing cuts AI spend- The truth about open-source (often Chinese) models: where they're built vs. where your data actually lives- Why founders who started pre-AI should build one product 0-to-1 to understand what's now possibleChapters:00:00 Intro01:14 What Merge does: products, workforce, and three core offerings02:05 Agent Handler, Gateway, and the new Embedded Routing Stack04:52 The 2026 shift away from "token-maxing"07:29 Open-source models, the China question, and where data really lives10:14 How Merge works with open-source model providers12:00 What she's learned as a first-time founder: get over your ego13:22 Reversing the GTM playbook: enterprise-first, then PLG15:50 Running both motions: 20,000+ self-serve, 400+ enterprise17:31 Why buyer behavior moved to Twitter and brand19:06 Founder-led sales, and what a real sales process taught her22:27 When to hire your first salesperson23:49 Forward-deployed engineers and 5 to 10x usage growth27:00 Keeping go-to-market up to speed with product28:33 Rebuilding marketing as an engineering function30:45 The dinner agent: 1 to 2 a quarter to 3 to 5 a month31:24 How AI buying reshaped the marketing org33:54 Maintaining agents: prompts over legacy builders35:02 Mercenaries vs. missionaries, and the "anti-sell"40:25 The market view: from hostility to collaboration42:06 Is a valuation reckoning coming?43:07 Why she stayed hands-on building Agent Handler and Gateway45:18 What's next: training your own models off open-source46:52 Where to find Shensi and MergeConnect with Shensi Ding:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shensiding/X: https://x.com/shensiMerge: https://merge.devHost: Sophie Buonassisi, SVP at GTMnowLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/X: https://x.com/sophiebuonaAbout the guest: Shensi Ding is the co-founder and CEO of Merge, a unified API platform that now spans product integrations, agent tooling, and LLM routing/governance. Merge powers companies including OpenAI, Perplexity, Netflix, Uber, and Mistral, and enterprise customers like Mastercard, JP Morgan, and Amex. The company has raised $75M from Accel and NEA.Thank you to our sponsor:Primer unlocks B2C ad channels for B2B marketers with precision targeting and next-gen measurement. GTMnow Network exclusive offer: Extended 45 day trial and 15% off with code GTM15 - just apply the code when you go to upgrade from the free trial.See who’s really in your funnel: sayprimer.comAbout GTMnow: GTMnow is the media arm of GTMfund, sharing the strategies, tactics, and stories from the operators and investors building the next generation of go-to-market.Visit us on: https://gtmnow.comFollow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnowFollow us on X (Twitter): https://x.com/GTMnow_Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_nowFollow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gtmnow_Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gtmnow_/The GTMnow Podcast The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.
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    47 mins
  • The Blueprint for a High-Performing Sales Team | Brian Le, Notion

    The Blueprint for a High-Performing Sales Team | Brian Le, Notion
    Jul 9 2026

    Are your sales compensation plans driving the right behaviors or causing your best reps to quit? In this episode of GTMnow, Brian Le (Global Sales Compensation Partner at Notion) breaks down how to build a scalable sales comp operating system.

    Brian shares his firsthand experience scaling Notion's sales comp from 80 to over 400 employees and explains why trust is the ultimate currency in revenue operations. If you are a founder, revenue leader, or sales professional, this breakdown covers everything from structuring pay mix to identifying the earliest signs of comp plan degradation. You will even hear what it takes for top AEs to pull in upwards of $1 million in a single quarter.

    In this episode, we cover:
    00:00 Intro
    01:15 Brian Le's journey through Salesforce, Carta, and Notion
    04:33 Why sales comp is the operating system for go-to-market
    07:07 Phase 1: Building a scalable comp foundation at Notion
    13:50 Transitioning from seat-based to usage-based pricing models
    18:15 The 3 core pillars of a successful sales commission plan
    22:09 Early warning signs your quota and comp structures are breaking
    31:41 The real cost of losing sales reps over bad commission payouts
    39:35 How to structure compensation for your first early-stage sales hires
    42:39 Will AI agents replace SDRs and sales compensation?

    Connect with Brian Le, :
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianhoangle/

    Host: Sophie Buonassisi, SVP at GTMnow
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/
    X: https://x.com/sophiebuona

    Visit us on: https://gtmnow.com
    Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow
    Follow us on X (Twitter): https://x.com/GTMnow_
    Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_now
    Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gtmnow_
    Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gtmnow_/

    The GTMnow Podcast
    The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

    Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

    Show More Show Less
    46 mins
  • VC: How a 2-Person Fund Runs Like a Startup (Memos, KPIs, R&D) | Vanessa Larco, Premise (ex-NEA)

    VC: How a 2-Person Fund Runs Like a Startup (Memos, KPIs, R&D) | Vanessa Larco, Premise (ex-NEA)
    Jul 8 2026

    "Investing in companies that OpenAI won't kill." That's Vanessa Larco's thesis, and in this VC bonus episode of GTMnow she breaks down exactly how she decides what survives. Vanessa, founder and GP at Premise (formerly a longtime partner at NEA, where she backed Robinhood from seed to IPO), joins Max to get into the nitty gritty of how AI is rewriting venture, distribution, and the entire go-to-market playbook.

    She makes the case for why "it's just a wrapper" got a lot of VCs in trouble, why she only backs technical founding teams, and why the old GTM playbook is breaking fastest exactly where you'd least expect it. She also opens up about leaving a big platform to build a two-person fund from a blank canvas, and why she treats the fund itself like a startup.

    What you'll learn:
    - The "OpenAI won't kill it" framework for spotting durable AI companies (and why not everything OpenAI ships actually wins)
    - Why the "it's just a wrapper" dismissal cost VCs real deals, and the kayak/AWS parallels that explain why
    - Why Premise only backs technical founding teams, and the shipping speed that becomes the real early moat
    - How the old go-to-market playbook is breaking, especially in DevTools, and what replaces it
    - Why someone on the founding team has to "nerd out" on distribution, and why no-playbook moments are where you growth hack
    - How to run a conviction-based investment committee, and why big funds drift toward consensus whether they like it or not
    - Why running a fund is just running a startup: fundraising, product, and customer success by another name
    - The unanswered question Vanessa keeps circling: how to give experienced GTM talent space to rewrite the playbook

    Chapters:

    00:00 Intro & OpenAI Moats
    01:12 GTMnow Intro
    01:51 Technical vs. Non-Technical AI Founders
    04:37 The Bottleneck of Hiring AI Talent
    05:15 Do Old Moats Still Exist?
    06:36 Cloud Era Lessons vs. Today's AI Layer
    09:18 The Shift to the Distribution Era
    11:38 Interview: Vanessa Larco (Premise VC)
    12:40 Companies OpenAI Won't Kill
    13:37 Consumer Habits vs. Enterprise AI
    15:05 Moving Beyond the "Wrapper" Stigma
    17:39 Thesis Building vs. Founder Curiosities
    20:11 Sourcing & The "Surreal" Community
    22:26 Learnings From NEA & Lightspeed
    24:06 Rethinking the Investment Memo
    26:43 Consensus vs. Conviction Investing
    31:26 Running a VC Fund Like a Startup
    35:04 Building Internal Automation Tools
    37:35 Distribution Moats & DevTools
    39:38 Sourcing New GTM Playbooks
    41:12 Parallel to the AWS Boom
    43:55 Human Psychology vs. AI Tools
    47:06 SF's Best Cookie Spots
    48:32 Outro

    Connect with Vanessa Larco:
    About the guest: Vanessa Larco is the founder and GP at Premise. Previously a partner at NEA, she backed consumer and fintech companies including Robinhood from seed through IPO. She started her career in product and engineering, was a computer science undergrad, and founded and sold her own startup before moving into venture.

    Connect with Max:
    https://x.com/hackitmax
    https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxaltschuler/

    Connect with Vanessa:
    https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessalarco/
    https://x.com/veelarco

    About GTMnow: GTMnow is the media arm of GTMfund, sharing the strategies, tactics, and stories from the operators and investors building the next generation of go-to-market. This is the VC bonus series, where we host VCs and get into the VC ecosystem.

    Visit us on: https://gtmnow.com
    Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow
    Follow us on X (Twitter): https://x.com/GTMnow_
    Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_now
    Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gtmnow_
    Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gtmnow_/

    The GTMnow Podcast
    The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

    Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

    Show More Show Less
    49 mins
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