The Science of Scaling

Latest Episodes:

Perfecting a Bottoms Up & Top Down Sales Motion w/ Chris Merritt (Founding CRO, Cloudflare) Apr 09, 2025

Show notes

Get the Science of Scaling Database! Real Playbooks from Billion-Dollar Companies: ⁠⁠https://clickhubspot.com/scienceofscaling

What if I told you to build the sales team that doesn't talk about price or packaging? That doesn't even do discovery or qualification on budget or authority on the first call?

You'd think I'm crazy.

Chris Merritt (Founding CRO, Cloudflare) built a sales team that's a peer to its very technical buyer, whose first and only objective is to answer the buyer's questions.

He actually looked at the company's blog as inspiration on the type of salespeople he would hire and the type of sales culture he will build.

The Science of Scaling is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by HubSpot Media in collaboration with ⁠HubSpot For Startups⁠ // Produced by Matthew Brown.

Create a Billion Dollar Sales Culture w/ Greg Holmes (CRO, Zoom) Apr 02, 2025

Show notes

Get the Science of Scaling Database! Real Playbooks from Billion-Dollar Companies: ⁠⁠https://clickhubspot.com/scienceofscaling

We all know Zoom. The company that helped society get through the global pandemic. But before they even had a dollar in revenue, Greg Holmes was the first sales hire and built the team.

When Greg left the company, Zoom was valued at $140 billion.

He credits his ability to build the foundational team in finding go-to-market fit as a key ingredient to that success. The team to accelerated finding how to build the methodology to support go-to-market fit.

The Science of Scaling is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by HubSpot Media in collaboration with ⁠HubSpot For Startups⁠ // Produced by Matthew Brown.

Predictable, Scalable, Revenue w/ Ron Gabrisko (CRO, Databricks) Mar 26, 2025

Show notes

Get the Science of Scaling Database! Real Playbooks from Billion-Dollar Companies: ⁠⁠https://clickhubspot.com/scienceofscaling

Start the GTM section of your investor pitch deck with three words: Predictable, Scalable, Revenue. I don't know why it works so well. It seems so intuitive, but like every investor's like, "I love this guy! That's what I want."

Yeah, , we all want that, but the question is how do you get there?

So many startups get that wrong. They think it's a sales deck. They think it's a pitch deck. And in fact, that hurts the GTM system. So with the help of Ron Gabrisko (CRO, Databricks) we unpack how to build an effective sales playbook.

The Science of Scaling is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by HubSpot Media in collaboration with ⁠HubSpot For Startups⁠ // Produced by Matthew Brown.

Sales is Not Magic, It's Math w/ Loren Padelford (Founding CRO, Shopify) Mar 19, 2025

Show notes

Get the Science of Scaling Database! Real Playbooks from Billion-Dollar Companies: ⁠https://clickhubspot.com/scienceofscaling

Index on impact, not work. Care about the impact people have, not the work they're doing. It's something too many sales leaders forget.

Loren Padelford, who transformed Shopify Plus from zero to $1 billion in revenue in just seven years, is proudly a non-traditional sales leader. He positioned Shopify Plus as "anti-enterprise," instead looking beyond the current Fortune 500; saying "we want to build the next one."

Loren also reflects on the personal toll that constant grind culture had on his personal life and relationships. Something I encourage every sales leader to hear and reflect on themselves.

The Science of Scaling is brought to you by HubSpot Media in partnership with Hubspot For Startups // ⁠⁠Learn more about HubSpot for Startups⁠⁠ // Produced by Matthew Brown

How to Hire Sales Reps for AI Products w/ Lauren Nemeth (Fmr COO, Pinecone) Mar 12, 2025

Show notes

Get the Science of Scaling Database! Real Playbooks from Billion-Dollar Companies: ⁠⁠https://clickhubspot.com/scienceofscaling

You're a CRO at a $4B company with 2,000 sellers. You've made it. Then comes an unexpected call: Want to lead sales at a 40-person team doing $25M? Most would laugh.

Not Lauren Nemeth. As Twilio's sales leader, she saw something bigger in Pinecone - a chance to shape how AI transforms enterprise selling. From hiring algorithms to handling objections, she recognized that AI wouldn't just change tech sales - it would rewrite the entire playbook.

The Science of Scaling is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by HubSpot Media in collaboration with ⁠HubSpot For Startups⁠ // Produced by Matthew Brown.

AI Is Reshaping The Way We Prospect w/ Henry Schuck (Founder & CEO, ZoomInfo) Mar 05, 2025

Show notes

Get the Science of Scaling Database! Real Playbooks from Billion-Dollar Companies: ⁠⁠https://clickhubspot.com/scienceofscaling

"I have an amazing idea for a startup." That goes through the mind of every entrepreneur. Step #1: Raise venture capital to fund it.

Wrong.

People are always shocked to hear that more wealth is created in non venture-backed startups than in venture-backed ones. But it's the VC backed ones that make the front page of TechCrunch.

Today we're unpacking the blueprint to bootstrap an amazing company with Henry Shuck of ZoomInfo. And since Henry knows arguably the most in the world in the field of prospecting, we get into how AI will reshape it. Will it all be done by agents? Will humans have any role?

The Science of Scaling is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by HubSpot Media in collaboration with ⁠HubSpot For Startups⁠ // Produced by Matthew Brown.

How to Build Your MVP & Sales Playbook At The Same Time w/ Mike Gamson (Founding CRO, LinkedIn) Feb 26, 2025

Show notes

Get the Science of Scaling Database! Real Playbooks from Billion-Dollar Companies: ⁠https://clickhubspot.com/scienceofscaling

There's a connection few founders make — customer interview best practices & deciding what product to build are almost exactly the same as building your sales playbook.

Those best practices should influence your zero to one minimal viable product design.

And during that stage, not only are you figuring out your MVP, you're actually building your sales process.

There are so many companies where you look back at the foundational times, and they followed this process. Today we will unpack one of 'em with Mike Gamson from a little company you've all heard of, called LinkedIn.

The Science of Scaling is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by HubSpot Media in collaboration with HubSpot For Startups // Produced by Matthew Brown.

Live at INBOUND 2024: How to Use Inbound Selling to Increase Revenue w/ Donald Kelly (Founder, The Sales Evangelist) Dec 17, 2024

Show notes

New season coming soon! Until then, enjoy this tactical conversation I had with Donald Kelly (Founder & Host, The Sales Evangelist).

We pack more knowledge inside 25 minutes than most sales leaders get in a month -- including performance diagnostics, addressing stakeholder interests, pricing models, and attuning sales rep mindsets.

We always love to hear from you so reach out to us at podcasts@hubspot.com or send me a note on LinkedIn.

Q&A | How Do You Solve for a Siloed Marketing and Sales? Aug 29, 2024

Show notes

Are marketers just doing a bunch of arts & crafts? Are salespeople spoiled brats? I don't want to offend anyone, but I think most folks would chuckle at this: Sales and marketing leaders don't naturally get along.

So what's the solve for a siloed marketing and sales?

Let's talk through some key steps towards holding everyone accountable to meeting our revenue goals:

Team communication responsibilities
Identify how much pipeline and revenue comes from Marketing
Defining a Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)
Sales has tof ollow up quickly with a high degree of personalization
Establish an Service Level Agreement (SLA)

Grab the 3 Steps to a Perfect Pitch guide here https://clickhubspot.com/pitch

Q&A | What Is Mark Reading, Watching, and Listening To? Aug 22, 2024

Show notes

You wanted to know about me?! I'm flattered, humbled, and happy to share what's been inspiring me lately.

Everything from my favorite comedians to my thoughts on the Innovator's Dilemma.

I want to know what you're wondering about! Submit your question at podcasts@hubspot.com, dropping a note on LinkedIn, or leaving a comment on Spotify.

Grab the 3 Steps to a Perfect Pitch guide here https://clickhubspot.com/pitch

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