E42: Cutting the Fat and Building Sales Machines That Scale with Tom Hanrahan
The Revenue Leadership Podcast with Kyle Norton
Release Date: 08/07/2025
$40M ARR with 50‑Person Team (in less than a year) - Bryan Adams, VP Sales at bolt.new
The Revenue Leadership Podcast with Kyle Norton
Bolt.new blew past past $40M ARR in just one year with only 50 people. In this episode, Bryan Adams, VP Sales at Bolt.new sits down with host Kyle Norton to break down how go-to-market operates at a hyper-growth AI company. Bryan shares some of their tech stack, and gets real about leadership—hiring “adults,” firing fast, and focusing on what reps actually need to win. If you’re leading a modern GTM org, this one’s worth your next commute. Thanks for tuning in! Catch new episodes every Wednesday. to Topline Newsletter. , the #1 podcast for founders,...
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E53: Sales Capacity Planning That Doesn’t Suck (Jenny Dingus, SVP Global Sales @ Clio)
The Revenue Leadership Podcast with Kyle Norton
Clio’s SVP of Global Sales, Jenny Dingus, joins Kyle Norton to talk about why the “people × quota” revenue planning model is terrible, and what they’re using instead. Jenny shares how Clio’s $1B acquisition flipped their planning model, how they forecast in high-uncertainty markets, and what “drawing the owl” looks like in real life. If you run revenue and you’re tired of spreadsheet fantasy planning (or just want to know what two senior GTM leaders are thinking about these days), worth a listen! Thanks for tuning in! Catch new episodes every Wednesday. to...
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E52: Winning in Crowded Markets - The CRO Playbook (Jonathan Leaf, CRO @ BambooHR)
The Revenue Leadership Podcast with Kyle Norton
How do you stand out when your feature list looks like everyone else’s? In this episode, Jonathan Leaf, CRO of BambooHR, joins host Kyle Norton (CRO at Owner.com) to break down how he’s built competitive edge in undifferentiated markets—from Softchoice to AWS, RingCentral, and now BambooHR. Jonathan shares how to: - Win when products look the same - Stay maniacally focused on a specific segment and ICP - Use values and leader visibility to drive accountability and performance - Build organizational rhythm that fuels execution...
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E51: How Lightspeed Commerce Built a $1B+ Sales Engine - JD Saint-Martin, President @ Lightspeed Commerce
The Revenue Leadership Podcast with Kyle Norton
Kyle Norton (CRO at Owner.com) sits down with JD Saint-Martin, President of Lightspeed Commerce, to unpack how he went from startup founder to public-company executive. They discuss scaling Lightspeed from $75M to $1.2B in recurring revenue, and the leadership lessons behind that growth. The conversation covers building high-performance sales cultures, promotion systems, enablement investment, RTO and culture philosophies, and more. Thanks for tuning in! Catch new episodes every Wednesday. to Topline Newsletter. , the #1 podcast for founders, operators, and investors in B2B tech. to...
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E50: The Secret to High-Trust, High-Performance GTM Teams - CRO @ Houzz, Tara DiCristo-Schmitt
The Revenue Leadership Podcast with Kyle Norton
Tara DiCristo-Schmitt (CRO at Houzz) joins host Kyle Norton (CRO at ), to explore how elite sales leaders build culture, trust, and clarity. Drawing lessons from her time at ADP and HubSpot, Tara explains why vision beats velocity, why recognition is an underrated tool, and why forecasting is more about trust than it is about simple numbers. A candid, tactical conversation about getting the best from your teams. Thanks for tuning in! Catch new episodes every Wednesday. to Topline Newsletter. , the #1 podcast for founders, operators, and investors in B2B tech. to connect with 600+...
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E49: All about AI and GTM at Clay - Round Two with Everett Berry
The Revenue Leadership Podcast with Kyle Norton
Head of GTM Engineering Everett Berry returns to join Kyle Norton (CRO at Owner.com) for a rapid-fire Q&A on how Clay structures its ops, automates everything from QBR decks to redlines, and experiments with the next wave of AI-native sales tools. Thanks for tuning in! Catch new episodes every Wednesday. to Topline Newsletter. , the #1 podcast for founders, operators, and investors in B2B tech. to connect with 600+ revenue leaders to keep the conversation going beyond the podcast! Chapters & Timestamps 00:00 — AI Q&A Format: Everett Berry returns to talk AI and GTM...
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E48: Work Sprawl and the Future of Marketing with Global VP Marketing @ ClickUp, Kyle Coleman
The Revenue Leadership Podcast with Kyle Norton
In this episode, Kyle Coleman (Global VP Marketing @ ClickUp) joins Kyle Norton (CRO @ Owner.com) to unpack the evolving marketing landscape. The double Kyles dig into: The growing problem of “work sprawl.” The rise of AI-powered marketing teams How to get better results with lower headcount Why the best leaders today focus less on empire-building and more on process-building And a whole lot more Thanks for tuning in! Catch new episodes every Wednesday. to Topline Newsletter. , the #1 podcast for founders, operators, and investors in B2B tech. to connect...
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E47: Kyle Norton’s Bets for GTM Domination (While Building a Generational Tech Company) - CRO @ Owner.com
The Revenue Leadership Podcast with Kyle Norton
In this episode, Kyle Norton, CRO of Owner.com, is interviewed by Sophie Buonassisi from the GTMnow Podcast. He shares the decisions and frameworks that helped take the company from $2M ARR to over $50M and a billion-dollar valuation. Kyle breaks down the bold early moves—like letting go of half the sales team in his first 45 days—alongside the pivotal role of setting a high talent bar, investing in RevOps early, and building scalable infrastructure. He also unpacks lessons on churn reduction, hiring for DNA over case study performance, and why strategic congruence across product, GTM, and...
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E46: The RevOps Mind Behind Owner.com’s Billion-Dollar Valuation: Steve Dinner
The Revenue Leadership Podcast with Kyle Norton
In this episode, host Kyle Norton (CRO at Owner.com) sits down with his longtime colleague Steve Dinner, VP of RevOps at Owner.com. Together, they unpack how to build a revenue operations team that drives real business outcomes rather than just managing tools and processes. Steve shares lessons from his journey to becoming a world-class RevOps leader, and highlights why empathy, trust, and business alignment matter more than endless automation. The conversation touches on why ride-alongs are one of Steve’s secret weapons, agile frameworks for RevOps, and what CROs should look for when hiring...
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E45: The inside scoop on GTM engineering with Clay’s Everett Berry
The Revenue Leadership Podcast with Kyle Norton
Clay’s Everett Berry breaks down how elite revenue teams are actually winning with AI today. We cover the GTM Engineer model Clay runs in-house, why prompt iteration and “taste” still matter, and the unsexy but vital work of segmentation, account scoring, and orchestration across the funnel. Plus, where AI SDR efforts go off the rails, and the concrete first steps a CRO should take to get real adoption and lift. Thanks for tuning in! Catch new episodes every Wednesday. Don’t miss GTM2025 — the only B2B tech conference exclusively for GTM executives. to Topline Newsletter. ,...
info_outlineSales efficiency isn’t just a buzzword—it’s the razor-edge that separates thriving GTM organizations from the rest. Tom Hanrahan, EVP and Global Head of Sales at Square, shares ten years of hard-earned insights on building lean, specialized sales teams that don’t just grow—they grow profitably. Hanrahan breaks down how obsessing over every dollar invested, from quota modeling to lead distribution, shapes a more sustainable and scalable revenue machine. He challenges the common trap of "more reps means more revenue," revealing why oversized teams often hide inefficiencies and create churn risks. Instead, he emphasizes smart specialization, rigorous data-driven segmentation, and maintaining a tight balance between lead volume and rep capacity.
Thanks for tuning in! New episodes of The Revenue Leadership Podcast drop every Wednesday.
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Key Chapters:
(00:00) - Introduction of Tom Hanrahan and Today’s Sales Efficiency Focus
(02:56) - Defining Sales Efficiency: Balancing Growth and Profitability
(04:33) - Why Large Sales Teams Often Breed Inefficiency
(06:48) - Early Career Lessons That Shaped Hanrahan’s Sales Philosophy
(09:24) - Cultivating Patience to Build Foundations Amid Growth Pressures
(12:46) - Core Sales Efficiency Metrics: Quota Modeling, Lead Efficiency, and Specialization
(14:06) - How to Approach Quota Modeling to Maximize Capacity and Win Rates
(17:00) - Reframing the Mental Model: Opportunity Volume as the Real Bottleneck
(18:32) - The Underrated Power of Sales Team Specialization and Segment Focus
(22:59) - The Risks of Over-Specialization and Sales Org Brittleness
(27:02) - Modeling Sales Team Growth with Churn and Ramp Dynamics
(30:42) - Incubation Pods: Experimenting with Sales Motions Under Controlled Conditions
(33:56) - Metrics to Evaluate Before Committing to Sales Team Reorganizations
(36:43) - Hidden Inefficiency Drivers: Frontline Manager Consistency & Lead Weighting
(40:00) - The Value of Weekly Business Reviews to Maintain Rigor and Transparency
(44:18) - Deep Data Analysis Culture: Finding Gaps by Embracing Hard Truths
(47:01) - Current Team Structure at Square: Vertical Specialization and Channel Diversity
(48:58) - Recalibrating Incentives and Focus: Driving New Business Growth vs. Farming
(50:50) - Fine-Tuning Inbound vs. Outbound Mix to Enhance Sales Productivity
(52:43) - The Concept of “Sweet Spot” Targeting for Optimal ROI on Sales Efforts
(55:30) - Full Cost Modeling: Loading All Expenses to Reveal True Unit Economics
(56:14) - Building Efficient Revenue Organizations from the Ground Up: Why Entry-Level Talent Matters
(58:30) - Identifying Ideal Sales DNA: Coachability, Competitiveness, Hard Work, Motivation
(01:02:30) - Assessing Motivation and Hard Work During Hiring to Weed Out Misfits
(01:06:40) - Leveraging Data Science in Hiring: Scorecard Retro and Pattern Recognition
(01:12:00) - What Makes a Great Revenue Leader: Balancing Operational Mastery and People Skills
(01:13:15) - Advice for New Sales Leaders: Get Curious Before Acting on Presumptions
(01:14:20) - Navigating Cross-Functional Dependencies: The Enterprise Sales Parallel
(01:17:39) - Personal Reflections: The Enduring Lesson from Hanrahan’s Father on Commitment and Grit