Turning A Career Frustration Into The Inspiration For A Startup with Kayvon Touran
Release Date: 04/15/2024
Hiring, Developing, and Leading People, with Rob Merklinger
The Goats Of Growth
On today's episode of The Goats of Growth, we’re joined by Rob Merklinger, SVP of Global Sales at JRNI to discuss the key traits that drive sales success—curiosity, teamwork, and effective coaching. Rob shares lessons from his leadership journey, the challenges of first-time management, and the impact of domain expertise in sales. He also dives into the importance of sales enablement, training for new hires, and simplifying sales processes for better results. Tune in to hear Rob’s insights on: 🔹 Curiosity in Sales – Why staying curious leads to stronger sales performance. 🔹 Sales...
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How To Go From Idea To Beta Users, with Steve Travaglini
The Goats Of Growth
On today's episode of The Goats of Growth, I sit down with Steve Travaglini again, founder and CEO of WinRate, a sales tool designed to enhance the research capabilities of sales reps. We dive into the evolution of WinRate, exploring how AI-driven research is transforming the way sales reps prepare for calls and approach their work. Steve shares his journey as a startup founder, from the challenges of early validation to the lessons learned through beta testing. He emphasizes the importance of human capital, customer feedback, and partnerships in building a tech company, offering valuable...
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From Start Up To Scale Up: The Core Marketing Fundamentals Needed In Both with Michaela Dempsey
The Goats Of Growth
On today's episode of The Goats of Growth, I have Michaela Dempsey, Chief Marketing Officer at Levelpath, an AI-powered procurement platform, to explore the concept of “delightful procurement” and how AI is transforming the procurement process. Michaela dives into how AI can streamline procurement and marketing, boosting efficiency and enhancing the user experience. She also shares her views on the essentials of marketing fundamentals, the impact of LinkedIn in B2B growth, and why balancing short-term wins with long-term strategy is key. Tune in to discover Michaela's insights on:...
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Scaling from $15M to 100M+, with Jamie Walker
The Goats Of Growth
On today's episode I sit down with Jamie Walker, CMO of KeyFactor, to explore the strategic marketing initiatives that fueled the company’s growth from $15 million to $100 million in ARR. Jamie shares her insights on the importance of predictable marketing strategies and how balancing short-term wins with long-term goals can drive success. She also dives into the significance of cross-functional collaboration and building a high-performing marketing team that adapts to the evolving needs of the business. Tune in to hear Jamie's perspective on: KeyFactor's Growth: How the company...
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How To Coach By Identifying Then Overcoming Limited Beliefs with Cris Mendes
The Goats Of Growth
On today's episode of The Goats of Growth, Cris Mendes, VP of Sales at WEVO, talks about his unique approach to coaching by first identifying the limiting beliefs that may be preventing people from achieving their goals. Once identified, he works with them to overcome those beliefs so they can reach their full potential. Cris' deep passion for coaching, influenced by his own experiences with impactful mentors, is palpable throughout this episode. With a focus on sales fundamentals and personal growth, Cris also dives into the core traits that define great salespeople, including the...
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From Message Market Fit To Category Leader--What Will It Take? --Austin Myers
The Goats Of Growth
On today's episode of The Goats of Growth, I have Austin Myers, VP of Revenue at Certificial. Certificial is on a mission to automate and streamline the traditionally labor-intensive COI process, bridging the gap between the insurance and business industries. With a vision of a seamless future where COIs are obsolete and insurance information flows effortlessly across systems, Austin provides deep insights into how Certificial is leading this transformation. Tune in to discover Austin's insights on: Revolutionizing COI Processes: How Certificial is automating and streamlining the COI process...
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From Founder Led Sales To Scaling Exponentially, with Armen Zildjian
The Goats Of Growth
My guest today is Armen Zildjian, VP of Sales at Clockwork, which is a financial planning and analysis platform for growing businesses and their advisors. Armen has over 20 years of international software sales and sales leadership experience, and has helped take multiple scale multiple tech companies, including Drift, which achieved $1B valuation in 2021, LogMeIn (IPO), GrabCad (acquired by Stratasys), and Dyn (acquired by Oracle). He knows what it takes in the beginning, managing early-stage sales teams with little structure and process, all the way through international expansion...
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Recruiters, Resumes, and References with Jay Webb
The Goats Of Growth
On today's solo episode of The Goats of Growth, I go deep into how to position yourself for the best job opportunities as we move towards the busiest time of year for recruiting and hiring. Focusing on three critical areas—Recruiters, Resumes, and References. Tune in to insights on: Building Relationships with Recruiters: Why connecting with recruiters who specialize in your target industry and roles is key to unlocking the best opportunities. Crafting a Strong Resume: The importance of tailoring your resume to the job you're applying for, with a focus on relevance and showcasing your...
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How Operational Excellence Has Fueled AlphaSense's Exponential Growth, with Kiva Kolstein
The Goats Of Growth
In this episode of The Goats of Growth you will hear my interview with Kiva Kolstein, President and Chief Revenue Officer of AlphaSense. Curious about the success behind an AI-powered market intelligence platform? Kiva shares how AlphaSense delivers quick and accurate search results and how a focus on operational excellence is driving its growth. Tune in to discover Kiva's insights on: Growth and Success of AlphaSense: Leveraging AI to provide market intelligence from a vast array of content sources. Keys to AlphaSense's Growth: The role of operational excellence, sales enablement, and...
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How To Think Like a Modern CRO As Told By 5 Recent Guests
The Goats Of Growth
This is a different kind of show from what I normally do, meaning that most of my shows feature in depth interviews with one guest on various growth oriented topics. However, in this episode, you will hear clips from five recent interviews that I did that basically focus on the same topic, which have been all about the strategic thinking needed for CROs to run profitable and efficient growth organizations in the wake of the growth at all cost error that ended a couple of years ago. So in this episode, you will hear the viewpoints of Meshach Amua -Fuster, portfolio CEO, Tracy Sastilli,...
info_outlineIn this episode I had the pleasure of speaking with Kayvon Touran, CEO and Co-Founder of Zal.ai.
He shared how a career frustration he had inspired Zal which helps organizations implement career pathing and specifically to help them contextualize, apply and measure the efficacy of their learning and development programs.
That said, more than anything, this episode is about the start of an entrepreneurial journey and how to take an idea and see it through all the way to builing a product with a market and a strategy to sell it. Lots of leanings along the way.
Enjoy!
The ideation phase (00:02:05) Kayvon's journey in early stage technology startups.
The need for context in learning and development programs (00:03:19) Kayvon's realization of the context problem in workforce development and the need for personalized, dynamic, and applicable learning content.
Challenges in career pathing implementation (00:05:25) The difficulties and opportunities in implementing career pathing, the value of career pathing, and its challenges in terms of cost and time.
Creating alignment between strategic initiatives and career goals (00:07:11) The importance of creating alignment between an organization's strategic initiatives and employees' career goals, and the challenges faced in achieving this alignment.
The messy process of ideation and information gathering (00:16:56) The chaotic process of gathering information, following instincts, and overcoming doubts during the ideation phase.
Judging information and separating signal from noise (00:19:58) Kayvon's intuitive approach to processing information and the importance of combining different perspectives to determine the accuracy of the information.
Resources for Research (00:21:40) Kayvon talks about the various resources used for research, including programs and homegrown research.
Challenges in Job Architecture (00:25:33) Kayvon explains the challenges faced by companies in creating accurate job architecture and how Zol addresses these issues.
Career Path Tool and Skill Verification (00:28:44) Kayvon details the features of the career path tool and the importance of skill verification in their platform.
Staying Disciplined in Feature Development (00:30:54) Kayvon discusses the discipline required to avoid building unnecessary features and the focus on delivering value to users.
Building the First AI MVP (00:31:29) Kayvon explains the process of creating the first AI minimum viable product and the value-driven approach to development.
Customer Acquisition Strategy (00:37:40) Kayvon shares the strategy of building a community of interested individuals and incorporating customer feedback into the product development process.
Pricing and Commercializing (00:40:39) Discussion on pricing strategies and challenges in quantifying the value of solutions for changing job dynamics.
Iterative Process and Refinement (00:41:27) Emphasizing the iterative approach in developing the business, including pricing strategies and market positioning.
Investing in Company Growth (00:45:38) Strategies for reinvesting in the company to enhance product offerings and expand the customer base.
Target Market Segmentation (00:49:40) Segmenting the target market based on company size and tailoring offerings to specific audience and organizational needs.