GTM 146: The Future of Search, AI, and Digital Presence with Mike Walrath, CEO of Yext
Mike Walrath is the CEO and Chairman of Yext, a publicly traded digital presence platform that helps businesses manage and synchronize their digital presence across search engines, maps, apps, and voice assistants by ensuring that information like locations, services, FAQs, and brand content appears accurately and consistently wherever customers search.He also co-founded WGI Group, LLC, to provide growth capital to early and expansion stage startups in enterprise software, consumer internet and digital media industries. Previously, Michael was co-founder and Chairman of Moat Inc. which was acquired by Oracle in April 2017. In 2003, Michael founded Right Media - the world's first open exchange for digital advertising. He served as Chairman and CEO of the company until its acquisition by Yahoo! in July 2007. At Yahoo!, he was responsible for the operation of the global advertising marketplaces organization.Discussed in this Episode:Why marketers must now structure content not for humans, but for machines.How Yext evolved from managing listings to powering AI-ready data pipelines.Actionable steps SaaS companies can take to optimize for AI agents and search diversification.The role of hyperlocal data, competitive analysis, and personalized content in GTM strategy.Why software innovation must start with intelligence, not workflow.The decline of seat-based pricing and rise of outcome-based models.Highlights:[00:07:30] – How the iPhone created geo-aware fragmentation, and how Yext was born.[00:10:00] – Why Google still checks MapQuest (and what that means for SEO today).[00:11:30] – “We have to rebuild the digital presence for machines, not people.”[00:14:30] – The new battleground: how AI engines like ChatGPT shape discoverability.[00:18:00] – Practical data strategies for local businesses and SaaS marketers.[00:22:00] – Why structured data is the foundation of AI-first marketing.[00:26:00] – Bespoke GTM: why no two locations (or campaigns) should be the same.[00:29:00] – The shift from product-led to intelligence-led SaaS development.[00:31:00] – Seat-based pricing is dying – how to move to value-based contracts.[00:34:30] – Mike’s advice: get radically honest about macro changes, not just tactics.Guest Speaker Links (Michael Walrath):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-walrath-b63166/Yext: https://www.yext.com/Host Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/Newsletter: https://substack.com/@sophiebuonassisiWhere to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):Website: https://gtmnow.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/The GTM Podcast The GTM 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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38:43
GTM 145: What Happens When a CRO Owns the Entire Customer Journey, How to Build a Unified GTM Engine | Marcy Campbell
Marcy Campbell is the Chief Revenue Officer at AppFolio, where she leads sales and client services with a focus on delivering unified, end-to-end customer experiences. With over 30 years of experience scaling revenue teams across FinTech, SaaS, cloud computing, and communications, Marcy has held executive roles at Boomi and PayPal—where she led an 800+ person global team. Her deep expertise in aligning sales, customer success, and operations makes her a standout leader in the GTM space.What happens when a CRO owns the entire customer journeyDiscussed in this Episode:How AppFolio’s Unified Customer Experience (UCE) platform aligns marketing, sales, and customer service.The evolving role of the CRO and the importance of owning the entire customer journey.Why customer experience is a competitive differentiator in vertical SaaS.Tactical tips for early-stage startups on aligning go-to-market motion with product-market fit.The importance of cross-functional “stream teams” for accelerating GTM initiatives.How Marcy builds inclusive leadership cultures and mentors rising female leaders.Why how you make the number matters as much as making the number.Highlights:10:30 The Chief Revenue Officer's (CRO) responsibility to understand and optimize the entire customer journey.12:30 How the Unified Customer Experience (UCE) platform was formed and how it works.16:00 End-to-end GTM orchestration across sales, marketing, product, and CS.22:00 Results from the UCE initiative: accelerated deal velocity and customer retention.26:30 Advice for startups: identifying your ICP and fixing pipeline fundamentals.29:00 How to scale with customer empathy and GTM precision.31:00 Advocating for women in sales leadership and building inclusive teams.36:00 Marcy’s communication strategy for managing a 600-person org.39:00 Marcy's favorite business leadership tactic: “Take a beat” before reacting.40:00 What’s outdated: The belief that only numbers matter in sales.Guest Speaker Links (Marcy Campbell):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcyc/Appfolio: https://www.appfolio.com/Host Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/Newsletter: https://substack.com/@sophiebuonassisiWhere to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):Website: https://gtmnow.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/Twitter/X:The GTM Podcast The GTM 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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38:54
GTM 144: How AI is Rewriting Product and GTM Playbooks | with Oji Udezue (CPO - Typeform, Calendly)
Oji Udezue was most recently Chief Product Officer at Typeform, where he led product strategy across the company’s growing suite of tools. Previously, he was CPO at Calendly, where he helped scale one of the most beloved PLG tools in the market. Before that, he was Head of Product for Creation and Conversation at Twitter, leading core features like Tweets, DMs, and Spaces. At Atlassian, he led all communication products, including the launch of Atlassian’s first post-IPO product.Oji also spent years at Microsoft, building foundational experiences across Windows, Outlook, Hotmail, and Internet Explorer.In addition to his product leadership, Oji is the founder of Kernel Fund, an early-stage fund supporting startups across Africa. He writes about product, growth, and leadership at his newsletter Product Mind and is the author of the upcoming book Building Rocketships—a guide for high-growth product teams.Discussed in this Episode:When to hire your first PM (and what to look for).Why great product teams include marketing from day one.A framework for picking winning startup ideas.How AI is changing how we build (not just what we build).What product leaders can learn from Microsoft’s Longhorn failure.Why 3x better isn’t a nice-to-have — it’s a must.Highlights:04:52 – Why marketing is essential to product leadership.12:02 – How AI is transforming the process of building products.17:07 – Common product mistakes founders make early on.24:16 – Building Rocket Ships: Why Oji wrote the book.31:08 – Framework: Where to fish for unicorns.33:17 – The “3x better” rule for product value.37:07 – The challenge of true product differentiation.39:22 – What Microsoft’s Longhorn failure taught Oji.44:51 – When (and how) to hire your first PM.48:31 – The importance of fast, early customer feedback.54:46 – How AI is changing go-to-market strategy.57:32 – Why marketers must master signal in a noisy world.Guest Speaker Links (Oji Udezue):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ojiudezue/Kernel Fund: https://www.kernelfund.com/Product Mind: https://www.productmind.co/Building Rocketships (Book): https://a.co/d/0HGjf18SubStack: https://ojiudezue.substack.com/Host Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/Newsletter: https://substack.com/@sophiebuonassisiWhere to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):Website: https://gtmnow.com/LinkedIn: https:The GTM Podcast The GTM 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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58:30
GTM 143: Why Most AI Messaging Fails and How to Actually Stand Out in a Crowded Market | Harmony Anderson
Harmony Anderson is an entrepreneurial marketing leader with deep expertise in building global GTM strategies at growth startups. She is currently the VP of Growth and Marketing at Superhuman, the most productive email app ever made for teams. She has also led high-performing teams at Armada, Engine, Outreach, and ThousandEyes.She is deeply passionate about creating world-class marketing campaigns, leveraging data-driven strategies to accelerate customer acquisition, engagement, and retention. She also drives extreme rigor around operational excellence and efficiency, ensuring GTM teams execute with precision using repeatable and predictable playbooks. Discussed in this Episode:How to develop unique positioning and messaging for an AI companyWhy UGC matters for your brand and how to get users to create content about your productThe impact of lightning marketing campaigns and follow-on 'thunder' campaignsThree core channels for launching a new B2B marketing programHighlights: 05:12 – The #1 mistake in AI messaging: sounding like everyone else. 07:24 – Use outcomes and data to differentiate your AI product. 11:06 – Why nailing 3-5 core use cases beats going broad or too niche. 12:38 – Turning website visitors into believers with demos and interactive content. 14:01 – How to keep up with a market that changes every week (hello, agentic AI). 15:08 – Building campaigns that fuel your narrative across every channel. 17:16 – Behind Superhuman’s most successful campaign ever: “New Year, New Inbox.” 20:04 – Unlocking 60% growth through user-generated content and affiliate advocacy. 21:38 – Why webinars and virtual events still drive real results (and feedback). 23:12 – How to keep your messaging fresh while staying focused. 25:11 – The difference between brand umbrella, campaign, and program — and why it matters. 27:02 – Harmony’s lean, high-impact program playbook for early-stage teams. 31:06 – Building a hype train: how to activate champions at launch. 33:01 – Hot take: marketing shouldn’t be measured by pipeline alone. 35:12 – Why NRR (not just pipeline) should be a marketing KPI.Guest Speaker Links (Harmony Anderson):LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/harmony-hickman-andersonSuperhuman: superhuman.comHost Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisiNewsletter: gtmnow.com/tag/newsletterWhere to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):Website: gtmnow.comLinkedIn: GTMnowX/Twitter: @GTMnow_YouTube: The GTM Podcast The GTM 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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37:37
GTM 142: Why Most B2B Marketing Fails (And How to Fix It) with Udi Ledergor
Udi Ledergor served as CMO during Gong’s rise from new SaaS startup to industry dominance. By building a playful, human-centric brand with a lighthearted tone, he captured buyers’ attention and dollars and turned them into raving fans. He helped Gong go from zero to hundreds of millions in revenue, while achieving a multi-billion-dollar valuation. His book Courageous Marketing is officially out and you can buy it below in the show notes. Discussed in this Episode:Why Marketing 'Best Practices' are broken for Brands that want to stand out.Marketers need to consider the long game and remember the 95/5 rule.When you should hire for experience versus potential.How to foster a culture of healthy risk-taking with your team.Highlights: 04:09 Udi's inspiration for writing his new book, Courageous Marketing.06:02 The four most common reasons why marketing fails.09:22 What marketers should be looking for when selecting a company to join.13:55 The Problem with 'playing it safe' in B2B marketing.23:07 How to market to both the 5% and the 95% of your buyers.38:13 The Three Team Operating Principles for leading a bold and effective marketing team.Guest Speaker Links (Udi Ledergor):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/udiledergor/Gong: https://www.gong.io/Udi's Book, Courageous Marketing: https://mybook.to/courageousmarketingHost Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/Newsletter: https://gtmnow.com/tag/newsletter/Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):Website: https://gtmnow.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/Twitter/X: https://x.com/GTMnow_YouTube: / @gtm_now The GTM Podcast (on all major directories): https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/Sponsor: ZoomInfo’s GTM25 Virtual Conference—a free, half-day event on hThe GTM Podcast The GTM 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.
The GTM 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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