{"id":366,"date":"2025-04-26T03:43:45","date_gmt":"2025-04-26T03:43:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thereferralchoice.com\/?p=366"},"modified":"2025-05-16T15:41:59","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T15:41:59","slug":"timeless-growth-principles-that-scaled-20m-to-450m","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thereferralchoice.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/26\/timeless-growth-principles-that-scaled-20m-to-450m\/","title":{"rendered":"Timeless growth principles that scaled $20M to $450M"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hello and welcome to The GTM Newsletter by GTMnow <\/strong>– read by 50,000+ to scale their companies and careers. GTMnow shares insight around the go-to-market strategies responsible for explosive company growth. GTMnow highlights the strategies, along with the stories from the top 1% of GTM executives, VCs, and founders behind these strategies and companies.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

Some growth lessons expire. Others stand the test of time.<\/p>\n

Jeff Perry<\/a>, Chief Revenue Officer at Carta for more than six years, proves it. After helping Oracle absorb Sun Microsystems in a $7.4B acquisition and later scaling Carta\u2019s revenue from $20M to $450M, Jeff has seen every kind of market cycle, product pivot, and team evolution.<\/p>\n

From that, he\u2019s learned that the best growth strategies aren\u2019t new. They\u2019re timeless.<\/p>\n

This edition breaks down 8 timeless principles every founder, CRO, and sales leader can use to build durable growth.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"\"<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n<\/div>\n

\"\u2705\" Recommendations<\/strong><\/h4>\n

ZoomInfo\u2019s GTM25 virtual conference on May 7th<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The future of GTM is AI-powered. <\/strong>Join us and thousands of revenue leaders at ZoomInfo\u2019s GTM25 virtual conference on May 7th to explore how high-performing teams are leveraging Go-to-Market Intelligence and AI to fuel their GTM strategies that help top teams crush their revenue goals. You\u2019ll hear from industry experts, connect with peers, and learn about the latest AI advancements. Beyond insights, you\u2019ll walk away with proven AI tactics that you can directly implement for your GTM team.<\/p>\n

Save Your Spot<\/a> \u2013 <\/strong>see you (virtually) there!<\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

1. Don\u2019t be the hero, be the quarterback<\/h2>\n
\n
\n

\u201cYou don’t have to be the hero. Be the quarterback of the deal.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Top sellers (and CROs) aren\u2019t trying to win alone. They orchestrate deals, bringing in execs, solution engineers, and cross-functional allies.<\/p>\n

Quarterbacking isn\u2019t optional if you want scalable, repeatable revenue. Great reps know when to lead, and when to pass.<\/p>\n

2. Diagnose before you design<\/h2>\n
\n
\n

\u201cGreat CROs don’t bring playbooks. They build them.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Jeff didn\u2019t try to copy Oracle or DocuSign playbooks at Carta. He studied what Carta specifically<\/em> needed \u2013 fixing broken lead routing, segmenting sellers by skill, and rethinking post-sale experience.<\/p>\n

Diagnose, then design the solution.<\/p>\n

3. Treat performance management as a growth muscle<\/h2>\n
\n
\n

\u201cNot every PIP is an ending. Sometimes it\u2019s the start of a breakout.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Two of Carta\u2019s top performers today were nearly let go early in their careers. Instead of ejecting them, leadership focused on diagnosing system problems (like poor lead routing) and doubling down on coaching.<\/p>\n

Performance management isn\u2019t about fear, it\u2019s about unlocking potential.<\/p>\n

4. Relationships > Automation (now more than ever)<\/h2>\n
\n
\n

\u201cPick up the phone. Be human. It\u2019s still the ultimate differentiator.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

In a world obsessed with AI automation, nothing replaces real relationships.<\/p>\n

Every customer interaction is a chance to build trust, deliver value, and create loyalty that no automation can replicate.<\/p>\n

5. Invest in technical excellence early<\/h2>\n
\n
\n

\u201cSolutions engineers are your secret weapon as complexity grows.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Carta\u2019s move into fund administration and private equity made technical expertise non-negotiable. Standing up a strong solutions engineering function became critical to navigating larger, more complex deals.<\/p>\n

Scaling without technical depth leads to slow deals and lost trust.<\/p>\n

6. Make onboarding a growth weapon<\/h2>\n
\n
\n

\u201cYour GTM is only as good as your post-sale experience.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Carta\u2019s customer onboarding didn\u2019t just reduce churn, it became a flywheel for expansion, referrals, and upsell across PE and VC networks. Flawless implementations earned trust (and more logos).<\/p>\n

Think of onboarding as revenue activation.<\/p>\n

7. Fix systems before you blame people<\/h2>\n
\n
\n

\u201cInfra problems often look like people problems.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Early on, broken lead routing made it seem like top reps were underperforming. It wasn\u2019t a talent issue, it was a structural one. Fixing the system unlocked immediate lift.<\/p>\n

Before you replace people, replace bad systems.<\/p>\n

8. Design around how customers want to buy, not how you want to sell<\/h2>\n
\n
\n

\u201cInternal convenience should never beat customer experience.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

At Carta, Jeff\u2019s teams weren\u2019t organized by internal ops logic. They were designed around natural customer buying journeys: corporations, fund admin clients, private equity firms. Sales, marketing, and CS aligned to serve them<\/em>, not just quota math.<\/p>\n

Growth gets easier when your org chart mirrors your customers\u2019 paths.<\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

Share<\/a><\/p>\n

Tag GTMnow so we can see your takeaways and help amplify them.<\/em><\/h6>\n
\n
\n<\/div>\n

\"\ud83d\udc42\" More for your eardrums<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Harmony Anderson<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

GTM 143: Why Most AI Messaging Fails and How to Actually Stand Out in a Crowded Market | Harmony Anderson<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Listen on Apple<\/a>, Spotify<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, or wherever you get your podcasts by searching \u201cThe GTM Podcast.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

\"\ud83d\ude80\" Startup to watch<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Writer<\/a><\/strong> – CEO May Habib is making bold moves, recently featured on the cover of <\/a>Forbes<\/a><\/em> for helping companies save millions in labor costs with AI<\/a>. The company has opened four new offices and plans to grow the team to 600. Investors call her \u201cthe time traveler\u201d and it\u2019s easy to see why.<\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

\"\ud83d\udc40\" More for your eyeballs<\/strong><\/h4>\n

How AI is rewriting the sales leader playbook<\/a>. In this inaugural podcast episode, sales leader KD breaks down the impact AI is having on frontline sales management.<\/p>\n

Punch above your weight with organic content<\/a>. Not just self-produced content, we\u2019re seeing more and more companies leaning into influencer and ecosystem strategies for organic reach. Here you have the potential to compete with bigger companies, without the big dollars.<\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

\"\ud83d\udd25\" Hottest GTM jobs of the week<\/strong><\/h4>\n
    \n
  1. Marketing & Events Associate<\/a> at GTMfund (Vancouver, CAN) – come join the team behind this newsletter! <\/em><\/li>\n
  2. Product Marketing Manager<\/a> at Northbeam (Remote – US)<\/em><\/li>\n
  3. Growth Marketing Lead<\/a> at Mutiny (New York)<\/em><\/li>\n
  4. Senior Director, Acquisition Marketing at Writer (Hybrid)<\/em>\n
      \n
    1. San Francisco<\/a><\/li>\n
    2. New York<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
    3. Strategic Venture Capital Partnerships Manager<\/a> at Vanta (San Francisco – Hybrid)<\/em><\/li>\n
    4. Customer Success Manager<\/a> at Closinglock (Austin)<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      See more top GTM jobs on the GTMfund Job Board<\/a>.<\/p>\n

      If you\u2019re looking to scale your sales and marketing teams with top talent, we couldn\u2019t recommend our partner Pursuit<\/a> more. We work closely together to be able to provide the top go-to-market talent for companies on a non-retainer basis.<\/em><\/p>\n

      \n
      \n<\/div>\n

      \"\ud83d\uddd3\" GTM industry events<\/strong><\/h4>\n

      Upcoming go-to-market events you won\u2019t want to miss:<\/em><\/p>\n