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#softwaresales #huntersandunicorns #playbookuniverse

Wednesday Nov 26, 2025

Meet our NEW Sponsor!

Wednesday Nov 26, 2025

In this episode, we talk to Jason Eubanks, CEO and Co-founder of Aurasell (our brand NEW Sponsor!), about his transition from a 20-year go-to-market operator to a builder and founder.

Jason shares the exact moment he became obsessed with solving a major product problem, the complexity and low productivity caused by massive tool sprawl (over 20 products) and unintentional data silos in the go-to-market stack. He details the crucial steps of founding Aurasell: partnering with a complementary CTO, validating the huge market problem (estimating over $1 billion in services spend), and securing a significant seed round to build the world's first AI-native CRM platform focused on customer-problem-centric design.

🙌 Thanks To Our Sponsor!

Aurasell AI: https://www.aurasell.ai

🏹 Key Topics Covered

01:36 - Founder Journey & Co-Founders

03:24 - From Operator to 3:15 a.m. Spark

05:00 - VC Detour & Market Gap

07:42 - Tool Sprawl & Unified AI Context

11:22 - Mapping the Problem to $30M Seed

💥 3 Biggest Lessons:

The Spark of Product Obsession: Jason’s 20-year career as a CRO never led him to chase founding a company—until he woke up obsessing over a core product problem firsthand: the low productivity and operational cost caused by 20+ disconnected tools in the go-to-market stack.

Tool Sprawl Handicaps AI: The reliance on 20+ legacy SaaS products unintentionally creates data silos where crucial contextual metadata lives, rather than the core CRM. When companies try to "sprinkle" AI on this brittle structure, they severely handicap the potential for high-quality automation.

The Opportunity is in AI Native: To maximize productivity and solve the tool sprawl problem, the necessary solution is a single, AI-native platform built with a unified logic layer. This approach moves beyond small "AI tricks" to actionable automation that frees expensive sellers to attack the market.

💬 Notable Quotes

"I don't wake up at 3 in the morning and obsess over product. And then one day I did wake up at 3:15 in the morning obsessing over a product problem."

"I think it's important to make sure that your co-founding partners are complementary in skill set, like Minded and Alind on the problem."

"On average, every dollar of software you spend, historically has carried with it $3 of services." "The problem... is that those sellers are being asked to interface with... the contextual awareness that allows us to use AI to automate with high quality outcomes, often that contextual awareness lives in the metadata."

🙌 Thanks for listening!

This episode was hosted by Simon Kouttis and Ollie Kuehne, founders of Hunters & Unicorns, and post-produced by the team at videoforce.pro. If you enjoyed this episode, please drop a like/share and subscribe to our channel!

🦄 Connect with Hunters & Unicorns

Twitter: / huntersun1corns

Instagram: / huntersandunicorns

SEO Tags: Jason Eubanks, Aurasell, AI Native CRM, Founder Journey, CRO to CEO, Tool Sprawl, Data Silos, Sales Productivity, GTM Platform, Seed Round, Co-founder, Venture Partner #softwaresales #huntersandunicorns #playbookuniverse

Wednesday Nov 19, 2025

Beyond the Sales Playbook: The #1 Skill for Getting Ahead in Tech with Emma Maslen

Wednesday Nov 19, 2025

In this episode of the Great Leaders UK series, we welcome Emma Maslen, author, angel investor, and founder of inspir'em.

Emma draws on her successful career in large organizations like SAP and BMC to discuss the crucial difference between theoretical playbooks and their real-world, behavioral application. She stresses that the playbook is a framework to drive curiosity and risk mitigation, not a tick-box exercise. Emma also shares why networking is a constant professional necessity, detailing the common mistakes people make and how leaders can intentionally build their networks to gain knowledge and accelerate their careers.

🙌 Thanks to Our Sponsors! PGAI: https://www.getpg.ai Selr: https://selr.ai

🏹 Key Topics Covered

01:40 - What's inspir'em?

03:06 - It's about curiosity, not checklists

04:36 - The flaw of the "100% Med-Pic score"

06:50 - Why the playbook can't be a preach

11:09 - Leaders not present during sales training

12:05 - Verbalizing questions and intentionally

14:13 - Customizing the discovery process

16:48 - Discovery is a Two-Way Dating Process

18:05 - Career Shift from corporate MD

25:37 - The Power of Networking

30:50 - Good vs. Bad Networking

35:51 - Networking for internal success.

41:05 - The value of community

51:37 - The value of coaching

💥 3 Biggest Lessons:

The Playbook is a Framework for Curiosity, Not a Checklist: When Meddic, Med-PICC, or any framework becomes a mere tick-box exercise, it becomes pointless. It should instead function as a tool to continuously drive curiosity, expose risks in your pipeline, and prompt deeper questions.

Winning Requires Leadership Buy-In (Not Dictation): Sales training fails when executives and leaders see it as something "done to the sales team," often not even attending the training themselves. Successful adoption requires the playbook to be a dialogue driven by empathy and shared accountability.

Networking is a Professional Must (Not Just a Job Hunt): Many people only realize they have a networking problem when they desperately need a new job or advice. Good networking is about proactive investment: focusing on who you can help, giving back to the network, and making small, specific asks to gain knowledge, not just taking.

💬 Notable Quotes "There are still a lot of organizations out there that think Meddpicc is something to be done to the sales team." "If it's become a tick box exercise, you might as well just get rid of it because it becomes pointless." "It should be a framework to drive curiosity." "People feel like networking is about finding another job rather than being better at your current job." "I once said to him, why are you mentoring me because I'm like here and you're here and he said, because you've got a whole different perspective."

🦄 Connect with Hunters & Unicorns

Twitter:

/ huntersun1corns

Instagram:

/ huntersandunicorns

#softwaresales #huntersandunicorns #playbookuniverse

Wednesday Nov 12, 2025

Pre-Sales Masterclass: Earning Your Seat at the Elite Leadership Table with Julia Weimer

Wednesday Nov 12, 2025

In this episode of Great Leaders UK, we are joined by Julia Weimer, Director of Solution Engineering UKI at Wiz, to discuss the critical, often underutilized role of pre-sales in driving elite sales execution.

Julia shares her unique journey from Security Analyst in a SOC to leading a high-performing SE team , emphasizing why Sales Engineers must be viewed as equal business partners to Account Executives, not just technical support. She walks us through the importance of symbiotic relationships , leveraging structure like MEDDIC , and the power of empowering SEs to build technical champions.

🙌 Thanks to Our Sponsors!

PG AI: https://www.getpg.ai

🏹 Key Topics Covered

02:40 - SE/AE Relationships that Lead to Failure

05:27 - The Ideal SE Profile

07:40 - SEs as Deal Realists

11:50 - Driving Cross-Functional Alignment

16:15 - Nurturing Talent: Teaching Sales Methodology

23:45 - From SOC to SE: The Biggest Career Risk

27:57 - Diversity in Tech

39:17 - Recruiting Priorities

41:23 - The Motherhood/Career Balance

42:18 - Hiring for Entrepreneurial Mindset in SEs

🦄 Connect with Hunters & Unicorns

💥 3 Biggest Lessons:

The SE Superpower is Reality: The sales engineer's superpower is the ability to look into the reality of an opportunity and be a realist about its progression. This means SEs must be empowered to act as the credible technical person and trusted advisor in the room.

Structure the Sales Instincts: For many technically inclined SEs, the sales aspect is not natural. Leaders must provide structure (like teaching MEDDIC) and enablement to help SEs embrace sales methodology as a new skill set.

Symbiosis Drives Success: Amazing things happen when sales and pre-sales embrace a symbiotic relationship and work together. This partnership ensures accountability where neither the AE nor the SE is left with an uneven workload, helping to avoid deals from falling "out of whack".

💬 Notable Quotes "Sales engineering should always be treated as an equal partner to sales." "It was probably the biggest career risk that I've ever taken." "The balance is what I seek, and if you can find people that are really great with their people's skills and relatable... and also really like to solve problems. It's a perfect blend of both." "If you give us that type of platform and that type of respect in an opportunity, then the world is our oyster." "I really find that the sales engineering role is this gem of a role for those of us who are a little bit introverted, we really like tech and our skill sets are with the tech."

#softwaresales #huntersandunicorns #playbookuniverse

Wednesday Oct 29, 2025

How to Launch an AI Security Startup, with Kristian Kamber

Wednesday Oct 29, 2025

In this episode of the Playbook Universe, we speak with Kristian Kamber, CEO and co-founder of SPLX AI, about his journey from elite sales roles at AppDynamics and ZScaler to launching his own AI security startup. Kristian shares the inner drive and lessons learned, from a family restaurant business to the high-stakes world of Silicon Valley playbooks, that prepared him to lead a fast-moving, deeply technical company. He reveals the critical steps in finding the right technical co-founder, securing investment, and achieving product-market fit by listening intently to customers. This is essential listening for any sales professional considering the leap into entrepreneurship.

🙌 Thanks to Our Sponsors!

PG AI: https://www.getpg.ai

🏹 Key Topics Covered

00:00 - Intro

02:17 - The Inner Motivation to Be a Founder

03:44 - The Hard Decision: Leaving a Sales Career

04:47 - The Co-Founder Hunt and Validation

06:07 - Using Sales Skills to Vet an Idea

08:55 - The Turning Point: Securing Initial Investment

11:46 - The CEO Upskilling Curve: Investor Relations

15:28 - Sales Mindset as a Competitive Advantage

17:01 - Product Pivot: Listening to the Customer

20:19 - SPLX AI's Funding and Growth Timeline

24:30 - Evolving the CEO Role: From Sales to Strategy

27:38 - Hiring A-Players for an Early-Stage Startup

30:00 - The Unconventional Sales Mindset in the US

38:05 - The Importance of Moving Fast in Your Career

40:40 - Building Champions Outside Your Geo

47:49 - The 90-Day Product Innovation Cycle

50:46 - Advice for Aspiring Founders

💥 3 Biggest Lessons:

The Best Founder is the Best Salesperson: A founder must be the best salesperson in the company, constantly selling to customers, investors, partners, and potential hires. Sales experience provides a crucial competitive advantage in validating the product, building trust, and driving aggressive motion.

Finding a Co-Founder is Non-Negotiable: A sales-focused founder must pair with a deeply technical co-founder to balance skills and gain investor confidence. Kristian used his sales network and deep discovery skills to rigorously vet his co-founder's technical genius and commitment to the idea.

Master the Market, Not Just the Playbook: While sales playbooks are essential, true success in a fast-moving market like AI security requires listening to customers and being willing to pivot immediately. Kristian's team shifted their product focus after realizing the European market wasn't ready, proving that market adoption dictates the product roadmap.

💬 Notable Quotes "I'm super coachable when it comes to things I don't know, but I'm super strict about things I'm 100% I know how to do it." "I knew I need to find the right co-founder who knows how to build a tech so I can do with him the business because I know what I can't do." "You should thank God you made your co-founder. That was the turning point for me. I said, wow." "I knew I need to sell before I even have a product." "The biggest job of an early stage founder is getting term sheets. It's the biggest job."

🙌 Thanks for listening! This episode was hosted by Simon Koutis and Ollie Kuehne, founders of Hunters & Unicorns, and post-produced by the team at videoforce.pro. If you enjoyed this episode, please drop a like/share and subscribe to our channel!

🦄 Connect with Hunters & Unicorns

#softwaresales #huntersandunicorns #playbookuniverse

Wednesday Oct 08, 2025

The 'Sibling' Culture That Drives 10x Performance in Software Sales with Dave Goodmark

Wednesday Oct 08, 2025

In this episode of East Coast Elite, we unpack the remarkable career journey of David Goodmark, VP of Sales at Wiz, a story that serves as a masterclass in strategic career building.

Dave shares how he consistently prioritized mentorship and skill acquisition over title or compensation, knowingly taking roles as an Individual Contributor (IC) after being a leader just to learn from the best in the industry. He discusses the power of the Playbook culture, the concept of reciprocal accountability that fosters deep team trust, and the importance of "earning your way in" to elite networks. This is a must-listen for anyone looking to scale their career by following great leaders and building an unshakeable skill set.

🙌 Thanks to Our Sponsors!

PG:AI: https://www.getpg.ai

🏹 Key Topics Covered

00:00 - Intro

02:09 - Sales Career Launched by Mentorship

04:44 - The Shift to Software Sales

10:48 - Earning Your Way In: The Playbook

17:19 - Stepping Back: Leader to IC at AppD

23:20 - The Long Game: Mike's Mentorship

33:10 - Inspection vs. Inspiration

35:06 - The Two-Sided Champion Equation

40:48 - The Wiz Turnaround Story

51:00 - Advice for Aspiring Sales Leaders

💥 3 Biggest Lessons:

Follow the Leader, Not the Title: The most critical career decisions involve prioritizing who you work for a great leader and mentor, over a higher title, more money, or better short-term comfort. Dave consistently took an IC role after being a leader just to acquire a stronger, more teachable skill set from elite organizations.

Master the Two-Sided Account: Career success and gaining champions is a two-sided equation. You must continuously add value (make deposits) to the professional relationships you rely on, and not merely withdraw favors. You can't draw from an account that has no deposits.

Culture Needs Candor and Accountability: A highly effective sales culture operates with reciprocal accountability. The relationship must be honest and direct enough to allow for candid feedback (like being treated as siblings), which ultimately drives the mission faster.

🦄 Connect with Hunters & Unicorns

💬 Notable Quotes "You could be a not great leader and have amazing people and do okay. And you could be the best leader on the planet Earth and have really bad people and you're going to be in trouble." "It doesn't matter how little you think someone might know about what they're trying to teach you... If you could try to take one thing away from these interactions..." "When you do treat each other, almost like you are siblings... It actually kind of creates a welcoming environment and atmosphere which only helps us get towards the mission faster when we're working and when we're building." "What your title is doesn't matter... build a skill set that teaches you how to do something to the point where you are consciously understanding of it." "You can't withdraw from an account that has no deposits in it."

#softwaresales #huntersandunicorns #EastCoastElite

Tuesday Sep 30, 2025

The Outlier Playbook: Finding 10x Talent & Winning at VC with Nakul Mandan

Tuesday Sep 30, 2025

In this episode of the East Coast Elite series, we sit down with Nakul Mandan, founder and partner at Audacious Ventures, to discuss his unique approach to early-stage investing.

After an 18-year career, Nakul discovered a powerful differentiator: an in-house playbook for recruiting exceptional talent and building scalable sales engines. He shares how his experience with a legendary sales leader transformed his investment philosophy, leading him to double down on "founder quality" and "10x individual contributors". We dive into tangible advice for founders on everything from identifying an urgent problem to solve to knowing when to hire their first sales team. Nakul also provides invaluable guidance for salespeople and execs looking to break into the world of venture capital.

🙌 Thanks to Our Sponsors!

PG:AI: https://www.getpg.ai

🏹 Key Topics Covered

00:00 - Intro & Background

02:16 - The Audacious Ventures Thesis

04:30 - A Sales Legend's Impact

06:14 - The Genesis of Audacious

10:48 - Founder, Market, Urgency

14:40 - Coaching Founder-Led Sales

18:57 - The Repeatable Pipeline

20:51 - When to Hire Your First Sellers

24:20 - The Hands-On VC Advantage

27:40 - The Sales Comp Sticker Shock

29:34 - Good vs. Great in Recruiting

36:15 - How Reps Evaluate Startups

43:29 - Evaluating Equity Packages

48:36 - Double Trigger Vesting Explained

50:20 - Hiring Your First Sales Leader

56:31 - The Hybrid Sales Role

💥 3 Biggest Lessons:

Prioritize a Founder's Quality Over the Idea: The single biggest ingredient for startup success is the founder's ability to be a "force of nature" and attract other exceptional people. A great team can pivot and solve problems, but a great idea with a mediocre team is far less likely to succeed.

The Problem Must Be Urgent: When evaluating an idea, ask if it solves an urgent problem for the buyer, not just an important one. People only pay for solutions to problems that they need to solve right now, and this urgency is a key indicator of a large, scalable market opportunity.

Recruiting is Relentless: The difference between a "good" hire and a "great" hire is massive. Founders and VCs must be relentless in their pursuit of "10x" talent, a person who is in the 99th percentile of their profession. This requires deep back-channeling, a focus on recruiting as a core competency, and a willingness to pay for top-tier talent.

🦄 Connect with Hunters & Unicorns

💬 Notable Quotes "People don't solve important but not urgent problems. People solve important and urgent problems". "The single biggest ingredient to startup success is the density of exceptional people in a company". "No VC can help you get to product market fit. But if you can get to product market fit, beyond that, there are some... frameworks that you can apply to build a scalable sales engine". "If you don't have an ICP, you're probably not ready for sellers". "I would argue that the difference between good and great is the same as the difference between good and absolutely horrible. It's light and day".

#softwaresales #huntersandunicorns #EastCoastElite

Wednesday Sep 24, 2025

The SDR Playbook: A Guide to Launching Your Tech Sales Career with Madina Biryukov

Wednesday Sep 24, 2025

In this episode of the East Coast Elite series, we sit down with Madina Burkov, VP of Global Sales Development at Harness, to break down everything you need to know about starting a career in tech sales as a Sales Development Representative (SDR).

Madina shares insights into the essential skills for success, how to assess if a company's SDR program is right for you, and the critical role SDRs play in generating pipeline and driving revenue. We also discuss practical advice on how to stand out during the application process, the importance of a growth mindset, and why the "gift of the gab" isn't the only path to a successful sales career. 🏹

Key Topics Covered

00:00 - Intro

01:48 - Madina’s role and the purpose of an SDR

03:36 - How SDRs partner with Account Executives

06:22 - Key metrics for measuring SDR success

08:03 - What to look for when joining a tech sales company

09:13 - The essential qualities of a successful SDR

11:02 - Why sales is a skill that can be learned

14:49 - How deep an SDR needs to understand the technology

16:06 - Enablement and ongoing training for SDRs

19:20 - The SDR role in a long-term sales career

22:59 - Handling rejection

33:07 - Choosing startup vs. established organization

40:51 - The value of being proactive in your job search

47:43 - The benefits of working in an office vs. remote

51:51 - How to stand out when applying for an SDR role

💥 3 Biggest Lessons:

Sales is a Learned Skill: Don't be discouraged if you don't have the "gift of the gab." Sales is a skill that can be learned and taught through practice and a strong growth mindset. The ability to be curious, ask good questions, and be coachable are key attributes for success.

Quality Over Quantity: As an SDR, your focus should be on the quality of the meetings you book, not just the sheer number of them. High-quality meetings that turn into qualified opportunities are what AEs and sales leaders truly care about, and wasting an AE's time can damage your reputation within the company.

Be Proactive: To break into the tech sales industry, especially as a new applicant, you must be proactive. Don't just submit an application and wait. Do your research on the company and its challenges, and then use LinkedIn to find and reach out to the hiring manager and other SDRs. This demonstrates your ability to do the job and helps you stand out from other candidates.

🦄 Connect with Hunters & Unicorns

💬 Notable Quotes "The SDR role in tech sales... it's not for everyone, it's a grind, it's a tough, tough job". "You have to be genuinely interested in the product and what it is in the space as well in order to do well, otherwise it's going to be really, really tough". "Usually an executive or a person would get hundreds of emails and really only a handful of phone calls". "Being proactive... that's the key... and not just submitting an application and waiting for somebody to get back to you". "What do you think is going to really set you up for success, right? And what kind of organization is going to allow you to be successful?". #softwaresales #huntersandunicorns #playbookuniverse #EastCoastElite

Wednesday Sep 17, 2025

How to Win Under Pressure: A High-Performance Playbook with Amber Selking

Wednesday Sep 17, 2025

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Amber Selking, a high-performance coach with a Ph.D. in Applied Sports Psychology. Dr. Selking works with elite athletes, executives, and organizations to help them achieve their best.

She's the mental performance coach for LSU football and the Chief Culture Officer at Lipper, a global manufacturing company. Amber unpacks the science behind high performance, explaining how thoughts, emotions, and mindset directly impact physical and professional success. We dive into practical strategies like mental rehearsal, self-talk, and reframing failure, offering actionable advice for anyone in a high-pressure environment.

🏹 Key Topics Covered

00:00 - Intro & background

03:00 - The core science of human high performance

08:00 - The impact of mental rehearsal on the brain

12:30 - Mental performance for high-pressure professionals

16:30 - Understanding the power of self-talk

22:30 - How to apply self-talk and mental drills

28:00 - The power of breathwork in high-stress situations

35:00 - A new perspective on setbacks and failure

43:30 - The importance of mindset in leadership

49:30 - The difference between positive and productive thinking

51:30 - Building a championship mindset

💥 3 Biggest Lessons:

Thoughts Are Electrical Signals: Our thoughts are not just ephemeral ideas; they are real electrical signals that influence our emotions, physical state, and ultimately, our performance. To perform at a high level, you must take control of your self-talk and choose productive thoughts over unproductive ones.

Mindsets Are Bicep Curls for the Brain: Just as repeated exercises build muscle, repeated thoughts build mindsets. These mindsets act like filters on your brain, shaping how you perceive and respond to challenges. By intentionally practicing certain thoughts, you can build a "championship mindset" to handle pressure and setbacks effectively.

Embrace Failure as First Attempt In Learning: In high performance, failure isn't a sign of weakness—it's a form of data. By changing your mindset to view setbacks as valuable information, you can focus on rapid recovery and iteration rather than emotional volatility. This approach allows you to learn from your mistakes and quickly get back to the next play.

🙌 Thanks for listening!

🦄 Connect with Hunters & Unicorns

💬 Notable Quotes "I help people deliver their best when their best is needed... I teach science." "The brain doesn't know the difference between what's real and what's imagined. So mental rehearsal actually builds talent at the neurological level." "Winning's hard, guys... And mental performance isn't about the sunshine and roses of thinking everything's wonderful, but rather trying to drive the consistency that it takes to deliver your best when your best is needed." "What starts the process? ...Thoughts. Who controls your thoughts? ...We do." "In terms of our mindset, F-A-I-L, it simply stands for First Attempt In Learning." Tags: #highperformance #performancecoaching #huntersandunicorns

Wednesday Sep 10, 2025

How I Landed a Job in Sales with a Cardboard Cutout, w/ Liam Mulcahy

Wednesday Sep 10, 2025

In this episode of the East Coast Elite series, we sit down with Liam Mulcahy, Operating Partner at Kleiner Perkins.

Having worked with over 100 startups, from first-ever sales rep to operating partner, Liam shares his unfiltered playbook for success in the chaotic world of early-stage companies. We cover how to identify the right opportunities, what a founder-led sales motion looks like, the red flags to watch for in an interview, and the mindset needed to thrive in a high-risk, high-reward environment. Liam also shares his famous cardboard cutout story that landed him a job at MongoDB, a company he helped take public.

🏹 Key Topics Covered

00:00 - Intro

01:53 - The Operating Partner Role at KP

05:18 - From Mongo to VC

09:34 - The Cardboard Cutout Story

11:53 - Product-Out vs. Customer-In

13:30 - Intrinsic Motivation for Startups

17:39 - The "Revenue-Generating PM"

19:53 - Qualifying a Startup as a Rep

23:26 - The Player-Coach Myth

27:49 - Scaling a Sales Team with Pods

30:34 - Evaluating Pre-Revenue Companies

35:22 - Finding the Right Company

40:30 - Red Flags when Interviewing Founders

48:09 - Faster Enterprise Buying Cycles

50:13 - The Future of Sales and AI

55:16 - The Value of Sales Training

💥 3 Biggest Lessons:

The DNA of a Founder: Look for founders who see sales as a first-class citizen and have a high emotional resonance with the problem they are solving, not just a homework assignment from a board.

The "Player-Coach" Myth: The idea of a single person acting as both a top rep and a team leader is a "misnomer" that often leads to failure at an early-stage startup. It's better to hire great reps first, and then bring in a leader once the sales motion is proven.

Bet on Yourself: The best early-stage hires have an intrinsic motivation to prove they can succeed in a chaotic environment. They are not just looking for a prestigious role but for a chance to build something from the ground up. 🙌

Thanks for listening! This episode was hosted by Simon Kouttis and Ollie Kuehne, founders of Hunters & Unicorns, and post-produced by the team at videoforce.pro. If you enjoyed this episode, please drop a like/share and subscribe to our channel!

🦄 Connect with Hunters & Unicorns