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Podcast

The Right GTM Strategy for Your Startup

Aileen Allen moderates a discussion with three GTM executives who break down early-stage GTM best practices, from hiring to design to pricing.

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A good Go-to-Market (GTM) strategy can make or break your early-stage company, but how do you know which strategy will yield the greatest results? Aileen Allen, Partner at Mercury, meets with three expert — Lisa Roberts, CMO of Otto, Mike Miles, VP of RevOps at Cognite, and Sean Rohde, VP of Sales and Marketing at Kahuna— to break down GTM best practices, from hiring to design to pricing. This episode was recorded at Software Day at the Ion.

Key Takeaways

  • Who’s Your Customer? When considering your GTM strategy, you need to know the difference between your ICP (or, Ideal Customer Profile) and your Persona. While your ICP is the ideal model for the businesses you’re trying to sell to, your persona is the individual (or, in the cases of enterprises, individuals) that is going to make the buying decision.
  • What’s Your Sales Strategy? Founder-led sales don’t just go away as your early-stage business grows and scales. Instead of focusing on taking your founder out of the sales strategy, think of them as a megaphone for your high-level messages, while your sales team can handle the day-to-day.  
  • What Metrics Matter? Data matters, from the earliest marketing decisions to scalable operational strategies. When you’re evaluating the data from your GTM strategy, don’t be afraid to evaluate every stage of the operation and look for insights that lead to repeatability and lessons learned.

AUTHOR

Aileen Allen
October 9, 2025