Episode Description:
Raph Parker is Head of Revenue at Mandolin, an AI company transforming healthcare operations.
Before Mandolin, Raph was the first go-to-market hire at Segment, helping scale the company from seed to its $3.2B acquisition by Twilio.
He then served as Chief Growth Officer at New Front Insurance, taking another company from seed to unicorn (with an IPO likely on the horizon).
He started his career as a corporate lawyer, then biked around the world for 2 years before stumbling into tech sales.
He joined us to talk about the psychology of early-stage selling, how to create social proof when nobody knows you, what to look for in a CEO, and why you should compete at the shallow end of the gene pool.
Discussed in this episode:
Episode Highlights:
(00:00) From Big Law to BDR: Raph's Unconventional Path into Sales(09:00) How to Evaluate CEOs: The Three Types of Founders(18:00) Prospect Theory: Why Early-Stage Selling is About Risk, Not Features(24:00) Creating Social Proof When You Only Have Two Customers(29:00) The Sales Call Hack: Flipping Informational Asymmetry(33:00) The "Bet My Career On It" Intro That Changes Everything(36:00) Why Nobody Believes Case Studies (And What Prospects Actually Want)(42:00) Hiring Early Sales Reps: The First Class to Greyhound Test(50:00) Distribution vs. Product: Why Great Ideas Fail(58:00) Compete at the Shallow End of the Gene Pool
About VibeScaling Podcast:
The VibeScaling Podcast interviews GTM leaders and investors at top AI startups and early-stage companies.
Every week, host Chris Balestras, partner @ VibeScaling (an advisory, recruiting, investing, & media firm for seed through series C AI-natives & SaaS startups) sits down with operators from the fastest-growing AI natives and SaaS companies to break down what's actually working in go-to-market today.
No fluff, no theory - just honest, tactical insights from people in the trenches building the next generation of AI breakouts.
About VibeScaling:
VibeScaling is an advisory, recruiting, investing, & media firm for seed through series C AI-natives & fast-growing SaaS startups scaling from 0 to $100M ARR.
Where to Find VibeScaling:
Episode Description:
Todd Busler is the CEO of Champify, a sales intelligence platform helping teams build pipeline through champion and user tracking.
Before Champify, Todd was a founding AE at Heap, scaling the company from $300K to $40M in ARR over six years. He started his career as one of the first 10 sellers at Square after working as a sales engineer at SAP, and spent time in venture capital at Unusual Ventures leading go-to-market operations.
He joined us to talk all things 0 to 1 sales, how to choose your next GTM opp, the pros/cons of VC vs. operator, and plenty of other topics that touch on the intersection of GTM + AI + startups.
Discussed in this episode:
Episode Highlights:
(00:00) Standing Out: How to Get Hired at Hot Startups
(09:00) Navigating Career Decisions with Intention
(18:09) The Transition to Venture Capital at Unusual
(26:47) The Future of Sales: AI, Personalization, and Dead Tactics
(29:54) Exploring the Path from VC Back to Operating
(32:32) The Challenges of 0-1 Sales and Building Pipeline
(34:56) Building Champify: Product Insights and GTM Strategy
(39:28) Effective Strategies for Booking Meetings in 2025
(42:17) Leveraging AI in Modern Sales Organizations
(53:58) Personal Growth, Community, and Tribe Mentality in Business
About VibeScaling Podcast:
The VibeScaling podcast interviews GTM leaders and investors at top AI startups and early-stage companies.
Every week, host Chris Balestras, partner @ VibeScaling (an advisory, recruiting, investing, & media firm for seed through series D AI-natives) sits down with operators from the fastest-growing AI natives and SaaS companies to break down what's actually working in go-to-market today.
No fluff, no theory - just honest, tactical insights from people in the trenches building the next generation of AI breakouts.
About VibeScaling:
VibeScaling is an advisory, recruiting, investing, & media firm for seed through series D AI-natives scaling from 0 to $100M ARR.
Where to Find VibeScaling: