It’s time to throw away the old go-to-market playbook with Paul Irving from GTMfund

Episode notes

n the season finale of Build Mode, Isabelle Johannessen sits down with Paul Irving, Partner and COO of GTMfund, to discuss go-to-market strategies for the AI era. Paul shares specific, actionable advice on how early-stage startups can win even when facing well-funded competitors who iterate at lightning speed. He also explains why distribution has become the final remaining moat when technical advantages disappear in months instead of years, and why every company needs a unique go-to-market motion tailored to their specific ICP. If you just can’t get enough AI-native GTM strategies, check out this episode of the GTMnow podcast: Build your AI Outbound Machine with ChatGPT Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:44 Meet Paul Irving - GTM Fund 04:02 Finding Competitive Edge in Specific Channels 07:34 Matching Operators to Startups with AI 12:08 The End of the B2B SaaS Playbook Era 14:09 Creative GTM Strategies 16:18 The Power of Warm Introduction Mapping 23:04 Success Stories: Ryder and Vanta 25:25 Red Flags in Go-to-Market Strategy 27:29 Advice for Resource-Constrained Founders 31:22 When to Start Hiring a GTM Team 34:57 Outro Isabelle Johannessen is our host.

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