GTM-focused SaaS Advisor and Board Member

I am a go-to-market-focused technology executive and board member with over 20 years experience leading SaaS companies.  

I have led product, marketing, sales, and customer success, and twice I have run companies as CEO.  Along the way I have served formally on 4 boards of directors (including one public company), 7 advisory boards and 3 non-profit boards.

As part of these roles, I have helped to:

* Sell 5 companies (to Oracle, Amazon, Aurea, Maritz, and NonProfitEZ)
* Secure over $100M in equity financing (series Seed, A, B, C)
* Acquire and integrate 5 companies
* Manage small and large quotas (up to $300M)
* Launch dozens of products
* Get two products to profitability on a pure PLG / self-serve basis
* Grow multiple companies at 50%+ growth rates
* Restructure / downsize multiple companies
* Hire hundreds of people
* Create over $1B of shareholder value

I am now 100% focused on teaching, writing, investing and advising.  

As the Executive Chairman of Winning by Design, I work with leadership teams to optimize go-to-market strategies, product development, and customer success.  As an active board member and advisor, I focus on product development and corporate strategy.  As a professor at BYU's Marriott School of Business I teach Product-led Growth, B2B Sales & Marketing, and Career Strategy.

I recently published my first book with Stanford University Press:  FREEMIUM, available from all book retailers.

I am proud to serve as a formal advisor to Mercato Partners, Pledge, Terrett, and ProAI, and an informal advisor to other entrepreneurs and business leaders changing the world.

My mission is to empower the next generation of software leaders and entrepreneurs to create value for their customers and for society.

Dave Boyce

No one has it figured out. 

Since AI changed everything about how customers discover, buy, and use your product, you have to go back to being the "chief figure it out" officer.

"Working harder" on yesterday's playbooks won't cut it.

But to figure it out, you need an experimental framework.  This is what I laid out in my book FREEMIUM, and I recently discussed it at length with Craig Taylor on his podcast, Truth, Lies & B2B Growth.

You can find the full episode on my SubStack:  ProductLedGTM.

XOXO,

-db

Founder at Inscaler.com | Your First Sales Team Done Right | Helped 150+ startups

Most founders don't struggle with sales because they're bad at it.

They struggle because no one ever taught them how to build it properly.

I've seen this pattern for years - first inside fast-growing companies, and now alongside founders building from zero.

I started my career in B2B sales at Ryanair, LinkedIn, and Cloudbeds, between Italy and Ireland, where I spent 15+ years selling, hiring, and leading sales teams.

I've hired 100+ salespeople, owned revenue numbers up to €10M, and lived the reality of scaling before it becomes "predictable".

Then I stepped into the founder world.

In January 2023, I launched Inscaler with a simple idea:
💡 help founders turn sales from chaos into a system.

Since then, I've worked with 150+ startups, supporting founders as they move from:

→ founder-led sales
→ to their first real sales team
→ to repeatable, predictable revenue

What I learned  is this:

Founders don't need more advice. ⛔
They don't need lead gen agencies ⛔
They don't need wannabe consultants but real operators ⛔

We focus on enabling founders exit the founder-led sales and build their first sales team right.

No hype. 
No "growth hacks".
Just fundamentals, appropriately applied.

⸻

Why Inscaler is different 👨🏻‍💻

I don't believe in copying what works for Series C companies and forcing it on early-stage startups.

I believe:

✅ Sales is simple — when the foundations are right
✅ Growing people matters more than chasing revenue
✅ If the process is proper, the numbers follow

(And yes, I do all this with a Calabrian accent.)

⸻

What's changing now ♻️

After helping 150+ startups hands-on and 600K in revenue, Inscaler is evolving.

We're transitioning into a productized sales offering - built for founders who want:

👍🏻 Clear sales foundations
👍🏻 Proven frameworks
👍🏻 Hands-on guidance without agency dependency

If you're a founder navigating your first sales hires, your first pipeline, or the moment where sales can't depend only on you anymore - this is precisely what Inscaler was built for.

I share practical sales lessons, frameworks, and real founder stories every week.

DM me to start a conversation or more on inscaler.com

Matteo Papaluca

Watch out, this batch of agritech founders, they are coming for you 🔥

Grazie al team LaGemma Venture for the opportunity to meet all these incredible startups

First time in Cuneo and amazed by the space and the vibes in there 🇮🇹

My competitors made me stronger.

Inscaler Q1 is growing 20% vs previous years.

How?

When I started in January 2023 - I was pretty much alone in this space.

Then the rise of AI, the possibility for anyone to launch something in this space - the market got crowded.

Many founders knock at my door after trying 2-3 "sort of" competitors.
Lead generation agencies, generalist.

But the ended up to me.

Why? 

I think 3 main reasons:

1) I have a niche and a brand that is very narrow and difficult to breach;

2) There is strong word of mouth and referral snowball that it is hard to stop or replicate;

3) I work alone and have 90% margin on anything I do.

Yet - I am concerned. 
Of course.

I'm concerned about the noise.
I'm concerned about the trends people jump on.
I'm concerned about the proliferation of wannabes.
I'm concerned about Linkedin alghorithm rewarding wannabes vs real creators

In the meantime I have one ultimate goal in mind.

Beat any competitor that comes my way through:

1) Superior delivery and high-touch service
I'm the sales co-founder that my clients never had.

2) Boost in productivity and AI to help the back end
Thanks to AI I now spend less time in admin and more time delivering value for my clients.

3) Continuous learning and apply the latest B2B frameworks and processes to my clients

I'm not building a solo business that will be dead in 1-2 years as soon as the hype is over.

I'm building something I can work on for the next 10-20 years.

Hopefully 10 years - so that I can finally live in Calabria and enjoy the world by the beach 🌊




----
Credits to Shaan Puri for the image
Read and screenshoted from 1% better newsletter

Inscaler CSM Framework 👇🏻

When founders build their first sales team, they focus on hunting.

New logos.
New pipeline.
New deals.

Good.

But your existing revenue is your oxygen.

If you ignore it, you bleed silently.

Here's how I structure Customer Success quotas in early-stage SaaS.

𝟭. 𝗤𝘂𝗼𝘁𝗮 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

One of the easiest ways to start:

Total baseline – Expected churn X Expected upsell

Example:

You have 300K this year in contract renewals.

You expect:

• 5% churn
• 20% upsell

300K – 5% + 20% = 342K target.

That becomes your CSM revenue goal.

𝟮. 𝗤𝘂𝗼𝘁𝗮 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

Now spread that target based on when renewals actually land. (close date)

Example:

• Q1 → 100K
• Q2 → 50K
• Q3 → 100K
• Q4 → 92K

Each quarter has its number.

𝟯. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟵𝟬-𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲

If a contract ends in 90 days, work starts now.

• 90 days → Send contract and pricing
• 60 days → Renewal discussion meeting
• 30 days → Close

If you start 30 days before, you are already late.

𝟰. 𝗨𝗽𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹

If your CSM only "supports", you are underusing them.

Upsell is part of the job.

Create structured moments:

• Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs)
• Expansion mapping
• Usage analysis
• Stakeholder conversations

Always plan for at least 20% upsell.

If churn risk is higher, push expansion harder.

—

Existing revenue is more strategic than new revenue.

Renewals + expansion drive:

• NRR (Net Revenue Retention)
• GRR (Gross Revenue Retention)
• LTV (Lifetime Value)

Investors watch these numbers closely.

If you are building your first sales team, don't build only hunters.

Build the foundations of your CS motion.

You won't regret it.

---

Save this framework or send it to somebody who needs to see it 🤝🏻


------

We are almost fully booked for Q1, new slots for founders who need to build and scale their 1st sales team, starting from April. DM me to book a free sales diagnostic.

If people react weirdly when you show your pricing - it's time to change it

"𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬?"
"𝘖𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝟦?"

Then ask the harder one:

"𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦?"

The room went silent....😅

Sounds harsh.
And micromanaging.

But this is how a conversation started last week with one of my clients.

We were reviewing a sales rep's calendar.

Not to control them.
Because the pipeline was weak.
It's been weak for some time.

𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘴? 👇🏻

It always starts with a 𝗽𝗶𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄.

- Founder and sales team.
- CRM open.
- Deals expected to close this month or quarter.

If all seems healthy, we stop.

If not, we go step by step.

Until we see the real problem.

And most of the time, it shows up in the calendar.

How I conduct pipeline reviews 👇🏻

𝟭. 𝗥𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝗴𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗥𝗠

Look for these:

👉🏻 Too many deals stuck at the start

Discovery. Demo. New.
If deals stay there, they are not moving forward.

👉🏻 No recent activity

Last meeting three weeks ago?
That deal is probably dead.

👉🏻 No next step booked

If you keep emailing "just checking in" and nothing is booked, you lose control.

𝟮. 𝗪𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗽𝗶𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝘂𝗽 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿

This is where things get serious.

👉🏻 Less than 3 to 4 customer meetings per day

We need to talk.

👉🏻 No blocked time for calls or follow-ups

Pickup the phone more.

👉🏻 Meetings not accepted or double-booked

You have no idea what's going on.

Pipeline management matters. A lot.

I have never seen a disorganised rep win consistently.

Good reps run sales like a factory.

A leads to B.
B leads to C.

Every day. Same routine.

And it's our job to keep them 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲.

Pipelines do not fix themselves.

They are built day by day.

Meeting by meeting.

Block by block in the calendar.

Start there.

____

My name is Matteo Papaluca and with Inscaler I help early-stage founders transition from 

"𝘐 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮" 👉🏻 "𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦"

We have a few spots open from March to April. 

DM me for a free diagnostic of your startup.

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The Battle

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