Bijay Alex Mathew

Art of Mentoring

Chief Revenue Officer

Pavilion

Austin Executive Chapter Head

Envoy

Executive Member

Panopto

Vice President of Enterprise Sales

Skipfour

Vice President of Sales

Chatfuel

Head of Sales

Community Brands

Senior Manager of Sales

Verizon Enterprise Solutions

Sales Manager 

Verizon Wireless

General Manager/Sales Leader

CRO at Art of Mentoring | Seed to $200M+ Revenue | AI Chatbots | HR Tech | Ecommerce | EdTech | Wireless | Startups, Scaleups and F12 Sales Leader

Results-driven executive with 20+ years of experience, adept at leading high-performing sales teams and driving revenue growth for SaaS companies. Successfully led teams of 4 to 200 employees, overseeing revenues ranging from $4M to $200M. Expertise in sales process design, optimization, customer relationship management, and expansion strategies. Passionate about building world-class teams, fostering talent development, and delivering outstanding performance, as evidenced by achieving 100% YoY revenue growth and an 85% Net Promoter Score.

Pavilion is powered by an international community of revenue leaders from the world’s fastest-growing companies. Together, we teach new skills, forge meaningful connections, and help our companies grow. 

As an Event Host, I host Executive Salon Dinners for Pavilion and drive insightful, confidential dialogues on trending topics, growth opportunities, and strategies for overcoming challenges. 

Unlock your professional potential and level up with community-powered learning for CEOs, GTM leaders, and teams. Join today at joinpavilion.com/apply-now.

Nathan Latka asked me to deliver a talk on how Cognism scaled from $0 to $70 million ARR++ at SaaSOpen (Next: Sept 5th, NYC). Most CEOs face crisis on their journey from startup to scale-up. But as you can see in this graph (below), our growth has been steady. When asked to reflect on why, I had a surprisingly simple answer:

Mentorship.

Mentorship is the shortcut to success.

In fact, I'd say no single thing can more quickly accelerate your career.

Unfortunately, most people do not invest the time to find the right mentors. 

Last week during my speech at SaaSOpen (Next: Sept 5th, NYC), I asked who has a mentor. 

The room was packed, but only a few hands went up.

When I started Cognism I too had no mentors.

As a former trader and computer engineer, I had little knowledge of the sales intelligence industry. 

I didn't even know the sales intelligence industry existed!

Fortunately, this turned out to be an advantage.

I knew I knew nothing and that I had to constantly seek out knowledge.

The full pathway on my mentorship journey is too long for a single LinkedIn article, but to summarize...

I went from zero mentors to an extensive network.

I have mentors for business, wealth and fitness.

Here's just a few of them:

Pete Daffern – my CEO mentor and chairman at Cognism. Pete is an experienced operator with experience as CEO of Clairmail, Purisma and President at NetSuite. He has seen many of the issues I encounter on my day-to-day scaling journey in his previous roles and helps me navigate the landmines before I step on them. 

Katy Trost – a CEO coach. Katy helps me navigate company OKRs, company values and executive team relationships. Katy now runs the PERA network that connects fast growing SaaS companies over wonderful dinners in New York and London.

Previous advisors and mentors to give a quick shout out to include Javier Brage, Nick Keating, Paul H., Darko Butina and Tom J.. All who helped at earlier parts of the scaling journey. 

Here's an important caveat...

Mentorship doesn't stop with receiving advice.

It's equally important to give back.

I now break out 2 hours on Friday’s to mentor back into the SaaS community. Being a mentor helps me reflect on my lessons and bake them into teachable material.

What's the takeaway?

If you want to make your journey to the top easier and faster, find a mentor who is where you want to be in 3-4 years.

Make sure that mentor is relevant for the skillset you have right now AND where you want to be.

Find the right person and just ask for 15-30 minutes a month to start, the worst they can say is no.

Then go ask the next person.

P.S.

Has a mentor helped you accelerate your career?

Let's celebrate all our great mentors today!

Tag your mentor in the comments and how they helped you.

Just published our brand new report with latest b2b performance data! 🧡

🔥🔥 GTM Benchmarks Winter 2024 REPORT - over 40 pages! 🔥🔥

-- 2024 Forecast
-- Pipeline & Revenue Benchmarks
-- Latest GTM Trends
-- Partner-led Motion on the rise (check out the data)
-- Brand matters (how to cut budgets but not growth) 

--> Link to download in comments

As we look back on 2023  

👉 57% of companies failed to build sufficient pipeline as they cut back hard on marketing spend (without a counter strategy).

👉 72% of companies are still experiencing longer sales cycles than in 2022. 

👉 56% of companies missed on revenue while 44% met or exceeded plan

👉 SMBs reacted quickly in 2022 to shield themselves, but with limited resources, those that outperformed the market in 2023 were hyper-focused on where they can grow the most.

👉 Enterprises were hit hard on new logo growth in 2022, but most didn't miss on revenue targets until 2023 due to their large customer base and existing contracts. 

👉 Large companies were finally forced to react, resulting in 2x the layoffs in H1 2023 compared to the prior year. 

👉 54% of companies with a partner program rely on partners for more than 25% of their revenue. 

👉 Proving ROI to unlock deals and driving expansion within customers is what set apart those who exceed on revenue targets in 2023 

Data and thought partners:
G2, Gainsight, Partnership Leaders, Bombora, Pavilion, 
+ GTM Partners team: Lindsay Cordell, Sangram Vajre, Sarah Allen-Short, Karthiga Ratnam 
+ Jeff Marcoux, Asher Mathew, Scott S., Godard Abel, Palmer Houchins, Sam Jacobs, 🐶 Jacco van der Kooij, Jason Yarborough 🐻 

#GTM #b2b #gotomarket

Winter 2024 Go-to-Market Benchmark Report

Pavilion Executives gathered last night at Fixe Southern House for good food and drinks and even better conversations.  Thanks to Madilyn Hellwig and the Events team at Pavilion for making the arrangements.

💡AI dominated the discussion of the new things we are testing for GTM

🧠 Many of our members are starting new companies and roles or building out new teams and GTM motions - the energy and excitement was unmatched

🙌🏽 Pavilion execs from around the country that were in town for Wynter Spryng Conference joined us

✨ We had a few prospective members join us to see what all the hype was about - I am pretty sure they will be joining soon.

Special thanks to Andy Mewborn, Lynne Riojas, Alon Waks, Jennifer Rhima, Richard F. Purcell, William Chia, Navin Jagannath, Tarun Matta, Brandon Taylor, Sandeep Singh, Jane Serra, Kathleen Booth, Lily Youn Jaroszewski, Sean Piket, Robert Blount, Alex Poulos, Dwight Lawson, Nivedita (Neetha) Ratakonda, and Tommy Taylor for making it a night to remember.

Austin GTM Execs - want to attend our next event?  DM me

Upcoming Pavilion Austin Events:

March 30 9am - Pavilion Pups meetup at Cedar Bark Park hosted by Sandeep Singh

April 5 12pm - First Friday Executive Lunch at Perry's Steakhouse & Grille - Domain Northside

April 10 6pm - Pavilion Salon Dinner at Fixe Southern House - a few spots still open

April 12  3pm  Cloud Poker Night Pavilion Preview -- Network and test your poker skills from the comfort of your own home.  Real cards and a real dealer - we play for pride and fun (not real gambling)

April 18 5:30pm - Third Thursday Happy Hour - at Cosmic Saltillo

Pavilion members - registrations links inside member hub and in our slack channel.

If you are a GTM Executive and you are interested in attending - DM me.

Nivedita (Neetha) Ratakonda Sandeep Singh Rita Jhaveri Tarun Matta Navin Jagannath  

🎉✨ What an incredible time we had at our recent online poker event hosted with Cloud Poker Night.  A huge thank you to everyone from Pavilion who joined us for an hour filled with fun, laughter, and some friendly competition. 🃏🌐

🤑It's not real gambling, we played for pride and friendly competition, resulting in deeper, more genuine relationships.  

🩳You can play from the comfort of your home with a live dealer and real cards delivered to your laptop, no matter where you are.

⏱️This 60-minute game is a TopGolf version of poker and a great networking opportunity to meet more Pavilion members

🏆We had prize hands with amazing products from Magic Mind and Everyday Dose.

Special thanks to Tony Martin and Joseph Mravca for setting up this amazing event. These guys are on to something big - imagine getting all of your stalled deals, closed lost, and competitive deals into a 1 hour poker game.

The virtual setup didn't stop us from feeling like we were all sitting at the same table, sharing stories and strategies. It's amazing how technology can bring us together, even when we're apart.

Thanks to Bryan Kern, Leslie Greenwood, Sandeep Singh, Neil W., Molly George, Zach Wright, Daniel Beck, Dwight Lawson, Stephanie Valenti, and Rita Jhaveri for joining us.


Thinking about joining Pavilion? DM me to learn more about our vibrant community and upcoming events. Let’s connect! 🙌

Pavilion First Friday Executive lunch is tomorrow April 5 12 pm at Perry's Steakhouse & Grille (Domain Northside)

🥘 Enjoy great food and drinks
🧠 Connect with the biggest brains in GTM
💵 No sponsor but can you put a price on connection?
🥗  You don't have to get the pork chop

All are welcome - registration is required - see link in first comment

The LinkedIn gurus and emoji haters will not like this post

🐶 What are you doing on Saturday?
❓ Are you in Austin and do you have a dog or do you like dogs?
🎯 Come to our first Pavilion Pups meetup

🟥 Saturday March 30 9:00 AM
🟥Cedar Bark Park 2525 W New Hope Dr, Cedar Park, TX 78613
🟥 All are welcome registration is required.  See first comment


What are you doing this Friday at 3 pm CT?

🃏Join me  for a fun virtual poker game with Pavilion Execs and our friends from Cloud Poker Night! 

🤑It's not real gambling, but we play for pride and friendly competition, resulting in deeper, more genuine relationships. 

🩳You can play from the comfort of your home with a live dealer and real cards delivered to your laptop, no matter where you are. 

⏱️This 60-minute game is a TopGolf version of poker and a great networking opportunity to meet more Pavilion members like Richard F. Purcell, Walter Pape 💡, Leslie Greenwood, Stephanie Valenti, Dwight Lawson, Molly George, and Zach Wright


Don't miss out! Register now: https://lnkd.in/gGqYkvJq 

the-pavilion-preview.webflow.io

The Pavilion Preview

Got my copy today. Looking forward to this one. Congratulations Jake Dunlap!

Taplio

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