Default

Growth

MatchDay Health

Advisor

Ascend AI

We help B2B startups automate their revenue operation systems with AI.

Founder

Copy.ai

• Collaborated with enterprise organizations to design and implement tailored solutions that drive business growth and efficiency, leveraging API and AI technologies for automation and streamlined processes.
• Provided comprehensive support throughout the development and implementation phases, including technical guidance, product demonstrations, and training to ensure client success and satisfaction.
• Stayed up to date on industry trends and advancements in technology to continuously enhance the solutions offered, proactively addressing client challenges and integrating systems for increased productivity.

Solutions Engineer

• Developed a sales process for the new Enterprise Workflows Product to more effectively target and engage high-value prospects, involving the creation of AI-automated processes for repeatable sales steps like prospecting, outreach, and follow-ups.
• Managed full-cycle sales and expanded solutions within existing client accounts by building strong relationships with key stakeholders, identifying growth opportunities, and delivering exceptional customer service.
• Collaborated with cross-functional teams such as marketing, product, and customer success to ensure alignment and maximize the impact of sales initiatives, while staying current with industry trends and continuously improving sales strategies.

Sales Operations

• Developed and refined the Enterprise sales process for Copy.ai's core product, experimenting with pricing, timing, and messaging, and successfully closed the first enterprise customer within the first week.
• Collaborated with Product and Engineering teams to tailor features based on enterprise customer feedback, built a comprehensive sales tool stack for effective data and activity management, and conducted thorough competitor analysis and market segmentation to enhance target market understanding.
• Led and expanded the sales team from one to six members, focusing on full-cycle sales processes from prospecting to closing, while providing training and mentorship, and regularly reporting on sales performance and pipeline to senior leadership.

Founding Sales

• Implemented top-down sales strategy within a defined territory, consistently closing sales and exceeding 150% of sales quota to drive business growth
• Recommended solutions to prospects, helping them understand and address their real business needs, leading to increased client loyalty and referral business

District Manager

The Hershey Company

• Executed sales plans over $12.5M sales territory and achieved top team sales lead role by hitting 138%+ sales quota YoY
• Promoted to Walmart Advocate after 3 months in role, and led, planned, and ran seasonal sales initiatives, growing the western territory Walmart (over 10 states) - sales by 114% YoY

Territory Sales Manager

Idaho Transportation Department

Continuous Improvement Intern

Welcome, my name is Caitlyn - I started my career in sales and ended up in GTM engineering/partnerships.

I've been operating the the tech startup space for the majority of my career, and find my specialty somewhere in between sales, engineering, and scrappy solutions.

I've worked with dozens of startups, launched and sunset many companies myself, and advise on a few incredible startups as well.

My journey has been shaped by countless coffee chats and mentors who've generously shared their wisdom. 

Passionate about paying it forward. Whether you're looking to break into tech, launch a startup, or navigate the AI landscape—I'm here to help. Let's connect!

Nearly 5 years ago, I had $500 to my name. I packed what I could fit into my car and moved to Austin, Texas, to start over.

After graduating from university, I took a job in central California. I quickly fell into a life that made me absolutely miserable. I was in an unhappy relationship, working at a job I hated, making barely enough to survive, and living in a city where you typically wouldn't stop for gas.

Thanksgiving of 2020 was one of the hardest days of my life. I ended up back at my parents house for the holidays, knocked on my ass. Once I had enough space from all the problems that forced me into a daily survival mode, I was able to see my situation for what it truly was.

I realized I was afraid that if I tried to make a change, the last few remaining threads of happiness in my life would also disappear.

If I quit my job, which left me barely scraping by, how would I pay for food, rent, or gas?
If I ended my horrible relationship, could I deal with my situation alone?
If I left that hellhole of a town, where would I go?
What if I put myself through all of this, and it didn't get better?

But I also realized that the "gamble" I would be taking to restart my life was betting on myself, giving up my remaining 5% of happiness for the chance of building a life where I was successful, happy, fulfilled, and free.

So I made a choice. A choice to choose a different path.

I had heard of Austin being an "up-and-coming hub for people in their 20s", with numerous job opportunities and a vibrant social scene. Having never visited, I didn't know what I was getting into, but I decided to move there anyway.

When I returned home after the holidays, I ended my relationship with my boyfriend. I immediately turned to LinkedIn, where I spent every spare minute I had applying for jobs. I didn't even care what the job was; I just needed out ASAP.

I worked my 9-5 job, then came home and kept applying.

I applied for over 200 roles before I landed my first interview.

By the summer of 2021, I had 3 job offers in Austin. So I quit my role and used my last $500 on gas to drive myself to Texas. I couldn't afford a moving truck, so I took what I could fit in my car.

I knew one person who graciously let me rent out their spare bedroom for a few months while I got on my feet.

Little did I know this was the best decision I could have made for myself.
I rebuilt my life brick by brick into a life I wanted.

Now? I'm the Head of Product Growth at a high-growth tech startup, in a loving relationship, surrounded by bright and kind friends, and I have built for myself a life that I am truly happy in.

Caitlyn Vaughn

When I negotiated my promotion at Default with Nico Ferreyra, I had what I thought was a long list of "important asks" I requested.

For Nico, there was only one request: As a remote worker stepping into a leadership role, he wanted me to be in the office once a month. It was increasingly important for me to have more face time with the team.

At the time, I thought it was a fairly big ask to dedicate a quarter of my year to living in New York. 

I have a whole life in Austin, all my friends, hobbies, pets, relationships, and most of all… QUIET. (I don't know how you New Yorkers do it)

However, now that it's been over six months since I've been consistently visiting NYC, being able to lead our team in person has become extremely important for maintaining our momentum.

When I'm in the office, people ask me questions they wouldn't usually ask.

The team gets more exposure to the projects & priorities I'm working on, and they can weigh in more just via proximity.

I get to connect with my team, and we can build a culture of great rapport and humor that is woven into our work, making us more connected as a team.

But there's also a secret second piece of value which is a symptom of this hybrid work model… One that I wouldn't get even if I lived in New York full-time.

When I am in New York, while I have to take a break from my bustling life and responsibilities, it means I can go ALL IN on Default that week.

There's no looming friend's birthday party, inconvenient dentist visit, or animal crisis that requires me to divert my attention from work.

It's a selfish blessing to be able to pause my life and put 100% of my energy into work.

I've always been a strong advocate of remote work (and I still am, so sue me), but in hindsight, I can see why Nico only came to our conversation with one request.

As a leader, one of the most valuable things you can do with your team is spend some face time with them.

So, for one week each month, I pause my life in sunny Austin, Texas, and dedicate 100% of my energy to building an incredible company with a fantastic team.

*ft our office dog, Bruno*

After investing $80k in my university education, my most valuable skill would turn out to be beer pong.

When I moved to Austin, hoping to build a better life for myself, the move itself resolved many of the factors contributing to my unhappiness.

But in moving to fix my broken life, I also traded one miserable job for another (but with a view now).

While this was a massive step in the right direction, a big piece of my happiness equation was still missing.

I made my first friend at a concert, where she invited me to play beer pong with her the following weekend.

In that moment, I couldn't believe I had moved 2,000 miles to start my life over, and the big plan I came up with was beer pong.

But as they say, sometimes you just have to trust the process!

When the day of the event came, I walked in and saw 128 people warming up for the competition.

That's when I learned I had somehow found myself in a tech event in ATX.

Although I wasn't sure what "tech" really meant and was intimidated, I found solace in the fact that we were all just people trying to win the $1,000 prize for throwing a ball into a cup.

Over the next few hours, I met the kindest, ambitious, and generous founders, who became some of my closest friends.

They saw the potential in me, told me I was smart, clever, and capable.

Shortly after meeting my new friends, I was sitting at a dinner listening to a conversation about them all "putting $10k seed money into a buddy's new startup". They talked about different investment opportunities we should consider and the new technologies on the rise we should watch for.

At the time, I was absolutely mind-blown that someone would even have $10,000 to their name, let alone consider giving it away.

That was the moment when I began to realize the world was not what I thought it was, that the rules I had learned were not the real, and that my life could turn out differently (better) than I thought.

My new friends were instrumental in my transformation. They gave me a spark, confidence, and access to a network of people who would support me in breaking into tech. Their belief in me was a powerful force in my journey.

Through my new connections, I landed my role as the first GTM hire at Copy.ai, where I was under-qualified and overambitious.

I helped build out a PLG sales-assist model that generated $12M in revenue in my first year, while building an incredibly cutting-edge product and working with a great team.

Looking back, it's incredible how a simple game of beer pong led to such significant changes in my life. Moving to Austin opened new doors and introduced me to friends who inspired and believed in me.

When I feel like I'm not getting enough traction as a leader, one of the best things I can do is to pop my head up, look around at the companies I admire for inspiration.

For me, Bland.ai is one of those companies.

This week, Deanna Garcia & Stan Rymkiewicz hosted a customer webinar with Mack Caruso, the CRO of Bland.ai, who discussed how they scaled from $0 to a $350M valuation in less than 2 years.

Here are a few things I see them doing that have helped them grow into the next Unicorn.

(I would say these are intuitive, but candidly, we ourselves are not doing all of these things yet at Default, so this is for both of us 😂 )

1. Remove barriers to purchase.

Self-service matters. People trust their own experience over sales pitches. If your product delivers value, the fastest way to grow revenue is to make it easy to buy. Stop looking for growth hacks and start removing friction.

2. Act on your data. 

Bland had high-intent leads calling their demo line, but no one followed up. Mack built a Default workflow that enriched leads, qualified them, and routed them to reps with Slack notifications for immediate action. Result? 20X revenue growth.

3. Consolidate your stack. 

Tools that integrate with your revenue systems beat best-in-class point solutions. Bland replaced their expensive, fragmented stack (routing, scheduling, forms, enrichment, qualification) with Default. Less time connecting dots, more time selling.

It's easy to become stagnant in your role. To do what's familiar, and keep beating your head against the wall on the same problems.

Sometimes the best growth strategy is just getting out of your own way.

Taplio

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