GTM 112: The Ultimate MarTech Guide and the Great Contraction with Austin Hay

The GTM Podcast

Austin Hay is the Co-Founder of Clarify, a new intelligent CRM built as a platform that developers love. He is also a Partner and MarTech Teacher at Reforge, as well as a MarTech Advisor and GTM Investor at HBE Ventures. With a background leading marketing technology teams at high-growth startups like Ramp, Branch, and mParticle, Austin brings a wealth of expertise on the evolving MarTech and RevTech landscape.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The current state of MarTech and RevTech, and why we're headed for a "great contraction" after years of expansion.
• The future of CRMs and what a next-gen system should look like to unify data and provide more out-of-the-box functionality.
• Advice for founders and leaders on being selective with tools, focusing on a few things done well, and the importance of treating people with respect.
• Austin's journey building Clarify and his perspectives on brand, culture, and community.

Highlights:
(5:46) Why the MarTech and RevTech space is a "mess" right now.
(13:05) Fundamental building blocks for an effective GTM tech stack.
(21:15) The problem with how most companies are assembling their RevTech stack today.
(36:45) The future of CRMs as systems of action, not just systems of record.
(44:48) The most impactful lesson from Austin's career on how to treat people when they leave your company.
(52:25) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Austin thinks is bull$***.
(59:18) One thing that is working for Austin in go-to-market right now.
Guest Speaker Links (Austin Hay):
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/austinahay/
Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/
Sponsors:

• Brought to you by Upland Altify. A leading provider of AI-enhanced sales solutions, Altify is designed to help revenue teams work smarter. This Salesforce-native suite of sales solutions empowers seller productivity, streamlines workflows, and uncovers hidden opportunities – all leading to significant revenue growth - learn more.
• Brought to you by Vanta. With Vanta Questionnaire Automation, go-to-market teams can complete security reviews up to 5 times faster, helping you close deals in less time than ever. Over 8,000 global companies use Vanta to streamline security questionnaires and close deals fast. Experience Questionnaire Automation with a self-guided product tour, no sign-up required, at vanta.com/gtmnow.

The GTM Podcast
Features conversations with the top 1% of tech executives, VCs, and founders - the experts who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Scott Barker to dissect their stories - revealing what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.
This podcast is produced by GTMnow, the media brand of VC firm GTMfund.
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