Topline

Amanda Kahlow raised $30 million to build AI sales agents that improve the buying experience. As the founder of 1mind and previously 6sense, she sits at the forefront of modern go to market strategy. In this episode, Sam Jacobs, AJ Bruno, and Asad Zaman sit down with Amanda to discuss the reality of AI in the sales motion; she explains how Superhumans (1mind's AI Agents) handle everything from top of funnel enterprise pipeline generation to acting as sales engineers on live demos. The conversation covers the technical hurdles of building high performing AI agents, why she believes buyers will soon...

Intercom gave up $60 million in contracted seat-based ARR to bet the entire company on an AI agent named Fin. The result? They passed $400 million in total ARR, with Fin driving over $100 million in revenue and 35% growth. In this episode, Sam Jacobs, AJ Bruno, and Asad Zaman break down what went into this massive turnaround. The conversation starts with the problem: the SaaS market cap dropping by $600 billion, and how this creates an urgent need for structural pivots. The hosts discuss the financial reality of agentic business models, why historic 90% SaaS gross margins are disappearing, and how scaling compute costs...

Sam Jacobs (CEO, Pavilion), AJ Bruno (CEO, QuotaPath), and Asad Zaman (CEO, Sales Talent Agency) debate exactly how to handle team members resisting AI adoption. When to leave them, when to nudge them, and when to fire them. The discussion highlights real-world data, including how leading companies reach the top decile of AI adoption and the mechanics of running a 24-hour, four-squad AI hackathon to force experimentation. We also cover a critical performance heuristic from the past CPO of LaunchDarkly: if your team cannot execute simple tasks in a single day, you are falling behind. The conversation...

Is your traditional SaaS experience becoming obsolete? In this new 20-minute rapid-fire format, Sam Jacobs, AJ Bruno, and Asad Zaman tackle a specific listener question: How does a senior operator transition from a legacy B2B SaaS role into a high-growth AI company? The market is shifting toward a meritocracy where recent hands-on capability outweighs decades of tenure on a CV. The hosts break down exactly how to position yourself for companies like CoreWeave and EliseAI. They discuss why hiding your lack of technical engineering skills is a mistake, how to build a portfolio of "work product"...

Citrini Research claims AI agents will replace white-collar jobs by 2028, triggering a massive economic crash (and repricing of SaaS stocks). Sam Jacobs, AJ Bruno, and Asad Zaman analyze the validity of this thesis and the immediate impact on enterprise valuation multiples. The discussion moves to the practical realities of the innovator's dilemma, specifically how legacy software companies must cannibalize their own revenue to survive. They cover strategies for GTM transformation, the loss of pricing power in traditional SaaS, and why Gong's pivot to "Chief Revenue Architect" signals a deeper identity crisis in the market. Key Takeaways: <...

Nick Turner, CEO of Dreamdata, joins Sam in this special episode of Topline Spotlight. They unpack a challenge many B2B leaders are facing right now: how do you raise capital in a market obsessed with AI when you're not an "AI-native" company? Nick shares his journey from CRO to CEO and what it was like stepping into the top job—only to immediately lead a $55M Series B raise in one of the toughest venture environments in recent history. After speaking with 73 investors in six weeks, he reflects on the realities of fundraising today, investor skepticism ar...

Over the course of a few days, $300 billion in market cap was wiped out from public SaaS companies. Looking at the ten most notable US publicly traded SaaS companies over the last six months, they have lost upwards of $600 billion. The public markets are signaling that the classic VC-funded SaaS model is under massive pressure to show rapid AI integration and tangible revenue growth. This episode examines the fallout of the SaaS market correction and what it means for go-to-market operators. We discuss the shift away from legacy system of record platforms toward agile, AI-native solutions that eat labor...

AJ Meyer, CEO of Pickle Robot, isn't betting on general-purpose humanoid robots. Instead, he's a believer in robots and Physical AI which solve specific, high-volume problems. AJ joins Sam and Asad to reveal how he recently secured a nine-figure enterprise contract and why "boring" logistics tasks are the gateway to mass adoption of robots. But with mass adoption's opportunities, so too are there new risks. AJ shares that while physical safety is an important consideration, the cybersecurity risk of a networked robot workforce is what needs the most attention right now. This and a ton...

Mark Roberge is calling it now: we are about to witness the highest failure rate for a single cohort of startups in the history of tech. As author of Science of Scaling, and co-founder of Stage 2 Capital, Mark joins the pod to dismantle the "growth at all costs" mindset that still plagues founders. He explains why the assembly-line sales model is dead and how AI will force a return to the full-cycle "rainmaker" rep. **Key moments:** The AI Bubble: Why the index fund of the last two years of AI investments is likely...

The AI arms race is getting ugly. With top talent bouncing between Thinking Machines and OpenAI, the guys debate a critical question for every leader: Is loyalty dead, or has Silicon Valley just stopped pretending? Sam, Asad, and AJ discuss the ethics and dangers of the "secure the bag" mindset and what it means for building enduring companies. They also pivot to the tactical side of leadership, breaking down why most managers wait too long to fire and the hard truth that "what you allow, you encourage." Key topics: The Thinking Machines exodus...

AJ and Asad talk about one of the most insane job markets we've ever seen, the rise of AI agents, and the future of AI's talent wars.  Thanks for tuning in! Catch new episodes every Sunday Subscribe to Topline Newsletter. Tune into Topline Podcast, the #1 podcast for founders, operators, and investors in B2B tech. Join the free Topline Slack channel to connect with 600+ revenue leaders to keep the conversation going beyond the podcast!   Chapters: 00:00 Introduction and Hosts 00:32 The Golden Age of Sales...

Sam, Asad, and AJ are back to debate the hard numbers shaping the GTM landscape in 2026. The consensus? The freeze is thawing, but the rules have changed. Sam predicts we've entered the "Year of the Deal." Investors are exhausted, founders are tired, and the market is finally ready to clear—even if that means restructuring cap tables to take the win and move on. Asad brings the sobering data on the "Great Concentration," revealing that almost half of venture capital went to a surprisingly small number of companies, while AJ argues that without a compelling AI...

MIT reports that 95% of AI initiatives are failing to show ROI. Pablo Dominguez, Operating Partner at Insight Partners, joins the show to explain how to escape that group, and be in the 5% of companies that succeed. Pablo opens the playbook on "Dylan," Insight's internal system of 13 autonomous agents that cut their due diligence process from 35 hours down to 14. Other high points: How Insight used tools like Relevance AI and Gong to build an agent swarm that handles research, analysis, and data cleaning. Why Engineers aren't necessarily who you'd want to build...

Wade Foster (CEO) built Zapier into a profitable powerhouse without traditional VC funding—just $1M post-YC, then profitable ever since. On this episode, the co-founder and CEO shares how that capital discipline shaped their ability to pivot hard when AI hit. Wade also dishes on: The GPT-4 moment that shifted Zapier's roadmap A tested formula for AI agents that actually work How to incentivize internal AI adoption   Thanks for tuning in! Catch new episodes every Sunday Subscribe to Topline Newsletter. Tune into Topline Podcast, the #1 pod...

We are multi-million-dollar CEOs specializing in sales and go to market teams in tech. We've met more millionaire sales people than you can count. This is exactly how to explode your income in our favorite career path. We are multi-million-dollar CEOs specializing in sales and go to market teams in tech. We've met more millionaire sales people than you can count. This is exactly how to explode your income in our favorite career path. Thanks for tuning in! Catch new episodes every Sunday Subscribe to Topline Newsletter. Tune into Topline Podcast...

In this episode of Top Line, Sam Jacobs, Asad Zaman, and A.J. Bruno dive into the economic and mental health crises facing young professionals, analyzing data on why entry-level opportunities are shrinking in the age of AI.  Shifting to business strategy, the group also examines the nuances of pricing power, warning companies against raising rates without delivering commensurate value to the customer.  Thanks for tuning in! Catch new episodes every Sunday Subscribe to Topline Newsletter. Tune into Topline Podcast, the #1 podcast for founders, operators, and investors in B2B tech....

We did a comprehensive study on the state of data centers. Where is money going? Where should you be betting? Everything you need to know about data centers, all in one place.  Thanks for tuning in! Catch new episodes every Sunday Subscribe to Topline Newsletter. Tune into Topline Podcast, the #1 podcast for founders, operators, and investors in B2B tech. Join the free Topline Slack channel to connect with 600+ revenue leaders to keep the conversation going beyond the podcast! Chapters: 00:00 Intro and Cold Open 01:18 Quiz P...

The Topline team interview Ethan Smith, founder of Graphite, an San Fransico-based growth and SEO agency with clients like Notion, Webflow and Rippling. As well as Rahul Jain from Noble, a consultant who writes and speaks about AI. Thanks for tuning in! Catch new episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe to Topline Newsletter. Tune into Topline Podcast, the #1 podcast for founders, operators, and investors in B2B tech. Join the free Topline Slack channel to connect with 600+ revenue leaders to keep the conversation going beyond the podcast! Chapters: <...

We ran a comprehensive model to predict how many layoffs may happen in 2026. To see our math, and try to predict what's next, tune into this full episode of Topline.    Thanks for tuning in! Catch new episodes every Sunday Subscribe to Topline Newsletter. Tune into Topline Podcast, the #1 podcast for founders, operators, and investors in B2B tech. Join the free Topline Slack channel to connect with 600+ revenue leaders to keep the conversation going beyond the podcast!   Chapters: 00:43 Show intro & what we're covering tod...

The biggest AI companies in the world have made some bold statements about their priorities, but their actions haven't always lined up.   Thanks for tuning in! Catch new episodes every Sunday Subscribe to Topline Newsletter. Tune into Topline Podcast, the #1 podcast for founders, operators, and investors in B2B tech. Join the free Topline Slack channel to connect with 600+ revenue leaders to keep the conversation going beyond the podcast!   Chapters: 00:00 Welcome Back to Topline 00:52 How Well Do You Know The AI Bu...