The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast

The GTMnow Podcast

GTMnow

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The GTMnow Podcast interviews well-known tech executive, VC, and founders - the expert operators in the trenches who have ‘been there, done that’ to build some of the fastest-growing software companies. Every week, a guest joins Sophie Buonassisi to dissect their stories, revealing expert insights around what worked, what didn’t, and how things actually went down.This podcast is produced by GTMnow, the media brand of GTMfund - sharing insight on go-to-market from working with hundreds of portfolio companies backed by over 350 of the best go-to-market executives. GTMfund is an early-stage VC fund focused on investing in the most exciting, up-and-coming B2B SaaS companies across the world. The LP network consists of VP and C-level Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success leaders from companies like DocuSign, Salesforce, LinkedIn, Snowflake, Okta, Zoom, and many more.Visit gtmnow.com for more details and to sign up for our newsletter and other content resources.

Recent Episodes

How Figma Scaled From $2M to IPO | Kyle Parrish (First Sales Hire)
APR 22, 2026
How Figma Scaled From $2M to IPO | Kyle Parrish (First Sales Hire)
Kyle Parrish joined Figma as the first-ever sales hire when the company was doing $2M in ARR and helped scale it to $950M ARR. Figma then went on to IPO (FIG). But the path there was anything but smooth.In this episode, Kyle breaks down what it actually took to build Figma's enterprise sales motion from scratch, including the no-discount rule that made procurement teams furious, the 40-hour interview weeks when hiring felt impossible to keep up with, and what it was like to lead a 300-person team through a failed $20B Adobe acquisition, and then have their best year immediately after.We cover:- Why Figma refused to discount, even when Microsoft pushed back- How to hire the right first sales rep as a founder- The PLG to enterprise transition most companies get wrong- What the Adobe deal collapse actually felt like from the inside- How Figma went from 3 products to 8 overnight and launched into an IPO- What great sales look like in the AI eraTimestamp:0:00 – Intro 1:02 – Guest intro: Kyle Parrish 1:35 – Joining Figma at $2M ARR in 2018 5:01 – First meeting with Dylan (Figma CEO) 6:13 – How to find your first sales hire 9:05 – Stage alignment in early hiring 11:43 – Early-stage operators need "scar tissue" 13:19 – Northstar metric at Figma 14:13 – Obsessing over customer conversations 16:44 – Building Figma's brand through community 17:31 – Scaling the "unscalable" 20:08 – In-person GTM vs. digital 22:47 – Was there a moment Figma might not make it? 24:48 – Pivoting after the Adobe deal collapsed 28:10 – Figma's no-discount rule 31:05 – Enterprise ELAs replacing discounting 34:47 – What makes a great salesperson in the AI era 36:56 – Missionaries vs. mercenaries in AI-era GTM 39:47 – Spotting the next Dropbox or Figma 43:46 – Kyle's post-Figma investing focus 45:58 – Family, travel & what's nextGuest: Kyle Parrish, former VP Sales at Figma LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kparrish8/X: https://x.com/KyleHParrishHost: Sophie Buonassisi, SVP Marketing at GTMnowLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/X: https://x.com/sophiebuonaVisit us on: https://gtmnow.comFollow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnowFollow us on X (Twitter): https://x.com/GTMnow_Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_nowFollow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gtmnow_Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gtmnow_/Sponsors: Nooks - the AI workspace for outbound teams: https://www.nooks.ai/gtmfund.Tech - Domains, where the next generation of builders is planting their flag. Secure your .tech domain today from any registrar of your choice. Transcript available under the episode here: https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/Subscribe to GTMnow for the latest episodes! https://gtmnow.comFor inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected] is a media brand brought to you by VC firm, GTMfund: https://gtmfund.com/
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47 MIN