<p>Brett Queener (Partner at Bonfire Ventures) joins GTMnow to share what three decades across Siebel, early Salesforce, co-founding, and seed-stage investing has taught him about what actually wins now that software is cheaper and faster than he ever imagined.</p><p><br></p><p>Brett was one of the earliest GTM hires at Salesforce when it had seven employees. He helped build the go-to-market playbook that defined a generation of SaaS: enterprise segmentation, sales motion design, product marketing, the whole works. He then co-founded SmartRecruiters, angel invested in companies like Outreach and Pando, and eventually joined Bonfire Ventures as a Partner to do early-stage investing the way he thinks it should be done: hands-on, operator-led, and built around founders who are ruthless about execution.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Guest links:</strong></p><p>Brett Queener - LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/brettqueener/" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.linkedin.com/in/brettqueener/</a>Bonfire Ventures - LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/bonfire-ventures/" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.linkedin.com/company/bonfire-ventures/</a>Guest company website: <a href="https://www.bonfirevc.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.bonfirevc.com/</a>Host links:Max - LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxaltschuler/" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxaltschuler/</a>Max - X: <a href="https://x.com/HackItMax" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://x.com/HackItMax</a>Paul - LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulsirving/" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulsirving/</a>Paul - X: <a href="https://x.com/PaulGTM" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://x.com/PaulGTM</a>Newsletter: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbExGY2RBbFk0eEdMWVN6M182UnFveUxPanVaZ3xBQ3Jtc0ttekRIemotY2NlakZhcmtKRVBKd3N5N0tFeG1qa3o4NWZvRkQ1dGVIbXZ0QmFTUll1Rmo4ZVhyY3lGVGxwNElXTEs5V1ZXVW54djhvR3lBZEpIaHpEV0txQWFhYkk1NzM4NEFCalExUXlLVjh2U3hUcw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fthegtmnewsletter.substack.com%2F&v=wTKFZqIU4Dc" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://thegtmnewsletter.substack.com</a></p><p><strong>Brought to you by: AngelList</strong></p><p>From starting as a small, operator-led rolling fund, to evolving to an institutional platform, AngelList has been a core partner in every phase of GTMfund’s growth. Their software-first fund admin infrastructure allowed us to scale without sacrificing agility — from onboarding hundreds of LPs seamlessly to handling compliance, capital calls, and reporting as our fund size evolved.</p><p><br></p><p>As we expanded from Fund I to Fund II, AngelList took care of the back-office operations, allowing us to stay focused on what matters most: investing in world-class founders and building the strongest go-to-market network in venture.</p><p>They’ve scaled with us across funds and into the future.</p><p>If your fund is growing in size or complexity, check them out at <a href="https://angellist.com/gtmfund">https://angellist.com/gtmfund</a>.</p><p></p><p>Transcript available under the episode here: <a href="https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/">https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/</a></p><p>Subscribe to GTMnow for the latest episodes! <a href="https://gtmnow.com/**">https://gtmnow.com/</a></p><p></p><p><strong>Highlights:</strong></p><p>00:00 – Brett&#39;s career: Siebel, Salesforce employee #7, co-founder, angel investor, seed-stage VC06:58 – The big shift: from passive CRUD apps to agentic software that does the work for you08:07 – &quot;Failing upwards&quot; and what the fastest-growing companies taught Brett about investing in people10:58 – Why Brett moved into VC: 25 years of operators whose collective worth hit $25B16:50 – What Brett looks for in founders now and how it&#39;s changed over 6-7 years18:05 – Why anybody can build anything: Brett builds a fully functional travel app in 15 minutes19:20 – The last remaining moat in software26:20 – The real threat to Salesforce and HubSpot and why their ecosystem might be the boat anchor34:20 – How the entire GTM motion changes when the product does the job instead of just enabling it38:30 – Why communicating the right problem to the right ICP hasn&#39;t changed in 30 years39:20 – Deploy first, close later40:20 – Why face-to-face matters more now, not less41:00 – Why events are driving 75%+ of pipeline at Brett&#39;s early-stage portfolio companies42:10 – Pricing and packaging: the most important GTM lever nobody talks about enough46:35 – The death of the smooth-talking GTM leader47:25 – What happens to VC when software is no longer scarce to build52:00 – Why vertical software wins in the AI era: context, workflow, and the non-tech buyer55:20 – The rep who drove 65 miles to drop off donuts and closed an $80K deal</p><p><em>For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email </em><a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a></p><p>GTMnow is a media brand brought to you by VC firm, GTMfund: <a href="https://gtmfund.com/*">https://gtmfund.com/</a></p><p><br></p>