LaunchPad Academy

Amy Romano, APJ Senior Sales Manager - Customer Acquisition Team at Amazon Web Services (AWS) caught up with Matt Sumner for another Mentor Sessions interview. 🚀 Amy has had an amazing career, relocating to Australia when digital adoption was almost zero. She started with Amazon in 2014 when it felt like a start-up with under 100 people, Amy was forced to rapidly learn, work hard and adapt very quickly to emerging tech trends. The principle behind AWS's success has always been being customer obsessed. #aws #AI #tech #saas #mentor

Greg Harrison has had an amazing career spanning over 40 years, witnessing the dot com boom and bust, hardware sales, software sales and the non for profit sector. He's worked in corporates like Fujitsu, Toshiba, Dell Technologies, Sun Microsystems, IBM, Microsoft, OBS, Xero and Haylix. 🚀 He also had major roles at World Vision Australia, Brainwave Australia and Vision 2020 Australia. 😊 In recent times he's worked at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and Height. As well as this, he started and ran his own business Business Continuum. Greg spoke to Matt Sumner about the difference of technology itself versus what it can actually do for organisations. #dotcom #saas #sales #hardware #techsales #technology #IBM #Microsoft #Dell #Xero #Fujitsu #Toshiba #GenAI

Matt Sumner caught up with one of our Mentors, Chad Hammock, Regional Vice President - Commercial Strategy and Operations, APJ at Zscaler. Chad talks about his initial sales roles that funded his music passion and eventually took him from Texas, to Singapore then Australia. Chad has worked at Renewal by Andersen and travelled with Tableau (acquired by Salesforce). Chad talks about different types of sales people and how he came to the realisation of this when working at RadioShack. #sales #saas #mentor #texas #singapore

Hiring Trends in Sales & GTM Roles in Tech: The Value of Mentorship! As the tech industry evolves, so do Sales and Go-to-Market (GTM) strategies and the hiring trends reflect it. Here’s what’s happening: 📊 What the Numbers Say: Demand Surge: GTM roles are expected to grow by 10% annually, with Sales Development Representatives (SDRs) and Account Executives being the most sought-after. AI-Driven Sales: Nearly 45% of tech sales teams are now using AI to optimise pipelines, creating demand for candidates who can leverage AI tools to drive revenue. Revenue Operations (RevOps): This function has grown by 57% over the past year, as companies prioritize efficiency and scalability in their sales strategies. 📈 Hiring Trends: Outcome-Based Metrics: Employers are prioritising candidates with proven track records of driving growth, closing deals, and delivering measurable ROI. Cross-Functional Skills: Candidates with experience in aligning sales with marketing, product, and customer success are in high demand. Remote Selling Expertise: With remote selling becoming the norm, professionals who excel in virtual sales processes are a top priority. 💡 Why Mentorship Is Key in Sales & GTM Careers: Navigating Complexity: Today’s sales roles require understanding complex tech solutions, longer sales cycles, and sophisticated buyer journeys. Mentors can guide new hires through these challenges. Building Resilience: With high-pressure targets and rejection being part of the game, mentors help build resilience and confidence. Career Acceleration: Statistics show that 68% of professionals with mentors advance in their careers faster than those without. ✨ The Takeaway: If you’re building a GTM team, invest in mentorship programs to develop and retain top talent. If you’re starting or growing in your career, find mentors who can provide perspective, help refine your sales approach, and guide you through the evolving landscape. #SalesHiring #GTM #TechCareers #Mentorship #SalesLeadership #RevenueGrowth

Well, that's a wrap! 👊 We are still buzzing from the incredible energy at our GTM Sales Methodologies event! Unreal to see a mid-week gathering draw such a fantastic crowd (okay, maybe the terrace, sunshine & free drinks helped a little). A massive THANK YOU to everyone who showed up, engaged, and made this our best event yet... Shoutout to our rockstar panelists: Sophie Baker, Heather Cook, TJ Chandler, Cameron Kahler, Amy Boulter & Andy Thiss – your insights were pure gold. 💡 Special love to our networking drinks sponsor, Max Jones & the Enabli team – you kept the connections flowing, literally and figuratively. 💜 And finally thanks to Robyn Gale & the Tank Stream Labs team, our incredible event partner, we couldn’t have done it without you. 🙌 We have lots more to come in 2025, so stay tuned! 🚀 Much love, LaunchPad Connect x LaunchPad Academy #coaching #training #mentoring #sales #SaaS #enablement #GTM #methodologies #networking #event

Maddy Clark, Head of Sales at Shootsta joined Matt Sumner for a Mentor Sessions chat. 🚀 From growing up in regional NSW, to starting in recruitment and transitioning into sales, Maddy has worked at HubSpot, Talent, Expert360 and Tuchuzy. Maddy has always had a drive to `pay it forward', be competitive (as a result of a promising sporting career) and focus on her own personal development. Here Maddy talks about the importance of hiring from diverse backgrounds. #personalgrowth #saas #sales #crm #video #recruitment #diversity

Michael Pettigrew, Regional Vice President for Enterprise Acquisition at EZRA Coaching joined Matt Sumner to talk about his career. 🚀 Mike has worked at big names like CEB, now Gartner, Joyous and was able to tap into some of the top sales training and insights through that journey. 😎 Mike talks about the `will to win' needed to be successful in SDR and AE roles in Enterprise sales. 🚣 #sales #enterprise #sdr #ae #AI

We chatted with Jean-Pierre Naim, one of our LaunchPad Mentors. JP is Head of Sales and Partnerships for Studio Proper, an entrepreneur at You Naim IT and previously at Huawei, The Coca-Cola Company, PayPal, Zip Co and Brighte. JP shares an innovative method he used early in his career that led to a promotion, his passion for relationship building and creating needs in markets with early adopted products. #sales #mentor #saas #IT #methodology

One Day to Go & 90% of the tickets are gone! 🚨 Are you ready to level up your sales game with the best in the business? I'm looking forward to discussing all things GTM & sales methodologies whilst networking with 200+ GTM / SaaS professionals and leaders tomorrow, and tuning into our interactive panel discussion with some GTM heavy hitters 👊 Shout out to our sponsor Enabli - who are pioneering the future of GTM management! The Panel: 🎤 Andy Thiss (Sonder) 🎤 Amy Boulter (Salesforce) 🎤 Sophie Baker (TRIBE) 🎤 Cameron Kahler (Workato) 🎤 TJ Chandler (Fivetran) 🎤 Heather Cook (ex-Seismic, ex-Hootsuite) Event Details: 📍 Tank Stream Labs, Sydney Scaleup Hub 🎯 Audience: Sales, Marketing, GTM, Revenue, Strategy & Leadership 💬 Network with 200+ industry leaders and get actionable insights to boost your GTM strategies. 💙 All proceeds go to Beyond Blue to support mental health initiatives. 🎟️ 90% of tickets are sold—don’t miss out! Grab yours now—link in the comments. 💜 LaunchPad Academy x LaunchPad Connect 💜 #SalesMethodologies #GTM #TechSales #Networking #SalesSuccess

With such a diverse range of leaders in our Mentor Community, Matt Sumner was able to catchup with Anthony (Tosh) Szatow, a well renowned Renewable Energy Engineer and Thought Leader in Renewables, Biodiversity and Critical Minerals. Starting in Recruitment, Tosh quickly realised he had a passion for renewables and worked at CSIRO, numerous entrepreneurial projects at Energy for the People, BOOM! Power etc and is now involved in Growth and Innovation with a Sales/Revenue focus at Flow Power Tosh talks about following his passion and seeking out where he can make an impact. 🚀 ☀️ 🍃 #sales #renewables #solar #biodiversity