Hunters and Unicorns

Introducing ’Hunters and Unicorns’ – Your Gateway to Tech Leadership Insights!Are you hungry for the inside scoop on what it takes to lead in the dynamic world of technology? Look no further than our celebrated interview series, ’Hunters and Unicorns’! Join us as we dive deep into the journeys of the trailblazers who are shaping the future of the tech landscape.🎙️ Unveil the Playbooks of Tech Titans!🚀 Revealing strategies of tech leaders driving growth.🔍 Dive into pivotal past experiences.🌐 1M+ global downloads – a community of tech enthusiasts.🎯 Insights from thought leaders, entrepreneurs, execs.🔥 Ignite innovation, leadership, extraordinary achievements.🦄🎉 Subscribe for transformative tech insights!

Hunters and Unicorns is a business podcast hosted by huntersandunicorns, with 100 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

huntersandunicorns hosts Hunters and Unicorns, a business show with 100 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #174

  From Customer Success to CRO: The Leadership Lessons That Changed Everything

  Sep 30, 202659 min

  What if the traditional path to becoming a CRO isn't the only path? In this episode of Hunters and Unicorns, Ollie Kuehne and Simon Kouttis sit down with Ozge Tuncel Ozcan, Chief Revenue Officer at Forter, to explore her unconventional journey from engineering and customer success to leading an entire revenue organization. Ozge shares why revenue is much more than bookings and pipeline, how her experience across customer success, professional services, sales development, and post-sales shaped her leadership, and why listening to customers can become a CRO's greatest advantage. The conversation also explores customer retention, product feedback, GTM strategy, AI, and why companies need to connect innovation, sales, and customer success instead of treating them as separate functions. In this episode: • Ozge's unconventional journey to CRO • Why customer understanding is at the heart of revenue • How customer success shaped her sales leadership • Why CROs need to think beyond bookings and pipeline • Connecting product, sales, and customer success • Using customer feedback to drive innovation • Building a more cohesive GTM organization • Why listening may be the most underrated leadership skill About Our Sponsor: Big thanks to Aurasell for sponsoring this episode. Aurasell is an AI-native GTM platform designed to intelligently automate every aspect of the sales cycle from prospecting and deal management to forecasting and coaching. Subscribe to Hunters and Unicorns for more conversations with the leaders building, scaling, and transforming high-growth technology companies. #HuntersAndUnicorns #OzgeTuncelOzcan #Forter #CRO #SalesLeadership #GTM #RevenueLeadership #CustomerSuccess #B2BSales #gtmstrategy Timestamps: 00:00 Trailer 02:58 What Defines you as a CRO? 04:49 The Power of Listening 07:51 From Engineer to CRO 09:17 From MBA to McKinsey 12:00 The MongoDB Opportunity 18:00 Building a Customer-First GTM 24:00 Why Customer Success Matters 31:59 The Next Generation CRO 34:08 The Future of AI Adoption 36:20 How to Evaluate a Company 41:28 Innovation Meets GTM 45:01 Building a World-Class GTM Team 51:34 The Future of AI Commerce 54:12 Building Careers, Not Jobs 56:08 The New Path to CRO

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  Episode #173

  Cerebras EVP: His CEO Said One Thing and He Quit Everything to Join Him

  Sep 23, 20261h 1m

  What makes a senior GTM leader leave a successful career behind and bet on a company taking on one of the biggest challenges in AI? In this episode of Hunters and Unicorns, hosts Ollie Kuehne and Simon Kouttis sit down with Alex Varel, EVP of GTM at Cerebras, to unpack the decision that brought him into the world of AI infrastructure. Alex shares what he saw in Cerebras, why the demand for AI compute convinced him, and what he learned from moving between companies like MongoDB and Cerebras. In this episode: • Why Alex chose Cerebras over other opportunities • What makes Cerebras' AI infrastructure different • Taking on established players like NVIDIA • The importance of product differentiation in GTM • What Alex saw when he first met Cerebras' leadership • Why challenging markets attract great sales leaders • The mindset behind building and scaling a GTM organization A conversation about AI, enterprise sales, GTM leadership, career decisions, and what it takes to bet on a massive opportunity before everyone else sees it. Subscribe to Hunters and Unicorns for more conversations with the leaders building the future of technology and sales. About Our Sponsor: Big thanks to Aurasell for sponsoring this episode. Aurasell is an AI-native GTM platform designed to intelligently automate every aspect of the sales cycle—from prospecting and deal management to forecasting and coaching. Timestamps: 0:00 — Trailer 1:45 — Welcome & Introduction 4:17 — How Did You Know Cerebras Was the Right Bet? 8:46 — How Cerebras Came to His Attention 11:37 — Meeting Andrew Feldman & the Taco Story 17:10 — Getting Up to Speed on a Technical Product 20:14 — Tackling a Highly Technical Sale 22:32 — Shifting From Feature Selling to Value Selling 26:35 — Growth & Scale — What It Looks Like Now 27:50 — How He Sees the Market Changing in 3 to 5 Years 32:03 — How He's Had to Change as a Leader 34:20 — Hanging Back & Proving Himself First 37:25 — What From the Old Playbook Transferred 43:34 — The No BS Culture at Cerebras 48:08 — Why You Don't Need a Large Sales Team 49:31 — European Expansion 51:42 — Advice for Anyone Making the Hardware Leap 54:30 — How to Assess a Comp Plan 56:47 — Imposter Syndrome at Cerebras 57:53 — Closing

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  Episode #171

  If You Think Taking Time Off Means You Are Losing — This Conversation Will Change Your Mind

  Sep 9, 20261h 11m

  What happens when one of the most intense, competitive leaders in software sales finally decides to slow down? For Alex Patman, former CRO at Drata, stepping away from the game wasn't about losing his edge—it was about gaining perspective. In this episode of Hunters and Unicorns, Simon Kouttis and Ollie Kuehne sit down with Alex to unpack his journey from Fuze and Okta to becoming CRO at Drata, the mindset that drove his rapid rise through the software industry, and the leadership principles behind his success. Alex opens up about the tragic loss of his brother, why he made the decision to take time away from work, and how stepping back has changed his perspective on family, health, leadership, and his next professional mission. The conversation also explores the rapidly changing AI era, the pressures of modern sales leadership, and what it really takes to build and lead high-performing go-to-market teams. From increasing intensity and narrowing the focus to raising standards and leading from the front, Alex shares the playbook, principles, and competitive mindset that have shaped his career. In this episode: • Alex's journey from Fuze and Okta to CRO at Drata • Why pressure is a privilege—and the mindset of a “90-day contract” • How tragedy and time away from work changed his perspective • The importance of family, health, and mental resilience • Why curiosity and competitiveness can accelerate a career • Alex's perspective on the AI era and the future of software sales • The leadership principles behind high-performing GTM organizations • Why leaders need to increase intensity, narrow the focus, and raise standards • The importance of trust, communication, humility, and collective responsibility • How taking a step back can become the slingshot for the next chapter About Alex Patman Alex Patman is a former CRO at Drata and an experienced go-to-market leader who has built his career across high-growth technology companies including Fuze, Okta, and Drata. Known for his intensity, curiosity, competitiveness, and pace-setting leadership style, Alex has become one of the most prominent emerging leaders in software sales. Subscribe to Hunters and Unicorns for conversations with the leaders building, scaling, and transforming high-growth technology companies. About Our Sponsor: Big thanks to Aurasell for sponsoring this episode. Aurasell is an AI-native GTM platform designed to intelligently automate every aspect of the sales cycle—from prospecting and deal management to forecasting and coaching. #HuntersAndUnicorns #AlexPatman #Drata #SalesLeadership #GTM #SoftwareSales #AI #SalesStrategy #RevenueLeadership #B2BSales #ArtificialIntelligence #sales Timestamps: 0:00 — Trailer 1:17 — Welcome & Introduction 2:50 — Why Alex Is Taking Time Off 6:03 — Filling the Void & Keeping the Mind Active 10:47 — Why It's Important to Sit Through This 15:30 — Evaluating the Hardware Space 19:09 — Separating Signal From Hype in AI 21:19 — What He Looks for in a Founder 26:33 — How to Assess Founder GTM Commitment 30:04 — Career Arc — Fuse to Octa to Drata 37:33 — What Set Him Apart at Octa 41:37 — When Adam Arens Took Notice 44:17 — Managing Impatience & Over-Ambition 51:05 — Transitioning Into the CRO Seat 53:35 — Is It a Lonely Seat? 56:48 — Work-Life Balance as CRO 1:01:34 — What He Loves Most About the Game 1:02:54 — Guiding Principles & Leadership Style 1:05:41 — Closing

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  Episode #170

  From Terrible Manager to CEO — Here Is the Leadership Lesson That Changed Everything

  Aug 26, 20261h 4m

  What does it take to go from a Manager to a CEO—and become the kind of leader who helps others surpass you? In this episode of Hunters and Unicorns, Simon Kouttis and Ollie Kuehne sit down with Christina Brady, CEO and Co-Founder of Luster, to explore her journey from account executive to revenue leader, founder, and CEO. Christina shares how her passion for communication, leadership, and sales enablement shaped her career, why she believes leaders should be the “soil” that helps their people grow, and how AI can make sales teams better without replacing the human element. The conversation explores predictive enablement, emotional intelligence, sales performance, and why the future of AI in sales is about giving people better data, training, and feedback—not removing them from the process. In this episode: • Christina’s journey from account executive to CEO and founder • Why great leaders should help their people surpass them • How communication can transform sales performance • The role of emotional intelligence in sales • Why traditional sales training often fails • How AI can make salespeople better—not replace them • The future of predictive sales enablement • Why enablement should become a revenue center, not a cost center • How AI can identify and correct bad sales behavior before it happens • What the future of sales training and enablement looks like About Christina Brady Christina Brady is the CEO and Co-Founder of Luster, a company focused on transforming sales enablement through AI, predictive insights, training, and performance improvement. She has spent more than 20 years in go-to-market leadership, including roles across sales, enablement, customer success, and revenue leadership. Subscribe to Hunters and Unicorns for conversations with the leaders building, scaling, and transforming high-growth technology companies. #HuntersAndUnicorns #ChristinaBrady #Luster #SalesEnablement #SalesLeadership #AIinSales #SalesTraining #RevenueLeadership #GTM #B2BSales #artificialintelligence Timestamps: 0:00 — Trailer 2:07 — How Christina Became CEO & Co-Founder 6:32 — From Concept to Product 8:36 — Why This Problem Was Personal 11:11 — The Highs & Lows of the Journey 13:55 — Sales Methodology & Getting Certified 16:21 — From Terrible Manager to CRO 20:25 — Breaking Down Communication Barriers 25:46 — Reinforcement & Doing the Work 31:00 — Controlling Emotion in the Moment 35:04 — Radical Candor & Earning the Right 38:32 — The Psychology Behind It All 42:01 — Can Emotional Intelligence Be Learned? 44:38 — Where Luster Is Today 51:57 — Measurable Impact & Real Customer Results 54:37 — Identifying & Cloning Top Performers 57:37 — The Human Element in AI Enablement 59:33 — The Next Five Years for Luster 1:02:34 — Closing

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  Episode #169

  The REAL Reason Your Sales Team Is Only Selling 25% of the Time — And What Fixes It

  Aug 20, 20261h 5m

  What separates a productive sales team from one buried in operational work? For Srinivas Bandi, it comes down to eliminating the endless toil that keeps sellers away from actually selling. In this episode of Hunters and Unicorns, Simon Kouttis and Ollie Kuehne sit down with Srinivas Bandi, Co-Founder and CTO of Aurasell, to explore how AI is reshaping the modern go-to-market stack and changing how sales teams work. They discuss why most sellers spend less than 25% of their time selling, how AI agents can automate everything from prospecting to forecasting, and why the future of sales is about letting humans focus on high-value conversations. The conversation also explores AI-native software, data ownership, the fragmentation of today’s GTM stack, and why companies need to focus on business outcomes rather than simply adding more tools. In this episode: • Why sales reps spend less than 25% of their time selling • How AI can move selling time from 25% to 75% • Why the future of sales is AI agents + human conversations • The problem with fragmented GTM stacks and 50+ tools • Why high-fidelity data is becoming a competitive advantage • How AI is changing product development and customer success • Why speed and execution are becoming critical moats • What the future of the GTM stack could look like About Srinivas Bandi Srinivas Bandi is the Co-Founder and CTO of Aurasell, with previous leadership experience at VMware, Nutanix, and Harness. He has spent his career building enterprise technology and scaling products across cloud, infrastructure, and AI. Subscribe to Hunters and Unicorns for conversations with the leaders building, scaling, and transforming high-growth technology companies. About Our Sponsor: Big thanks to Aurasell for sponsoring this episode. Aurasell is an AI-native GTM platform that replaces the 15+ disconnected tools your sales team is juggling — prospecting, deal management, forecasting, and coaching all in one place. Available as a layer on your existing Salesforce or HubSpot, or as a standalone AI-native CRM. https://www.aurasell.ai/ #HuntersAndUnicorns #SrinivasBandi #Aurasell #SalesAI #AIAgents #GTM #B2BSales #SalesLeadership #RevOps #RevenueGrowth #ArtificialIntelligence Timestamps: 0:00 — Trailer 1:09 — Welcome & Introduction 2:17 — Career — VMware to Nutanix to Harness 6:02 — Identifying a Company's Real Moat 9:09 — Creating Real Differentiation in a Crowded Space 15:38 — What Drew Him to Solving This Problem 20:28 — Building for the Future With Aurasell 26:33 — The Nutanix Product & Its Impact 30:41 — Balancing Customer Feedback With Product Vision 35:14 — Staying Ahead When Innovation Moves Fast 38:51 — Will the Founder Profile Change in the AI Era 41:34 — The Future GTM Stack 44:33 — Will AI Make the Market Too Noisy 47:35 — How the Seller Profile Will Change With AI 49:31 — Could Salespeople Ever Be Fully Replaced 52:02 — Aurasell's Impact on Sales Rep Productivity 56:04 — Is Customer Success Being Replaced by AI 58:02 — Closing

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