 |
The GTM PodcastAuthor: GTMnow
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 didnt, 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. Language: en Genres: Business, Entrepreneurship, Technology Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
Listen Now...
Inside Deel's $1M → $1.5B Sales Machine | Chris Lee
Monday, 3 August, 2026
Chris Lee joined Deel at $1M in revenue. Now, it just hit $1.5B. He joined GTMnow to walk through the pivotal decisions behind that run, including the ones he's never discussed publicly.Chris (Head of Sales, Americas at Deel) breaks down the "five-star sales experience" framework he built by studying luxury hotels, why speed itself became a reason customers bought, how he's had zero regrettable director-level attrition in 5.5 years, and why they hire people with the job title "Ghostbuster" to keep a 7,000-person company moving like a 30-person startup. What you'll learn:- The five-star sales experience framework, and how to map your own process from three-star to five- Why every new sales leader at Deel spends their first 30 days taking inbound and selling- How speed became the reason Coinbase chose Deel over a legacy vendor with no references to show- The hire-slow, fire-fast principle behind zero regrettable director attrition in 5.5 years- Why "tell me about a time" interview questions optimize for the best liar, and the scenario-based alternative- What a "Ghostbuster" is, and how the role fights operational decay as you scale- Leading a sales team through public crisis: cry, quit, or fight- The trillion-dollar thesis: why 95% of the world's workers sit outside the US market- Why Chris went back to first-principles systems thinking instead of fiddling with AI toolsThank you to our sponsor:Primer unlocks B2C ad channels for B2B marketers with precision targeting and next-gen measurement. GTMnow Network exclusive offer: Extended 45 day trial and 15% off with code GTM15 - just apply the code when you go to upgrade from the free trial. See who’s really in your funnel: sayprimer.comChapters:00:00 Intro00:58 Welcome to GTMnow01:33 From Granular (agtech, employee #11) to a DuPont acquisition05:30 The failed recruiting startup he launched in January 202007:17 How he found Deel, and applying to the wrong role on purpose09:48 The first-30-days lesson from CEO Alex Bouazizi: go sell11:44 What Deel actually does today13:14 Scaling a distributed sales org remotely15:41 Building rapport on a global remote team17:35 From transactional SMB to multi-product enterprise20:16 Sales-led, not product-led, and why consolidation wins22:45 "Deel speed," and why speed is a reason people buy25:31 Sponsor: Primer26:57 Frank Slootman, Amp It Up, and outpacing competitors29:12 How he got Slootman to open the sales kickoff30:28 Zero director attrition in 5.5 years, and hire slow, fire fast33:54 Why "tell me about a time" fails, and the scenario-based alternative37:46 The five-star sales experience framework41:54 Bringing enterprise-grade experience to SMB with AI45:49 The trillion-dollar thesis: 95% of workers are outside the US47:22 Building 60+ payroll engines: the Amazon Prime parallel53:02 First-principles systems thinking for sales59:38 The problem-framing framework he gives his team01:01:09 The "Ghostbuster" role and fighting operational decay01:05:25 Where to find ChrisChris Lee (Head of Sales, Americas at Deel):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/techcontrarian/X: https://x.com/TechContrarianSophie Buonassisi (Host, SVP at GTMnow/GTMfund):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/X: https://x.com/sophiebuonaAbout Chris Lee:Chris Lee is Head of Sales, Americas at Deel, which he joined as one of its first sales hires at $1M in revenue and helped scale to $1.5B. Previously he was employee number 11 at Granular, an agricultural tech company acquired by DuPont for $300M.About GTMnow: GTMnow shares how the best in tech build, scale and invest. The media brand is owned and operated by venture firm, GTMnow is the media arm of GTMfund.Visit 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_/The GTMnow Podcast The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.
