Pavilion

Politics. Policy. Planning. In 2025, GTM leaders can’t afford to treat them as background noise. In an election year defined by geopolitical tension, shifting regulations, and economic uncertainty, every go-to-market decision—from hiring to selling—exists in a larger political and economic context. At GTM2025, journalists Megan McArdle and Josh Barro will take the stage for a fact-driven, centrist conversation that cuts through the noise. Together, they’ll unpack the political, legal, and economic forces shaping the business landscape—and reveal what it all means for GTM executives navigating the road ahead. 🌐 Join 800+ B2B tech executives 📅 September 23–25 | Washington, D.C. 🎟 Secure your seat by Sept. 1: attendgtm.com

In 2019, my friend AJ Bruno sold his company for $220M. From the outside, it looked like a perfect startup story: 300% YoY growth and massive logos. But 18 months earlier, that outcome was in serious jeopardy. Gross Revenue Retention was only 78%. And, if you've been following along, you know if you’re running an enterprise SaaS, anything under ~90% GRR is a giant, flashing red light to investors. And AJ wasn’t even looking at it. Back then, he thought retention was Customer Success’s job. He was obsessed with net-new logos, top-line ARR growth, and big deals. Until an investor walked into the board room, skipped all the pleasantries, opened a binder, flipped to page 30 and said: “Tell me about Google. Why did they churn?” Not the shiny new Snapchat deal. Not the 3x YoY growth. AJ was dumbfounded. They had 1400 customers and all the investor cared about was this one small deal... and Revenue Retention. That conversation flipped a switch for AJ. He FINALLY realized the single most valuable thing in a recurring revenue business isn’t the revenue you add—it’s the revenue you keep. The next day, he built what he calls the “war room.” Every customer’s name went up on the wall (see below). 7:30 AM meetings, every day, with his account management team. For each account: Why did they buy? Are they getting value? What churn signals can we see? Five quarters later: GRR up 8 points. NRR over 90%. Multiple on his exit: 8.9x. Over $220M. The lesson? CAC is a sunk cost. Your new logo doesn't mean much if you lose them in 12 months. Retention isn’t a department’s job, it’s the CEO's job. Fast growth (like what we're seeing now in the AI space) hides bad retention. Until the day it doesn’t. Protect the revenue you already earned. Retention is your real growth engine. Ignore it, and your “big exit” will never come. Listen to my full conversation with AJ (Founder of QuotaPath) on this episode of Revenue Blindspots to learn how he transformed his approach to customer success and why (so far) AI isn't always the silver bullet it’s made out to be: https://lnkd.in/enjJKpyE Brough to you by Otter.ai.

Heading to San Francisco for INBOUND? Come hang at the Pavilion x WeWork Summit Club! We've teamed up with WeWork to offer executives attending INBOUND a place to gather the day before kickoff. Join us Tuesday, September 2 just a few blocks from the Moscone Center for a day of coworking, networking, learning, and relationship building - all in a private office suite that Pavilion will be taking over for the day. You can come work for the day, take meetings while you wait to check into your hotel, or just hang out and participate in some of the curated roundtables we're planning. We'll have breakfast, lunch, snacks and open bar at happy hour. And, we'll have interactive talks in an intimate, small group setting with incredible go-to-market leaders including: ⭐ Evelyn Swaim of Seismic ⭐ Amy Osmond Cook, Ph.D. of Fullcast ⭐ Niclas Lilja and Emelie Linheden of Younium Summit Club is open to Pavilion members and non-members and there's no cost to attend , but attendance is limited to 100 and you must be an executive-level (VP or above) go-to-market leader to qualify. If that's you, check out the l{X}nk in the comments to learn more and register. See you in San Francisco! #INBOUND2025

Executive women in GTM, this day is for you. Pavilion's Women’s Summit lands September 23 in Washington, DC. Expect real connection, candid lessons, and hands-on workshops that meet the moment. Led by Lindsay Tjepkema and Anne Pao. Reserve your seat: https://lnkd.in/gzGUKtAe #WomenofPavilion

𝟰𝟳 𝗚𝗧𝗠 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘀/𝗦𝘁. 𝗣𝗮𝘂𝗹. That's how many folks showed up for yesterday's Pavilion 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁! Ben Theis and I had a ton of fun getting to know so many new faces and seeing so many of our local Pavilion members. Excited for a Q3/Q4 ahead with the 𝗠𝗦𝗣 𝗣𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿. We hope to see you at some of our future events, too! PS - huge thanks again to Ben, Marty McTigue and the entire Skol Marketing team for hosting the MSP Pavilion Chapter at their amazing space. ** 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗣𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻? Pavilion is the 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗴𝗼-𝘁𝗼-𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀 (all levels of sales, marketing, revenue, customer success, and RevOps functions - and of course C-Suite leaders) of b2b tech, SaaS, and service companies. Pavilion is more than a renowned group or a series of incredible events. 𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁-𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲, enabling leaders to uplevel their skills while building genuine relationships that foster personal and professional growth. 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘀/𝗦𝘁. 𝗣𝗮𝘂𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗹𝘆, with 65+ members who attend our virtual and in-person events. 𝗪𝗲'𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘂𝗽𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆. It's a great place to network and grow with like-minded business leaders. Questions? Drop a comment, send me a message, etc. Cheers!

An incredible night at AI Unplugged for the Nashville Pavilion Chapter. AI is moving fast, but here’s the truth - most people still don’t know how to actually use it in their work. The number one thing I hear? “It’s too big. Too abstract. We can’t make it work at scale.” The obsession with sounding smart is killing productivity and keeping AI stuck in theory. How many of you have been to an AI event, left feeling impressed, but still had no idea where to start? I know a lot of hands just went up. That’s exactly what we are changing. This session was packed with real, tangible ways to use AI today: ▪️ Jon showed how to use Notebook LM to become an instant expert by creating notebooks for specific causes and use cases ▪️ Brian shared how his sales org newsletter went from a 2-hour lift to 10 minutes ▪️ Jaime walked us through GPT coaches that prep sales teams for high-value conversations ▪️ Joey shared a carpool app he built in Replit to help families coordinate sports rides If these examples seem small, you’re missing the point. This is where AI adoption starts. When people leave saying, “I’ve felt stuck, but now I know my next move,” we’ve done our job. The next Nashville Pavilion AI Unplugged event is in November. You can keep reading about AI online, or you can be in the room where people are actually figuring it out together. One of those choices will change how you work - personally and professionally.

You don’t need a “coffee chat.” You need a mentor who’s been where you’re going. Pavilion’s Mentorship Program is designed for Associate Members who are ready to grow—with support. Whether you're navigating a promotion, shifting roles, or plotting your next career move, our 12-week experience pairs Associate members with an Executive leader for honest, structured, goal-oriented conversations. 🔗 Members can learn more about mentorship with Pavilion here: https://lnkd.in/e3EEMg-f

Great time hosting our MSP Pavilion Networking event. Had 50+ business professionals connecting this morning. Check us out at the next one…SKOL! Special shoutout to Marty McTigue & Kate DiLeo!

Why the Pavilion Community Works Last night Butch Langlois brought our Toronto Chapter together for honest conversations around the dinner table. What we discussed: → AI pilots: real wins and challenges → CS charter evolution: different approaches that work → Sales process simplicity: what delivers vs. what sounds good The magic happens when: Leaders feel safe sharing real challenges, not just wins. Hearing "we tried that too" from people who get it. I left with genuine relationships: people I can call for feedback and answers. Thank you for the incredible evening! Butch Langlois Roland Griesmayer  Paulina Staszuk Selena R. Michael Greenlee Davide Lazzari Mustafa Can Gursoy Luka Lee Paul Alvarez Alissa Hurley, CMM, CED Muhammad Anwar

AI is about to transform IT consulting. On the latest Topline Podcast with Sam Jacobs, AJ Bruno, and Asad Zaman, we explored why six-figure IT consultants won’t disappear — but their jobs will change dramatically. Instead of scoping a handful of cloud migrations or recommending a few SaaS tools, they’ll manage far bigger client bases, while everyday fixes (“I need a new laptop,” “This app is broken”) get handled by AI-powered chatbots. Fewer people. Bigger portfolios. And AI at the front line. Listen now on… Apple:https://lnkd.in/ea_aUKSG Spotify: https://lnkd.in/eCEy7cEw YouTube: https://lnkd.in/eiy55TBW