Tim Chandler

🧱 Databricks VS ❄️ Snowflake GTM strategies My friend Jason Saltzman from Live Data Technologies shared some great insights into the hiring patterns of two AI giants—Databricks and Snowflake. Here’s the TL;DR: Databricks has ~2x more eng talent compared to Snowflake. Snowflake has ~2x more sales reps compared to Databricks. This highlights two very distinct GTM strategies: 1) Snowflake prioritizes rapid sales team expansion to dominate market share. Their strategy is built around scaling their sales force in response to regional demand signals—a “feet on the ground” philosophy common in competitive markets. This approach allows them to capture opportunities with speed and precision, particularly in high-demand areas. 2) Databricks has focused on community-driven strategy and delivering exceptional product value. Their free, forever-accessible Community Edition lowers barriers to entry, making it easy for users to experience their platform. A self-service trial model lets anyone start using Databricks with just a credit card—no sales rep required. They capitalize on community endorsements to influence key decision-makers, like CIOs, which dramatically shortens their sales cycle. They believe that product quality can handle much of the selling, which is why they hire significantly more AI/ML talent compared to their competitors. Same industry. Totally different GTM strategies. What’s the takeaway? Your team should reflect your strategy. If you're building a GTM team make sure the profiles you are looking at have had success in similar GTM motions. Your sales leader should have experience with a similar approach—they’ll bring the insights and instincts needed to succeed without a long ramp time. And another thing these two companies excel at? Hiring customer-facing talent with strong technical acumen. I've said this a billion times but: you need to hire GTM talent that has relevant technical acumen. You can't sell what you can't teach. I’ve written about these two GTM strategies before. Check it out here: Snowflake: https://lnkd.in/g6j3QdQR Databricks: https://lnkd.in/gH2y_gkF And make sure you check Jason's post here: https://lnkd.in/gyWud5Yh Super cool stuff!!!! If you're hiring GTM in Data, AI/ML, HPC/ Compute, Cloud Infra - this is our jam. DM me if you need help

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2019 to Present: CFO of Snowflake 2011 to 2019: CFO of ServiceNow 2006 to 2010: CFO of Data Domain Last February, when one half of Snowflake’s dynamic duo exited the stage, skeptics wondered whether the firm could keep pace in the AI arms race. Frank Slootman, Snowflake’s dynamic, high-profile CEO, resigned after five impressive years at the helm. Wall Street reacted sharply, driving the stock from $229.96 to $183.40 overnight. Concerns arose that Snowflake might be slipping behind on AI. Indeed, CFO Mike Scarpelli issued what analysts called tepid guidance for 2024. But Snowflake’s latest moves have started to quell those doubts. Suddenly, the narrative has shifted: Aggressive AI Partnerships: Scarpelli alongside new CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy is positioning Snowflake at the forefront of generative AI—exemplified by the Anthropic (Claude) announcement—and fueling innovation with acquisitions like Datavolo. Scarpelli's CFO playbook: Tactical Cost Controls: He’s maintaining rigorous cost discipline and providing clear—if sometimes cautious—guidance. Continued Growth Path: Despite market jitters, Snowflake’s Data Cloud continues to expand, targeting new AI-driven use cases. Yet with Sridhar Ramaswamy now as CEO—after joining the company in 2023 when it acquired Neeva, his generative AI-powered search startup—some question whether a “new dynamic duo” in the making. Conventional wisdom suggests it’s too early to say. After all: Scarpelli worked with Slootman for over a decade, first at ServiceNow from 2011 to 2017, then at Snowflake from 2019 to 2024). Still, Scarpelli’s track record speaks volumes: 35-year career 21 years in the C-suite 5 CFO appointments A history of building, scaling, and steering multiple tech ventures to successful exits or IPOs. His story reveals a powerful truth for any finance leader: Market skepticism isn’t final—strategic action can always flip the script. Snowflake is betting on AI to power the next wave of data innovation—and for now, CFO Mike Scarpelli is busy ensuring both the numbers and the narrative align.

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Fellow #AdobeTarget practitioners, if you want to see how you can quickly and easily bring offline data or your models to Adobe Target, you will want to join this webinar. Adobe Target is a first-party ID platform, and we will explore what that means and how to leverage it.

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California’s New Homes: A Solution or Problem? #sanfrancisco #sfrealestate #bayarearealtor #bayarea #california #bayarearealestate #sanfranciscorealestate #sfrealtor #californiarealestate #siliconvalleyrealestate

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Speaking with Frank Bell today regarding #SnowflakeSummit prep and I shared something that I learned. Many people MISTAKENLY thought that DataOps.live didn't use and leverage all of the Snowflake products and tools to deliver #DataProducts or #NativeApps on Snowflake. That is wrong! We help you gain speed, efficiency and life-cycle management utilizing any or all of Snowflake's capabilities in any or all possible combinations you wish! #Streamlit? SURE! #SnowPark? SURE! #SPCS? SURE! #NativeApps? SURE! #ConnectedApps? SURE! Whatever new advance comes out in the Snowflake Summit release within a few weeks? SURE! AI drew this picture on a voice prompt of "create an image of DataOps.live accelerating the success of Snowflake AI Enterprise rollout and AI Native App & Data Product creation and life-cycle management" Snowflake is supported by us and we simplify the deployment and development and operations utilizing all of Snowflake's tools. We don't do it alone! #ApicIsWorthAthousandWords

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CA Housing Bill Unites NIMBYs and YIMBYs #sanfrancisco #sfrealestate #bayarearealtor #bayarea #california #bayarearealestate #sanfranciscorealestate #sfrealtor #californiarealestate #siliconvalleyrealestate

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Every year new California Real Estate Laws take effect. Familiarize yourself with this summary.

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❄️📈 Great in person event at Snowflake’s London office in January on the future of cloud #Analytics, #DataApps and #DataProducts. It’s facinating to see products like #SnowflakeDB and #Astrato making it easier than ever for both technical and non-technical business users ti get the insights they need to make informated data decisions. #BI #data #AI #DataEngineering #GenAI

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Transparency, Competency, Efficiency. EXP Realty show AGENT and CLIENT Missions are TOP PRIORITY. Besting The California Association is insight filled, but Eliminating FRICTION in your transaction is my mission. Wondering what happens after the SkidMark Litigation? Nothing changes, yet Everything Changes. See Example Language in this Linked Article. #BringAProfessional to your Next Real Estate Project

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AI + Data = competitive advantage

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It was great having Jean-Paul Elbekian on the latest GTM Secrets podcast. We talked about first party data, AI analysis, and so much more. Check it out on Spotify, YouTube, and more! #b2bmarketing #marketinganalytics #revops

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