RevOpsAF The Podcast

What separates a senior RevOps leader from a technically skilled order-taker? It's not the dashboards. It's not the systems. It's the ability to say no strategically, run change management at scale, and resist becoming a high-functioning service desk.
 
In this episode of RevOpsAF, James Jackson — VP of RevOps at Snowflake, DocuSign, and Canva — shares two vivid stories: a full comp plan overhaul across a 2,700-person sales org, and the "curse of yes" doom loop that quietly breaks ops teams everywhere. The technical work is the easy part. The hard part is everything else.
 
Key topics covered:
→ Why total consumption comp plans hide top performers — and how incremental consumption fixes it
→ The three stakeholders (ELT, GTM, Finance) that every comp design must serve simultaneously
→ How to run a listening tour and use it to defuse a politically charged comp rollout
→ What "flexibility where it matters, policy where you need scale" actually looks like in practice
→ Why holdovers are largely theater — and how to limit them without triggering a mutiny
→ The "doom loop" that turns ops into a reactive service desk and how to break it
→ Above-the-line prioritization: how to stay focused when everything feels urgent
 
🎙️ Speakers:
- James Jackson, VP of RevOps (Snowflake, DocuSign, Canva) — https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesrjacksoniii/
- Matthew Volm, CEO + Founder, RevOps Co-op — https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewvolm/
 
🔗 Resources:
- RevOps Co-op community: https://www.revopscoop.com/membership/membership-options
- Related episode — Comp Plan Lessons Learned: https://revopscoop.com/podcast/compensation-plan-lessons-revops
- Related episode — Change Management: From Pushback to Buy-In: https://revopscoop.com/podcast/change-management-revops-enablement
- More podcast episodes: https://www.revopscoop.com/podcast
 
👉 Join the RevOps Co-op community: https://www.revopscoop.com/membership/membership-options
📺 Subscribe for more RevOps content
🌐 Visit us: https://www.revopscoop.com
💼 Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/revops-co-op
 
#RevOps #RevenueOperations #SalesOps #CompensationPlanning #ChangeManagement #B2B #GTM #SalesOperations #RevenueLeadership

What if RevOps stopped thinking of itself as a support function and started operating like a platform product team? That's the core argument Amani Phipps, Senior Revenue Architect at Bonusly, makes in this episode. And he backs it up with real AI systems his team has built: a Gong-to-HubSpot integration that auto-updates deal properties, a deal desk bot that cut tickets by 60%, and a multi-agent analytics system called Signal Forge that's poised to automate most of his team's reporting entirely.
 
In this conversation, Amani walks through the evolution of RevOps at Bonusly, from no RevOps function at all to an AI-first, product-minded revenue architecture team. He and Matt dig into how to start an AI journey from zero, why data hygiene is the unsexy prerequisite for everything, and what it actually means to keep a human in the loop without bottlenecking the whole system. If you're thinking about how to evolve your RevOps team for an AI-driven world, this episode is the playbook.
 
🎙️ Speakers:
- Amani Phipps, Senior Revenue Architect at Bonusly — https://www.linkedin.com/in/amani-phipps-115302117/
- Matthew Volm, CEO + Founder of RevOps Co-op — https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewvolm/
 
🔗 Resources:
- RevOps Co-op Community: https://www.revopscoop.com/membership/membership-options
- Episode 75: How To Go From AI Experiments to Revenue Machines: https://revopscoop.com/podcast/ai-experiments-revenue-machines
- Episode 83: Why You Should Stop "Doing AI" and Start Solving Problems: https://revopscoop.com/podcast/ai-problem-solving-not-doing
 
👉 Join the RevOps Co-op community: https://www.revopscoop.com/membership/membership-options
📺 Subscribe for more RevOps content
🌐 Visit us: https://www.revopscoop.com
💼 Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/revops-co-op
 
#RevOps #RevenueOperations #SalesOps #MarketingOps #B2B #AI #GTM #ProductManagement #RevenueArchitecture

Everyone's calling their product an "AI agent." Most of them are wrong — and the difference matters a lot for how you build your RevOps tech stack.
 
In this episode, Emir Atli (Co-founder & CRO of HockeyStack) joins Matt Volm to define what a true revenue agent actually is, why the data foundation most teams have won't support real AI deployment, and what this all means for the future of RevOps as a function.
 
Emir walks through the five eras of go-to-market software — from static dashboards to autonomous workers — and explains exactly where most "AI" tools actually fall on that spectrum. He also shares what separates the best RevOps teams from the rest after working with 300+ enterprise customers, and why he believes AI will create more demand for great go-to-market talent, not less.
 
🎙️ Speakers:
- Emir Atli, Co-founder & CRO at HockeyStack — https://www.linkedin.com/in/emircatli/
- Matthew Volm, CEO & Co-founder at RevOps Co-op — https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewvolm/
 
🔗 Resources:
- HockeyStack: https://www.hockeystack.com
- More podcast episodes: https://www.revopscoop.com/podcast
 
👉 Join the RevOps Co-op community: https://www.revopscoop.com/membership/membership-options
 
🌐 Visit us: https://www.revopscoop.com
💼 Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/revops-co-op
 
#RevOps #RevenueOperations #SalesOps #MarketingOps #AI #GoToMarket #GTM #RevenueAgents #B2B

Most teams think their campaign data is good enough — until AI starts making stuff up. Drew Smith of Attributa breaks down exactly what campaign data needs to capture, why your data dictionary is now your #1 AI prerequisite, and which system decisions are quietly killing your attribution.
If you're in marketing ops, RevOps, or anywhere near campaign measurement, this one's essential viewing. Drew covers the three non-negotiable categories of campaign data (time series, categorization, method of engagement), why Salesforce parent campaigns are a trap, how HubSpot's architecture makes time-series attribution harder than it should be, and what "garbage in, garbage out" really means when AI is doing the reasoning.
 
🎙️ Speakers:
Drew Smith, Founder & CEO at Attributa — https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewsmitty/
Camela Thompson, Co-Host, RevOps Co-op — https://www.linkedin.com/in/camela-thompson/
 
Sponsored by HG Insights — real technographics, real spend intelligence, and real market signals so your territory design, segmentation, and ICP aren't based on guesswork.
 
🔗 Resources:
Attributa: https://attributa.io
HG Insights (episode sponsor): https://www.hginsights.com
Related: https://www.revopscoop.com/podcast
 
👉 Join the RevOps Co-op community: https://www.revopscoop.com/membership/membership-options
📺 Subscribe for more RevOps content
🌐 Visit us: https://www.revopscoop.com
💼 Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/revops-co-op
 
#RevOps #RevenueOperations #MarketingOps #MarketingOperations #CampaignData #Attribution #AI #DataStrategy #B2B #SalesOps

Is RevOps "adapt or die" in the age of AI — or is that the wrong question entirely? Taimoor Tariq, Founder of GTM Base, shares what 12 years in RevOps has taught him about staying relevant when everything is changing fast.
 
Spoiler: it's not about chasing the hottest tools.
 
In this episode, Taimoor breaks down why Claude Code has become his team's operating system, how to safely experiment with AI without wrecking your production CRM, and why the real RevOps differentiator has shifted to the parts AI can't do for you. He also walks through a real client use case where an afternoon of agentic AI work replaced what would have been a month-long engineering project — and why the "what cool AI tools should I use?" question is fundamentally the wrong one to ask.
 
🎙️ Speakers:
Taimoor Tariq, Founder at GTM Base — https://www.linkedin.com/in/taimoortariqx/ -
Camela Thompson, Head of Marketing at RevOps Co-op — https://www.linkedin.com/in/camela-thompson/
 
🔗 Resources:
 GTM Base: https://gtmbase.com 
RevOps Co-op community: https://www.revopscoop.com/membership/membership-options
Related episode — AI Won't Magically Fix Your Sales Team: https://revopscoop.com/podcast/ai-wont-fix-sales-team
Related episode — How to Go From AI Experiments to Revenue Machines: https://revopscoop.com/podcast/ai-experiments-revenue-machines
Related reading — This Is What Your AI-Ready Revenue System Should Look Like: https://revopscoop.com/post/what-ai-rev-systems-do
 
👉 Join the RevOps Co-op community: https://www.revopscoop.com/membership/membership-options
🌐 Visit us: https://www.revopscoop.com
💼 Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/revops-co-op
#RevOps #RevenueOperations #SalesOps #MarketingOps #AI #GTM #GoToMarket #RevenueOps #B2B

Ever been told a CRM fix will "only take five minutes"? Yeah. We need to talk. 🔥
 
In Episode 85 of the RevOpsAF Podcast, co-host Camela Thompson (Head of Marketing at RevOps Co-op) is joined by her husband and fellow RevOps veteran Lance Thompson (Technical Sales Operations at SeekOut) for an unfiltered rant session covering the most ridiculous (but painfully relatable) situations every RevOps professional has lived through.
 
From reps hijacking renewal opportunities to enrichment tools routing leads to the wrong company, from the eternal "just explain what RevOps is" loop to the classic "this should only take five minutes" picklist update that breaks three integrations — this episode is equal parts cathartic and insightful.
 
🎙️ IN THIS EPISODE:
- Why users always find the one clickable thing you didn't know was clickable
- The enrichment tool logic war (and how to actually handle it)
- Why explaining RevOps to executives feels like Groundhog Day
- The "this should take 5 minutes" myth — and what it really costs
- Overcomplicating reports vs. giving executives what they actually want
- Why sales complaints are almost always valid (even when they're not about the real problem)
- The scope creep trap for solo RevOps practitioners
- How to set expectations when walking into a broken GTM org
- Why RevOps is still better than sales (Lance's take)
 
🔗 CONNECT WITH THE SPEAKERS:
📌 Camela Thompson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/camela-thompson/
📌 Lance Thompson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lance-thompson-a93124/
📌 SeekOut: https://seekout.com
 
 🌐 JOIN THE REVOPS CO-OP COMMUNITY:
🔹 Website: https://www.revopscoop.com
🔹 Join the Community: https://www.revopscoop.com/membership/membership-options
🔹 Blog: https://www.revopscoop.com/learn/blog
🔹 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/revopscoop
🔹 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hey.revops/
 
#RevOps #RevenueOperations #RevOpsAF #SalesOps #MarketingOps #CRM #Salesforce #GTM #GoToMarket #B2BSales #DataQuality #ProcessManagement #RevOpsPodcast #TechStack #SalesEnablement

Your AI strategy is only as good as the data underneath it. If your CRM can't tell Vodafone Spain from Vodafone Italy, no amount of orchestration will save you.
 
In this episode, Anders Krohn (CEO & Co-Founder of Kernel) joins Matthew Volm to break down the three-layer data enrichment stack, why most CRM hygiene initiatives treat symptoms instead of root causes, and what it actually takes to build an AI-ready data foundation in 2026.
 
Key topics covered:
- The origin story of Kernel — and why building an AI SDR forced a reckoning with entity data
- The three-layer data stack: entity data, enrichment, and orchestration — and why the bottom layer is the one that matters most
- The difference between an account (a CRM record) and an entity (a real-world corporate identity)
- Why go-to-market strategy should drive data strategy — not the other way around
- How AI enables human-level entity matching and multi-source firmographic reasoning
- What the "run phase" architecture looks like: data warehouse + entity resolution + bespoke orchestration
- How bad entity data creates $60M+ in lost revenue capacity for mid-to-large sales organizations
- Why CRM hygiene is a symptom, and entity identity is the disease
- What RevOps teams should do right now to start closing the gap between their CRM and their GTM reality
 
🎙️ Speakers:
- Anders Krohn, CEO & Co-Founder at Kernel — https://www.linkedin.com/in/anderskrohn/
- Matthew Volm, CEO & Founder at RevOps Co-op — https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewvolm/
 
🔗 Resources:
- Kernel: https://kernel.ai/
- RevOps Co-op Podcast Library: https://www.revopscoop.com/podcast
 
👉 Join the RevOps Co-op community: https://www.revopscoop.com/membership/membership-options
🌐 Visit us: https://www.revopscoop.com
💼 Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/revops-co-op
 
#RevOps #RevenueOperations #SalesOps #MarketingOps #DataEnrichment #CRMData #AIinSales #GTM #B2B #RevenueOperations

Ever feel like you're drowning in AI hype while your actual problems remain unsolved? You're not alone. In this episode of RevOpsAF, host Matthew Volm sits down with Em Wingrove, Chief Marketing Officer at Aptitude 8, to cut through the noise and deliver practical AI strategies that actually work.
 
Em shares why 95% of AI initiatives fail (spoiler: it's not the technology), how to start small with independent use cases, and the specific AI plays that are transforming go-to-market teams right now. From attribution engines to content assistants, discover the frameworks that turn AI from overwhelming buzzword into revenue-driving reality.
 
🎯 Key Topics Covered:
• Why AI overwhelm leads to disengagement (and how to fix it)
• The difference between top-down vs. bottom-up AI adoption
• Ready-to-implement AI plays for marketing-to-sales handoffs
• How to build AI solutions without being an AI expert
• The importance of data readiness before AI implementation
• Real examples of AI automation in HubSpot
 
💡 Featured Speakers:
• Matthew Volm - Co-host, RevOpsAF Podcast (https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewvolm/)
• Em Wingrove - Chief Marketing Officer, Aptitude 8 (https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilywingrove/)
 
🔗 Learn More:
Aptitude 8: https://aptitude8.com/
RevOps Co-op Community: https://www.revopscoop.com/
 
#RevOps #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #RevenueOperations #SalesOps #MarketingOps #HubSpot #GTM #B2B #SalesAutomation #MarketingAutomation #RevOpsCoop

Is your RevOps role about to evolve—or get replaced? In this game-changing episode, fractional CMO and Cannonball GTM co-founder Doug Bell reveals why the traditional RevOps function is being disrupted by a new breed of professional: the Revenue Engineer.
 
What You'll Discover:
• Why go-to-market engineering is flanking traditional RevOps stacks
• How AI tools like Claude Code are democratizing technical skills
• The three-stage maturity model every RevOps pro needs to understand
• Why pain-based segmentation beats traditional ICP targeting
• How Revenue Engineers are commanding $200K+ salaries
• Real examples of existential data points that drive pipeline
 
Featured Guest:
Doug Bell - Fractional CMO, Former Partner at Chief Outsiders, Co-founder of Cannonball GTM
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougbell1/
Cannonball GTM: https://www.cannonballgtm.com
 
Host:
Camela Thompson - RevOps Expert
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/camela-thompson/
 
Resources Mentioned:
• Cannonball GTM Substack: https://cannonballgtm.substack.com/
• Clay University: https://university.clay.com/
• Kellen Casebeer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellen-casebeer/
• Eric Nowoslawski: https://www.linkedin.com/in/outboundphd/
 
Related RevOps Co-op Content:
• RevOps Career Growth Hub: https://www.revopscoop.com/resources/revops-career-growth-hub
• AI in RevOps Blog Series: https://www.revopscoop.com/learn/blog
• RevOps Community: https://www.revopscoop.com/membership/membership-options
 
#revops #revenueoperations #GoToMarketEngineering #RevenueEngineer #aiinsales #salesoperations #marketingoperations #customersuccess #revopscoop #revopsaf #salesenablement #datadriven #PainBasedSegmentation #claudecode #gtmstrategy #revenuegrowth

Discover how MongoDB is revolutionizing go-to-market operations by using AI to eliminate the "bureaucracy gap" and empower sales teams to focus on what matters most: building relationships with customers.
 
In this episode of RevOpsAF, co-host Matthew Volm sits down with Amanda Lin, Senior Manager of Go-to-Market AI Operations at MongoDB, to explore how one of the world's leading database companies is leveraging artificial intelligence to transform their revenue operations.
 
🔥 Key Topics Covered:
• What the "bureaucracy gap" is and why it's killing productivity
• How MongoDB built a sales intelligence platform as a cognitive offload engine
• Real-world AI use cases: meeting preparation, account research, and proof point discovery
• The data foundation challenges every company faces when implementing AI
• Why 80% solutions beat 0% solutions every time
• Future predictions for RevOps and AI in 2026
• The evolution from commit models to consumption to AI-powered revenue models
 
🔗 Connect with Our Guests:
Amanda Lin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-lin-14402775/
Matthew Volm: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewvolm/
MongoDB: https://www.mongodb.com/
 
📚 Related Resources:
• RevOps Co-op Blog: https://www.revopscoop.com/learn/blog
• Join Our Community: https://www.revopscoop.com/membership/membership-options
 
 #RevOps #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #MongoDB #SalesOperations #GoToMarket #RevOpsAF #RevenueOperations #SalesIntelligence #DataStrategy #SalesAutomation #RevOpsCoop 
 
📧 Stay Connected:
Website: https://www.revopscoop.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/revopscoop