About What makes YOU Tick? Tech Leaders Career Stories
Conversations with high-performing tech leaders, breaking down the decisions, failures, and strategies behind exceptional careers.
It all starts by asking "what makes you tick?"
Designed for founders and operators who want practical lessons from people who’ve built, scaled, and led in the real world.
No theory. No hype. Just insights you can use.
How to Expand Into Europe: 6 Lessons from SaaS Revenue Leaders
How do you expand into Europe when the US playbook got you this far? Six sales and marketing leaders from What Makes You Tick share what they learned breaking into EMEA, and they all land on the same point: Europe is not one market, and copy-paste doesn't work. Michael Schirrmacher says hire a leader, not a lone AE. Campbell Williams goes further: one seasoned operator who owns Europe and reports to the CEO.Featuring:• Alexander Bellon, global sales and go-to-market leader across FinTech and SaaS• Conor Douglas, 11 years at HubSpot, building its early EMEA teams• Kevin Shirley, tech sales leader in Dublin for a San Francisco company• Amit Stark, 26 years scaling EMEA for US public companies and Israeli startups• Michael Schirrmacher, sales leader and early Bloomreach employee in Europe• Campbell Williams, CMO and commercially minded marketing leader (fractional and interim)We discuss:• Why Europe is "the slow money", and why slow money doesn't leave very quickly• What travels from the US (systems, process, the inbound engine) and what doesn't (cultural nuances)• How moving data security to the front of the sales process changed things in Germany• The copy-paste go-to-market mistake: it works in the UK, then "everything dies" in Germany• Why one AE, 5,000 miles from every colleague, struggles to open a region• Who should lead Europe, and why mirroring the US org chart backfires• Borrowing reputation: partners for validation, pipeline and deliveryBrought to you by Tick Talent: Operator-led GTM search for B2B Tech. https://tick-talent.comChapters:(00:00) Intro: Richard Washington(00:51) Alexander Bellon: Europe is the slow money(03:08) Conor Douglas: systems travel, culture doesn't(05:46) Kevin Shirley: EMEA talent is just as strong(08:10) Amit Stark: the copy-paste go-to-market(11:35) Michael Schirrmacher: hire a leader first(14:39) Campbell Williams: one operator for Europe(17:52) Alexander Bellon: borrow a partner's reputationWatch the full episodes:• Alexander Bellon (E.128): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6P1K_oBxas• Conor Douglas (E.83): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyUR7LCiHRE• Kevin Shirley (E.56): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t8ZUiwbxvY• Amit Stark (E.138): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIGkpq253vk• Michael Schirrmacher (E.110): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g25I0C5x7lQ• Campbell Williams (E.88): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4bJfqaZt7sWhere to find What Makes You Tick:• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1PrIjRzmSOGUQJSigtpXNS• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/wmyt-what-makes-you-tick-tech-leaders-career-stories/id1699043715• LinkedIn newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/wmyt%3F-what-makes-you-tick-7083793079794556928/• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WhatMakesYouTickWhere to find Rich:• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richwash/#WhatMakesYouTick #WMYTMixtape #InternationalExpansion #GoToMarket #EuropeanTech
25 Oct 2026
How to Scale Your Sales Team Without Lowering the Bar (Lessons from a Sales VP)
Doubling your team doesn't alway smean doubling performance! It sounds like the right idea, but we so often get that wrong. So how do we get it right?Check out this Best Bits episode where Rakesh Rathod shares why execution beats experience when hiring for a startup: the 'hire fast' trap, hiring in the rear-view mirror, the red flag of needing guidance, and why sales can't win in a vacuum.Rakesh Rathod is a seasoned revenue leader who's helped multiple startups transition from stalled growth to scalable success.Chapters:0:00 Intro: Richard on why hiring goes wrong1:08 The 'Hire Fast' Trap After Funding2:34 Why We Over-Index on Experience4:26 Hiring in the Rear-View Mirror6:09 Interview Red Flags: How Much Guidance?8:05 Sporting DNA and the Three-to-Five-Year Plan9:49 Falling Forward12:10 The Questions Candidates Ask You13:41 Collaboration: Sales Can't Win in a Vacuum17:11 OutroFull episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AL3UMgJ8ZycLinks:- Rakesh Rathod on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rakesh-rathod-b6847b2b- Richard Washington on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richwash/- WMYT? What Makes You Tick newsletter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/wmyt%3F-what-makes-you-tick-7083793079794556928About Tick Talent: Operator-led GTM search for B2B Tech. https://tick-talent.com
21 Oct 2026
How to hire great salespeople (14 revenue leaders share what works!)
14 sales leaders and founders from our 150 What Makes You Tick episodes on hiring great salespeople: what to look for, how to test for it, what happens when you get it wrong, and the biggest job a founder has.Chapters:0:00 Intro: Richard on hiring elite salespeople0:47 Benjamin Caller: why an empty seat beats the wrong hire2:05 James Smith: SPARK, the 5 traits he screens for3:52 Gal Aga: his mentality on building a team6:44 Simon Black: promote from within, or hire from your sector?9:42 Remy Piazza: why industry experience is overrated11:49 Charles Talbot: bad salespeople are great interviewers12:44 Elitsa Miller: how to spot consistency and grit16:01 Olivia Lockwood: why she counts the pronouns17:37 Michael Schirrmacher: why he looks for failure stories19:12 Heath Barnett: the top-5% rep who lasted 3 months22:42 Simon Black: the top performer holding everyone back24:34 Amit Stark: why mercenary reps kill your company26:55 Scott MacGregor: the bone-dry talent strategy bucket29:36 Abi Williams: competency you can learn, character you can't30:31 OutroFull conversations:- Benjamin Caller (E.127): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyCAat-n8OA- James Smith (E.101): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz8066MnkZo- Gal Aga (E.77): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-ww8FZ9u6I- Simon Black (E.119): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfIs4F_udlI- Remy Piazza (E.99): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxaEqVCIRi0- Charles Talbot and Douglas Mancini (E.120): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBK98ay-Gpk- Elitsa Miller (E.126): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaBxVzHdrj4- Olivia Lockwood: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dz8iduYq7o0- Michael Schirrmacher (E.110): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g25I0C5x7lQ- Heath Barnett (E.95): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viv8BikwTNg- Amit Stark (E.138): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIGkpq253vk- Scott MacGregor (E.106): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An8ZNavt5HI- Abi Williams (E.66): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLK27Hbp954Connect with us:- Richard Washington on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richwash/- Tick Talent: https://tick-talent.com- WMYT newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/wmyt%3F-what-makes-you-tick-7083793079794556928
Who has been a guest on What makes YOU Tick? Tech Leaders Career Stories
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Justin Michael
Andrea Bumstead
Brent Holloway
Campbell Williams
Jacob Warwick
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
106,953
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Spotify
5.0 / 5
5 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 73 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
89
Social presence
0
YouTube
82
Engagement
60
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