$400M to scaling from Zero!

In this episode of the Funnel Vision podcast, host Richard Bounds speaks with Geraint Thomason about a sales career spanning global enterprises, startups, and advisory roles. From leading teams with a $400M annual target to helping early-stage founders scale from zero, Geraint shares deep insights on sales leadership, qualification, strategy, and how AI is reshaping modern sales teams. Chapters (00:00) Introduction and Mentoring at Techstars Geraint shares his experience mentoring early-stage founders and why many great ideas struggle without a sales strategy. (00:50) Early Career in Enterprise Sales A look at Geraint’s decades in corporate IT sales across IBM, Unisys, EMC, and telecoms. (02:00) Enterprise Sales Leadership and Culture Key differences between large enterprise sales cultures and what Geraint learned leading large teams. (03:33) Managing Sales Teams Across Europe Lessons from leading multicultural sales teams and adapting to different business and employment cultures. (05:51) Transition from Corporate to Startups Why Geraint left corporate life and moved into the startup and accelerator ecosystem. (06:38) Teaching Founders How to Sell Common sales mistakes founders make and how to define target markets, value, and routes to market. (08:22) Fractional CRO and Advisory Roles How Geraint supports startups through strategy, sales process design, and partnerships. (10:59) Building Sales Foundations Why CRM discipline, lead generation, contracts, and fast customer response are critical for scale. (13:14) Scaling Sales and the $400M Target What it takes to lead large sales organisations and manage significant revenue responsibility. (15:01) How Sales Has Changed Over Time From Rolodexes to AI, how technology has transformed selling and buyer behaviour. (17:11) The Modern Salesperson’s Role Why sales is now about helping informed buyers make sense of complexity. (20:19) Common Startup Growth Challenges Product-market fit, cash management, focus, and the danger of chasing every deal. (22:07) Deal Qualification and Sales Discipline Why qualification matters and how frameworks like BANT and MEDDIC prevent wasted effort. (24:12) Is AI Bigger Than the Internet? Geraint’s perspective on the scale of AI and how he uses it daily. (25:48) AI for Sales Leaders and Teams How AI can improve consistency, coaching, forecasting, and motivation across sales teams. (28:16) Freeing Sales Teams to Sell Why AI matters most if it gives sellers more time with customers. (34:07) The Future of Sales Roles Which roles may change, what cannot be automated, and why people still buy from people. (37:00) One Piece of Advice for New Salespeople Geraint’s single most important tip for anyone starting in sales. (37:35) Favourite Deals and Team Wins Why the best deals are won as a team and create lasting customer impact. Follow Funnel Vision for more conversations with leading sales and go-to-market professionals. Visit https://funnel-vision.ai Curvo AI: https://curvo.ai