Stop Blaming ‘The Market’

"The market just isn't ready for us." After 20 years advising HR tech founders, executives, and investors, Sarah White has heard that line more times than she can count — and she has zero patience for it. In this episode of Work Tech Weekly, Sarah joins Steve Smith to break down what's really stalling growth, killing deals, and quietly holding HR tech teams back. They dig into why unclear positioning costs you customers and acquisitions, how a $100M company was leaving growth on the table because of internal misalignment, and where AI is reshaping the work tech stack faster than most people realize. If you're a founder, executive, or investor wondering why you’re stuck in neutral, this conversation will give you a sharper lens on what's actually going wrong — and how to fix it. In this episode: • Why "the market isn't ready" is almost always a go-to-market problem • How messaging mistakes kill acquisitions before a deal ever closes • The internal alignment gap that's holding more companies back than they realize • Where AI is quietly reshaping payroll, workforce management, and learning