Why GTM Breaks Before It Scales

One of the biggest lies we tell ourselves in startups is this:“We have traction, so we’re ready to scale.”In my conversation with Hila Lauterbach, co-founder of 10xGTM, we unpack why that assumption quietly kills go-to-market efforts.Hila has worked with companies from zero to $400M+ ARR, and what stood out wasn’t flashy tactics, it was how clearly she framed GTM as a learning system, not a launch moment.We talked about:* Why early demos, pilots, and even closed deals can be false positives* The difference between interest and real buyer urgency* Why scaling GTM without repeatability amplifies problems instead of fixing them* The uncomfortable reality of PMMs being asked to “own GTM” without authority* Why being busy (meetings, decks, launches) is not the same as making progressOne line that stayed with me:“If deals only close when the founder is involved, you don’t have a scalable GTM motion.”This episode is for founders, PMMs, and GTM leaders who are tired of noise and want clarity, even if that clarity is uncomfortable.🎧 Listen to the full episode here: 🎥 Watch on YouTube: Get full access to The PMM Brief at pmmshruti.substack.com/subscribe