Revenue Rearview

Want to know the strategy behind $1B+ categories - like VRBO and HomeAway? What does it take to build a company when the market you're entering doesn't even exist yet?Melissa Fortenberry has spent her career answering that question.She helped grow HomeAway and VRBO from the early days of the vacation rental category, later became Chief Product Officer at RVshare, and is now the founder and CEO of HeatSense, a wearable technology company helping teams proactively manage heat strain in athletes.But this conversation isn't really about technology.It's about understanding your customer, finding the real problem worth solving, and building trust when you're creating a completely new category.Melissa shares the lessons she's learned from growing companies, defining new markets, and learning what actually drives customer satisfaction. She explains why education is one of the most powerful tools when you're creating a category, how partnerships can help you reach an audience faster, and why founders need to stay focused on the one thing their customers actually care about.In this episode you'll learn:Why validating a painful problem should come before building a company.How HomeAway and VRBO used education and partnerships to help create the vacation rental category.Why finding channel partners can be more effective than trying to reach every customer one by one.How to build trust with partners by creating long-term relationships and bringing them into the process.Why understanding the core driver of customer satisfaction matters more than constantly adding new features.How Melissa learned that homeowner satisfaction was directly tied to how much money they made through the platform.Why founders should always look for a clear path to revenue and understand their unit economics.How HeatSense evolved from a consumer-focused product into a team solution for college football programs.Why personal relationships and founder-led outreach are critical when entering a new market.Why creating a new category means educating customers before you can sell to them.Link and ResourcesConnect with Melissa FortenberryWebsite: https://heatsense.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-turner-fortenberry-139b39=============================🔥 PRACTICE THE DEAL BEFORE IT'S REAL.→ Build a smarter sales team every week. Practice the deal before it’s real with FireCoach.ai.Learn more: https://firecoach.ai/=============================

What happens when you build a $50 million company, grow too fast, and realize the biggest thing holding the business back is the people running it?Michael Lovitch has lived through it.He went from special education teacher to tech sales, then built a seven-figure psychology-focused audio company, helped build Real Dose to $50 million in annual revenue, co-created Baby Bathwater, and is now building Zodiac.fm, a consumer SaaS company exploring astrology, human design, sound, and technology.But this conversation isn't really about building a $50 million company.It's about what happens when success stops working.Michael shares the mistakes that nearly took Real Dose down, why he believes they should have hired an experienced CEO much earlier, and how starting Zodiac.fm forced him to become a beginner again. He also breaks down the persistence, networking, affiliate marketing, and relationships that helped him build his earlier companies.In this episode you'll learn:Why persistence and outreach matter more than a perfect growth strategy.How Michael built his first seven-figure company through affiliate relationships and refusing to take no for an answer.How Real Dose scaled to $50M/year and how rapid growth exposed leadership and infrastructure gaps.The leadership mistake Michael believes could have saved the company: hiring experienced executives and building an advisory board.How Baby Bathwater was created by rejecting the mastermind model and prioritizing community and real connection.Why starting a new SaaS company forced Michael to admit what he doesn’t know and ask for help again.Why building a personal brand is hard when you never wanted to be the face of your business.How Michael went from skeptical of astrology and “woo” to building Zodiac.fm.Whether you're building your first company, scaling a growing business, or starting over in a completely new industry, this episode is an honest look at the mistakes, relationships, and reinvention that happen behind the success story.Link and ResourcesConnect with Michael LovitchLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lovitch/Learn More About Zodiac.fmhttps://zodiac.fmReady to build a sales team that gets smarter every week?Stop relying on hope, heroic salespeople, and expensive trial-and-error.-> FireCoach.ai turns your best sales conversations into an AI-powered sales operating system that helps every rep ramp faster, handle objections with confidence, and close more business.https://firecoach.ai/

Most salespeople don't lose deals because they don't know enough.They lose them because they stop thinking about the customer and start thinking about themselves.In this episode of Revenue Rearview, I sit down with sales strategist Ted Miller for one of the most candid conversations I've had about what really separates top performers from everyone else.We talk about why so much traditional sales advice misses the mark, how ego quietly sabotages even experienced reps, and why genuine care for your customer is still the biggest competitive advantage in a world obsessed with AI and automation.You'll hear:Why most salespeople lose the deal long before they realize it.The hidden reason reps avoid asking for the next step.Why confidence without compassion eventually falls apart.Ted's unconventional philosophy on leadership, business, and building companies people actually want to buy from.The five-word sales lesson every revenue leader should remember.If you lead a sales team, run a company, or simply want to become better at influencing people, this conversation will challenge a few assumptions—and probably leave you with a page of notes.Connect with Ted Miller:TedMiller.com________Ready to build a sales team that gets smarter every week?FireCoach.ai helps companies clone their best sales behaviors into an AI-powered coaching platform so every rep can practice critical conversations before they're on the phone with real prospects. Learn more at FireCoach.ai.

What does it really take to scale from your first customer to $200 million in revenue in just 24 months?In this episode of Revenue Rearview, Midori sits down with entrepreneur and technology leader Amit Gupta, whose career has included building multiple high-growth companies, scaling a global payments platform that processed billions of dollars, and walking away from it all to launch Konformity—a company challenging conventional wisdom in cybersecurity and compliance.But this conversation isn't about compliance.It's about how great companies are built.Amit shares why he believes some of the most common startup advice is wrong, how venture capital can unintentionally change the way founders solve problems, why curiosity about people has become one of his greatest competitive advantages, and the leadership principles that helped shape every company he's built.In this episode you'll learn:How one company grew to $200 million in just 24 monthsWhy Amit chose to bootstrap instead of raising venture capitalThe hidden cost of solving problems with money instead of better thinkingWhy "Fail Fast" isn't always the right adviceThe leadership principle Amit calls "Everything Is a Factor of Time"Why understanding people may be the most underrated business skillWhether you're building your first company or leading a fast-growing organization, this episode will challenge how you think about growth, leadership, and creating businesses that stand the test of time.Connect with Amit GuptaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amitgupta28/Website: https://www.konfirmity.com/Medium: https://medium.com/@amitguptaX (Twitter): https://x.com/amitpguptaReady to build a sales team that gets smarter every week?The best sales teams don't improve because they hire more salespeople.Revenue scales because your sales operating system gets smarter every single week.FireCoach.ai gives every rep a private AI practice environment where they can rehearse the exact conversations they'll face before they ever speak with a customer. Your team learns from your best performers, every conversation is scored, and your sales organization gets stronger with every practice session.Learn more at https://FireCoach.ai

What if the biggest thing holding you back isn't your talent... it's what you've decided is impossible?Most people would look at JV Crum III's career—two successful exits, tens of millions in revenue, and more than 3,000 podcast interviews—and assume he's already reached the summit.He disagrees.In this episode of Revenue Rearview, JV shares why impossible goals aren't reserved for a select few—they're the result of learning how to think, perform, and execute at an entirely different level.We explore:Why most people underestimate what they're capable of.The mindset shifts behind sustained ultra performance.How to train yourself to achieve goals that once felt out of reach.The lessons behind his new book, Achieve Your Impossible: Ultra Performance.If you're a founder, executive, or ambitious leader chasing your next breakthrough, this conversation will challenge what you believe is possible—and give you a practical framework for raising your own ceiling.Access JV Crum III's offer: Consciousmillionaire.com/ultra_____Ready to build a sales team that gets smarter every week?Stop relying on hope, heroic salespeople, and expensive trial-and-error. -> FireCoach.ai turns your best sales conversations into an AI-powered sales operating system that helps every rep ramp faster, handle objections with confidence, and close more business. https://firecoach.ai/