The GTM Podcast is available on any major directory, including:
Rick Kelley is the former SVP of Gaming and App Monetization Solutions at Meta and Managing Director of Meta Ireland, where he led a $1B+ revenue organization and played a pivotal role in building out Meta’s go-to-market teams across North America and EMEA. Over his 15-year career at Meta, Rick was instrumental in driving international expansion, especially across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa—helping to localize strategy, scale high-performing sales teams, and bring new ad products to market. Today, he advises founders on global GTM execution, sales hiring, and how AI is reshaping the future of commercial organizations.
Discussed in this Episode:
The operational playbooks that scaled Meta’s ad sales
Why AI will shift how sales orgs think about headcount and human capital
The three traits Rick looks for in great sales leaders—and how to spot them early
Why early-stage companies should prioritize hiring builders, not closers
How to segment go-to-market motions by customer journey, not just ACV
The hidden risks in over-hiring and misaligned sales capacity
Why “coachable, humble, gritty” still wins—even in an AI-powered GTM world
If you missed GTM 148, check it out here: Winning Every Tech Shift from a 3X Founder (From Internet to AI)
Highlights:
6:30 How Meta scaled repeatable playbooks across SMB, Mid-Market, and Enterprise
10:00 The role of humility and coachability in building scalable teams
13:00 Why top sales leaders are systems thinkers—not just great closers
16:00 AI’s impact on headcount and how to scale without over-hiring
21:00 Advice for founders: how to make your first 5 sales hires count
25:30 Early-stage mistake: over-complicating GTM before validating demand
30:30 Why product and GTM must be tied at the hip—especially in AI-first companies
34:00 From Facebook to Meta: what changed and what didn’t in sales strategy
37:00 Final thoughts: GTM myths, leadership advice, and staying grounded
Guest Speaker Links (Rick Kelley):
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rickkelley
Host Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi
Newsletter: substack.com/@sophiebuonassisi
Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):
Website: gtmnow.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/gtmnow
Twitter/X: x.com/GTMnow_
YouTube: /@gtm_now
The GTM Podcast (on all major directories): https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/
Sponsors: UserEvidence
UserEvidence is the Customer Evidence Platform that lets you collect feedback, curate success stories, and create content that credibly proves the value of your product.
Sponsor Link: https://userevidence.com/gtmnow
The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.
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