GTMnow, "Behind the Scenes on Building and Selling Wisely for $187 Million with Mike Vichich" Nov. 22, 2023

Summary

Episode description for GTM 69 of The GTM Podcast, Behind the Scenes on Building and Selling Wisely for $187 Million with Mike Vichich. It describes Mike Vichich as the Co-Founder and CEO of Wisely, which was sold to Olo for $187 million in 2021, and as contemplating a next move as a second-time founder. The listed learning points cover what worked and what did not in building Wisely and how to evaluate product-market fit, drawing on trying to find it for 4.5 years. Timestamped highlights run from evaluating entrepreneurial ideas at (3:45) to what is working in go-to-market right now at (51:49), and a referenced resource is a Jason Lemkin (SaaStr) article, The 48 Types of VP Sales.

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GTM 69: Behind the Scenes on Building and Selling Wisely for $187 Million with Mike Vichich

Mike Vichich is the Co-Founder and CEO of Wisely , which he successfully sold to Olo for $187 million in 2021. Currently contemplating his next move, it will involve embarking on the journey of being a second-time founder. With the experience of building Wisely under his belt, he is looking to avoid making mistakes from his first venture and avoid common traps. He resides in Ann Arbor, Michigan with his wife and three sons.

What You Will Learn:

- Insight on the behind the scenes to Mike’s journey building a company that sold for $187M.
- What worked and what did not in building Wisely.
- How to evaluate product-market fit from experience trying to find it for 4.5 years, including early indicators.
- Tactics to encourage resilience and determination and how Mike maintained a strong mindset throughout the journey, even when times got tough.

Highlights:

(3:45) Evaluating entrepreneurial ideas, including Mike’s process of moving from first-time to second-time founder.

(6:33) Mike’s entrepreneurial journey.

(9:46) Differentiating product-market-timing fit from product-market fit.

(14:58) The Wisely story – building and growing the company.

(21:22) Balancing personal life and self-identity when cash is running out and times get tough.

(28:54) Leveraging a network of decision making, rather than a hierarchy of decision making.

(31:37) Defining moments and things that Mike got right while building Wisely.

(38:41) First things Wisely did to accelerate growth once product-market fit was found.

(47:05) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Mike thinks is bull$***.

(51:49) One thing that is working for Mike in go-to-market right now.

Guest Speaker Link: LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mikevichich/ Host Speaker Links: LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/ Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/

Referenced Resource: Article by Jason Lemkin (SaaStr): The 48 Types of VP Sales. Make Deadly Sure You Hire the Right One.

The GTM Podcast Don’t miss The GTM Podcast dropping every Tuesday discussing true stories and experiences including trials and tribulations in the Go-To-Market world.

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