In this episode of Whispered Hiring, Andy Mowat speaks with Ghazi Masood, CRO at Replit, about building GTM organizations in product-led growth environments. With experience scaling Auth0 through hypergrowth and acquisition, plus leading revenue at Retool, Ghazi breaks down how PLG hiring differs by role, why he rarely posts senior positions, and the back-channel timing that saves months of wasted interviews. His frameworks reveal how to spot enterprise readiness in a PLG funnel and the specific red flag that predicts sales leader failure.
Topics discussed:
- The three roles where PLG experience actually matters when hiring: RevOps (must understand PQL/MQL interplay and marketing alignment), Head of Sales Development (needs experience transitioning inbound to outbound), and segment sales leaders building hybrid inbound/outbound machines for enterprise.
- How to evaluate whether a PLG company can successfully add SLG: look for enterprise employees already signing up individually. If someone at JP Morgan is using your product on a small team, that's your signal to swarm them and build intentional outbound around those product signals.
- Why BDR-to-AE progression works as an internal flywheel for SMB and mid-market, but strategic accounts (selling to Amazon, Netflix, Coinbase) typically require external hires. The gap is multi-threading, procurement navigation, and business value selling. Most internal candidates need more time before making that jump.
- Auth0's enablement approach during hypergrowth: role-based onboarding curriculum with pitch certifications where new hires had to get certified before hitting the field. This predicted who would perform and prevented the org from "missing a beat" while scaling 10x.
- Ghazi's senior hiring philosophy: work with people you've worked with before, or people one layer removed through trusted networks. If timing doesn't work with your first choice, ask them for referrals and back-channel those names. He also leverages VC talent teams, noting they maintain deep relationships with hundreds of CROs and conduct thorough vetting most companies underutilize.
- Why he back-channels senior candidates immediately rather than at final rounds. Early diligence saves time, but requires going to previous companies when candidates are still employed. If a bad reference surfaces, get the context. Everyone has one difficult peer or subordinate in their past.
- The interview approach that reveals sales readiness: ask candidates to walk through specific deals they've closed. Who was the decision maker? How did they navigate procurement? Strong candidates rattle this off instantly. He also prioritizes relationship and presence over paper credentials, noting he's hired people with less experience who outperformed because of how they'd present in front of customers.
- The red flag that signals a sales leader won't survive: when AEs stop inviting them to customer calls. Ghazi shares a specific example of a leader who couldn't grasp pricing methodology. The field team lost trust and started excluding them from deals. Once that credibility gap opens, it rarely closes.
- His approach to developing direct reports: dedicate one monthly 1:1 exclusively to career growth with zero business discussion. Ask where they want exposure (board meetings, new functions, specific skills) and actively create those opportunities. His stated philosophy: "You're only as successful as the team you build."
ABOUT YOUR HOST:
Andy Mowat has built GTM engines for top companies throughout his career. He led Revenue Operations and Demand Gen at four unicorns, including scaling from $10M to $100M ARR at both Upwork and Culture Amp, and helping guide Box and Carta through IPO scale. With a passion for connecting people, Andy has advised executives on their careers for years and launched Whispered to make searching for executive roles less intimidating.
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