Rocket Revenue
Rocket Revenue is a weekly podcast dedicated to pulling back the curtain on predictable and repeatable revenue models for startups.
Hosted by Rocket Shipping's CEO Gabe Pankonin and Head of Revenue Troy Barter, the show provides an inside look at constructing scalable revenue architectures without needing to rely on outside funding to expand your sales skills and/or sales teams.
Across episodes, Gabe offers his own experiences with bootstrapping companies from idea to profitability. With refreshing honesty and humor, he can dissect the financial mysteries of fledgling startups.
How do you transform an untested business concept into one raking in recurring revenue? How do you identify and court that first set of customers who will stay?
Structured as part masterclass // part business case studies, the Rocket Revenue podcast equips you with actionable advice for every growth phase as a startup founder.
For those still at the starting line, Barter zooms in on presale tactics to validate and improve product-market fit. He focuses on mapping realistic and repeatable pathways to profitability. While he draws extensively from B2B Saas business models, the revenue fundamentals hold true across most startups.
With so much illusion (...or delusion) surrounding startup success stories today, these episodes spotlight the gritty reality behind the scenes. It explores common revenue missteps, outlining how to avoid and recover from them. Mistaking vanity metrics for actionable ones, acquiring users without a path to monetization, growing too fast—why not break down how these pitfalls threaten sustainability?
For startups powered more by bootstrapping by their elbow grease and expanding their community than venture capital, the Rocket Revenue podcast delivers a vigorous revenue reality check.
Let's lay out a blueprint for scalable, repeatable revenue that can provide a startup like you with a compass to navigate the winding road from ideation to profitability! Tune in to each episode to find out more 🚀 #RocketRevenue
Our reminder to you: We want to hear from you! Connect with Troy Barter or Gabe Pankonin on LinkedIn and send over your questions, comments, or concerns to discuss in our upcoming episodes. Collaboration is key; let's build a community.
Rocket Revenue
Episode 4: Prepping Reps for Success
In an Ego-driven world of sales, how do you cultivate top talent without becoming hostage to individual superstars?
In this episode, Gabe and Barter unpack how to spot the right “Goldilocks” level of ego when prospecting new sales hires - not too arrogant, not too timid, but one that breeds confidence without undermining team success.
NON-NEGOTIABLE CRITERIA: can they take daily rejection in stride, remain coachable, and work consistently at a high level, day in and day out?
Paired with the proper sales training, having these foundational traits can set sellers up to thrive across products, services, and even industries.
Yet many organizations stop at that point and fail to share the expertise of their standout revenue generators with the new staff they bring on. This leaves them flying blind when top reps inevitably move on and take their playbooks with them.
By openly sharing Rocket’s real-time experiences handling scaling challenges like these, Rocket Revenue cuts through theory to provide practical steps for bootstrap startups constructing sustainable sales machines. The "to-do's" and a few of the "not-to-do's".
Whether it's dealing with wrangling egos, perfecting training techniques, or recruiting A-level players, the series pulls back the curtain on the under-discussed components of building revenue engines that can withstand the test of time.
Come back each week for more Rocket Revenue content, and be sure to follow Gabe and Barter on LinkedIn for more! 👀🚀