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Varun Anand
Entrepreneurship
6mo
We just hit $100M ARR at Clay. It took us six years to go from $0-1m, then two years to go from $1-100m. I’m going to walk you through the 6 biggest GTM bets that got us here.
$100M ARR may be the headline, but I’m most proud of how we accomplished it: we’ve never churned an enterprise customer, have >200% enterprise NRR, every dollar we invest grows 15x, and we’ve created a culture of creativity and belonging (with a perfect Glassdoor score to match!).
Note:
-We are a product-driven company. Without that foundation and a unique POV, none of this would work.
-Our GTM approach is authentic to us. Greatness comes from doing what only you can do.
1. Building a self-serve motion through reverse demos
We originally had a product that nobody could use. It took us 8 calls to sell a $200/mo product! Reverse demos were key to bringing that to zero. Customers would share their screen, and we’d use Zoom annotations to solve their problem in 30mins. They accomplished something real, learned how to use Clay, and we got so much UI feedback.
2. An irrational investment in brand
Most B2B startups treat brand as a post-PMF investment. We flipped that. We bought Clay(.)com and hired a claymation artist before we had revenue. Our Head of Brand was employee #18. These choices felt irrational but they’re authentic to us. Now it’s a moat.
3. Switching to usage-based pricing
We were the first GTM company to offer usage-based pricing. Our customers were shocked we didn't charge per seat. But we're built for efficiency. Usage-based pricing helped us target more technical users and enabled our land-and-expand motion.
4. Building an agency motion to generate UGC on LinkedIn
Cold email agencies were our first customers. They posted about Clay organically to position themselves as experts and win clients. We pounced on it and enabled them. This sparked a self-perpetuating cycle: new people discover Clay through that content, join, create their own, and earn recognition too.
5. Unconventional hiring
50% of our business teams are doing their job for the first time. This is how we bring creativity into our company and think differently. We’ve hired farmers, archaeologists, magicians in new roles. We look for product passion, customer empathy and technical curiosity, then teach the mechanics.
6. We created a new career path & economy: GTM Engineering
There are now thousands of open GTME jobs and hundreds of agencies built around it. Many first-time entrepreneurs have already built 7-figure businesses on top of Clay. Our community, with clubs in more than 70 cities, is our force multiplier, and it’s the clearest sign that we’re building something meaningful.
-
All of these bets show we’re not racing anyone. We spent six years figuring out what and how we wanted to build. In an era of overnight successes and growth at all costs, it turns out that taking time to build something authentic can create a business with bigger impact & more growth than you'd think.
3.1K
Varun Anand
Entrepreneurship
6mo
We just hit $100M ARR at Clay. It took us six years to go from $0-1m, then two years to go from $1-100m. I’m going to walk you through the 6 biggest GTM bets that got us here.
$100M ARR may be the headline, but I’m most proud of how we accomplished it: we’ve never churned an enterprise customer, have >200% enterprise NRR, every dollar we invest grows 15x, and we’ve created a culture of creativity and belonging (with a perfect Glassdoor score to match!).
Note:
-We are a product-driven company. Without that foundation and a unique POV, none of this would work.
-Our GTM approach is authentic to us. Greatness comes from doing what only you can do.
1. Building a self-serve motion through reverse demos
We originally had a product that nobody could use. It took us 8 calls to sell a $200/mo product! Reverse demos were key to bringing that to zero. Customers would share their screen, and we’d use Zoom annotations to solve their problem in 30mins. They accomplished something real, learned how to use Clay, and we got so much UI feedback.
2. An irrational investment in brand
Most B2B startups treat brand as a post-PMF investment. We flipped that. We bought Clay(.)com and hired a claymation artist before we had revenue. Our Head of Brand was employee #18. These choices felt irrational but they’re authentic to us. Now it’s a moat.
3. Switching to usage-based pricing
We were the first GTM company to offer usage-based pricing. Our customers were shocked we didn't charge per seat. But we're built for efficiency. Usage-based pricing helped us target more technical users and enabled our land-and-expand motion.
4. Building an agency motion to generate UGC on LinkedIn
Cold email agencies were our first customers. They posted about Clay organically to position themselves as experts and win clients. We pounced on it and enabled them. This sparked a self-perpetuating cycle: new people discover Clay through that content, join, create their own, and earn recognition too.
5. Unconventional hiring
50% of our business teams are doing their job for the first time. This is how we bring creativity into our company and think differently. We’ve hired farmers, archaeologists, magicians in new roles. We look for product passion, customer empathy and technical curiosity, then teach the mechanics.
6. We created a new career path & economy: GTM Engineering
There are now thousands of open GTME jobs and hundreds of agencies built around it. Many first-time entrepreneurs have already built 7-figure businesses on top of Clay. Our community, with clubs in more than 70 cities, is our force multiplier, and it’s the clearest sign that we’re building something meaningful.
-
All of these bets show we’re not racing anyone. We spent six years figuring out what and how we wanted to build. In an era of overnight successes and growth at all costs, it turns out that taking time to build something authentic can create a business with bigger impact & more growth than you'd think.
3.1K
Varun Anand
Entrepreneurship
6mo
We just hit $100M ARR at Clay. It took us six years to go from $0-1m, then two years to go from $1-100m. I’m going to walk you through the 6 biggest GTM bets that got us here.
$100M ARR may be the headline, but I’m most proud of how we accomplished it: we’ve never churned an enterprise customer, have >200% enterprise NRR, every dollar we invest grows 15x, and we’ve created a culture of creativity and belonging (with a perfect Glassdoor score to match!).
Note:
-We are a product-driven company. Without that foundation and a unique POV, none of this would work.
-Our GTM approach is authentic to us. Greatness comes from doing what only you can do.
1. Building a self-serve motion through reverse demos
We originally had a product that nobody could use. It took us 8 calls to sell a $200/mo product! Reverse demos were key to bringing that to zero. Customers would share their screen, and we’d use Zoom annotations to solve their problem in 30mins. They accomplished something real, learned how to use Clay, and we got so much UI feedback.
2. An irrational investment in brand
Most B2B startups treat brand as a post-PMF investment. We flipped that. We bought Clay(.)com and hired a claymation artist before we had revenue. Our Head of Brand was employee #18. These choices felt irrational but they’re authentic to us. Now it’s a moat.
3. Switching to usage-based pricing
We were the first GTM company to offer usage-based pricing. Our customers were shocked we didn't charge per seat. But we're built for efficiency. Usage-based pricing helped us target more technical users and enabled our land-and-expand motion.
4. Building an agency motion to generate UGC on LinkedIn
Cold email agencies were our first customers. They posted about Clay organically to position themselves as experts and win clients. We pounced on it and enabled them. This sparked a self-perpetuating cycle: new people discover Clay through that content, join, create their own, and earn recognition too.
5. Unconventional hiring
50% of our business teams are doing their job for the first time. This is how we bring creativity into our company and think differently. We’ve hired farmers, archaeologists, magicians in new roles. We look for product passion, customer empathy and technical curiosity, then teach the mechanics.
6. We created a new career path & economy: GTM Engineering
There are now thousands of open GTME jobs and hundreds of agencies built around it. Many first-time entrepreneurs have already built 7-figure businesses on top of Clay. Our community, with clubs in more than 70 cities, is our force multiplier, and it’s the clearest sign that we’re building something meaningful.
-
All of these bets show we’re not racing anyone. We spent six years figuring out what and how we wanted to build. In an era of overnight successes and growth at all costs, it turns out that taking time to build something authentic can create a business with bigger impact & more growth than you'd think.
3.1K