Welcome to The GTM Lever

Over the next ten years, headlines will spotlight a handful of massive venture backed AI winners. But the real money? It’ll be made in the background — by thousands of PE-backed SaaS companies that learn to reinvent themselves with an AI-native GTM message, and by acquiring AI-first startups that plug directly into their platforms. This newsletter exists to help you do exactly that.

My Thesis

The AI revolution won’t be won by VC-backed startups alone. It will be operationalized by private equity — in the boardrooms and quarterly plans of scaled SaaS platforms under pressure to stay relevant and grow in the coming decade of AI.

And in that world, the winners will be the ones who do three things exceptionally well:

1. Revamp their Strategic Narrative to become AI-relevant

2. Execute a modern, GTM-first growth and value creation strategy

3. Acquire and integrate AI-native SaaS companies as bolt-ons

If you’re a PE-backed CEO, a CRO/CFO at a portfolio company, or a partner at a PE firm, this is the new playbook for value creation.

The Macro Tailwinds Are Already Here

There are a few key quantifiable macro trends that are driving this thesis:

• 73% of PE firms say top-line growth is now their biggest lever for value creation.
  — EY Global PE Survey
  

• 89% of PE Operating Partners say revenue growth is the #1 priority.
  — Blue Ridge Partners PE Survey
  

• 70% of top-performing PE firms embed GTM and pricing playbooks within 100 days.
  — Bain & Company, PE Playbooks Report
  

• 60%+ of PE-backed CEOs say their boards are now more focused on sales and marketing acceleration than cost-cutting.
  — PwC EO Pulse

Meanwhile, a generation of AI-native startups are emerging — fast, scrappy, product-led, and built on LLM infrastructure. Most of them don’t have distribution and a scalable enterprise GTM figured out. This is where the flywheel spins.

How I Developed This Thesis

I work in two connected worlds that are shaping the future of SaaS.