SaaStock Paris - Mastering GTM to Build a $150M Sales-Tech SaaS

Inside Lemlist — Building and evolving a Go-To-Market strategy

During SaaStock Paris, Charles, CEO of Lemlist, shared an unfiltered look at what it takes to structure, evolve, and scale a Go-To-Market (GTM) model effectively.
Drawing from his experience at Botify, Skello, and now Lemlist, he explained how growth relies less on frameworks than on clarity, focus, and belief.

1. Go-To-Market Is Not a Religion

Charles outlined three distinct GTM models:

• Self-service, where users onboard autonomously;
• Sales-led, driven by human interaction;
• Enterprise, involving complex, multi-stakeholder cycles.

“PLG is often misunderstood. Very few products truly sell themselves. The real question is: do you need to talk to a human to sell?”

He views Product-Led Growth (PLG) as a later-stage evolution, not a starting point:

“PLG is sometimes a move of convenience — you think you’ll avoid talking to customers, but that almost never works.”

“By default, a startup should begin sales-led. PLG is a second step, once the value is obvious.”

2. Matching the Model to Stage and Market

Charles insists on discipline when it comes to scaling GTM strategies.

“According to Winning by Design, you should have one sales motion per $10M in ARR. Diversifying too early is just a recipe for execution risk.”

He warns against fragmentation:

“At Skello, we tried to run multiple models at once. It just diluted focus and energy.”

Each company he’s worked with reflects a different phase of this evolution:

• Botify moved from PLG to Enterprise.
• Skello thrived in a high-intensity SMB sales-led model.
• Lemlist is now balancing automation with human engagement.

“It’s not the product that changes — it’s the way you sell it.”

3. Botify — From PLG to Enterprise

At Botify, Charles led a shift that transformed the company’s economics:

“We killed the PLG model a few months after I joined because it didn’t even pay for one developer.”

The same product that once sold for €39 a month went on to close €200K-per-month Enterprise contracts.

“It wasn’t the tech that created perceived value — it was how we sold it.”

He highlights the importance of belief and confidence in pricing:

“Every year, we raised our minimum deal size. Sales complained — and still hit target every time.”

“Belief drives performance. Not process.”

4. Skello — The Intensity of SMB Sales

Moving to Skello, Charles discovered the raw energy required to succeed in the SMB segment:

“It’s an intensity business. SDRs were on the phone four hours a day.”

He learned that success doesn’t depend on pedigree but on mindset:

“One of our top reps used to be an Amazon delivery driver. He went from €1,300 to €10,000 a month. It’s about hunger.”

He contrasts startup culture with execution discipline:

“Startups love babyfoot and buzzwords, but execution beats cool every time. Traditional companies often outperform on rigor.”

5. Lemlist — Rebuilding Focus and Persona

When Charles joined Lemlist, he found a strong brand but a diluted focus:

“We had four or five personas — salespeople, recruiters, agencies, founders. When you talk to everyone, you talk to no one.”

“It took us almost a year to choose: do we build for founders — our original fans — or for sales teams, who are more stable and profitable?”

He calls it “a choice between heart and reason.”

The key to moving forward has been simplifying the message and clarifying ownership between teams:

“At Lemlist there’s no politics. If marketing has bandwidth to run partnerships, sales lets them. We care about outcomes, not titles.”

6. AI — A Lever, Not a Breakthrough

On the role of AI in SaaS growth, Charles remains pragmatic:

“People think AI will get companies to $100M ARR faster. That’s not true. Product-market fit still wins.”

He cites Alan as a positive example:

“They run dozens of AI experiments. Most fail, but that’s how they find what actually creates value.”

“AI can summarize ten pages of content — but it can’t yet say the right thing to the right person at the right time.”

7. Leadership and Culture — Clarity Over Complexity

Charles rejects political management and heavy structures:

“I hate politics. At Lemlist, we want to stay small in spirit, even as we grow.”

He values clarity, trust, and action above hierarchy:

“What drives results isn’t process or control — it’s shared belief and clear direction.”

“We hire executors, not theorists.”

8. Key Takeaways

1. Start sales-led — add PLG later.
2. One GTM motion per $10M ARR.
3. Perceived value comes from storytelling, not features.
4. Hire for hunger, not pedigree.
5. Simplify relentlessly — focus wins.
6. Use AI as a tool, not a vision.
7. Build cultures of belief, not bureaucracy.