In the dynamic landscape of disruptive SaaS, Deep tech, and HR tech companies, few voices stand out as boldly as Hanna Larsson’s. A seasoned Go-To-Market Advisor, Speaker, and Content Creator, she has spent the last decade shaping and amplifying the success stories of high-growth companies. Notably, her instrumental role in the unicorn and hyper-growth phenomenon, Remote, showcases her prowess in building and scaling go-to-market engines, sales organizations, and revenue.
In an exclusive dialogue with CXO Magazine, Hanna takes us on a journey through her remarkable career and insights. From dissecting the intricacies of go-to-market strategies to unraveling the current pulse of the global startup ecosystem, Hanna shares her wealth of experience. Join us as we delve into the solutions she champions for addressing industry challenges, explore the exciting opportunities she envisions for startups in the coming years, and gain invaluable glimpses into the future of work – a domain she passionately advocates for. Here are the compelling excerpts from our insightful conversation with Hanna Larsson.
Can you share a bit about your journey in building and scaling go-to-market strategies, sales organizations, and revenue in disruptive SaaS, Deep Tech, Medtech, and HR Tech companies over the last decade?
Over the last decade, I have built and scaled go-to-market engines, sales org, and revenue at disruptive SaaS, Deep tech, and HR tech companies.
Before starting my own company, I built and scaled the unicorn and hyper-growth company Remote as Sales Director in EMEA. We built and scaled Remote in EMEA from 0 to 30 million dollars in 18 months.
In July 2021, we became a unicorn and one year later in April 2022, Remote was valued to $3 billion.
I joined Remote early and built, hired and led the sales team (from 2-87 people) and we all worked remotely from 22 different countries. I was fortunate to be able to attract top talent to Remote. It’s hard to find a more meaningful mission and purpose than to help people get access to work and economic opportunities.
Today, I help founders build and scale high-growth companies, audiences, and high-performing teams. I’m also a huge advocate for the future of work – how the world of work is evolving and all the opportunities it brings to people around the world to build a better life.
When I coach startup founders, I teach them how to build high-performing teams, how to go to market and build sustainable revenue growth, and the importance of having a relentless focus on the customer, the team, speed and execution.
Hanna’s previous go-to-market experience:
- Global hiring – hire anyone, anywhere in the world
- Strongest material in the world
- Digital transformation of HR
- Nano surfaces optimization
- Call tracking
- Breast milk analysis
Your recent experience was to scale the unicorn and hyper-growth company. Could you tell us more about your role in this expansion?
Remote reached out to me when they were only 26 people. I joined to lead the global sales team, and ended up taking on the EMEA market because of the time difference and us growing so fast. I built, hired and led the sales team. We moved from zero to $30M in ARR during 18 months. My team of 87 people in EMEA were located in 22 countries. We all worked remotely.
While we built a scalable and repeatable sales process and business model, we also invested heavily into building a great culture. We managed to create a great team spirit, and we scaled knowledge and learnings fast on the team. This enabled us to grow faster. People are everything in business.
Tell us about the go-to-market agency, Huntrs, that you founded. What motivated you to start this venture, and what unique value does Huntrs bring to its clients?
I have 15 years of experience of working across many different industries. From medtech, nanotech, deeptech to SaaS, with one common denominator: go to market. After the journey with Remote, I started Huntrs to enable startups to build lean, fast-moving and profitable startups.
During the last 2 years I have built an audience of 112,000 followers on LinkedIn, so I decided to start 2 FREE weekly newsletters: The Future of Work and Huntrs. In 2023 I managed to build a 100% inbound business during 2023 through organic content and I teach others how to do the same.
I am just getting started.
Given your experience working with companies worldwide, how do you perceive the current state of the global startup ecosystem?
Money was cheap for too long. We have left a period behind us now of “growth at all costs” and the whole startup scene and how we go to market has changed. Sooner or later, shortcuts and expensive customer acquisitions catch up on you, and we are now seeing this in the market. We needed this change of going back to the core and building more sustainably.
This is the old way:
- Spend like there’s no tomorrow
- Inefficient “spray and pray”
- Growth at all costs
- Hire, hire, hire
- Paid ads
The new way:
- Content-led
- Ecosystem focus
- Smart partnerships
- Reinventing outbound
- Small & personal events
- Build REAL relationships
- Leverage AI & automation
- Efficient profitable growth
- Human and non-scalable actions
- Build community around your brand
- Experiment with content on social media
- Build a lean team: a mix of FTE + freelancers
- Founders & C-levels building personal brands
Efficient and lean startups are the new sexy.
Every startup needs to see themselves as a media company, and find ways to grab ATTENTION.
Technology continues to change the world and the barrier to entry is lower than ever before.
Building a lean, profitable business without pressure from investors IS 100% doable for so many people today.
The landscape and ecosystem has changed.
Alex Lazarov in Entrepreneur magazine describes it well:
“Camels adapt to multiple climates. Camels survive without food or water for months. When the time is right, they can sprint rapidly for sustained periods of time. Unlike unicorns, camels are not imaginary creatures living in fictitious lands. They are real, resilient and can survive in the harshest places on Earth. While the metaphor may not be as flashy, these startup camels prioritize sustainability, and thus survival, from the get-go by balancing strong growth and cash flow.”
Could you share some insights into innovative approaches or solutions you’ve seen effectively addressing these challenges?
Yeah absolutely. We are building more lean now. Human and non scalable actions are effective. We see companies having a mix of full-time employees and freelancers.
And we are living in the attention economy and it’s becoming more and more common for companies to leverage it. So, every company should see itself as a media company, finding ways to grab attention, build an audience, and speak with that audience. This is where people spend their time today. A company today needs to be really good at capturing attention.
What advice would you give to early-stage startups looking to establish effective go-to-market strategies and build sustainable revenue streams?
Try to bootstrap as long as you can. Create an offer, build an audience, drive traffic to your website, convert that traffic and find ways to put that on REPEAT.
Leverage the attention economy. Build lean. Build an ecosystem around your product offering.
Lean on AI. Find out what AI can do to develop your business to the next level.
We are living in a unique moment in time.
Literally, anyone who has something to say and has a connection to the internet can speak to the world, and build distribution, and an audience.
And then monetize that audience. Put the founder in focus, create content and build an audience and then fuel revenue growth to your company. It’s the lowest hanging fruit and by far the most effective way to start a company today.
Looking ahead, what do you see as the most exciting opportunities for startups in the next few years?
Without a doubt, transitioning and adapting to a business world and world of work completely changed by AI.
When the car came, everything changed.
When the tractor came, everything changed.
When the TV came, everything changed.
When the computer came, everything changed.
When the plane came, everything changed.
Technology will continue to change the world.
And AI is our new reality.
How do you stay updated on the latest trends and developments in the tech and startup industry?
I listen to podcasts, business news, newsletters from my favorite content creators, I consume a lot of content on social media and I read a lot.
What motivates you in your role as a Go-To-Market Advisor, Speaker, and Content Creator?
Starting my own company and continuing to work with my passion and helping founders go to market, has been like coming home for me. Entrepreneurship is home. It’s independence and freedom that I can’t compare to anything else. Finally, I can use all of my strengths and I don’t need to hold back any longer.
Where can our audience connect with you or learn more about your work?
They can follow me on LinkedIn, I share content every day. I also have two newsletters: Huntrs for founders and builders and The Future of Work Newsletter for anyone who wants to learn, adapt, and win in their life, business and career.