As some of you know, in Q4 2025, we launched The Vibescaling Podcast.
It’s been energizing to do these, and my goal is to ship each week without missing any in 2026. It’s a core part of our Vibescaling media strategy, which you can see here.
You can expect the smartest GTM minds from the hottest companies to talk all things sales, AI, and startups.
Think of it as a baby born from two of my favorite podcasts - the content of 20VC (specifically their 20Sales series) meets the casual vibe of My First Million.
If you enjoy it, please give us a rating, review, or follow on Spotify/YouTube/Apple Podcasts - it really helps us grow this.
Some of our previous guests:
Todd Busler, CEO @ Champify - see writeup here
Raphael Parker, CRO @ Mandolin (former founding GTM hire @ Segment) - see writeup here
Kyle Parrish, former VP of Sales @ Figma, see article here
Some of our future guests for Season One:
Pat Forquer, SVP of Revenue @ Legora (recorded, in edits now)
Mike Donohue, CRO @ Maven AGI (recorded, in edits now)
Jack Gashi, VP of Sales @ Avoca (recorded, in edits now)
Tomer Chernia, VP of GTM @ Cursor (recorded, in edits now)
Eleanor Dorfman, Head of Sales @ Anthropic (recorded, in edits now)
Kyle Norton, CRO @ Owner.com (filming in February)
Jason Gelman, Operating Partner @ Primary Ventures
& others from our portfolio companies @ vibescaling
And many more in the pipeline - if you know any good leaders who fit this, shoot me a DM on LI or reply to this email. We’ll keep openings rolling and be super open to suggestions for similar guests.
We film in-person in SF & NYC at legit podcast studios and have hired a post-production agency, so the quality will be high.
And now, onto the episode 🎙️
Links To Sections
VibeScaling Episode 4: Liam Mulcahy
Liam is one of those people who, every time I chat with him, I feel like I get a lot smarter.
Small world - he’s from the same hometown as my wife in NJ and they knew of each other. One of my favorite NJ-isms from Liam is that “New Jersey’s best export isn’t tomoatoes, it’s talent.”
He’s also a fellow suffering Knicks fan (this is our year, though - in Jalen I trust).
When we started the VS podcast, he was one of the first guests we wanted to feature, especially after hearing him on the Hunters & Unicorns podcast a few months ago.
We are already doing another hour with Liam this month (January) as a continuation of this episode, so there will be more content from him in the future.
Liam’s Background
Liam Mulcahy is an Operating Partner at Kleiner Perkins, where he leads go-to-market strategy for their portfolio companies from Series A through C.
Before Kleiner, Liam was an early operator at Unusual Ventures where he served as the first sales rep for 26+ portfolio companies simultaneously, building their GTM motions from zero.
He cut his teeth at MongoDB pre and post-IPO, where he went from being told "we don't think you can cut it" to becoming a top performer and sales leader.
Liam is one of the most thoughtful and intelligent voices on zero-to-one sales, career strategy, and what it actually takes to break into venture capital from an operating background.
Interesting Takeaways
"I don't know if you can cut it here" is a unique interview tactic. Mongo, Unusual, and Kleiner all use this line strategically. The right candidates get fired up to prove you wrong. The wrong ones shrink. It's a filter for competitive DNA.
Treat your interview like a sales deal. If you got rejected, would you just say "damn, take it out of the forecast" and move on? Don't treat your career more passively than you'd treat a prospect. Push back, ask for feedback, request another shot.
Send the cardboard cutout (aka get creative). When Liam got rejected by MongoDB's CRO, he had nothing to lose. A $60 cutout plus $60 express shipping changed his entire career trajectory. Most good things shouldn't die after one "no."
Respond to imposter syndrome with chutzpah, not paralysis. When Liam felt like he didn't belong at Mongo, he identified the best person on the team and decided: "If I'm better than them, I can't be an imposter." Then he stayed late every night until he was.
Overprepare. Names, colleges, company histories, use cases, proof points - memorized cold. You always perform 20% worse under the lights, so over-prepare. Your prep becomes your default.
Effort is free. Some people are stuck in third gear their whole lives. Liam's nightmare fuel isn't failure - it's waking up at 50 and realizing he left opportunities untapped and effort in the tank.
Get creative breaking into VC. When Liam wanted to break into VC without an MBA, he pulled investor phone numbers from ZoomInfo and called them. "This is a cold call. Two questions: what do you look for in a first-year associate, and do I have to go to business school?"
The traditional VC operating model is broken. Talent teams too far from companies to match candidates well. BD teams running CIO dinners that generate zero deals. Operating partners in retirement mode. Kleiner inverted everything - hiring peak-career operators as subject matter experts who own both strategy and recruiting.
A signed contract is your best competitive moat. Product differentiation is now ephemeral - six months max before someone catches up. Look at DeepSeek vs OpenAI. The real moat? Locking customers into 12-month terms before a competitor can.
Map the VC landscape before you ask "how do I get your job." Understand the business model. Learn the difference between seed and mezzanine firms. Plot where your experience fits. The question "how do I break in?" is useless without knowing where you'd actually add value.
The best introduction to a VC is one of their founders. Don't try to parachute into the castle tower. Go help portfolio companies for free - nights and weekends, maybe just for matcha money at first. Do needle-moving work. Let the founder introduce you. That's the path nobody takes because it's a shitload of work.
Discussed In This Episode
The cardboard cutout Hail Mary that landed Liam his job at MongoDB
Why you should treat interviewing like a sales deal
The "MBA in sales" - why MongoDB's training was more valuable than business school
Cold calling the Midas List to break into VC without an MBA
How Kleiner Perkins rebuilt their operating team with peak-career subject matter experts
Why a signed contract is now your best competitive differentiator
The three rings of outbound: warm network, lukewarm, and ice cold
Step-by-step guide to breaking into VC from a sales background
"Effort is free" - why some people are stuck in third gear
What Liam would tell someone who says "I want your job" & how to break into VC from sales
Timestamps
00:00 Liam's Journey: From D1 Track Athlete to Kleiner Perkins Operating Partner
06:00 Why Advertising Taught Him Sales (Without Realizing It)
10:00 The Tim Ferriss Books That Sparked the Startup Bug
14:00 What Made MongoDB's Interview Process Hard (In A Good Way)
18:00 The Cardboard Cutout That Changed Everything
24:00 Treat Your Interview Like a Deal: Getting Feedback After Rejection
31:00 Dealing With Imposter Syndrome
36:00 "If You're Going to Do Something, Do It Well" - The Flashcard QBR Story
40:00 Why Liam Didn't Want to Be a CRO
45:00 Cold Calling the Midas List to Break Into VC
50:00 How Kleiner Uniquely Positions The VC Operating Model
57:00 Why a Signed Contract is Your Best Competitive Moat & How to Actually Break Into VC (Step by Step)
Thanks for reading!
If you enjoy it, please give us a rating, review, or follow on Spotify/YouTube/Apple Podcasts - it really helps us grow this.
For those who are new, my name is Chris Balestras, partner @ Vibescaling - a GTM advisory, recruiting, media, and investing firm, working with seed through series C AI-natives to help them grow.
Where to find Vibescaling:
We work with many of the hottest AI-native startups in various capacities, and for those who are interested, shoot me an email at [email protected] or a DM on LI.
🫡 cheers,
Chris