E54: $40M ARR with 50‑Person Team (in less than a year) - Bryan Adams, VP Sales at bolt.new

Bolt.new blew past past $40M ARR in just one year with only 50 people. In this episode, Bryan Adams, VP Sales at Bolt.new sits down with host Kyle Norton to break down how go-to-market operates at a hyper-growth AI company.

Bryan shares some of their tech stack, and gets real about leadership—hiring "adults," firing fast, and focusing on what reps actually need to win.  

If you're leading a modern GTM org, this one's worth your next commute.

 

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Chapters:

01:30 Meet Brian Adams, VP of Sales at Bolt.new  

02:06 What Is Vibe Coding and How Bolt Works  

03:54 Building Successfully with Bolt's "Plan" Feature  

06:11 Layering Builds and Iterative Development  

08:47 Real Use Cases Built with Bolt  

10:24 The Build vs. Buy Decision Framework  

12:57 Inside Bolt's Go-to-Market Tech Stack  

13:59 Using Freckle to Unmask and Enrich Leads  

15:08 AI-Powered Prospecting and Support Automation  

17:41 Shifting GTM Strategy: From PMs to Engineers  

19:54 Outbound Strategy, Target Accounts, and LinkedIn Engagement  

25:13 How RevOps and SDR Growth Teams Collaborate  

29:13 Bolt's Growth, Scale, and Competitive Landscape  

33:03 Competing in a Knife Fight Market  

36:56 Contract Structures, Compensation, and Profitability  

40:38 Hypergrowth Lessons and Leveraging Automation  

44:47 Leadership Philosophy: Empowerment and Accountability  

48:08 Building Trust and Team Culture  

51:17 Leadership, Firing Fast, and Team Integrity  

52:59 Quick Fire: Great vs. Good Sales Leadership  

54:32 Hard Lessons, Best Advice, and Book Recommendations  

57:13 Closing Remarks and Outro