In this episode of Thoughts on Selling, I sit down with Amos Bar-Jospeh, a third-time entrepreneur connecting from Tel Aviv. Amos describes himself as an "anti-capitalist capitalist" -- someone who has rejected the old "growth at all costs" unicorn playbook in favor of a new model: the Autonomous Business.

We dive deep into why the "raise a shit ton of money and hire 40 people before revenue" model is broken. Instead, Amos is building Swann, a company designed to scale with intelligence rather than headcount. We explore the concept of Human-AI collaboration (not replacement), why sales is a zero-sum game of attention and budget , and why the future of software isn't about "record and report," but about adaptive systems that wear the shape of your workflow.

Key Findings & Takeaways:

• The "Unicorn Playbook" is Dead: The era of raising massive capital before finding product-market-fit is over. Amos advocates for scaling companies by discovering the "100x version" of each employee through AI augmentation rather than just adding bodies.

• Sales is a Zero-Sum Game: Attention and budget are finite. If everyone uses the same AI SDRs to spam the same buyers, no one wins. Success comes from being different, not just better, which requires human creativity.

• Zone of Genius: The goal of AI isn't to replace the human but to automate everything outside their "zone of genius" so they can focus on high-value interactions.

• The New Software Paradigm: We are moving from static software (like traditional CRMs) to adaptive software that learns your specific habits and feedback loops. It’s not about "more features" -- it’s about software that re-tailors itself to you every single day.

• System Interactions to Zero: For 20 years, CRMs promised to help us sell but became reporting burdens. The future is reducing system interactions to zero so sellers can spend 100% of their time on buyer interactions.

Memorable Quotes:

• "I’m an anti-capitalist capitalist... I’ve realized... that playbook [growth at all costs] is not for me." — Amos Bar-Jospeh

• "It's a business that is designed to scale with intelligence, not with headcount." — Amos Bar-Jospeh

• "The future belongs to organizations that... turn each person on the team into their 100X version of themselves." — Amos Bar-Jospeh

• "We need to understand... not the AI replacing the AE, it's the AI taking the review process of that AE specifically, formalizing it and repeating it." — Amos Bar-Jospeh

The Bottom Line:We are entering an era where "software" as we know it -- static tools we have to feed data into -- is becoming obsolete. The new winners will be organizations that master Human-AI Collaboration, creating feedback loops that allow AI to handle the mundane while humans drive the strategy.

Call to Action:

• Audit Your Stack: Are your tools "recording and reporting" or are they actually adapting to your workflow? It might be time to demand more from your software.

• Join the Movement: Subscribe to Amos’s newsletter, The Big Shift, to follow the journey of building an autonomous business.

• Experiment: Try out Amos’s digital clone, "Autonomous," in the ChatGPT store to ask your own questions.

• Connect: Find Amos Bar-Jospeh on LinkedIn (he has over 30k followers for a reason!)

For this episode of Thoughts on Selling, Garth Fasano joins me to discuss the massive shift happening in inside sales.

Garth Fasano is an ETA (Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition) entrepreneur and leader of a high-growth startup focused on autonomous sales.

From sailing mishaps in Long Island Sound to the complexities of call center Erlang models, We discuss the evolution of the "inside sales" role and explore how "Agentic AI" is moving beyond simple decision trees to becoming the top-performing sales agent—one that is fully caffeinated and ready to sell 24/7.

Key Findings & Takeaways:

• The "Best Day" Every Day: The biggest advantage of Agentic AI isn't just automation; it's consistency. Customers want the best agent on their best day, not an agent who is 175 calls deep at 5:00 PM.

• Small Business is Leading the Charge: Unlike enterprises bogged down by legacy CRM integrations, small businesses are adopting autonomous sales faster. They need to capture leads instantly (e.g., a 3 AM water damage call) without the owner having to answer the phone while working a job.

• Visibility as a Service: Autonomous agents don't just sell; they provide "visibility as a service." Instead of a business owner guessing why sales are down, the AI can proactively report, "Conversion is down 10% because of price objections."

• The End of "Typing While Talking": Traditional inside sales requires reps to juggle rapport building while furiously typing data into a CRM. Agentic AI removes this friction, capturing data instantly and allowing for better customer interaction.

• Bot-to-Bot Commerce: The future is already here. We are seeing "agentic to agentic" conversations, such as Google's AI calling businesses to check pricing and availability on behalf of consumers.

Memorable Quotes:

• "They want them at their 9am fully caffeinated self ready to rock and roll, not their 5pm, 175 calls deep... self." — Garth Fasano

• "A sales call that's scripted... That's not how sales work. That's not how people buy." — Garth Fasano

• "Google knows how you search... Open AI knows what you're using this information for... we're going to start to know why customers are buying." — Garth Fasano

Connect with Garth:

• LinkedIn: Garth Fasano

• X (Twitter): @GarthFasano

What do selling gum in the 5th grade and playing defense in hockey have in common with enterprise sales? According to Nina Iannuzzi, everything.

In this episode, I sit down with Nina, a sophomore at the Isenberg School of Management (UMass Amherst) and a top-5 finalist at the recent National Intercollegiate Sales Competition (NISC). We relive the chaos of "speed selling" in a gym filled with 1,000 suits, discuss how to handle a curveball question from a CFO, and laugh about the moment I rudely interrupted her final sales pitch with a fake phone call.

Nina brings an infectious energy that proves the future of sales is in very good hands. Whether you are a student, a sales leader, or just someone who appreciates the hustle, you will love her take on why "sucking it up" is the only way to win.

Key Highlights & Takeaways:

• The Slime Economy: Nina’s sales career didn’t start at UMass; it started in 5th grade selling slime and gum to classmates.

• Defense Wins Championships: As a hockey player for 16 years (Left D!), Nina treats walking into a sales room like a puck drop: you know your job, now go execute.

• The "Scope" Stumble: Nina shares a vulnerable moment where a buyer kept asking about "scope," a term she wasn't fully sure how to handle in the moment. Her retrospective advice? Don't fake it—ask a clarifying question immediately.

• The Plot Twist: I threw a wrench in her final round by bursting in with a "phone call." Nina stayed so locked in she almost kicked me out of the room before realizing the "emergency" was just a timer on my iPhone!

• The Contract Slide: Nina admits her main goal wasn't just to chat—she literally slid a physical contract across the table at the 4-minute mark. Always be closing!

• Suck It Up, Buttercup: Her coach’s advice for sports and sales: if a lace breaks or a deal stalls, you don't call an Uber. You fix it and keep running.

Memorable Quotes:

• "I’m a very big talker. I’m competitive... I started my first business in like fifth grade, just selling like slime and gum." — Nina Iannuzzi

• "You get in that room and... you sit down and you're like, I am SpotLogic... I almost wanted to act like we were friends." — Nina Iannuzzi

• "Suck it up buttercup or move on to bigger and better things." — Nina Iannuzzi

Closing Thought:If you think the next generation of sales talent is "soft," you haven’t met Nina. Her "suck it up, buttercup" attitude is a wake-up call for seasoned professionals who might have gotten a little too comfortable. Nina proved that you don't need 20 years of experience to have sales instincts—you just need the courage to slide the contract across the table.

Next Steps:

• Challenge Yourself: Take a page out of Nina's playbook this week. Be bold, ask the clarifying question, and don't let a "fake phone call" derail your pitch.

• Get Involved: Want to see this talent in action? Look into judging or sponsoring a collegiate competition like NISC.

• Connect: Follow Nina Iannuzzi on LinkedIn to follow her journey from UMass to the C-Suite.