About
I'm the VP of Revenue Growth at Kahua, an advisor, and an investor. I write here about building revenue teams, developing the people on them, and the daily work of getting better at both.
My career began in February 1994 as an account executive at UPS. That's where I found Jim Casey's four-part series, Our Partnership Legacy.
Casey held that no organization is ever finished improving. That culture is built on mutual respect and partnership. That quality service is the job, not the differentiator. That giving back to the community is an obligation, not a program.
I still lead from those four ideas.
The career they shaped now spans more than thirty years. The first half carrying a bag. The second building and leading sales, sales development, and revenue operations teams.
Kahua (2023 to present)
I lead Revenue Growth, a cross-functional team spanning Revenue Operations, Sales Development, Solutions Consulting, and Evangelism. We own customer acquisition, pipeline generation, operational excellence, and putting AI to work.
Previously led Sales for two years. The company averaged 40% annual revenue growth and cleared 50% team quota attainment. Launched company-wide Prospecting Days, which generated more than 5x the annual revenue target in new, qualified pipeline.
Tray (2019-2023)
Led the Global Sales Development team. Doubled headcount, hired the first UK-based SDRs, and moved the company from a 100% inbound model to a 60/40 inbound-outbound motion.
ServiceNow (2015-2019)
Third-line leader of the Global Sales Development organization, including SDRs, Operations, and Enablement. Expanded the team from 75 to 230 and the footprint from 8 to 15 global offices.
Grew quarterly pipeline production per rep from under $500K to over $1.3M. Those years took the company from under $1B to over $4B in revenue, under Frank Slootman and John Donahoe.
Achievers (2013-2015)
Led Field Operations and Sales Development, a 30-person team covering pipeline, compensation, enablement, business intelligence, and solutions consulting. Scaled the SDR org across San Francisco, Toronto, and London, growing headcount 125% in under two years.
Named by AA-ISP (now Emblaze) in 2014 and 2015 as one of the industry's Most Influential Inside Sales Professionals. Supported the company through its acquisition by Blackhawk Network.
InsideView (2011-2013)
Built and scaled the Sales Development function, establishing teams and process in San Francisco and Austin. Grew headcount 350%, from 4 to 18, while exceeding pipeline targets.
Co-authored the sales playbook and launched the company's onboarding and mentorship programs. Served as VP of the AA-ISP Silicon Valley Chapter, which took Chapter of the Year in 2011 and 2012.
The Barsi Group
My advisory practice, that runs alongside my full-time role. The work centers on go-to-market strategy across the revenue organization: pipeline generation, leadership development, and operational excellence.
I also coach and mentor revenue leaders, and I speak. Keynotes, panels, podcasts, webinars.
Clients have included Marriott International, Snowflake, Liaison, Softdocs, Nudge Rewards, Milestone Systems, Achievers, TargetX, Uplift Family Services, and Awardco.
Investing
In 2021, I became a limited partner of the GTMfund and began investing in early stage B2B SaaS companies. The fund is an exclusive network of revenue leaders who also consult and guide the next wave of SaaS leaders.
I'm drawn to founders solving problems in pipeline and people development.
Find me elsewhere
• LinkedIn: in/ralphbarsi
• X: @rbarsi
• YouTube
• Medium
• SlideShare
Other roles
• Coach for Dream Team Network (DTN)
• Advisor at Scale
• Former advisor to Aircover (2023-2024), Loopio (2019-2021), Hubilo (2021-2022), Emitwise (2021-2023), and TopHap (2022-2023)
• Former mentor at #GirlsClub and WISA (2016-2021)
• Investor at Latchkey Brewing and GTMfund
• Drummer for the rock band Segue
Roles and companies I've represented
• VP, Global Sales Development at Tray.io (2019-2023)
• Sr. Director, Global Sales Development at ServiceNow (2015-2019)
• VP, Field Operations at Achievers (2013-2015)
• Manager, Sales Development at InsideView (2011-2013)
• Sales leader and account executive at several companies (1994-2011):
→ Elsevier
→ Compliance 360
→ Gaffey & Associates
→ Vertical Networks
→ Citysearch
→ UPS
Education
I'm a proud alumnus of Saint Mary's College of California (Moraga, California) and St. Ignatius College Preparatory (San Francisco, California).
I also completed a certification course on executive decision making at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business (Berkeley, California).
Contact me
The best way is to send a kind, concise email to ralph@ralphbarsi.com. Build the right team, and the strategy takes care of itself. That's what the last thirty years taught me, and it's what I write about here.