Doug Camplejohn
(00:01)
Hello everyone, I’m Doug Camplejohn, and welcome to Revenue Renegades. This week I’m excited to welcome Neil Weitzman, the founder and CEO of Weitzman GTM, as well as the founder of Porch, a great community for immigrant entrepreneurs. Neil, welcome to the show.
Neil
(00:19)
Thank you for having me, Doug. I’m super excited to be here and to talk with you today.
Doug Camplejohn
(00:25)
We always like to start with founding stories. First, what do you focus on at Weitzman GTM? And then tell us a little about the founding story of Porch.
Neil
(00:36)
You might regret letting me start right away—I can talk too much—but I’ll keep it short.
Weitzman GTM is my fractional CRO and GTM advisory business. It’s probably the most fun I’ve ever had in my career. I feel blessed to have founders trust me to help build their businesses. I don’t take it lightly—I think of it as helping them with their “babies.”
Porch is very close to my heart. I co-founded it with my son, which makes it even more special. It’s a community for immigrant and international entrepreneurs. Immigration is often a difficult journey, and Porch exists to make it easier, happier, and more successful in both Canada and the U.S.
Doug Camplejohn
(02:33)
And when you say “both countries,” since you’re based in Toronto, you mean entrepreneurs coming into either Canada or the U.S. How big is the Porch community?
Neil
(02:36)
Yes. Our core membership is about 500 entrepreneurs who have applied and been accepted. Our events have drawn thousands, and our newsletter reaches 1,500+.
We’ve kept the membership intentionally small to focus on quality over quantity. Porch isn’t about revenue; it’s about making an impact. Real impact happens more effectively in small groups, not massive ones.
Doug Camplejohn
(03:36)
Love that. Now, for our listeners—how should they think about Weitzman GTM? What stage do you typically work with, and how do you differ from a full-time CRO?
Neil
(03:52)
Great question. Forget the labels—“fractional,” “advisor,” “consultant.” My job is to help founders solve GTM and revenue problems.
For early-stage companies, that could mean defining strategy, structuring the sales team, recruiting, or creating sales frameworks. For more established small businesses, it often means unlearning practices that worked decades ago but no longer do.
One of my toughest but most rewarding jobs is helping founders get out of their own way. Many technical or product-focused founders don’t have deep sales expertise, and that’s where I step in—as a constructive partner who can provide honest feedback.
Unlike a CRO, I don’t carry a bag or directly own quota. I act as a partner, always available for strategic input, but you generally won’t see me front-line selling on behalf of clients.
Doug Camplejohn
(08:18)
That’s great framing. I also noticed you post a lot on LinkedIn about personal and founder branding as sales strategy. When working with companies, how do you scale this beyond just the founder?
Neil
(09:06)
I believe personal branding—especially on LinkedIn for B2B—is essential. CEOs who skip this are leaving money on the table. It’s not instant results, but done consistently it pays off.
The entire executive team should be active, and frankly so should frontline employees. When I recruit, I require sales candidates to be active on LinkedIn. It’s that important.
Doug Camplejohn
(13:06)
Do you guide employees on what to post, or let them choose themselves?
Neil
(13:18)
It’s their personal profile, so I encourage authenticity. That said, I provide coaching so their posts help both personal and company brand. I remind them that even if they leave tomorrow, growing their personal brand only helps their career.
Doug Camplejohn
(14:47)
Let’s talk about immigrant entrepreneurs. What differences do you notice when working with international founders in Canada and the U.S.?
Neil
(15:21)
It varies greatly depending on how long they’ve been here. Someone freshly arrived needs different support than someone running a multimillion-dollar ARR business.
The gap we saw is support for the personal journey. Many accelerators teach pitches and sales tactics, but someone struggling with basics like opening a bank account or getting a driver’s license isn’t ready for a pitch competition. Porch helps fill that gap—practical and human support that governments and accelerators overlook.
Doug Camplejohn
(19:56)
That’s inspiring. Now, as a fractional CRO working with multiple companies, you must see patterns. What are the biggest blind spots in leadership teams around revenue growth?
Neil
(20:29)
Change management. Many founders, especially in long-established businesses, struggle to adapt. They say they’re open to new ideas but don’t follow through on execution.
Being able to work on the business—stepping out of old habits and testing new approaches—is essential, but too often lacking.
Doug Camplejohn
(23:07)
Give us an example of how you get a founder started with change without overwhelming them.
Neil
(23:33)
A timely one is AI SDRs/BDRs—AI outreach tools. Many are skeptical. For one client I even offered to pay for the pilot myself because I believe in testing so strongly.
Are they perfect? No. But neither are humans. AI tools are already as good as or better than the bottom 50% of sales reps. They also save enormous time. My approach is: use AI for the first cold touch, then have humans step in once responses come in.
Doug Camplejohn
(26:23)
So—not a magic bullet, but a real accelerator if used carefully.
Neil
(26:46)
Exactly. No one should replace top reps with AI, but if you’re not testing these tools to improve efficiency, you’re crazy.
Doug Camplejohn
(30:06)
Besides AI SDRs, what other AI tools excite you for revenue orgs?
Neil
(30:14)
I’m experimenting with AI coaching platforms like Avaro for rep training and onboarding. And tools like ChatGPT help in recruiting—I’ve run analysis on hundreds of resumes in minutes, which saves time and improves accuracy.
Doug Camplejohn
(32:13)
Exactly. My mantra: keep trying things. Remember, today’s AI is the worst it will ever be—it only gets better from here.
Neil
(33:15)
Right. An AI-generated email may not be perfect, but it saves hours. I’d rather start with a 7/10 draft and edit quickly than spend all day writing from scratch.
Doug Camplejohn
(33:57)
That’s exactly the philosophy behind what we’re building at Coffee. Our system generates follow-up emails from call transcripts. They may not be perfect, but they’re far better than no follow-up—or spending an hour writing from scratch.
Neil
(34:31)
Exactly. A 7/10 follow-up is infinitely better than none.
Doug Camplejohn
(35:37)
And as you said earlier, what “perfect” looks like is subjective anyway. The only real test is: does it work with your ICP?
Neil
(36:06)
Exactly. Every product, persona, and ICP is different. Best practices are only starting points—you have to test and learn yourself.
Doug Camplejohn
(36:29)
Let’s talk about failure. Can you share an example of one that taught you a lot?
Neil
(36:55)
I’ve had many. One example: I worked with a company where we made lots of improvements, but I never broke through on deeper change management. They saw results, but I knew when I left, the culture and habits would go back to the old ways. For me, that was a failure—I want to leave every company truly transformed, not just incrementally improved.
Doug Camplejohn
(39:32)
Got it. You also mentioned Porch is something you co-founded with your son. What’s it like working with family?
Neil
(40:00)
A few years ago, I would have said “never mix family and business.” Now, I feel the opposite. Working with my son has been the most special experience of my life.
We argue sometimes, but the trust is unshakable. He listens to me in business in ways he never did at home. Watching him—at 24—confidently pitch, negotiate, and operate as an entrepreneur is incredible. I wouldn’t trade him for any co-founder in the world.
Porch is mission-based, not revenue-focused. We just want it to be sustainable enough to keep supporting immigrants. The personal and professional growth he’s gained through it is better than any MBA.
Doug Camplejohn
(43:13)
I love that. I’ve told my kids too—if they want to start a business, I’d give them a check instead of tuition. They’d learn more building than in a classroom.
Neil
(43:31)
Exactly. My son started Porch at 22, and he can hold his own in conversation with senior executives. That’s an invaluable education.
Doug Camplejohn
(43:53)
That’s awesome. Last few rapid-fire questions: what do you do to unplug?
Neil
(44:05)
Honestly, I’m a bit of a workaholic—working relaxes me. But outside of that, I walk and listen to audiobooks. I’m a big John Grisham and Stephen King fan. I also enjoy TV series like Succession to unwind.
Doug Camplejohn
(45:07)
Same here—I find even short outdoor walks are day-changing. What’s a product you love outside of tech?
Neil
(45:49)
I’ll show you something behind me—it’s a Tidbyt digital display. It shows weather, stock prices, quotes, anything you want. It’s a fun, unique device, and I give them as gifts. Always a conversation starter.
Doug Camplejohn
(47:26)
Very cool. Finally—how can our listeners stay in touch with you?
Neil
(47:48)
LinkedIn is the best place. My website is weitzmangtm.com. I love being a fractional CRO and helping founders solve GTM challenges. I spend probably too much time on LinkedIn, but it’s where I learn a lot and meet great people.
And Doug, I’m really excited to learn more about Coffee—I think it could be a great fit for some of my clients.
