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Kunal Mehta, CEO of TPG Technologies and private equity (PE) veteran, recently joined Jacob Vandersteen on the Titans of Today podcast to share his expertise on go-to-market (GTM) strategy and revenue growth. With decades of experience scaling PE-backed SaaS companies (ex Bain & Co, TCV, Vista Equity Partners), Kunal dives into how businesses can accelerate pipeline generation, improve GTM efficiency, and drive repeatable growth.In this episode, Kunal breaks down the key challenges revenue leaders face, the role of data in scaling pipeline, and how PE operating partners can maximize GTM potential across their portfolios. You can listen to the full episode here, or check out the key takeaways below.
Kunal highlights the two fundamental components of GTM productivity:
✅ Efficiency: How simple and repeatable are the processes—reporting, quoting, and onboarding—across the portfolio? Do they hinder or progress a sales reps productivity?
✅ Effectiveness: How much value are reps delivering in each interaction with prospects and customers? This is the area with probably the most novel analytics around it.
Both metrics feed into what Kunal calls the “holy grail” of GTM performance: the magic number. This metric calculates the revenue generated per $1 invested in sales and marketing. According to Kunal, the optimal range for SaaS portcos is calculated by benchmarking against 3 to 5 comparable companies.
For example: a portco has a magic number of .38 (38 cents return per dollar). An investor that has access to multiple diligence reports and databases could easily tell you the nearest 5 comparables are at .75—there is an opportunity here to drive GTM efficiency.
Kunal goes on to say that getting the magic number to a range of 0.8-1.2 is optimal. Why not past 1.2? Past 1.2, businesses are not pushing their growth into new markets & segments and experimenting enough to scale effectively.
During his time at TCV, Kunal helped PE-backed companies standardize GTM metrics and build repeatable playbooks. One of the most effective tools? The propensity model (“CapDb” at Vista, “Propensity Model” at TCV and “MoneyMap” at Bain & Co).
Using CRM data and historical win rates, this model identifies the highest-propensity accounts— “A-list” targets where companies have the best chance of winning. Kunal reveals that across the PE portfolios he worked with, 86% of new business revenue came from these high-propensity accounts within a year, even though they were often not the obvious targets. The models use a wide array of datapoints and test hundreds of variables to reveal which are predictive of buying and which to avoid.
In Kunal’s experience, building a propensity also often reveals territories are not correctly distributed and that Marketing is often aligning the apparatus in non-A accounts.
For companies without rich historical data, Kunal introduced a simple yet powerful framework to accelerate deal flow:
➡️ 3 Business Functions: Identify prospects across three different departments (e.g., IT, Procurement, and Operations) to expand influence.
➡️ 2 Texting Relationships: Build trust by having at least two contacts you can text directly, ensuring you’re not reliant on a single champion.
➡️ 1 Champion: Find the internal advocate willing to push your solution forward.
Opportunities which follow this formula closed 80% of the time, significantly changing how Kunal’s portcos ran enablement and targeted contacts across opportunities.
One of the most eye-opening insights from the episode? Most sales teams give up far too early.
After analysis of closed-won data by one of the leading financial sponsors, we know it takes an average of 26 attempts to reach a buyer who ultimately ends up purchasing. The same data set also shows that the average sales rep gives up after 4 attempts.
At TPG Technologies, Kunal and our team solve this by automating and optimizing pipeline generation. By plugging directly into our clients' CRMs, TPG uses proprietary AI-powered software and proven outreach processes to:
🧱 Build propensity models and aggregate data across 25+ data sources that is enriched with Agentic and Generative AI
📊Track lead dispositioning to ensure no lead gets lost.
💰 Book more meetings from inbound leads & turn wasted marketing spend into real pipeline.
Interested in listening to the rest of the episode? Click here to go to the episode on Apple Podcasts. Want to learn more about how TPG is helping hundreds of high-growth SaaS companies book more meetings? Click here to speak to us today and start your journey to making the most of your inbound marketing spend.
Want to hear the full conversation? Click here to go to the episode on Apple Podcasts
If you’re a PE firm or SaaS operator looking to boost pipeline generation, improve GTM efficiency, and close more deals, let’s talk.
Click here to connect with us and see how TPG Technologies is helping hundreds of high-growth SaaS companies convert more leads into revenue.
