When Sam Jacobs founded Pavilion, formerly Revenue Collective, he set out to build a private community for operators in a startup world that traditionally celebrated only founders and operators. But after the community grew rapidly, now totaling 10,000+ members, questions arose about whether the once-exclusive membership had become too open. In this special Topline Spotlight episode, Sam joins co-hosts AJ Bruno and Asad Zaman to discuss how rapid expansion diluted the community’s focus, what it took to course-correct, and why building something great takes time—and restraint.

You're invited! Join the free Topline Slack channel to connect with 600+ revenue leaders, share insights, and keep the conversation going beyond the podcast!

Subscribe to the Topline Newsletter to get the latest industry developments and emerging go-to-market trends delivered to your inbox every Thursday.

Tune into The Revenue Leadership Podcast with Kyle Norton every Wednesday. Kyle dives deep into the strategies and tactics that drive success for revenue leaders like Jason Lemkins of SaaStr, Stevie Case of Vanta, and Ron Gabrisko of Databricks.

Key Moments:

(00:00) Introduction

(00:42) Business Challenge of the Last 24 Months

(01:29) What Is Pavilion?

(02:43) Launching Pavilion Gold

(04:01) Why the Community Scaled So Quickly

(06:51) LinkedIn and Slack as Growth Drivers

(07:02) Shifting Culture of Openness Among GTM Leaders

(08:04) The Consequences of Losing Focus

(10:54) The Biggest Mistake: Removing the Qualification Barrier

(11:32) The Challenge of Reversing Course

(13:46) Continued Opportunity for Operator Advocacy

(15:00) Solving the Challenge: Long-Term Vision

(15:54) Building a 3-Year Vision for Pavilion

(16:08) Importance of Patience in Building Exclusive Communities

SPOTLIGHT: How CEO Sam Jacobs Is Redefining Pavilion’s Identity

Topline

SPOTLIGHT: How CEO Sam Jacobs Is Redefining Pavilion’s Identity