RAD: Jan. 11, 2024

Welcome to the world of #RevOps After Dark, where we get straight to the revenue news you (hopefully, probably) wanna know, adding in just a drop of that Rattle-brand pop. ??

This week, we're back from our extended layover to dish dirty on some of the big news that's happened since we last shouted words at you. That being:

• Carta's sells shares of its own "lapse in judgment" stock ??
• 800+ influencers in Ireland to kiss the Blarney Stone of Truth as ad disclosure tool gains in popularity ??
• LinkedIn CEO shockingly doesn't tell people to "go f*** yourself," sees rise in ad revenue ??

Now, let's get to business.

Business, Tools & Software News

?? The Magna Carta: Not even Carta is above 'the law'

Carta , the presumed king of cap table management startups, has lately faced a PR nightmare due to a breach of ethics and customer data privacy — namely, that one sales employee used a customer's confidential data to craft a sales pitch for a secondary stock sale. As of earlier this week, this has lead to the shutdown of its secondary trading business. Of course, as these things tend to go, the public has a short memory and holds no grudges (if a lot of money is to be made). The company's overall growth remains strong, and that signals in the long-term, a minimal impact on its revenue and customer base. (Even if it was a terrible look. ??)

?? Slack freezes hiring in product/tech hiring freeze

Today, Salesforce acquiesced (using a big word so you know it's not ChatGPT writing these things) that Seeking Alpha 's recent reporting is true: their famed chat subsidiary and all-around badass product Slack will indeed freeze hiring in their product/tech departments. The CRM giant did say they had issues with the semantics of "hiring freeze" —?in that presumably nobody was literally brought to 32 degrees Fahrenheit. (For what it's worth, Rattle ?? — which connects Salesforce to Slack and competes, if you want it call it that, directly with their Slack Sales Elevate tool — is hiring. In all departments. In fact we had our best quarter ever. ??)

?? ”Walmart: Fetch me my $8 slippers and a glass of brandy.”

In a somewhat unusual press release this week, 沃尔玛 says it's aiming to become a "customer's concierge" by introducing new retail tech that create a "customer-centric, frictionless, and interconnected" shopping experience. The tech they say they're now using include "artificial intelligence," augmented reality, generative A.I., as well as expanded drone delivery and [insert buzzword here]. Sadly, the term "Robot Greeter" did not appear once in the presser. But in the spirit of Walmart's apparent major pivot: here's an A.I. generated image of that very thing. (You're welcome).

?? Your Weekly "A.I. in Revenue" Breakdown

• ??? Keep your weak human eyes peeled: The GPT store is coming — OpenAI is set to launch the GPT store, a marketplace that allows users, including those without coding expertise, to create and share their own AI models based on ChatGPT-4. Soon. This store, accessible to ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise subscribers, will feature integrations with internet access, DALL-E for image generation, and third-party services like Canva . Pretty neat stuff.
• ?? Fit for Print: The NYT is suing OpenAI — You've probably heard of that first part (link to initial story, please don't sue us too!) New development: This week, OpenAI responded to the copyright infringement lawsuit, asserting that the inclusion of the Times' content in ChatGPT training data is a "rare bug" (not unlike, say, the Lord Howe Island Stick Insect, AKA the "tree lobster" for which only 24 individuals are known to exist). For now, it's hard to imagine a more formative lawsuit to A.I.'s future, as the NYT seeks substantial damages for the alleged intellectual property violations (opening the door to many, many publishers following suit), while OpenAI defends its training methods as fair use.

Strategy & Tactic News

?? LinkedIn ad prices go higher: 'Thoughts? ??'

According to the good folks at Search Engine Land , LinkedIn ad prices have surged by up to 30% due to a increase in demand, partly resulting from an advertiser boycott of an Elon Musk-owned platform that shall not be named. Despite these higher costs, marketers are also reporting up to 20% ROI on premium LinkedIn campaigns, with the platform's annual ad revenue growing significantly and attracting more brands due to its specialized targeting capabilities and (may we say frustratingly) closely guarded APIs. ??

?? IDC: A.I. is coming for 'mundane' tasks by 2027

In less than three years, 国际数据公司 says GenAI will take over approximately 30% of marketing's more "routine" tasks like search engine optimization, content and website optimization, and customer data analysis. The shift is obviously part of a broader trend in marketing where A.I. is increasingly used and complained about, though human marketers are expected to adapt by enhancing skills in storytelling, cross-functional collaboration, and smart-alecky newsletters. All this to say: your boring marketers' days are numbered, fam. (??)

?? Tattle is telling: A lesson from Ireland’s brand reporting tool

In the land of Erin, over 800 complaints were filed in just five weeks against influencers for potentially failing to declare ads on social media. This surge in reports were in fact facilitated by a new online form from the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland, which allows users to highlight issues with influencers not adequately disclosing paid partnerships, brand deals, or sponsorships. Worth nothing that the FTC does have similar rules state-side, but has yet to create such a tool to speed up the ease. Worth keeping an eye on this, if your revenue team is using/plans to use influencer-led channels in the coming months.

A Good Read

?? Nvidia Should Take a Play out of Salesforce's Book: Analyst

Kind of an odd story to recommend this week, but it does seem like a masterclass in thinking outside the box, especially when you're known for success.

Recurring revenue may be hard to come by for hardware companies, but that shouldn't stop the chip giant, 英伟达 from looking into this massive potential says, BofA Securities analyst Vivek Arya, PhD . We found Arya's argument to Marketwatch a compelling one for all RevOps practitioners out there looking to unlock more revenue: challenge yourself by breaking down what others have done successfully and reapplying it to your own cause. Definitely worth a read here.

The Ad Hoc

?? In RevOps, in DEN/ATX/SF, in the market for some friends?

We're coming for you!

This month we're kicking off our RevOps Masterclass series (think TED but RevOp-focused) with a live roadshow, bringing revenue know-how and networking coast to coast!

San Fran: Sorry the party is full there now!

If you're in the Denver lands, join up here.

If you're in or around Austin, here.

And NYC, you know we haven't forgotten about you: here.

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Alright, that's it for this week!

We'll be back next week with more business news to keep your tactical chops sharp and your strategic mind ablaze.

Remember you can always reach out to us at [email protected] for any questions, concerns, or cease and desist letters.