Aircall CMO to Champion CEO: Jeff Reekers on GTM - Customers First

In this episode of the B2B Go-To-Market Leaders Podcast, Vijay Damojipurapu welcomes back Jeff Reekers, co-founder and CEO of Champion, to explore how his perspective on go-to-market has evolved from his years as an operator to building and scaling a company as a founder.

Jeff defines go-to-market as the process of commercializing a solution to an important problem at massive scale, a perspective shaped by his journey from marketing leadership at Aircall to building Champion, a customer revenue orchestration platform focused on turning successful customers into a source of growth.

The conversation dives into the importance of staying deeply connected to customer problems, knowing which customers to say no to, and building a GTM motion where customer success, relationships, and trust become the foundation for pipeline, expansion, and long-term revenue.

They dive into:

• Why solving an important customer problem should be the cornerstone of every GTM strategy.
• How companies lose touch with their customers as they scale, and ways leaders can keep customer understanding embedded across the organization.
• Jeff’s “90 in 90” approach of conducting 90 customer conversations in 90 days before fully committing to a product and market.
• How those early conversations helped Champion validate its thesis, attract design partners, and generate revenue before the product was fully built.
• Why Champion shifted its focus away from smaller, price-sensitive customers and doubled down on upper mid-market and enterprise accounts.
• The critical founder lesson of learning who to say no to, even when it means walking away from potential revenue.
• Why the signature on a contract should be viewed as the starting line for customer success, not the finish line for sales.
• How Champion thinks about “customers to build pipeline” instead of simply using pipeline to acquire more customers.
• Why GRR and NRR are foundational metrics for building a durable, scalable SaaS company.
• How executive dinners, customer experiences, partnerships, and referrals became some of Champion’s strongest growth channels.
• The story behind a three-day customer summit that evolved into a manifesto, attracted hundreds of supporters, and generated new customers.
• Why trust and human relationships may become even more important as AI transforms how companies research and purchase software.
• The difference between scaling from 1 to 100 as an operator and surviving the difficult 0-to-1 journey as a founder.
• Why investing in relationships early creates a compounding advantage throughout your career.

Jeff’s central philosophy is simple: the finish line isn’t the signed deal—it’s the customer’s success.

This episode is a deep dive into founder-led GTM, ICP validation, customer-led growth, enterprise SaaS, retention, and the power of building genuine champions around your business.

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