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  • Podcast
  • Tom Glason
  • 26 Mar 2026

What Investors Really Look for: Hillel Zidel on the moves and decisions that make or break the One to Ten Million journey

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What does an investor actually see when they look under the hood of a 1 to 10 Million journey? And what really separates the companies that break through from those that quietly stall?

We’re joined by Hillel Zidel, Managing Director at Kennet Partners, to find out.

 

Kennet Partners invests in founder-led, capital-efficient B2B SaaS companies at precisely the stage where growth either compounds or gets stuck, making Hillel one of the most informed voices on what this journey actually takes.

 

In this episode, Tom and Hillel dig into the predictors he uses to assess whether a company will scale, the hidden dangers of moving from inbound to outbound too aggressively, and why the “shiny shoe” CRO hire so often ends in disappointment. 

 

This episode is essential listening for any founder or revenue leader navigating the 1 to 10 Million journey. 

📚 Episode Chapters:

01:50 – What changes at the 1 to 10 Million stage
05:00 – Predictors of early-stage growth
09:50 – The inbound to outbound danger zone
15:30 – US Expansion: When it actually makes sense
29:30 – What ‘marketable’ looks like today 

🎧 Continue listening…

Make sure you listen to From Chaos to Predictability: Pete Crosby’s Honest Lessons on the One to Ten Million Journey

Want to listen to the full episode with Hillel?

 Listen here: 

🎙️ Apple Podcasts 

🎙️ Spotify 

🎙️ Simplecast

 

Or watch below…

Enjoyed this episode or have a guest suggestion for us?

We’d love to hear any feedback you have for us and any suggestions or guest recommendations you may have. Simply get in touch with our production team at [email protected]

Patrick Coleman

Patrick Coleman

Co-founder & CEO, QStory

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Matt Jones

Matt Jones

Head of Go-To-Market, EvaluAgent

“Having valuable expertise ‘on tap’ from ScaleWise has been pivotal in accelerating the growth of Evaluagent”

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Tatjana Hayward

Communications & Business Operations Lead Senseforce

“ScaleWise coaching had a big impact right from the start, helping us to execute a much more effective marketing strategy whilst implementing best practices throughout our sales & marketing funnel. ”

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