Breaking the Growth Barrier, Part 2

It's official: Knownwell is now part of 2X, and together we're building the leading human-agentic GTM services company, unifying B2B marketing, sales, and customer success. In this special in-person episode of AI Knowhow, Knownwell CEO David DeWolf and 2X founder Dom Colasante join host Courtney Baker at 2X headquarters to break down the news and what drove the acquisition, including: why software and services are converging into a single category and what humans uniquely own in an agentic world. In this episode: The big news: 2X acquires Knownwell to build the first human-agentic GTM services company The trend permeating the services world: customers buy outcomes, not software or services Go-to-market fragmentation, and why marketing, sales, and customer success must run as one motion The 90/10 retention paradox every revenue leader should know Why all work should have a human in the loop Moving Knownwell's commercial intelligence up the stack into sales and marketing Show Notes: Read today's press release: https://2x.marketing/press-release/2x-acquires-knownwell/ Connect with David DeWolf: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ddewolf/ Connect with Dom Colasante: https://www.linkedin.com/in/domeniccolasante/ Connect with Courtney Baker: https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtbaker/

We're taking a quick spring hibernation to cook up something entirely new in the lab! A massive thank you for an amazing 120+ episodes. Catch up on past insights on YouTube and keep your strategy sharp at www.knownwell.com while we prepare our exciting next chapter.

Are you leaving your firm's most lucrative revenue source completely unmanaged? Courtney Baker, David DeWolf, and Pete Buer return to reveal why post-sales relationship management is often a massive blind spot for professional services leaders. They explore how AI can finally illuminate the unstructured "dark data" in your business, transforming the subjective art of account management into a scalable, data-driven science.  Discover how to apply these exact strategies to your own data at www.knownwell.com. Watch this on YouTube: https://youtu.be/cULeW3wwWMA 

Why does scaling a professional services firm eventually feel like you're fighting the laws of physics? David DeWolf and Pete Buer break down the painful reality of hitting revenue ceilings, exposing why the traditional model of bespoke delivery and "unicorn talent" is built to break. Drawing on hard-won lessons from decades building and scaling servies companies, the duo highlights how top-tier firms are bending the growth curve by automating client interactions and productizing core services. In this episode, you'll discover exactly how to transform your business model. The winners in the AI era aren't just selling billable hours—they're building scalable platforms you won't want to miss. Catch the full conversation and the supporting slide deck on the Knownwell site: https://knownwell.com/breaking-the-growth-barrier-ai-driven-strategies-to-propel-professional-services-firms-to-new-heights/  

Are you running your post-sale revenue on actual data, or just "vibes"? Following up on last week's foundation, Knownwell CEO David DeWolf and CMO Courtney Baker dive into the exact mechanics of building a powerful growth engine beyond the initial sale. They break down the three maturity levels every B2B services firm must conquer to stop playing defense against churn. Discover why customer success can't survive on an island, why standard customer satisfaction scores are a trap, and how AI finally lets leaders measure the historically unmeasurable dynamics of true client health. Stop being just a vendor and learn how to become an indispensable partner. Watch the full deep dive on YouTube: https://youtu.be/5xPjaqftwPQ  Watch the full webinar here: www.knownwell.com/revops

What if the biggest growth lever in your business isn't actually new sales? What if the real difference between a stalling $200 million firm and a smaller competitor that doubles in size comes down entirely to growth and retention discipline within your existing account base? Knownwell CEO David DeWolf and CMO Courtney Baker present the first half of a recent Knownwell webinar called "Building a Revenue Engine Beyond the Sale." They break down a tale of two companies to demonstrate how a smaller firm with superior growth and retention strategies and execution can leave a larger, sales-obsessed competitor in the dust.  David and Courtney explore the frustrating paradox facing most B2B service firms: why is the pre-sales process a high-tech science, while the post-sales world remains a high-touch art managed by vibes and manual spreadsheets? You'll learn why what we call the ghost in the revenue machine might be killing your predictable growth and how to finally apply RevOps rigor to the entire client lifecycle.  Since this discussion relies on visuals, charts, and two different growth curves to illustrate the difference between two companies that we discuss during the webinar, we strongly encourage you to watch the video version. Watch the episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/F8XVZQwPNCs  Watch the full webinar: https://knownwell.com/revops/ 

When revenue is unpredictable, leadership is reactive. But what materially changes when your data finally stabilizes and your "revenue machine" starts humming? Courtney Baker, David DeWolf, and Mohan Rao wrap up our RevOps mini-series by defining the shift from departmental "counseling" to data-driven confidence. They explore how replacing anxiety with evidence-based discipline turns gut-feel debates into high-velocity decisions, allowing leaders to see around the curve and fix account issues before they become post-mortems. Alyssa Nolte joins us for part two of her conversation with Courtney. They talk about the intersection of AI and customer success, featuring a provocative hot take: if you haven't sacrificed something you want for a customer, you aren't actually customer-centric. Alyssa explains why your AI strategy must align with your true identity—whether you are product, operation, or customer-focused—to ensure your implementation doesn't feel disconnected from your mission. Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/xxAhJBwUImE  Register for the RevOps Webinar: Knownwell.com/revops

Every leadership team craves alignment; no one wants the meetings. When executives hear "RevOps for Clients," they may picture more red tape and overhead. Courtney Baker, David DeWolf, and Mohan Rao argue that the right rigor doesn't slow business down—it slows bad decisions down. They unpack the "Minimum Viable Cadence," swapping hours of reactive fire drills for a single 30-minute triage, and discuss why exposing "dirty data" is the only path to shared accountability. Courtney also sits down with Alyssa Nolte of Ology to discuss AI in Customer Experience. Alyssa shares why the data you need is already there—just trapped in silos—and offers a "Kobe Bryant" approach to mastering the unsexy fundamentals of change management. All that, plus Pete Buer analyzes IBM's move to package its internal AI efficiency tool, IBM Consulting Advantage, as a client-facing product. Is it the ultimate example of productizing services? Get the resources to build your own RevOps for Clients discipline at our 2/25 webinar: www.knownwell.com/revops Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwdcu54dfR4 

Predictable revenue doesn't come from a better forecast; it comes from better habits. If you are tired of searching for new tools while ignoring the daily disciplines that actually drive growth, this conversation is for you. Knownwell's Courtney Baker joins David DeWolf and Mohan Rao to move Revenue Operations from theory to the calendar. They break down the specific "battle rhythms"—like weekly portfolio triage and monthly capacity reviews—that move your team from reactive scrambling to proactive, data-driven execution. We also share the second half of Pete Buer's conversation with NYU Professor Dr. Vasant Dhar, who explains his "Trust Heat Map" and why the high variability of Large Language Models remains a major hurdle for business adoption. All of that PLUS, Pete also steps in to dissect Deloitte's controversial decision to replace traditional job titles with alphanumeric codes, a clear signal that AI is collapsing the traditional consulting pyramid. Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/MXUfRnq1ylk  Register for our 2/25 webinar on RevOps for the Full Client Lifecycle: Knownwell.com/revops

Why do forecasts look great right up until they don't? If your Rev Ops strategy stops at the point of sale, you aren't managing revenue—you're managing blind spots. Courtney Baker, David DeWolf, and Mohan Rao kick off a new series on Commercial Operations. They explain why the "lone wolf" days of account management are over and how AI turns "digital exhaust" into objective data—bringing the same discipline to client retention that we apply to winning new deals. Pete Buer sits down with Dr. Vasant Dhar, author of Thinking With Machines. Dr. Dhar explains "Dhar's Conjecture" and how gaining a "Roger Federer edge"—just a 54% win rate—can compound into an unbeatable competitive advantage. Plus, the experimentation phase is officially over. Pete breaks down new data showing that 98% of board members have made measuring AI ROI their top priority for 2026. Register for our upcoming webinar on implementing RevOps throughout the client lifecycle: Knownwell.com/revops Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sy0ISl6RPa4