GTM Debt
‍Why Growth Feels Harder Than It Should

Founders who paid down their GTM Debt:

3x ARR in 12 months  ·  30x ROI in year one  ·  Sales cycles cut 35%  ·  Founders freed from selling  ·  ARPA up 8x   ·  PLG flipped to sales-led

Take the GTM Debt AssessmentLearn More About GTM Debt
Comparison of two organizational structures under the title 'Structure Follows Strategy': on the left, a complex and unclear network with four roles connected by dotted lines and question marks; on the right, a clear hierarchical structure with F at the top, connected to Playbook, then to R1, R2, and R3, all supported by a 'REVOPS FOUNDATION' base.Diagram of concentric circles with dashed arrows pointing outward labeled Escape Velocity.Diagram titled Product-Market Fit showing steps 5 Design Clients, 6 Prove Usage, 7 Prove Value, 8 Realize Value leading to PMF Validated.
Line graph titled The Churn Spiral showing ARR over five years with two diverging lines: one rising to $7.32M and the other declining to $3.28M, highlighting a $4M difference from retention and expansion dynamics.Bar chart titled 'The GTM System' with four ascending bars and a two-colored arrow pointing from the smallest to the largest bar.Bar chart showing founder involvement in sales stages: 100% at idea and product market fit, 75% at go-to-market fit, and 25% at scale.

What is GTM Debt?

Every technical founder understands technical debt — shortcuts in code that compound until the whole system slows down. GTM Debt is the revenue side of the same problem.
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GTM Debt is the gap between where a founder believes they are in go-to-market maturity and where they objectively are. That delta is the silent killer of Series A startups.

‍We’ve assessed over 200 enterprise B2B software startups. 80% of companies between $1M–$10M ARR carry critical Go-to-Market Debt. It shows up when sales hires stall, forecasts miss, and the founder can’t get out of the sales seat.

Take the GTM Debt Assessment
Diagram showing GTM Debt with steps from reality to belief including design clients, prove usage, prove value, realize value, repeatability, non-founder sales, and build sales team, divided by product market fit and go-to-market fit under strategic alignment.

25 Years Building Fast-Growth Enterprise Software

"RVNU partnered closely with Paul and me, working in the boat with us rather than advising from the sidelines. Now I'm free to focus on expanding into new home service verticals and strategic manufacturer partnerships while our revenue machine runs predictably without founders selling."
Smiling man with short dark hair and a light blue shirt in a bright indoor setting.
Will Housh
CEO, Contractor Commerce
“The RVNU Operating System brought clarity and structure to our early-stage growth. As a technical founder, I needed a clear path from idea to product-market fit. RVNU provided a step-by-step framework with defined milestones and exit criteria. It’s now central to how we plan, execute, and communicate with investors. I only regret not adopting it sooner.”
Portrait of a man with neatly styled hair and beard wearing a gray suit, white shirt, and red tie.
Kamil Folkert
CEO, Occubee
"The one-day workshop with RVNU was a turning point for us. In just a few hours, they helped us pressure-test our go-to-market strategy, expose hidden GTM debt, and align our exec team around what it would take to reach $20M ARR. It brought clarity to our growth assumptions and forced the kind of hard conversations we’d been avoiding. Easily the highest-leverage day we’ve spent this quarter."
Portrait of a middle-aged man with light curly hair wearing a dark shirt against a plain background.
Douglas Paul
CFO, Portainer
“Wayne helped us solve a complex double-crediting issue in weeks, not months. Unlike typical consultants, he’s lived these challenges and provides clear, tangible solutions. He’s the first person I call for any sales or revenue challenge.”
Smiling man with short brown hair and beard, wearing a gray shirt, in front of a brick wall.
Tom Logan
Co-founder & CEO, Cohley
"Over the 6+ years I worked with Wayne I had the opportunity to see him recruit top tier reps from his network, establish a best-in-class sales process and training program and drive hyper sales growth."
Smiling man with short black hair wearing a white shirt against a plain background.
Jeff Lewis
CEO, Guidebook Inc.
“Wayne was instrumental in building the foundation of brightwheel's enterprise sales division. He approaches his work not as an external consultant, but as a true member of the team.”
Smiling man with dark hair wearing a dark shirt, indoors with blurred background lights.
Dave Vasen
CEO, Brightwheel
"In a world of surface-level advice and AI-generated guidance, Wayne digs deep into business nuances to provide objective, first-principles thinking. His clear guidance at Zenhub cut through the noise to focus on what really matters - which is why I still turn to him for guidance on sustainable revenue growth.”
Smiling young man with short light brown hair wearing a blue shirt, standing against a red background.
Aaron Upright
Co-founder, ZenHub
“Wayne was instrumental in building the foundation of brightwheel's enterprise sales division. He approaches his work not as an external consultant, but as a true member of the team.”
Portrait of a man with short dark hair wearing a dark blazer and light blue shirt, smiling slightly in an office setting.
Chris Hart
CEO, Civic
“Wayne is my key GTM advisor across Upfront's complex childcare-govtech market. Whenever I face strategic positioning questions or tactical execution challenges, he's the first person I turn to - his ability to quickly grasp complex situations and provide actionable guidance has been invaluable to our go-to-market success.”
Smiling woman with long brown hair wearing a gray top, photographed outdoors with a blurred background.
Dana Levin-Robinson
CEO, Upfront
Wayne Morris speaking and gesturing with hands during a seated group discussion.

Who is Wayne Morris?

I've spent 25 years building GTM engines inside enterprise B2B software companies — from early-stage to IPO and acquisition.

The common thread is how I think about go-to-market: first principles and systems thinking. Revenue scales through infrastructure and sequencing, not heroics.

In 2021, I coined the term GTM Debt after watching founders repeatedly skip foundational GTM steps that compounded into structural growth blockers.

I founded RVNU to help founders find and fix their GTM Debt. Our 16-pillar framework has been completed by hundreds of startups.

Founders who pay down their GTM Debt see results — 3x ARR growth, 30x ROI, and founders finally out of the sales seat.

Take the GTM Debt Assessment

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Diagnose GTM Debt before it compounds

If you’re a B2B founder building from $0 to $100M ARR and want a clear path to escape velocity, this is for you.

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