Mark Wright, VP of Sales at Kognitos Automation, discusses the intersection of enterprise sales and AI solutions on this episode of BeyondSaaS hosted by Jason Niedle. He shares insights on how Kognitos is revolutionizing automation, the challenges of growth in a competitive market, and innovative (yet old school) marketing strategies for lead generation. Mark emphasizes the importance of building a strong sales team and culture, navigating the rapidly changing AI landscape, and offers advice for emerging sales leaders.
Takeaways
- Always do the hardest thing first in your day.
- The market for automation is underserved.
- Setting ambitious sales growth goals is crucial.
- Competition in AI and automation is intense.
- Unique marketing strategies can enhance lead generation.
- Building relationships is key in sales.
- Understanding customer needs is essential for product development.
- Sales teams should adapt to rapid market changes.
- Leadership and culture are vital for a successful sales team.
Sound Bites
- “Eat the frog, do the hardest thing first.”
- “People buy from people they like.”
Show Notes
See Full Transcript
Jason Niedle
Today we’re talking with Paul Lippe, the CEO of xMentium, about scaling operations and how the right words and language can be transformative.
Welcome to BeyondSaaS, Paul. Before we jump in, have you got a golden nugget for us today?
Paul Lippe
Well, I’ve been around this topic for quite a long time, and I think it’s probably the case that for most companies selling to large enterprises with IT, almost everything that’s become the norm around growing SaaS companies is going to change in the next 24 months. If you’re still running the 2014 playbook, you might want to substantially revisit what you think is the norm.
Jason Niedle
I want to get more into that. My golden nugget is a bit different. I’ve spent the last two weeks tracking my time in a spreadsheet—every moment—just to see how I could be more effective. I kept a column for what I could hand off, and I found at least a few hours a week I could delegate. That kind of clarity was really valuable.
Let me jump into introductions for a second. A bit about Paul—he’s got a JD from Harvard Law and an undergrad degree from Yale. He’s been the CEO of xMentium for the past six years, anticipating AI trends and helping people deliver the right words right away.
Tell me a little about xMentium and your role nowadays.
Paul Lippe
I’ve probably had the same idea for 30 years: most business documents and language are “paint by number.” I’m a lawyer, but I was also head of business development at Synopsys, one of the biggest AI companies out there. Whether it’s a contract, policy, RFP response, or earnings release, most of what you say is a slightly tweaked version of what you said before.
The challenge is latency—getting things out the door takes too long. That delays cash flow and distracts from optimization. GenAI is a lot like the steam engine—powerful, but it’s not yet clear how best to use it. Right now, there’s a lot of thrashing, and we think our approach will prove out in time.
Jason Niedle
What motivates you to keep doing this?
Paul Lippe
Like anyone, I’m scratching my own itch. I’ve been around lawyers for a long time—they tend to overcomplicate things and miss what’s important. But other knowledge workers behave similarly. Whether it’s marketing, HR, or procurement, they haven’t adapted to scalable systems. Meanwhile, documents function like code—they define company protocols, and the problem is, too few people touch them and too slowly.
GenAI shouldn’t eliminate jobs—it should reshore them. That’s the future I hope we’re building.
Jason Niedle
That’s a great perspective. So where are you in the growth curve, and what’s your big goal?
Paul Lippe
This moment feels more chaotic than the early internet. In the 90s, I was across the street from Netscape. The internet was hyped, but not like this. Now, capital flows drive hype, and most GenAI efforts are speculative. Outside of software dev and advanced help desks, we haven’t seen real business success cases.
We aim to be in the right place at the right time, delivering value. It’s not about the old 3-3-2-2 SaaS growth model anymore. Product, customer, user experience—those are timeless. But the old playbook? It’s dead. There’s too much latency in figuring out what’s actually working.
Jason Niedle
Do you have a specific growth goal for xMentium?
Paul Lippe
Everyone says they’re running experiments. If any of them were truly working, you’d hear about them. Our initiatives are delivering, and while we can’t predict 30x growth on paper, maybe we’ll get there practically. This is a time when theory is inverted, and reality is up for grabs.
Jason Niedle
What are the biggest challenges to getting there?
Paul Lippe
We’ve always had a “language engineering” function—kind of like application engineering in software. Our language engineers, many of them lawyers, help customers tag data, build taxonomies, and set up workflows.
DevOps can scale fast. Sales will scale linearly. We’re on Azure Marketplace, which gives us leverage. But the question is: can we scale language engineering quickly enough to meet customer demand? That’s what we’re focused on.
Jason Niedle
If you had a magic wand to help you sell more in the next year, what would you change?
Paul Lippe
We focus on Global 2000 companies—particularly in entertainment, utilities, telecom, and finance. These industries talk to each other, and most now have GenAI task forces. Two years ago, it would’ve been hard to get their attention. Now, we’ve got their attention, and they recognize we’re offering a solid solution.
Jason Niedle
How big is your team?
Paul Lippe
Let’s just say we’re small but mighty.
Jason Niedle
You mentioned Azure Marketplace. What else is working well for you?
Paul Lippe
Contract lifecycle management (CLM) has been broken for years. More and more money has been thrown at it, but there’s been zero improvement. We believe the CLM category will eventually disappear into a broader language intelligence stack.
Jason Niedle
What’s working well in sales and marketing?
Paul Lippe
There’s increasing recognition that GenAI initiatives should stay within the firewall. You don’t need to scan the whole internet to generate value—Netflix speaks Netflix, Verizon speaks Verizon. That’s how companies gain competitive advantage. That’s why we align well with Microsoft.
Jason Niedle
You’ve said that what worked in the past won’t work in the next 24 months. Can you expand on that?
Paul Lippe
Sure. The old SaaS model—subscriptions, inside sales, solving narrow problems—isn’t going to work. Companies are realizing that every piece of software that touches their language is shaping their business logic. Why outsource that logic to dozens of vendors?
IT and finance teams are also waking up to the risks. It’s not just about InfoSec. It’s about protecting institutional know-how. A fully SaaSified GenAI stack could actually weaken them strategically.
Jason Niedle
What should tech leaders do to prepare?
Paul Lippe
The first challenge is structuring your existing data into usable knowledge sets. You can get fluent-sounding text from ChatGPT or Claude, but that’s not good enough for real business. You need depth, and that means domain knowledge matters more than ever. The “we’ll A/B test our way there” mindset doesn’t work here.
Jason Niedle
Any marketing or Lead Gen tools that are standing out right now?
Paul Lippe
We’ve been working with a Lead Gen firm that reached out the right way—personalized, thoughtful. It stood out because LinkedIn has become so spammy. If you’re doing outbound, be human.
Honestly, most of our success comes from friends-of-friends—people we’ve known for years. Cultural fit matters more than ever, and once you’re in, it’s often winner-take-all.
Jason Niedle
It all comes back to domain knowledge.
Paul Lippe
Exactly. Back in the day, Netscape had the right tech but not the right business model. Google stumbled into theirs. In GenAI, the operative word is “intelligence.” That takes understanding, not just code.
Jason Niedle
If you had one piece of advice for CEOs earlier on the path, what would it be?
Paul Lippe
Expose yourself to as many smart people and viewpoints as you can—and then filter carefully. We were lucky to be in touch with folks who were right about what was happening. Listen widely, but don’t get trapped in confirmation bias.
Jason Niedle
Great advice. Where can our audience find you?
Paul Lippe
I’m on LinkedIn. Just be clear about why you’re reaching out, and please follow up. Also, you can find more about xMentium at xmentium.com—spelled just like it sounds.
Jason Niedle
Paul, thank you so much for being on BeyondSaaS. And to our audience—if you’re a mid-stage tech leader looking to grow, drop your questions or feedback at tethos.com. We’d love your likes and subscribes. Until next time, this is BeyondSaaS!
