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Bardia Shahali
VP of Sales at Teleport
Bardia Shahali is the VP of Sales at Fireworks AI, a company focused on artificial intelligence and infrastructure software.13 He has a strong track record in helping founders build and scale infrastructure startups from seed to Series C stages, particularly in AI infrastructure and developer tools.
Professional Experience
Bardia's career highlights include:
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VP of Sales at Fireworks AI (Current role): He joined the company in January 2024.2
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Head of Revenue at Roboflow (2022 - 2024): During his tenure, he led the revenue organization and achieved impressive results, including:
- Accelerating ARR growth rate to 397% year-over-year
- Reducing burn multiple by 73% in one year
- Helping close Roboflow's first 7-figure contract
- Initiating and launching a self-serve model1
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VP of Global Sales at Teleport (2020 - 2022): He joined pre-$1M ARR and scaled the revenue organization to $20M ARR with over 80 team members. Under his leadership, Teleport:
- Grew ARR by 2.5-4x year-over-year
- Exceeded an NRR of 140%
- Surpassed global revenue targets for 10 consecutive quarters1
Education and Skills
Bardia holds a Bachelor's Degree in Finance from York University in Toronto, Canada.1 His expertise lies in areas such as SaaS, developer tools, cloud infrastructure, open-source software, artificial intelligence, and cloud security.1
Achievements and Recognition
Throughout his career, Bardia has received recognition for his performance, including:
- Circle of Excellence award at BlackLine Systems in 20151
- Consistently exceeding sales quotas and targets in various roles1
Bardia Shahali's LinkedIn username is bardiashahali, and he is active on social media, engaging with industry peers and sharing insights about AI and sales through his Twitter account @BardiaShahali.4
Highlights
We just hit 150% of our Q2 target and are pacing towards exceeding our annual goals. 🚀
Here's how:
Empower the best: We’ve placed greater responsibility in the hands of top performers like Salo and Tyler, who consistently elevate the standard of excellence.
Treating top deals as sacred: The Pareto principle proves true in SaaS. We pulled out all the stops throughout the sales cycle for our ideal prospects, and our co-founders got involved to push our deals over the finish line.
Leveling up: Rapid growth necessitates tough calls. Some talented team members couldn't keep pace with our rapidly evolving needs. Addressing performance concerns early and often benefits all parties involved. It's better to take swift action when someone is no longer a fit before they start adversely impacting team morale.
Showing up, literally: We prioritize face-to-face interactions with our key customers and prospects. Despite being a distributed team, we demonstrate our commitment by meeting customers on their turf.
However, none of these strategies would have mattered if we weren't in the right market at the right time. As I often advise sales reps, "Pick the right swim lane." Simplifying AI for large enterprises? It's not a bad lane to swim in right now. 🙂
If you're driven, hungry for success, and ready to elevate your career, we're hiring at Roboflow.
P.S. Huge shoutout to Charles, who had one of the most legendary quarters I've ever witnessed. I know calling this out to recruiters is equivalent to blood in the water for sharks, but Charles has a massive pipeline, so good luck with getting him to jump ship. 🦈
Don’t bother interviewing for late-stage startups.
Most reps think more funding + higher ARR = stability.
But, in the current environment, later-stage startups are much riskier vs. Seed/Series A. Why?
Fundraising: Investors have no appetite for growth rounds (funding later-stage startups). These companies raised $$$ at hyper-inflated valuations (50 to 100x ARR multiple) and need to crush it (for a while) before they even grow into their existing valuation. If they can’t raise, they will have to cut expenses = additional layoffs.
Indispensability: Later-stage startups are bloated and tend to lay off recent hires first (if you haven’t noticed). Joining a Seed/Series A startup means you have more time to learn the product, close deals, and develop key relationships with the leadership team. The context you gain during the early days will make you indispensable.
Equity: You won’t get much equity at a post-series-A startup, and the equity you will get is worth little due to the absurd valuation of the last round.
Career Advancement: Whether you’re trying to move into leadership or from mid-market to enterprise, early-stage startups provide the structure (or lack thereof) to recognize and reward performance. Later-stage startups lean on "promotion paths" that can hinder growth. You must navigate the promotion labyrinth in addition to blowing out your number.
Greenfield: Joining early means you get the most lucrative territories and accounts, setting you up for long-term success.
It might be tempting to see larger companies with higher ARR as more "stable," but there are hidden costs you should consider - especially in this market.
