Ignite Startups: Elio Narciso on Automating Sales with AI at ScaleStack

Episode 104 of the Ignite Podcast

In the latest episode of the Ignite Podcast, Brian Bell interviews Elio Narciso, the founder and CEO of ScaleStack, a go-to-market orchestration platform that aims to transform how sales and marketing teams operate by automating processes and improving data quality. If you missed the episode or don’t have time to listen, here’s a deep dive into the key insights from their conversation.

From Italy to AWS: A Global Entrepreneur’s Journey

Elio’s journey to founding ScaleStack begins in Italy, where he was born and raised. After graduating from college in Milan, he set out to explore career opportunities in Spain as a management consultant, focusing on telecom and media industries. This role took him across Europe, Latin America, and Asia, giving him a global perspective on business challenges.

But Elio’s entrepreneurial mindset really took root when he pursued an MBA at MIT Sloan, where he immersed himself in the startup ecosystem. Post-MBA, he founded three startups, with two successful exits under his belt. The idea for ScaleStack was born during his four years at AWS, where he ran the AWS Global Startup Program. There, he noticed a recurring issue that many startups faced: inefficient and unreliable sales data, which was hindering their go-to-market efforts. This experience laid the foundation for ScaleStack.

The Birth of ScaleStack: Tackling CRM Data Inefficiencies

At AWS, Elio was responsible for helping hundreds of startups refine their go-to-market strategies. One glaring issue he observed was the poor quality of data in CRM systems, which sales teams rely on to make decisions and prioritize their efforts. According to Elio, “99.9% of people working with CRMs today are not happy with them.” This dissatisfaction stems from the time-consuming process of manually cleaning and managing data, which prevents sales reps from focusing on their core job: selling.

Elio saw an opportunity to solve this problem by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and automation. ScaleStack is designed to enhance CRM data quality by cleaning, enriching, and synthesizing it to improve accuracy and usability. This enables sales teams to be more efficient and spend less time on administrative tasks. With AI handling data management, reps can focus on engaging customers and closing deals.

Automation and AI: A Game-Changer for Sales Productivity

One of the most striking statistics Elio shared during the podcast was from a Salesforce study, which found that 72% of a sales rep’s time is spent on non-selling activities, such as researching leads, managing CRM data, and preparing for customer interactions. Only 28% of their time is spent on actual selling.

With the rise of AI, there’s a massive opportunity to flip that ratio. ScaleStack uses AI to automate data entry, cleanup, and analysis, allowing sales teams to prioritize high-value accounts and leads more effectively. According to Elio, early implementations of ScaleStack have already led to a 15% increase in sales productivity, and the potential for even greater efficiency gains is evident as more companies adopt AI-driven solutions.

AI isn’t just about efficiency—it’s also about accuracy. By synthesizing data from multiple sources (like LinkedIn, ZoomInfo, and Crunchbase), ScaleStack provides reps with cleaner, more comprehensive insights about their prospects, making their outreach more targeted and effective. As Elio pointed out, “You can’t build AI-powered apps and tools on top of bad data.” ScaleStack ensures the data is accurate, which is essential for modern businesses leveraging AI to enhance their sales processes.

The Leadership Principles That Shaped Elio’s Approach

Throughout the episode, Elio frequently referenced his time at Amazon, where he embraced and implemented Amazon’s leadership principles. These principles—particularly “customer obsession” and “disagree and commit”—have shaped his approach to building companies. He highlighted Amazon’s focus on working backwards from customer needs to design products that solve real-world problems, which is a core philosophy behind ScaleStack.

Elio also explained how Amazon’s leadership principles informed his hiring practices at ScaleStack. He emphasized the importance of hiring against clear leadership values and ensuring that every member of the team contributes to the company’s mission. At ScaleStack, Elio has built a team that is passionate about solving complex problems and committed to creating a culture of innovation.

The Future of Sales: AI and Automation Leading the Way

As the conversation progressed, Brian and Elio discussed how AI will continue to reshape the sales landscape. Elio sees automation not just as a way to increase output but as a tool that allows humans to focus on more meaningful work—like building relationships, strategizing, and creating customized solutions for clients.

ScaleStack’s long-term vision is to become a workflow company, enabling enterprises to automate and streamline data processes across multiple departments. While their initial focus is on sales and marketing, Elio believes the potential applications for AI-driven workflows extend to other functions like HR and finance, where clean, reliable data is equally crucial.

Elio also mentioned that ScaleStack is experimenting with building workflows powered by large language models (LLMs) that can dynamically respond to user inputs. In the future, businesses could describe their goals in natural language, and AI would automatically generate workflows to collect and process the necessary data. This could revolutionize how enterprises interact with their data, making it easier than ever to automate routine tasks.

The Importance of a Strong Network

Though Elio is a seasoned entrepreneur with several startups behind him, he still believes in the value of accelerators. ScaleStack went through Forum Ventures, a B2B SaaS accelerator that helped the company tap into a vast network of investors and advisors. Elio highlighted how important it was to work with an accelerator that allowed them to customize the program to their needs rather than sticking to a rigid curriculum. This flexibility helped ScaleStack grow without distractions, while still benefiting from the connections and insights that Forum Ventures provided.

Looking Ahead: What’s Next for ScaleStack?

As ScaleStack continues to scale, Elio and his team are focused on bringing their product to more enterprises, refining their AI-driven workflows, and expanding into new markets. They recently completed a pre-seed round and are in the midst of raising a seed round to fuel their growth. With notable investors from Ripple Ventures, Geek Ventures, and Exor Ventures on board, the future looks promising.

In the next five to ten years, Elio envisions ScaleStack as a key player in the enterprise workflow automation space. By helping companies across industries automate routine tasks, improve data quality, and enhance productivity, ScaleStack aims to lead the charge in AI-driven transformation for go-to-market teams and beyond.

Final Thoughts

For sales and marketing teams struggling with data inefficiencies, ScaleStack presents a compelling solution. By automating data management and using AI to clean and prioritize information, ScaleStack is enabling teams to focus on what truly matters—building relationships and driving revenue. As AI continues to reshape industries, companies like ScaleStack are at the forefront of innovation, helping businesses harness the power of automation to stay competitive in an increasingly data-driven world.

If you want to learn more about ScaleStack and how they’re transforming sales, you can visit their website at ScaleStack.ai or reach out to Elio directly.

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Chapters:

·         Introduction to Elio Narciso & ScaleStack (00:01 – 01:03)

·         Elio's Background and Career Journey (01:03 – 02:44)

·         Lessons from AWS and the Startup Ecosystem (02:44 – 05:29)

·         The Decision to Leave AWS and Start ScaleStack (05:29 – 07:31)

·         Amazon's Leadership Principles and Their Influence (07:31 – 12:00)

·         Identifying the Go-To-Market Problem and Building ScaleStack (12:00 – 16:18)

·         The Importance of Data Quality in CRM Systems (16:18 – 19:57)

·         The Founding Team & Initial Product Development (19:57 – 22:25)

·         Fundraising Journey and Investor Relations (22:25 – 24:53)

·         Challenges and Opportunities in Go-To-Market Innovation (24:53 – 26:05)

·         Dogfooding at ScaleStack: Using AI to Sell AI Solutions (26:05 – 27:04)

·         Accelerators and Their Impact on Startups (27:04 – 31:28)

·         The ROI of AI and Automation in Sales Operations (31:28 – 37:36)

·         The Future of AI in Sales and Marketing (37:36 – 41:55)

·         ScaleStack’s Vision for the Next 5–10 Years (41:55 – 46:38)

·         Rapid Fire Q&A with Elio Narciso (46:38 – 50:24)