Building & Scaling a High-Performing RevOps Team
A conversation with Roman Gruhn, VP of RevOps at Multiverse.
“You’re not hired to keep things the same. You’re hired to lead change—deliberate, strategic, and scalable change.”
— Roman Gruhn, VP of Revenue Operations, Multiverse
Revenue Operations (RevOps) has become more than a supporting function—it’s the strategic backbone of go-to-market (GTM) alignment. Yet, building and scaling a RevOps function at an enterprise level is a complex task, often underestimated. It requires more than just systems knowledge or analytical ability. It requires leadership, empathy, and adaptability.
In this episode of The Revenue Lounge, we spoke with Roman Gruhn, VP of RevOps at Multiverse. With a background that spans computer science, management consulting, and GTM strategy at high-growth companies like MongoDB and Remote, Roman brings a rare mix of technical depth and business acumen.
This blog distills his insights into a detailed, actionable guide for enterprise RevOps leaders navigating complexity, change management, cross-functional alignment, and AI integration.
Roman's Career Arc: From Code to CRO Support
Roman began his journey in computer science but quickly realized his interests were broader. His transition into management consulting helped him develop an eye for process design and organizational effectiveness—skills that proved invaluable when he entered the SaaS world at MongoDB.
“When I joined MongoDB, I didn’t know much about sales. But I brought a consultative mindset and a systems-thinking approach that helped me learn fast,” Roman recalls.
At MongoDB, he moved through roles in strategic sales support, Chief of Staff for the CRO, and eventually into leading sales operations and sales tech—building operational infrastructure for a company in hypergrowth mode. Later, at Remote, he was tasked with rebuilding and maturing the RevOps function to support rapid scale.
Now at Multiverse, Roman is applying those lessons in an exciting domain: upskilling the workforce for the AI age.
Step 1: Understand Before You Act
When stepping into a new RevOps leadership role, Roman’s first instinct is not to make immediate changes.
“You have to sit on your hands at first. Don’t assume. Just listen. Every meeting is a puzzle piece.”
He compares the early days to solving a 1,000-piece puzzle. You gather fragments through conversations, team meetings, and documentation, slowly forming a picture of how the GTM engine operates—and where it’s breaking down.
90-Day Discovery Framework
| Phase | Key Actions |
|---|---|
| Weeks 1–4 | 1:1s across GTM, product, finance, delivery. Map existing systems and flows. |
| Weeks 5–8 | Identify major friction points and redundancies. Use AI to theme-sort notes. |
| Weeks 9–12 | Validate hypotheses. Prioritize initiatives. Create early roadmap. |
This structured discovery approach is critical—especially in enterprise environments where systems are deeply entangled and historical decisions carry invisible context.
What an Enterprise-Ready RevOps Function Looks Like
Roman emphasizes that effective RevOps requires deliberate design—not just reactive firefighting. He breaks down the core pillars of a scalable RevOps framework into five focus areas:
5 Pillars of Scalable RevOps:
1. Strategy & Planning: Fiscal planning, territory modeling, quota grameworks.
2. Systems Architecture: CRM scalability, automation, permissioning, compliant.
3. Analytics & Insights: Forecasting, KPI dashboards, attribution modeling
4. Process Optimization: Deal desk operations, lead-to-revenue process, lifecycle automations
5. Project Delivery: Strategic rollouts, cross-functional projects, system launches
“You’re not just building for today. You’re building for repeatability and future scale,” Roman notes.
This framework helps RevOps leaders understand where to invest resources, hire talent, and measure impact.
One of the most debated questions in RevOps is whether to hire generalists or specialists. Roman’s take? It depends on scale.
“When you’ve got 20 sellers, you need utility players. When you’ve got 150+, you need dedicated owners across planning, systems, analytics, and more.”
📊 Org Design by Sales Team Size
| Sales Headcount | RevOps Team Structure |
|---|---|
| 10–30 | 1–2 Generalists handling all ops functions |
| 30–80 | Add dedicated owner for systems or analytics |
| 80–150+ | Specialists across strategy, data, systems, enablement |
| 150–300+ | Regional pods + Centers of Excellence (COEs) |
Roman also encourages internal mobility within the team. For example, someone in a systems role might rotate into analytics or planning—ensuring talent remains agile and engaged.
Hiring the Right People: It’s About Mindset
Roman is clear: technical skills matter, but soft skills are non-negotiable. RevOps professionals operate in a dynamic environment where agility is a must.
✅ Must-Have Soft Skills in RevOps
Curiosity: A hunger to explore new tools, processes, and possibilities.
Coachability: Willingness to learn—and unlearn.
Conviction with humility: Bring strong opinions, but adapt when data says otherwise.
Energy & Drive: RevOps is high-volume, high-context. Grit matters.
Pragmatism: Know when “good enough” is good enough.
“You want people who can think big—but also say, here’s a V1 that gets us moving,” Roman explains.
How Roman Measures RevOps Success
Aligning Metrics Across GTM
Unlike sales or marketing, RevOps doesn’t own a revenue number. But Roman has developed a layered KPI framework to track team performance and impact.
Roman also looks at qualitative indicators, such as whether GTM leaders see RevOps as a blocker or enabler. “You don’t want to be the function of ‘No.’ You want to be the function of ‘Here’s how.’”
One of the biggest pitfalls in enterprise GTM teams is siloed metrics. Marketing chases MQLs. Sales chases bookings. CS chases renewals. RevOps must drive shared understanding.
“Everyone says they’re aligned. But when you peel back the onion—they’re not. They’re just measuring their own kingdoms.”
Roman recommends creating a centralized “metric dictionary” that includes definitions, owners, and dependencies to reduce ambiguity and finger-pointing.
AI in RevOps: From Doers to Conductors
AI is no longer a nice-to-have. It’s central to the future of RevOps. Roman sees it transforming both how RevOps operates and how GTM teams execute.
“We’re shifting from playing every instrument to being the conductors—coordinating systems, signals, and actions.”
⚙️ Where AI Can Help in RevOps
| Function | AI Application Example |
|---|---|
| Data Analysis | Auto-detect patterns in territories, pipeline movement |
| Forecasting | Smart modeling using historical + third-party signals |
| Dashboards | AI-generated weekly insights: “These are the anomalies to review today” |
| GTM Enablement | AI assistants writing prospect research briefs or rep coaching summaries |
Roman encourages his team to build the “AI muscle”—experimenting with tools even if they aren’t perfect yet.
“You won’t get it all right. But sitting on your hands is worse. Experiment, adapt, and evolve.”
Should Marketing Ops Roll into RevOps?
It’s a hot topic. Roman believes the answer is: it depends.
“If most revenue is inbound, it may make sense. If it’s heavily outbound, they can stay separate—but need shared goals.”
Whether centralized or not, communication is non-negotiable.
“Structure doesn’t guarantee alignment. Communicate relentlessly—upstream, downstream, cross-stream.”
Final Words: Think Long-Term, Act Short-Term
Roman’s parting advice is simple but powerful:
“Don’t wait for perfect. Build for change. Stay curious. And always start with the why.”
As AI reshapes GTM strategies and orgs become more complex, the need for strategic, scalable, and human-centric RevOps leadership has never been higher. Leaders like Roman Gruhn are setting the benchmark—not just for how to build RevOps—but how to evolve it.
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More Resources
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