In this episode of the Full Throttle Leaders Podcast, host Michael Falato interviews Bruce Kopkin, the founder of TechCXO, a fractional interim advisory firm that helps mid‑market companies accelerate revenue, margins, and value. Kopkin recounts his background in AI and cybersecurity startups, highlighting a previous venture that generated 28 AI‑related patents. He explains how TechCXO’s model works: short‑term, high‑impact projects for companies with $1M‑$50M in revenue, typically handling about four clients at a time, with retainers ranging from $7K‑$15K per month and often incorporating success‑based compensation. Kopkin describes how AI can synthesize disparate sales and customer data to identify the most promising go‑to‑market strategies, refine messaging, and optimize channel versus direct sales approaches. He outlines the importance of a clear Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) and the need to spend upfront time defining messaging before engaging third‑party top‑of‑funnel providers. A key business lesson he shares is his father’s “three outcomes” rule—overcome, exit, or get an ulcer—emphasizing planning, strategic execution, and the “fail fast” mindset. The conversation also veers into personal territory, with Kopkin revealing his passion for competitive senior baseball, his recent participation in tournaments, and how sports injuries have shaped his perspective. The episode concludes with contact information for both Kopkin and Falato, inviting listeners to reach out for go‑to‑market or lead‑generation assistance.
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All right everybody, we got Bruce Kopkin. Is that how you pronounce it? Exactly, Kopkin from TechCXO. Um, Bruce, tell us why you joined the, um, the, uh, podcast today. Sorry, I'm thinking roundtable.
Yeah, no, it's always, uh, nice to, uh, meet new people and get a chance to get your message out of, uh, what challenges and learn what challenges people are having and how you might be able to solve them. So it's just a great avenue that you've put together to try to mix the two together.
So tell me what you did before TechCXO. How long you been there?
Yeah, I've been at TechCXO now for about a year.
Okay.
Prior to that, I was with a startup and decided to exit over there and wanted to go out and be my own boss and help other people with consulting. The 40 years of experience I have helping people accelerate their revenues, you know, whether they're at the initial stages, growth stage, or even looking for an exit. So just different ways of helping people maximize revenues, margins, and value.
Looks like you've been in a lot of AI companies and cybersecurity companies. Is that right?
Yeah. Yeah. And a lot of the AI most recently. In fact, the last startup, we did some really amazing things around AI, had 28 patents on different ways of using AI for data. Really impressive stuff. So I'm very excited to be able to sort of bring those ideas to people. And because AI is way more than just ChatGPT and Copilot, there's a ton more that it can do, almost limitless ideas.
What's, what's something on the AI side that you really enjoyed, that you learned something that worked and something that really did not work and you never do, never do again?
Taking a look at all of your customers, your prospects, looking at them by size, by geography, by industry, by salesperson, by what you sold them, and be able to come back and take a look at where you have your best successes, where you're getting the best prices, margins, retentions, salesman performance success, and then changing the way you go into market and spend your time where you have a better chance of success. Maybe what should be direct, what should go through channels, which partners are working better. And it's really a multi-variable piece that, yeah, you could do it by hand. It would take you months to get all that, you know, put it all together. But, you know, AI can take disparate data and bring it together and help you make sense and insights out of it.
And who's your typical ICP for you?
For me personally, it's companies. I mean, I'll do, I'll do some people that are pre-revenue, but typically it's someone that's in the million-dollar range up to $40 or $50 million. Is sort of where, you know, I spend most of my time, as do all the other partners at TechCXO. Once you— I mean, not to say that, you know, the IBMs and the Microsofts of the world certainly couldn't use some help, but they've got full staffs and they work with the McKinseys and the Boston Consulting Groups. We come in on fractional interim project basis and solve problems, then move on to the next. So it's generally that size. It's nimble enough.
Your camera's moving up and down.
Is there—
is it steady?
Oh, Yeah, it was— it's me holding it actually, so that's it. I'll hold it. I'll hold it better.
Yeah, don't hold it, just put it— set it down so it doesn't move.
Yeah. All right, there we go.
Yep, because it's not— you can't hold it that long.
Yeah, yeah, there you go.
So, um, and who do you typically— what do you typically use for those companies when you're trying to build top of funnel for them? Like, what, what, what is your go-to strategies?
Well, the first thing is you got to kind of get that strategy together first. You have to make sure you understand what your message is, who your ICP is, what products go to which people, etc. As I mentioned before, an AI can help that a lot of interviewing of salesmen, customers, prospects, win-loss analysis, all of those sort of things. Once you get that done, it varies. Some people want to have their own, you know, internal teams to do it. We actually typically recommend that they don't go that way, that they're— by going out and using somebody else who, whose job it is, is to know all the best practices of helping you at top of the funnel, getting good quality appointments and how to move them through. So we like to work with other people to get that done. But the key piece is you got to make sure you spend your time up front. You can't— if you can't tell yourself and your salespeople, you know, what to do, you're never going to be able to tell a third party how to do it. And that works. Although one thing I have seen a lot is the third parties that are the good ones, that once they start making their calls and doing their work, they actually can find out that you've got fuzzy messaging or incorrect ICP, and they can actually help you fine-tune your work.
Out of all the things you've done so far, what is the biggest lesson learned, whether it be personally or business-wise?
Probably, and this is, I guess this is more from a business side and it relates to most everything you do. And it's something that my dad told me a long time ago. Every choice you're gonna make, you probably got 3 outcomes. You get over it, you get out, or you get an ulcer. And it works in the job that you're doing, the people you're working with, the customers you're going after. You gotta make sure you're doing things the right way so that you can enjoy it, have some success, Otherwise, you know, otherwise you're just banging your head against the wall. So all the corollary to that whole thing is plan accordingly, strategize right, execute. But if it's not working, fail fast, move on to the next thing. I'm a big believer in, you know, people talk about A/B testing and marketing and that stuff. It works in everything you do.
And how many clients can you normally carry on your side?
Is it, is it Typically about 4. 4, okay. Yeah, because some of them are fractional and may take half my time. Some of them are, look, I'm looking for a couple hours a week. I'm just here for an advisory. So, 4 is a typical number. And some people, you may keep a client for a couple of years. Some of them are 3 to 6 months. You kind of go in, fix the problem, move on.
Is there a particular retainer that you strive to get anywhere from like $7,000 to $15,000 a month, or is it varies?
I mean, that range that you gave is the typical that you're looking for. But if somebody is looking that, you know, I've got one client, for example, I work for the CEO and she just wants to be able to reach out to me when she's got questions about pretty much anything, go-to-marketing, you know, so I'm probably working, you know, 10 hours a month. With her. Obviously you can't get $15 grand for that, but you take what you can, help out where you can. In a lot of cases, uh, people like to work with it, as do I, on some sort of success portion of it too, whether it's commissions or margin share or whatever. So I mean, I'm, I, I'm not just selling my hours. I am committed to the success of what we're doing, and, you know, nice to be a piece of that success.
And what do you enjoy, uh, for your leisure time? Like, is there any sports anything you've done over the year.
I am a gigantic baseball fan. I still play competitive baseball.
So stop doing that at the MSBL and— yeah, yeah, NABA. And I was— oh yeah, I ran a Cubs team.
Oh, did you? Okay. I was on a Cubs team many, many years ago, but I play— in fact, I was down at Roy Hobbs in Fort Myers, uh, 2 weeks ago playing in a week-long spring tournament.
What are you, 55 and over one or 40?
Uh, 70.
You're 70?
Yeah, 60. I'm 69, and they let you, they let you have two 69-year-olds on a 70 team.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
During the, during the season, uh, I play on a 60 and older league.
Yeah, I ran off, I was on the 40 and over team and then 18 and over, and I I caught, played third, pitched.
Oh, caught.
Geez. Yeah, I love catching. Um, but yeah, we had the Cubs team. I, I played in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Austin. I didn't start doing it in Florida, but yeah, it was—
wow.
Yeah, I played Dodger Stadium for our championship game in LA.
That's great.
Todd Bridges from Different Strokes was on my team.
Oh, nice.
Yeah, him, his brother. Yeah. We had a bunch of—
we played, um, we played this last tournament, we played at the Boston Red Sox facility, and we didn't do it this time, but when we play there in the fall, we get to play on their, you know, replica Fenway Park stadium down there.
That's really cool.
In Fort Myers? Yeah, it's really cool.
Yeah, yeah, that's cool. I, I, I, I think I played 20 years, and I, I, I started getting the Brazilian jiu-jitsu in my—
I can't even—
ah, I can't even throw a ball because I tore my labrum.
Okay, I went, uh, 3 years ago. I had the rotator, labrum, and bicep all done at once on my throwing arm.
So what position are you?
Well, I'd always been a third baseman, and, um, in the recovery from the shoulder, I moved to second base. And I've actually, I've actually fallen in love with it. Um, you said you played some third?
I mean, third, you gotta be at the end. I played first base at the end because I couldn't throw.
Yeah, yeah. Third base is— I mean, you got to throw, but you don't— you pretty much hold your position, you know. I mean, it is a bunt every once in a while and stuff.
Yeah.
But second base, cutoff, stolen bases, double plays, it's a lot more thinking. Yeah. So I'm really enjoying it. Although I will admit that in the last tournament, the last 2 games— we played 6 games in 5 days— the last 2 games, I got the Steve Saxes. I got the Yips. If, if, if it was a hard play and I had to throw it quick, no problem. But boy, if it was a, you know, routine ground ball with a slow runner, God knows where my throw was going to go.
Well, I just wanted to say thanks for, for coming on.
Yeah.
How do people reach out to you and why should they reach out to you?
Yeah, if there's anything that you want to do and helping to, you know, for go-to-market and trying to accelerate the revenues, you know, I can help. or someone on, you know, on our team can help with that. And I'm easy to reach, uh, bruce.copkin@techcxo.com and just reach out and love to have a conversation.
And I'm again, I'm Michael Filato. I, my Full Throttle Filato Leads is my company and we do lead gen automation. We help out guys like Bruce with their clients. We're obviously top of funnel. So if you need help there, it's email, LinkedIn automation, roundtables, podcasts, scraping events, fishing where people fish so you can focus on selling. So please reach out to Bruce or Bruce and I. I can be reached at Michael@FullThrottleForLottoLeads or 512-639-3375. Thanks, Bruce. Appreciate you.
Thank you very much, Mike. Take care. Looking forward to your next roundtable. They're always great.
