Karissa Paddie

Galvanizer
DISC Type : Id

Head of Startups at Deel

San Francisco Bay Area, United States

Overview

Karissa is the Head of Startups at Deel, specializing in go-to-market strategy and AI-powered systems for early-stage companies. She was pivotal in scaling Bolt to an $11 billion valuation, building its initial GTM functions. Colleagues describe her as "determined" and "full of fire. "

There is no publicly available information about Karissas personal life or hobbies outside of her professional and entrepreneurial ventures. Her focus appears to be on building and advising high-growth startups.

Unique fact: The CEO of Bolt referred to Karissa as the companys "secret weapon" for her foundational contributions to its growth.

Personality Overview

Socially Adept

Persuader

Pragmatic

They are charming and have the ability to align others behind their decisions.  They do not mind taking risks and can make hard decisions, if necessary. They respond better to a combination of speed and relationship.

Topics They Care About

Startup Scaling
She has deep experience in zero-to-one environments, helping scale Bolt from employee #12 to a multi-billion dollar valuation by building foundational teams.
Go-to-Market Strategy
She built the entire GTM function at Bolt and later founded GrowthMarketers, an agency focused on GTM enablement for high-growth companies.
AI-Powered GTM
She lists AI-powered systems as a specialty and has publicly endorsed AI tools like SalesStream. AI for transforming outbound sales processes.

Media Appearances

Karissa has no verified media appearances

Work History

10-2025
Head of Startups at Deel
10-2025
Advisor at GrowthMarketers
1-2024 - 10-2025
CEO & Founder at GrowthMarketers
10-2025
Advisor at RÊVE
9-2023 - 10-2025
Founder at RÊVE

Education

2009 - 2014
Education details unavailable from Stanford University

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 4 Location : San Francisco Bay Area, United States Job Level : Mid-senior Designation : Head of Startups at Deel
URL has been copied!

Insights For Selling To Karissa

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Use words like ‘partner’, ‘together’, ‘impact’ etc.
  • You might need to keep the conversation on track, they tend to slide off-topic
  • Appeal to their sense of self-worth and how they will impact their organization

DONT's

  • Do not come across as negative or non-supportive, work with them as a partner
  • Don’t be excessively objective, focus on building a story first
  • Don’t make promises that are hard to keep

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Karissa is

  • Relationship and product conviction matter equally, followed by a sense of achievement.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Karissa

  • If they are not convinced, they will say no albeit in a friendly manner.


Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Karissa move?

  • If you earn their trust and they develop faith in the product, they can make decisions quickly.
  • Can Karissa take some risk or not?

  • They can take risks if necessary.

You And Karissa

Personality Compatibility


Other Deel Employees

Explore more public profiles from related professionals at the same organization.

More Profiles

Discover additional public profiles from our index.

Search more profiles

Looking for someone else? Search here for anyone.

Or visit Humantic AI to know more.