UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The latest episode of Invent Penn State’s "Dare to Disrupt" podcast features AJ Bruno, founder and CEO of QuotaPath, a leading sales compensation management platform. QuotaPath has secured significant investments, including a $41 million Series B. Serving roughly 1,000 customers, QuotaPath helps organizations align company goals with incentive plans to drive winning sales behaviors.
Before QuotaPath, Bruno co-founded TrendKite, which was acquired by Cision for $225 million in 2019. He also co-hosts "Topline," a podcast on revenue growth and sales leadership.
In this episode, Bruno shares the stories behind launching TrendKite and QuotaPath, his passion for flying, and his perspective on integrating AI into workflows as a founder. He reflects on his days as a Penn State student, studying abroad in Italy, his first job at Meltwater, and how he said a terrible boss inspired him to start his first company.
“Getting really, really laser focused on what I wanted to do and achieve and then writing them down is what ultimately helped make me a great entrepreneur, founder, operator and executive at my own business,” he said during the podcast interview.
Listen to AJ Bruno's story on "Dare to Disrupt."
Bruno graduated from the Penn State Schreyer Honors College with a bachelor’s degree in economics from the Smeal College of Business in 2007.
Later in the episode, recent Penn State grad Paul Allen joins the conversation. A current participant in the Invent Penn State Summer Founders Program, Allen asks Bruno for advice on raising venture capital, making first hires and navigating the challenges of early stage entrepreneurship.
Students interested in being featured on the show can apply or be nominated.
About "Dare to Disrupt"
"Dare to Disrupt" is a podcast from Invent Penn State about Penn State alumni who are innovators, entrepreneurs, and leaders, and the stories behind their success. The podcast is hosted by alumnus Ryan Newman, a graduate of the Smeal College of Business and a Schreyer Scholar alumnus who is now a managing director at Goldman Sachs.
Past episodes include interviews with Garry Gilliam, David Rusenko and Jess Weiner. New episodes are released monthly. Subscribe on YouTube Music, Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Invent Penn State is a commonwealth-wide initiative to spur economic development, job creation and student career success.
The "Dare to Disrupt" podcast is made possible by the support of the Penn State Smeal College of Business.