In Episode 129 of the SDR DiscoCall Show, Neil Bhuiyan sits down with Karolis Žemaitis, co-founder of GrowTech, to explore the journey from early hustle to building a sales-led business.

Karolis shares how his path wasn’t traditional - struggling academically, navigating tough environments, and feeling lost early on. He reflects on how basketball gave him structure and how that eventually translated into discipline in his career.

The conversation moves into his early days as one of the first SDRs in a scrappy startup, where there was no onboarding, no real process, and everything had to be figured out from scratch. From learning through repetition to overcoming fear of cold calling, Karolis breaks down what that environment taught him.

They also explore his transition into leadership, building systems with limited resources, and what changed when he stepped into founding GrowTech.

This is a grounded conversation about growth, responsibility, and the reality of building something over time.

Watch the video episode on YouTube:

Guest Links:

Key Takeaways:

  • Early environments shape long-term mindset
  • You can feel lost early and still build direction later
  • Fear of cold calling is common and learned through repetition
  • Scrappy environments accelerate real learning
  • Processes are built, not given
  • Leadership starts with listening and shared ownership
  • Building a business comes with financial and emotional pressure
  • Mistakes are part of learning, especially early
  • Consistency matters more than intensity
  • Curiosity drives progress

Chapters & Timestamps:

  • 00:00 – Introduction to the SDR DiscoCall Show
  • 01:26 – Meet Karolis Žemaitis
  • 02:38 – What GrowTech does
  • 03:31 – Early life and direction
  • 06:06 – Early career challenges
  • 09:24 – Childhood influence on mindset
  • 13:55 – First SDR role
  • 18:02 – Becoming a team leader
  • 21:02 – Building processes
  • 28:07 – Leadership lessons
  • 29:50 – Starting GrowTech
  • 36:19 – Running a business
  • 40:30 – Advice to younger self
  • 42:38 – Outro

Soundbites

  • “I was a hustler from a young age.”
  • “I was afraid of making cold calls.”
  • “Show up, do your best, and clock out.”

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