From Marine Biology to RevOps: Helena Aryafar’s Blueprint for Smarter GTM

Revenue Operations is often viewed through a lens of rigid business frameworks, but for Helena Aryafar, SVP of Revenue Operations at interos.ai, it’s a field of scientific inquiry.

In this episode of the Go-to-Market Podcast, host Dr. Amy Cook sits down with Helena to discuss her unconventional journey from the decks of commercial fishing vessels to the heights of tech leadership. They explore why the modern “Frankenstein” tech stack is failing GTM teams and how to build an operational engine that prioritizes intent over “shiny object” features.

The “Scientific Method” of Scaling Revenue

Helena’s background—a Master’s in Marine Biology and a decade as a fisheries biologist—is her secret weapon. Whether orchestrating workflows for lab data or scaling a global tech company, the core principles remain the same: resourcefulness, pattern recognition, and critical problem-solving.

“I care less about domain expertise in isolation. I care more about how you go about solving a problem and thinking through steps one through ten… approaching questions not with ‘I’ve done this for 30 years,’ but with ‘I know how to solve a problem.’”

Navigating the “Cable TV” Evolution of Tech Stacks

Helena observes that GTM tooling is currently in a “consolidation” phase, mirroring the evolution of streaming services. While many platforms now offer everything under the sun, they often suffer from feature bloat—adding “bells and whistles” (like a smart fridge with a touchscreen) that fail at their primary job (keeping the food cold).

Avoiding the “Frankenstein” Stack

The danger of modern consolidation is redundancy. Helena highlights the hidden costs of overlapping tools:

• Budget Waste: Paying for modules (like dialers) that your team doesn’t use.

• Workflow Fragmentation: When users have multiple places to perform the same task, data becomes siloed and reporting breaks.

• Administrative Burden: The “Ops Mind Palace”—where a process makes sense to the architect but is too complex for the sales rep to execute.

The 2026 RevOps Playbook: Intent Over Symptoms

As GTM leaders prepare for an AI-driven 2026, Helena provides a framework for auditing and upgrading your engine:

1. Prioritize the Journey: Audit the customer journey and map problems based on impact vs. effort.

2. Solve the Root, Not the Symptom: Avoid tools that merely “gloss over” issues with a pretty UI.

3. The “Actionability” Test: If a tool offers AI insights, ask: “Can I batch export this? Is it integrated? Can I actually do something with this information?”

4. Stay Scrappy: Sometimes a “Ford Pinto” solution is better than a “Ferrari” when you’re just starting to prove a concept.

Professional Growth: Curiosity and the “Safe Space”

To stay at the top of her game, Helena fosters a culture where the “Highest Paid Person’s Opinion” (HiPPO) doesn’t rule. By maintaining a high level of curiosity and encouraging her team to pressure-test her ideas, she ensures that the best strategy wins, not the loudest voice.

Helena’s Final Advice: “We’re not saving lives; we’re selling software. Remember to have fun and stay curious.”

FAQ: Tooling Intent & Cross-Functional Alignment

1. Why does Helena compare tech stacks to “smart refrigerators”? She uses this analogy to describe tools that have advanced features (AI, wifi, touchscreens) but fail at their core function. A tech stack should be judged by how well it solves the underlying business problem, not by its “bells and whistles.”

2. How should RevOps leaders handle tool redundancy? Helena suggests addressing it head-on during budget requests. Even if a platform has redundant features, the specific value of the core tool may justify the cost. However, leaders must ensure they provide clear, concise workflows so teams don’t fragment their data across multiple tools.

3. What is the “Ops Mind Palace”? This is a trap where a RevOps professional builds a technically “efficient” 75-step process that makes sense to them but is far too complex for a Sales or CS representative to actually follow in their day-to-day work.

4. How can scientific principles improve Revenue Operations? By using pattern recognition and a hypothesis-driven approach, leaders can move away from “we’ve always done it this way” and toward data-backed optimizations that reduce churn and accelerate growth.

5. What is the most important trait Helena looks for when hiring? Resourcefulness. She values the ability to solve a problem and think through a logical sequence of actions over simple domain expertise.