Deals with enterprise organizations and public sector entities almost always come wrapped in a formal package: the Request for Proposal (RFP). While early-stage startups often view RFPs as a daunting, bureaucratic hurdle, for growing B2B companies, they represent one of the most stable and lucrative revenue engines available. In this episode, Shaked Hershkovitz, Director of Solution Engineering at monday.com, sits down with Darya Wertheim to share how the company built its RFP muscle from 2019 to today, highlighting the core best practices and lessons learned along the way.

Shaked breaks down the strategic trade-offs inherent in RFP management, starting with the dilemma of whether to apply a high-volume approach or focus strictly on high-probability opportunities. He reflects on early missteps—specifically how prioritizing quantity over quality consumed heavy legal and technical bandwidth while yielding low win rates—and discusses navigating strict regulatory and security requirements. He also addresses the hard truth that missing even a single product capability can cost a six-figure deal, even when the client actively wants to partner with you.

The episode provides actionable frameworks for managing tenders effectively, from identifying opportunities at the RFI stage and influencing requirements early to tailoring solutions and accelerating the path to live demos. Shaked details how embedding AI tools and autonomous agents into their workflow allows teams to scan complex tender documents in seconds, score win probabilities, and save hundreds of engineering hours. Finally, he outlines the specific formula that drove monday.com's RFP win rate up to 35%.

Note: This episode is an AI translation of the original Hebrew version released in July 2026.

Deals with enterprise organizations and public sector entities almost always come wrapped in a formal package: the Request for Proposal (RFP). While early-stage startups often view RFPs as a daunting, bureaucratic hurdle, for growing B2B companies, they represent one of the most stable and lucrative revenue engines available. In this episode, Shaked Hershkovitz, Director of Solution Engineering at monday.com, sits down with Darya Wertheim to share how the company built its RFP muscle from 2019 to today, highlighting the core best practices and lessons learned along the way.
Shaked breaks down the strategic trade-offs inherent in RFP management, starting with the dilemma of whether to apply a high-volume approach or focus strictly on high-probability opportunities. He reflects on early missteps&mdash;specifically how prioritizing quantity over quality consumed heavy legal and technical bandwidth while yielding low win rates&mdash;and discusses navigating strict regulatory and security requirements. He also addresses the hard truth that missing even a single product capability can cost a six-figure deal, even when the client actively wants to partner with you.
The episode provides actionable frameworks for managing tenders effectively, from identifying opportunities at the RFI stage and influencing requirements early to tailoring solutions and accelerating the path to live demos. Shaked details how embedding AI tools and autonomous agents into their workflow allows teams to scan complex tender documents in seconds, score win probabilities, and save hundreds of engineering hours. Finally, he outlines the specific formula that drove monday.com's RFP win rate up to 35%.
Note: This episode is an AI translation of the original Hebrew version released in July 2026.

Startup for Startup is a podcast in which we at monday.com openly share knowledge, experience, and actionable insights among startups. Each episode of the podcast highlights a different challenge we faced on our journey as a growing startup.

Startup for Startup is a podcast in which we at monday.com openly share knowledge, experience, and actionable insights among startups. Each episode of the podcast highlights a different challenge we faced on our journey as a growing startup.