Relationships over Transactional Sales: The Secret to Lasting Growth with Miguel Navarro
November 20, 2025
Welcome to Built Not Born: The Startup Go-To-Market Podcast, the podcast for early-stage founders and startup leaders who know that great companies aren’t lucky… they’re built through smart execution and a bulletproof go-to-market strategy.
On this episode, host Sage Nye sits down with Miguel Navarro, Head of Applied Emerging Technologies at KeyBank, to unpack why authentic relationships outlast transactional sales and why genuine passion beats chasing quick profits. From cold calls in Times Square to leading in AI and emerging tech, Miguel shares how deep immersion, curiosity-driven learning, and reusable customer relationships built on mutual trust create lasting impact. Tune in for practical insights on building meaningful companies and scaling with purpose.
Welcome to Built Not Born: The Startup Go-To-Market Podcast, the podcast for early-stage founders and startup leaders who know that great companies aren’t lucky… they’re built through smart execution and a bulletproof go-to-market strategy.
On this episode, host Sage Nye sits down with Miguel Navarro, Head of Applied Emerging Technologies at KeyBank, to unpack why authentic relationships outlast transactional sales and why genuine passion beats chasing quick profits. From cold calls in Times Square to leading in AI and emerging tech, Miguel shares how deep immersion, curiosity-driven learning, and reusable customer relationships built on mutual trust create lasting impact. Tune in for practical insights on building meaningful companies and scaling with purpose.
Here’s what you will learn:
- How to transform necessity into innovation: From limited resources to programming games and building mobile apps
- Why deep customer relationships trump transactional sales approaches
- The "People, Process, Tools" framework for evaluating and implementing any solution
- How to approach AI adoption through hands-on experimentation
- Why impact and passion should drive career choices
- The importance of creating reusable relationships in your professional network
- How to balance maintaining personal time while scaling impact with mentorship
- The power of embracing and learning from difficult moments rather than avoiding them
- Why strong teams and genuine relationships matter more than individual achievements
- The critical difference between wanting to make money versus wanting to build a meaningful company
Miguel Navarro is Head of Applied Emerging Technologies at KeyBank and Chief Digital & AI Officer at Educate to Protect. From programming video games in the Philippines to pioneering early mobile apps, Miguel has built a career at the intersection of innovation, fraud prevention, and customer-centric technology. A passionate mentor and thought leader in AI, Web3, and emerging tech, he champions collaboration, authentic relationships, and community impact while guiding teams and founders through the complexities of digital transformation.
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