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Don shares his journey from Oracle and Apttus/Conga to scaling multiple startups – and now leading Veloce's transformation from a software provider into a full-service Salesforce Revenue Cloud implementation partner.

He also explains why constraint-based configuration, AI-driven quoting, and deep Salesforce alignment are key to success.

Configure, Price, Quote Podcast – Transcript

Frank Sohn

‍My guest today is Don Khamapirad, the CEO of Veloce.

Don has over 20 years of business experience and joined Veloce in April 2024 after being with companies like Oracle and Conga, among others. He lives in Austin, Texas. Welcome to the CPQ podcast. ‍ I'm very excited to have you on. Let's start by telling me a little bit more about what you did before you joined last year.

Don Khamapirad

‍Thank you, Frank, for having me!

Before I joined Veloce, I worked at a startup called Legion Technologies. We took that from Series A to Series C. I was one of the founding executive team and helped drive the company to scale. Then I saw the opportunity at Veloce and couldn't resist – I decided to join instead.

Frank Sohn

So you almost answered my second question – why did you join Veloce? I mentioned that you were with bigger companies before, like Conga and Oracle. What drives you to go to such a small company and basically prove yourself there? What's the main driver?

Don Khamapirad

I love to see transformations. What we're doing at Veloce is transforming the company from a software provider into a service provider. We had a strategic transaction with a larger software company, and now we're repositioning to help adopt the technology they acquired from us, so it can be widely adopted by a greater audience.

That way we can have a continual role expanding our value to other companies, people, and customers by spreading our knowledge this way, rather than encapsulating it strictly in a product. Taking these transformations to life is great. I saw that challenge at Veloce, but it's also a challenge our customers will experience.

So it's a great time to be in the CPQ and revenue management industry as the next generation comes out, and we have the opportunity to guide customers in this transformation for their futures as well.

A background built across CPQ

Frank Sohn

Tell me a little bit more about your background in CPQ. What CPQ solutions have you worked with, and why is that area interesting for you?

Don Khamapirad

I started in CPQ – maybe I didn't even know it. I was selling enterprise software and having to do all these things as an enterprise seller, and I didn't even know a system like this existed, where I could enter some numbers in and it could get me what I want, craft a nice proposal, and ensure I had everything proper for what the customers needed.

So I came to it first as a user. I started selling other independent software, then joined Apttus in the early days – which later became Conga. I was an early employee there and exited when the company was acquired by Thoma Bravo. Before that, I was also at Big Machines, where I had the opportunity to be an enterprise seller.

My background has been in enterprise sales for quite a while. I look at things from a very user-centric, results-oriented, and customer-centric perspective, in terms of what we can actually do with this technology to help transform customers.

AI and the future of CPQ

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