Being the first GTM rep at a startup

Interview Tip

Grant Jones - Founding AE - Arrows
Grant has been a Founding AE and Sales Manager multiple times. Here's some advice he shared for anyone thinking about being the first GTM rep at a startup.

1st GTM Hire, Realistic Expectations:
1. You'll likely make less $ starting out, but your career growth can be accelerated.
2. You're not going to work 9-5 hours.
3. You'll be the Sales, Sales Ops, Sales Enablement and Sales Engineering Teams.

Watch out for:
1. What the Founders are asking of this hire
-> If you're speaking with a Founder who hasn't sold the product before, you need to understand Product Market Fit (PMF)
-> Inbound, outbound, personal Founder networks, somewhere else?
-> Wherever they came from, is it possible for me (a non-Founder) to repeat this?
-> Grant's personal threshold = $200k in annual recurring revenue sold, otherwise it's too early for him

2. Is there actual PMF
-> How do the customers see value and is it aligned to how the Founders think customers see value?
-> Are there multiple power users inside of each customer or is it just 1 role?
-> Don't be afraid to ask to speak with customers, if they say no, that may be a red flag (case studies may suffice)
-> Grant's personal threshold = 5 big customers or 20-50 smaller customers

3. Working with the Founders
-> You need to dig into the relationship between the Founders and how they operate
-> Are they thoughtful with decisions or sporadic?
-> How influenced are they by investors or "Advisors"
-> You shouldn't have a quota, at least for the first year, it's impossible to forecast (this should be a collaboration)
-> Agree on a commission rate and sell as much as possible
-> Keep compensation simple, focus on Base salary/Commission/Equity/Benefits
-> After a year, you can figure out quotas w/accelerators + other incentives

A Tip For Candidates Out There:
"Don't quit your job. You'll be desperate and more likely to make an emotional decision vs. a logical one."