adogg

Enterprise Account Executive

2 hour final round interview with a series A startup. What to expect?

Hi guys,

I have a 2 hour final round interview with a series A startup. I'd be the first sales hire and the interview is with the 2 founders.

Anybody have any ideas on what to expect? Im not sure how to prepare. I've been learning more about the product and working on situational challenges.

🤝 Interviewing/Offer

24 comments

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funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

I'm surprised the recruiter hasn't told you what to expect for a two hour interview...You should reach out and ask if there's an agenda.

adogg

Good Citizen

Enterprise Account Executive

theres no recruiter. its just the founders. I've asked what to prepare and what the agenda is. All I've heard is "we'll dig into sales challenges we face" which tells me its an extensive role play of some sort?

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

That could be anything from a roleplay to asking you for ways to deal with the problems they've having. Who knows. I'd be nervous about being asked to dedicate two hours of my time for a meeting where the interviewers can't even explain the general purpose or give a rough agenda.

GDO

Politicker

BDM

Basicly you’ll be their sales consultant for 2hours

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

That's what it sounds like. I'd be very wary of sharing details of ideas/procedures/strategy I'd bring to the team for this exact reason.

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

Research them. Know their product. Find out how they came together with their idea. Then take it from there.

FormallyUneducated

Opinionated

Account Executive

It’s sucks going in without much context, but that’s kind of what you’re being brought in to do as the first rep aka building shit that doesn’t exist yet.

I’d go in with a framework of how you would attack territory, sales process etc, then use the time to dig in to how likely you’ll be able to succeed.
Don’t forget you are interviewing them and must do your due diligence!

TheOverTaker

Politicker

Senior Account Executive

^^ yep, thats a long time for a blind date. Ask if there is anything you should be prepared for or have prepared

adogg

Good Citizen

Enterprise Account Executive

already did that. the founder gave me nothing to work off of. Just "we'll dig into sales challenges we face"

TheOverTaker

Politicker

Senior Account Executive

interesting. I guess my suggestion (as someone who has never been in this exact situation) read up on the product/industry and how competitors have handled some of the issues they will probably raise?

adogg

Good Citizen

Enterprise Account Executive

It's an interesting situation indeed. I appreciate the advice! I'm doing that but I can't help but feel there is more. My thought is it's probably just a very extensive role-play with a situational aspect.

TheOverTaker

Politicker

Senior Account Executive

probably a good guess

TheNegotiator

Arsonist

VP of Sales

@paddy will make you watch him shower.

If you’re aroused by the end you get the job. If you’re disgusted, but still want the job you get a signing bonus.

braintank

Politicker

Enterprise Account Executive

Not a good sign...

adogg

Good Citizen

Enterprise Account Executive

these guys are legit and their product is sound. they just don't know how to run an interview process it seems. I've asked for the agenda and i just haven't gotten much. perhaps they want to see how I react to uncomfortable situations

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

Making someone uncomfortable in the interview...great way to start a business relationship.

DungeonsNDemos

Big Shot

Rolling 20's all day

that's a yikes for me dawg (@adogg). I get maybe trying to keep you on your toes but for being the first sales hire it really should be about methodologies, synchrony of your approach with their product, and long-term discussions of how to implement this.

JustGonnaSendIt

Politicker

Burn Towns, Get Money

Been there. Best thing to focus on, especially with Founders, is what your 'story' is and how that means you can help them scale up their business in the sales role. This is going to take product / solution expertise, knowledge about the industry you're in, and a thought process about who the best customers would be / how you'd reach them with your message.

In terms of questions, unsure what they'll ask specifically, but that's what they will want to get out of the conversation.

Early-stage sales roles wear lots of hats, so your ability to think about things beyond sales, such as how to work with product management, marketing, delivery, etc... to ensure a growth trajectory and happy customers, is going to be important as well.

Edit: Your references in other comments to "challenges we face" reinforce my above statements. Be ready to game out how you'd deal with some of these 'challenges', based on your experience and perspective. Honestly, sounds like a pretty fun interview.

adogg

Good Citizen

Enterprise Account Executive

it was pretty good. ended up chatting with them to 2.5 hours. they just asked me all sorts of situational questions, and we got pretty tactical about how I would overcome certain challenges

JustGonnaSendIt

Politicker

Burn Towns, Get Money

That's great. Hopefully that kind of exchange gave you the chance to vet them out as well to make sure you're aligned on what would work.

Lots of tension can come from misaligned opinions on how to achieve the goal.

Diablo

Politicker

Sr. AE

Its always good to ask what are we expecting from each other. Having an agenda will give you some roadmap on what to expect from them.

nemix

Politicker

SDR

Probably some bs tbh lol. 2 hours 2 hours too long.

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adogg

2 hour final round interview with a series A startup. What to expect?

24 comments

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