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bdiggidy

Account Executive Mid-Market

Opinionated
Executive
Valued Contributor
+4

I’ve read all Series A posts…. Hear me out


need some perspectives!!!
currently at a mature Org who've recently been acquired. things are changing and the economic climate isn't helping with performance. I've been a top performer for the year and a half I've been there- however the base pay is low- commission is where we make all of our money but since goals aren't being hit, the commission is lacking. with the maturity of the org we have a strong brand established and the product market fit is strong so we work mainly inbound. I've been strung along with a looming opportunity for promotion for the last 6 months, however been told given the economic climate any hiring or promotions have been frozen. the opportunity for promotion is continuously held over our heads as an attempt at motivation. with some recent departures on the team I'm being told this promotion will be happening within the next couple months. the promotion historically had only increased OTE by 12k from what I am at rn. 

I've recently got an offer from a Series A startup In the security space who will pay me just under my entire OTE in my current role as my base salary. Given the stage of company of course the role will rely heavily on outbound prospecting which is okay as it's what I'm used to I will share a BDR with 1 other AE, I'll be the 4th AE at the company and will work directly under the SLT. Naturally they've told me I'll have a lot of opportunity to be influential in the building of the sales function. ICP are Fortune 500 companies and they seem to have secured quite a few impressive logos. they have cash for the next few years and have a healthy ARR. The PTO, and perks are not as good as my current role. 

My hesitations:
1. every post says to stay away from series A
2. will leaving my current role prematurely without showing growth on my resume at one company (promotion) have a major impact on my career and future opportunities? 
3. is the risk of betting on a Series a company amplified given the economic climate? 
4. on the flip side does securing my entire current oTe in a new base salary make more sense from a financial security perspective heading into an economic downturn? 

any and all perspectives are welcome- again I've read through every series A post I could find in here but felt the need to get some help from fellow soldiers 
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17 comments

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butwhy
Politicker
9
Solutions Engineer
Series A is actually safer than Series C on up right now, due to lack of VC large rounds, lack of sincere re-valuation by unicorns (who don't want to lose that bragging point), and lack of IPO exit in the mid-future.

However.

This part: the role will rely heavily on outbound prospecting

That's not an "of course" thing - to me that says that the Series A has a shitty board and shitty seed investors because at Series A, there should be inbound based on their word of mouth and connections.

I say go ahead and do it - you're never gonna see your promotion at your current company and it sounds like your base is way below market, so this at least gets you that and if you get laid off you have it as a base line to continue in your career. Security is a decent space, but yeah, get ready for a grind and save as much money as possible.
SkiSquaw
Contributor
0
Account executive
Up to Series A, a big chunk of the customers come from the investors network, yes.

I don’t think cold outreach is a flag at all. It signals sales led growth instead of product led growth (ton of inbounds in the latter). Sales led growth is what a lot of GTM engines use for larger opps bc it’s hard for inbound leads to come through for complex software that requires a POV with opps being north of $350k acv. PLG works for shadow IT plays and will certainly have more inbound leads. Personally not a fan.
Diablo
Politicker
5
Sr. AE
I would definitely look at some other perspectives as well - who are their current clients, are they on a long term contract, pilot, monthly so I know the non stop revenue inflow. For me - point 2 is a No I don’t think it will have great impact. Point 4 - you have to weigh pros and cons, unfortunately, as we cannot make decision.

Did you find the avg tenure of the team, quota they are hitting and how many achieving? I hope they don’t do lay offs.

All the best
bdiggidy
Opinionated
2
Account Executive Mid-Market
Only 1/3 reps is fully ramped and he’s pacing to exceed quota. They have logos like door dash, instacart, dept of defence. Good point in asking for context with customer contracts
jefe
Arsonist
5
🍁
Take this role seriously, but be aware of the risks.
CuriousFox
WR Officer
6
🦊
Always a risk, but doesn't mean it ain't worth it.
jefe
Arsonist
3
🍁
100% agree, I don't agree with the hard line against early stage companies here. Hence why I'm at one lol
Sunbunny31
Politicker
5
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
Thoughtful, thorough post.

You've done a lot of thinking about this, and based on your responses, this might be worth pursuing for you.

Yes, it's a risk, but you've looked into those, and you'd be going in eyes open.
TennisandSales
Politicker
3
Head Of Sales
1. every post says to stay away from Series A because the majority of ppl are NOT a good fit for that type of role.
2. NO it will not have a major impact on your career. you always have a chance to prove your self. My title has stayed "AE" in the last 3 companies ive worked at. Ive increased my base from $65K to $130K and gone from selling a $5k product to a $500,000+ Product.
3. Yes it is amplified. But that doesnt mean it cant work.
4. I would 100% take this role seriously. Lets say you are at this new place for 6 months and you hate it. You have a solid story to tell the next company and great learnings to take with you. you will be fine. and if thats the WORST case scenario.....you will be ok.
SkiSquaw
Contributor
3
Account executive
Things I would consider -

1. Who is the founder and how many successful exits have they had. Do they have a track record of 2 or 3 or more exits? If yes, there’s reduced risk but it’s not eliminated
2. Take same logic from 1 and apply to the VP/Head of sales. Have they taken a company from early stage to late stage. I.e. - do they know what they’re doing and how to get to $100m ARR.
3. What can you find out there on the quality of the product. Hard because it’s early so they might not be on G2 but try to understand how the product is perceived by current customers not listed as a case study on their website
4. Have you been able to talk to anyone at the company from outside of the interview process - they’ll be able to give you the real scoop on quota attainment, leadership, PMF, etc
5. How long is a typical sales cycle/average ACV and what’s the close rate. Use this info to negotiate a more realistic ramp.
6. It’s easy to chase high OTEs but where you’ll realistically make $500k-$1m+ is in quota attainment. Nice part of lower OTE is being able to blow your number out. No one makes over $500k their first year unless they walk into a whale that’s at the 1 yard line. It takes at least 2 years to build the pipe necessary to make real money.

This is high level as I sit on the train but hope it helps. As someone who works in ent security sales, curious what the company is. DM me and I can give you my honest take on the org if I know them.
Arzola
Valued Contributor
1
Business administration
here! a lot of good info
Pachacuti
Politicker
1
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
Good on you for keeping your options open. That's smart.

My advice is that once you make your decision to leave - you leave. Don't negotiate for higher salary at your current company. You don't want them to own you.

Regarding if you should leave or not - the bump in pay seems compelling. "growth on resume" is not really an issue IMO.

If you want the new position, negotiate an employment guarantee - like 1 year. Tell them you're taking as big a risk on them as they are on you. If they want you bad enough, they'll do it.
Justatitle
Big Shot
1
Account Executive
It’s not that you have to stay away from series A, it’s a matter of where the series A is. Are you walking into an org that has no idea what they are doing and they’re just gonna hire you and expect the world(not what it seems like from the post), or do they mostly have it figured out and you’re going to have some creative flexibility there which is the attractive part of joining. Series A is also potentially less risky right now as they’re still going after PMF(product market fit) and can stretch their funding where as something series C or later might be seeing reduced revenue in the current climate.
IYNFYL
Politicker
0
Enterprise SaaS AE
I joined a Series B startup and got blindsided by a layoff who over hired . In the last year they had additional rounds of layoffs and went from 100 employees to 45 within that time frame.
revenuegenerator
Praised Answer
0
Sales Management
Put the stage aside for a minute. Look at the product and the market to determine a companies potential before the stage. If it's early(A, etc) find out if the customers use the product. If users are buying, liking and using the product then the rest will work itself out. I've done early and late stage. Multiple IPOs and Acquisitions. That's the best way I recommend you evaluate new roles.
balbazar
Opinionated
0
Enterprise Account Executive
I took a bet on a crazy series A company over 4 years ago and it's worked out better than I ever dreamed it would. My comp and deal sizes have grown consistently and the company as a whole is doing really well and raised several subsequent rounds.

It definitely hasn't been a simple or straight forward path, but it's been the right one for me.

If I were in your shoes I'd ask myself the following questions as you do due diligence on the company and yourself:
- Am I ok with the possibility of the company going under a year from now?
- Do I believe in the company's product and plan; and if I was an investor, would I invest money in this company?
- Are the founders focused on the company's mission over building their brands or padding their wallets?
- Am I comfortable with building product-market fit from scratch if that's necessary?

Best of luck, and happy to answer any follow ups.
punishedlad
Tycoon
0
🧙‍♂️
You get a very rare Series A "yes" from me. Your current situation lends itself to that.

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