Series A War Stories: The Blood Bath Begins...

What's up Savages,


Haven't been here as much as I'd like to cause I've been keeping my ass out of the electric chair.


If you've seen my last post, you know a totally unreasonable PIP plan was put in place 3 weeks after I joined the company.


Last week I tied at #1 for most conversions on the team, and it was only my Week 3.


My manager is impressed so far and I have been getting great comments from the team. However, we are measured weekly so one good week can be quickly forgotten.


Here's what happened so far as I enter my 4th Week:

  • 3 People fired + VP of Marketing is gone but don't know if he bounced willingly or was fired
  • Fellow SDR threw me under the bus and failed... take that bitch
  • Insane PIP plan put in place
  • They were planning to hire 20 people this month, hired 4, and froze hiring(Minus the 3 fired)
  • Our VP basically told us to not be afraid to rat each other out


I thought it was gonna take a couple more weeks for heads to start rolling but I was wrong... First day back from the long weekend and they fired the most veteran guy on the team (About 6 months in I believe)


And even the Friday before Memorial Day Weekend someone that was 2 weeks into her manager promotion was fired. She was supposedly doing great but I believe she was caught faking numbers and was canned.


The only good thing is I made 1.3k in commission last week + $200 from the previous weeks as I was ramping. I know it might be baby money for some of y'all but the commission structure it's great for an SDR role.


The base is great too, which makes me nervous as well as I know I am among the most expensive SDRs on the team so I feel I am at even greater risk if I don't perform well fast.


I am tempted to stay just because they are paying well but it's a bit stressful to not have job security, especially in this market. It's a bit interesting/exciting to be in the middle of all this chaos but don't think it'd be good long-term.


Just wanted to share an update on this situation for people considering joining a series A.


Would also love to hear any comments or an analysis/thoughts of the situation.

🏰 War Stories
💰 Compensation
👥 Hiring
15
Sunbunny31
Politicker
10
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
Are you getting your resume out there now?  Because in that environment, it seems like it's not if, it's when, if you catch my drift.

So I'd rake in all the $$ you can while looking for a new position at the same time so you can bounce if you find something great, or you have some legwork done if you get cut before you do.
jefe
Arsonist
2
🍁
Take the money and run
champchamp
Arsonist
1
Certified Savage
Yessir! That's the plan. I am getting more active now. 
champchamp
Arsonist
1
Certified Savage
I definitely am. I have a 2nd round on Friday and in conversations with 2 more companies for 1st rounds early next week. 

I totally agree with you, and things got even worse since the last time I posted this lol. 
jefe
Arsonist
1
🍁
Amazing @ first sentence, ouch @ second.
jefe
Arsonist
8
🍁
GET OUT

And thanks for the update 
champchamp
Arsonist
1
Certified Savage
Thank you Jefe, I'm starting to interview so hopefully ill be out of this mess soon. Will keep you guys posted. 
jefe
Arsonist
0
🍁
You got this, champ
CuriousFox
WR Officer
7
🦊
Are you working for Seamless? Damn dude. Seriously, I'm sorry you're really going through it.
TennisandSales
Politicker
3
Head Of Sales
haha i thought the same thing! this sounds like something Brandon would be cool with 😂
champchamp
Arsonist
1
Certified Savage
Haha I'm not, but this co seems worse honestly lol. Appreciate it, making the best out of this and definitely looking to bounce. 
CuriousFox
WR Officer
3
🦊
Oh you know I wanna know who this company is 👀🍿
champchamp
Arsonist
1
Certified Savage
Haha ill let you know if we ever get DMs, which we've been promised for months
braintank
Politicker
3
Enterprise Account Executive
Start applying elsewhere!!
champchamp
Arsonist
1
Certified Savage
I am, just started interviewing. This is a ticking time bomb. 
TennisandSales
Politicker
3
Head Of Sales
jesus.....this is insanity. 

you need to get the fuck out of that toxic hell hole of a company. 

Share that story with any other company and they would totally understand. 
champchamp
Arsonist
0
Certified Savage
Yes, I am interviewing now, looking to bounce asap. 

I'm hesitant about sharing the story cause I don't wanna sound like I'm complaining.

This'd be my fourth SDR job. 

1st gig was there for 16 months and although I loved everything about it there was no career growth for AE. All were hired externally and any SDR promotions that were being presented were lead or CSM and BS like that. 

2nd 4 months, manager was a micromanager, intense. 

3rd this BS I'm talking about. 

There is more behind it but just don't want to make it seem like I'm a complainer, cause I'm not.

I work hard and have done great at all my jobs, but for one reason or the other I've had to leave. 

What do you think?
TennisandSales
Politicker
1
Head Of Sales
totally get it. 

it's all about how you frame yourself and how you frame each situation. Because you WILL be asked about this. 

I would make sure you highlight the metrics you have hit at each org. 
I would also make the theme that you are a hard working, driven person who is trying to find a place where you can do your best work, be supported, and have a solid career path. 

the way I look at it, #1 was a solid reason to leave and a solid amount of time. 

#2 - hard to really know what you are getting into, highlight that you would have asked more specific questions in the interview process to better understand the working conditions. 

#3. total insanity. not your fault. 

now you are in a place where you are looking to stay for a long time and have a successful career. 

when you are in interviews you need to be confident about your work ethic and career goals and make it about that. 
champchamp
Arsonist
1
Certified Savage
Awesome feedback, thank you! I'll definitely highlight my work ethic and will be clear but concise about the points regarding why I left previous companies. 

I think that as long as I don't vent out and keep the reasons clear and concise, a reasonable person should understand the situation. 

Thank you, sir!

TennisandSales
Politicker
0
Head Of Sales
100% agree! another point is to go back to "what i learned" from each situation. 

They dont want to hire poor performers. 

Poor performers dont have the ability to look back on a situation and learn from it. 
sahil
Notable Contributor
3
Deepak Chopra of Sales
agreed with all other commenters. this company is imploding. gtfo
champchamp
Arsonist
1
Certified Savage
Thank you, Sahil. I am starting to interview, hopefully can get some great interviews from Bravado Jobs too!
sahil
Notable Contributor
1
Deepak Chopra of Sales
We just added 100 companies in 96 hours ... 🤞
champchamp
Arsonist
0
Certified Savage
Gangsta AF 🔥 👊
butwhy
Politicker
1
Solutions Engineer
No no no no no no no - get a new job pipeline going PRONTO. This is a company with less than 2 months runway left and it's going to explode. In your face, if you aren't ready with a parachute. 
champchamp
Arsonist
0
Certified Savage
Totally agree, the timeframe seems right on point too as shit got worse since I posted this. 
SADNESSLieutenant
Politicker
1
Officer of ♥️
Keep killing it. Keep looking.
champchamp
Arsonist
0
Certified Savage
Yes sir, I'm on it. 
ChumpChange
Politicker
1
Channel Manager
EJECT!!!
champchamp
Arsonist
0
Certified Savage
I'M TRYING!!! Haha, forreal though, I'm interviewing now 
UserNotFound
Politicker
1
Account Executive
We really need a way to let each other know what companies these are…

pretty sure there’s a horcrux somewhere in the building you work in, bruh.
champchamp
Arsonist
0
Certified Savage
I agree, in this particularly case though, it doesn't seem like the company will be around for too much longer so it shouldn't matter that much but who tf knows. 
DungeonsNDemos
Big Shot
1
Rolling 20's all day
This sounds horrible. We are going to need to pool our thoughts and prayers on this one.
Hope the interviews go well!
champchamp
Arsonist
1
Certified Savage
Haha, thank you! 😂 They went well! I have two offers right now, just waiting to see if I'd get a third and will make a decision then. 
DungeonsNDemos
Big Shot
1
Rolling 20's all day
Nice! Congrats on the offers. I'd be curious to hear what companies are saying to candidates amidst all this turmoil in the tech space. 
Have they addressed layoffs or given you context to their outlook?
champchamp
Arsonist
0
Certified Savage
Thank you! Not much on it but, since they asked me about why I'm leaving my current role i briefly touched on the situation as I didn't want to sound like a whiny spoiled kid. 

I simply told them that we went from 33 to 11 and we keep firing and they understood.

One company addressed it by saying how healthy their funding is and that they will continue hiring at a healthy pace. 

Another company's founder said he's never understood how startups and CEOs are dumb enough to just go out and hire 100 people all of a sudden without revenue justifying those new hires. 
Gasty
Notable Contributor
0
War Room Community Manager
This is a no brainer. Leave.
7

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