Grant_Horun

Account Executive

Valued Contributor

Taking the Leap of Faith. Working for a Start-Up?

Hey Savages,

Recently I was approached by a start-up to be their first sales hire to grow their North American sales team. As someone who enjoys building culture and growing things from the ground up I see this as an opportunity with plenty of potential. I also believe the product will make an impact in the industry I currently work. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this is the next unicorn, but I think it's more than a fad and something that will be around for years to come.

Although I believe there is a ton of promise, I do have some hesitations making this "leap of faith." First and foremost, going from an industry leader where you can name drop and people know exactly what you're talking about to a company who is competing for new marketshare / has to build a brand is a massive change. Don't get me wrong, I love hunting new business and being an absolute savage to get net new logo's, but it's always easier said than done.

Lastly, leaving a big company with solid 401k, health insurance, etc. to front up a project like this requires a big commitment and risk exposure. I'm all for risk, tbh I'm such a dweeb my high school email was [email protected] but changing from a 60K+ company to a true start up feels extremely bold.

Would love some feedback from other people who have gone down a route like this, or from people who have avoided it and their reasoning.

Cheers and Happy Selling!

Set sail and go for it?

Attached poll

A ship in the harbor is safe but ships are built for the sea

*Voting in this poll no longer yields commission.

🚀 Career Goals

22

24 comments

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CuriousFox

WR Officer

11

🦊

You'll never know unless you go for it. 🤷‍♀️

Kinonez

Celebrated Contributor

1

War Room Enthusiast

My thoughts exactly! I almost wrote this word for word!

UrAssIsSaaS

Arsonist

9

SaaS Eater

Everything you outline tells me you want to take this role but are just looking for confirmation, so go take the role.

jefe

Arsonist

1

🍁

Definitely sounds like this is the case.

Go forth, @Grant_Horun, with our blessing.

InQ5WeTrust

Arsonist

7

No marketing, mayo isn't an MQL

A rich man lives in a castle, a poor man lives by the sea, but a whiskey glass and phat SaaS startups ass is home sweet home to me.

thebuckhunter

Politicker

1

AE

" a whiskey glass and working in SaaS"

poweredbycaffeine

WR Lieutenant

6

☕️

I am fueled by chaos, so my preference would be to get out there and build some new shit...won't know if you like it unless you take that leap!

CaneWolf

Politicker

5

Call me what you want, just sign the damn contract

Is 60,000+ the only place you've worked? Because it's gonna be a world of difference. Just know that.

Beans

Big Shot

3

Enterprise Account Executive

I love it personally.

Nothing says early retirement or fuck you money like equity.

Wellss

Tycoon

3

Channel sales

If you believe in the product then go for the start-up! I made the switch from working for a big company to a start-up & now can't see myself going back to a big organization. Of course every start-up is different, but I say go for it

WomenWantMeFishFearMe

Politicker

3

AM

Adventure is fun. Trust me

hh456

Celebrated Contributor

3

sales

Use a quote I stole on linkedin fair and square again as a poll option without tagging me again and i'll fucking murder your ass.

I voted for 'shipts are built for the sea'

Diablo

Politicker

2

Sr. AE

Hey Risktaker loved your post. To me, I would taking risk is conditional. If I feel I need to move to scale something new I would but if I feel I am doing pretty well, happy with my work, company and there is a lot of scope to grow within (may be new role across same or another vertical) I would stick to it. It's just that we are different 🙂.

All the best !

thewhyguy

Politicker

2

Bi-curious SDR

Build something new!

Don't become a marketer.

1nbatopshotfan

Politicker

2

Sales

How old are you? Can you afford to go with little commission while ramping and figuring things out? Do you have a family relying on your salary and commission or is it a good time to jump?

Grant_Horun

Politicker

1

Account Executive

Young enough where the only person missing my commission checks would be my girlfriend lol

1nbatopshotfan

Politicker

1

Sales

Shooters gotta shoot then. Bet on yourself. You’re young with little commitments. Now is probably the best time to do this. Go for it!

Sunbunny31

Politicker

1

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

The only way to find out if this is for you is to try. It's a huge change, but it might be the best thing you ever did. I've worked with many people who went from start up to big company and returned to startups because they loved the atmosphere and the challenge of building something great from the ground up. You'll have nothing handed to you, but it's amazing when you see the growth happening around you.

It may not be for you ultimately, but there are plenty of "safe" big companies to return to if the role turns out not to be suitable. I'd say go for it.

SaaSyBee

Politicker

1

Founder

I almost always work at startups. You can actually make a difference instead of feeling like a cog. You just have to get comfortable with the fact that it might not go well. You might need to job hunt again in a year or two. (The worst for me was needing to hunt again 10 months in.)

RedLightning

Politicker

1

Mid-Market AE

I'm the same way, I like the younger companies because things are less rigid and I can make an impact. If you work for something like Salesforce, or Oracle, the processes are so ingrained and well created that you'll mainly just be operating a script that they know has a x% win rate. I think that helps you grow within that system but you're the sales rep version of a "system QB"

RedLightning

Politicker

1

Mid-Market AE

You seem to see an opportunity to jump your career up in a way that would take a few years and more steps on the ladder at a more established company.

Leaving the brand recognition is tough, but will ultimately make you a much better sales person. However, expect growing pains. You'll have to create a ton of processes and be willing to fail along the way in order to create the correct processes long term.

You're going to run into a ton of situations where they choose to go with a competitor because of that brand recognition and fear of making the wrong choice.

Corporate life is slowly marching and experiencing minimal hurdles. Startup is sprinting faster than bad news. If you want to sprint, make the switch

cw95

Politicker

1

Sales Development Lead

As @CuriousFox said you never know - if you want to have experience than go for it! It will (hopefully not) be rough but also great! It's a tick in the box of the life sales cycle none the less.

Flippinghubs

Opinionated

0

Account Executive

Go for it my guy!

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