ronnie

Enterprise Account Executive

What should I do? Need some of that war room wisdom

The situation: I work at a promising startup with a small team, fantastic tech, promising market, but no money and we are full throttle trying to make the company profitable quickly. In the sales team, we are 3 people, and now both of my great colleagues are moving on to new opportunities. The Head of Sales because of what turned into a bad relationship with our CEO and the other AE because of a great offer. Investors are getting a bit more involved with strategy and as per usual you start to second guess the potential of it all.

So, what should I do? Look around for other opportunities or take charge of the ship and try to take advantage of the scenario?

Input is greatly appreciated :)

📬 WR Feedback

🎯 Career Development

🐢 Environment

37 comments

Sort by:

boredAnti

Tycoon

That One Guy

I think there is something you are missing if 66% of the team jumped. Start looking and get your feelers out there so that when shit really hits the fan now that you are the sole focus, you have something to land on without going splat.

ronnie

Executive

Enterprise Account Executive

That's my fear. Even though the initial sale is quite easy there's not yet a large market adoption which needs to be done for this thing to last in the long run. But sure, I could do myself quite the bucket of cash the following years but still, that's not a guarantee 🤷‍♂️

braintank

Politicker

Enterprise Account Executive

How much have you sold?

boredAnti

Tycoon

That One Guy

It seems to be an avoided question.

ronnie

Executive

Enterprise Account Executive

In total? Since the company was started 1,5 years ago and I've sold for around 150k - 200k

ronnie

Executive

Enterprise Account Executive

No :)

boredAnti

Tycoon

That One Guy

what is the average deal size? Where does that put you against quota? 150-200k means nothing without knowing those details. That's 1 deal for some people in here.

ronnie

Executive

Enterprise Account Executive

I know, the average is 7-10k/year and some north of 30k but most are in the first spectrum. Well, there are no quotas atm because there are no historical sales. But the goal is 1,5m arr within 2 years and I'm the top performer.

boredAnti

Tycoon

That One Guy

So, let's say your average deal closed is 9k.. and we split the range that we are unsure of and say 175k. You're telling me that you have only closed 19 deals in 18 months. and you are still only 12% to target with 6 months to go. JUMP SHIP!

ronnie

Executive

Enterprise Account Executive

Basically yes. Target is due to 2 years from now but otherwise that’s correct. I hear you..

Diablo

Politicker

Sr. AE

There are both the ends, start preparing.
If your performance was up to the mark, would have been a different story. Company can be promising but not without great resources which is missing at the moment.

GDO

Politicker

BDM

if you believe in the product this is an awesome opportunity. Also, they are now vulnerable with the others leaving. Try to get a higher salary, also because your workload will probably increase.

braintank

Politicker

Enterprise Account Executive

No offense but an AE believing in a product doesn't mean shit

ronnie

Executive

Enterprise Account Executive

I will get a higher salary and a c-level role which is nice. Just don't want to be naive here! Because, as ju mentioned, there are possibilities..

braintank

Politicker

Enterprise Account Executive

Are they offering you a c-level role or just speculation?

ronnie

Executive

Enterprise Account Executive

Official=)

LambyCorn

Arsonist

A mfkn E

I would advice to stay and take charge of the ship!

ronnie

Executive

Enterprise Account Executive

Appreciate it!🚀

braintank

Politicker

Enterprise Account Executive

Why is it promising?

braintank

Politicker

Enterprise Account Executive

Are you making decent money?

ronnie

Executive

Enterprise Account Executive

It's a trending, large market with a clear value but not a business-critical solution but there are not many competitors. Could easily double my base pay but there are a decent amount of opps and a c-level promotion on the table..

braintank

Politicker

Enterprise Account Executive

Sorry, but you're deluding yourself.
That doesn't sounds promising at all.

jefe

Arsonist

🍁

Definitely doesn't sound promising.
Try and get some perspective, @ronnie . Keep working but also start looking. And keep an eye out for what everyone here is seeing.

ronnie

Executive

Enterprise Account Executive

That's what I'm worried about... But it's also the possibility to in under a year make the company profitable as a CRO e.g which could set me up quite well 🤷‍♂️

ronnie

Executive

Enterprise Account Executive

Will probably do that... It's easy to get home blind and focus on "maybes"

oldcloser

Arsonist

💀

Ouch.

FinanceEngineer

Politicker

Sr Director, sales and partnerships

If everyone is jumping ship, and money is running out, look for the exits. This is a risk vs reward scenario where I just don’t see the reward worth it.

ronnie

Executive

Enterprise Account Executive

Well, yeah they're jumping ship but revenue is 100% YoY but yes, the burn-rate is not in my favour...

FinanceEngineer

Politicker

Sr Director, sales and partnerships

With growth start-ups at early stages, that might not matter. Just a heads up.

ronnie

Executive

Enterprise Account Executive

Yeah, true. Might be smart to look for other opportunities iguess=)

pirate

Big Shot

Account Executive

I guess interview and see what else is out there? This way you'll be more informed and it'll be easier to make a decision

Justatitle

Big Shot

Account Executive

Why do you classify it as promising? Are there a ton of opps? Are they closing easily?

ronnie

Executive

Enterprise Account Executive

A trending, large market with a clear value but not a business-critical solution, there are not many competitors. Investment-banks are investing large amounts into the space but there isn't yet a clear winner among the few solution providers so we're in a race of "survival of the fittest" and thus we're not raising any capital soon until we're profitable. But it's still quite the journey to make that happen

braintank

Politicker

Enterprise Account Executive

What space? 99% chance you say "AI"

ronnie

Executive

Enterprise Account Executive

Hahah actually not, it's in e-commerce.

Sunbunny31

Arsonist

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

If it's not business-critical, then it's going to be among the last things companies acquire.
And if it's a race - where are you in comparison with the competition? Leading, or trailing? And why?

ronnie

Executive

Enterprise Account Executive

Exactly! We have the least amount of money but are leaders in new logos🤷‍♂️