When you’re pre-product market fit, sales is a job for the founders.

less than 1m read

·Nov 3, 2024

If you're the founder of an early stage startup and you're building a product that you're hoping other businesses will buy, you are capable of selling it. That's the good news. The bad news is that you're probably the only person capable of selling your product.

That is, if you aren't able to sell your product yourself at first, chances are you're not going to be able to hire somebody else to do it for you. Now, if you're anything like we were, you're probably thinking there are lots of talented salespeople out there. Wouldn't it be faster to hire one of them than try to do it ourselves?

After all, that's what you'd probably do with any other role, like designers or lawyers or accountants. The problem is that sales, before you find product-market fit, is very different from sales after you find product-market fit. Sales pre-PMF is fundamentally entrepreneurial; it requires vision and credibility with customers, lots of experimentation, and a tight feedback loop with the people building the product.

This is a role for founders.

What it’s like to watch a Total Solar Eclipse

First Fish of the Morning | Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks

View All

Writing equilibrium constant and reaction quotient expressions | AP Chemistry | Khan Academy

The equilibrium constant is symbolized by the letter K, and the equilibrium constant tells us about the relative concentrations of reactants and products at equilibrium. Let’s say we have a hypothetical reaction where reactants A and B turn into products…

Catch of the Week -Hot Tuna's on Fire | Wicked Tuna

Oh, there’s a mark, some kind of mar right at the bottom. There could be two. All the C to home. 60 mi from GLA. Got the P here. [Music] Happy, go forward, go forward, go forward, go, go, go, go! The other way, drop that! Now you’re ready? Ready? Yep! Co…

Charlie Munger's Final Call on Alibaba Stock.

Charlie Munger, despite being 98 years old, is without doubt one of the smartest minds that lives today. From a young man who simply dreamed of financial independence, he’s now worked alongside Warren Buffett to not only become a multi-billionaire but als…

Colbert's Life in the Swamp | Live Free or Die

[Music] [Music] Every day in the woods is just a constant challenge. It’s urgency after urgency, project after project. Got an otter! It’s a river otter. This is one of my most valuable pelts; it brings a top price, and, uh, not many people do, but I try…

Multiplying and dividing by 10, 100, 1000

[Instructor] In this video, we’re gonna think about what happens when we multiply or divide by 10, 100, or 1,000. Let’s just start with an example. Let’s say we wanna figure out what 237 times 10 is. Pause this video and see if you can have a go at it. …

Is the 2024 Gold Rush a Warning to the US Economy?

Have a look at this price chart over the last 2 years. Up 65% phenomenal growth! Now, with returns like that, you’d probably expect it to be some sort of up-and-coming tech stock, right? One with a foot in the door of the artificial intelligence Gold Min…

When you’re pre-product market fit, sales is a job for the founders.

More Articles