Roughly 70 percent of first VP of Sales hires do not make it, and a bad one costs you about a year, so the timing rule matters: hire when you have two reps who can hit quota, not before. Two reps is the beginning of an engine, and a VP's actual job is replication, not invention. The single best filter is whether they still want to sell. Most candidates at this level have quietly stopped, and at your stage a VP who will not get on calls is a very expensive coordinator. Interview widely, ask for the mechanics of deals they personally closed, and if you do not fully believe, do not hire.
5 hand-picked resources, 1 India-specific, 5 link-checked. Pick how you want to dig in.
Why we picked it Two hours covering when to hire the first rep, what to look for, when to bring in a VP of Sales, and how comp and quotas should be set, all in one place. If you only watch one thing on sales hiring, watch this.
On Lenny's Podcast by Lenny Rachitsky and Jason Lemkin 2 hr watch
Why we picked it SaaStr has watched more first VP of Sales hires fail than almost anyone, and this session covers both halves of the question: the timing, and what the wrong hire costs you in months and morale.
On SaaStr AI 49 min
Why we picked it The number that should scare you into reading it: 70 percent of first VP of Sales hires do not make it. Ten named mistakes, including hiring someone who has quietly stopped wanting to sell, and what a mishire costs you in months.
On SaaStr by Jason Lemkin 35 min listen
Open saastr.com →Why we picked it Ten specific, named mistakes rather than principles, including hiring a VP of Sales too early and letting a bad rep linger past one sales cycle. It is the fastest way to avoid the errors almost every first-time founder makes.
On SaaStr by Jason Lemkin 30 min listen
Open saastr.com →Why we picked it Zenoti's Sudheer Koneru saying plainly that his first two sales hires both failed and he had to go back to selling himself. Rare honesty from an Indian founder about the part everyone else skips.
From SaaSBoomi, The India Advantage by Manav Garg with Sudheer Koneru 7 min read
Open saasboomi.org →How hiring and ramping gtm people reads from a different seat.
The same ground, over in Co-founders, team & legal, our Starting Up track.
