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Y Combinator Startup School

1 resource from Y Combinator Startup School we point founders to, and the questions each answers.

▶️ Video
Free Beginner

Enterprise Sales for Founders

On Y Combinator Startup School by Pete Koomen ~35 min

Why we picked it

Pete Koomen took Optimizely from zero to $100M+ ARR, and here he breaks the enterprise funnel down for exactly the person who finds it terrifying: the technical founder who has never sold. It is the clearest short primer we know on how a builder starts closing real deals.

  • Founders can and should run enterprise sales themselves early, treating each deal as a source of product feedback
  • Map the funnel stage by stage and know which stakeholder you need at each one
  • Identify a real champion inside the account and use them to reach the economic buyer
  • A repeatable, learnable process beats charisma when selling complex software
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Answers How do I land my first enterprise customer when nobody has heard of us? Who do I actually sell to inside a big company, and how do I find the decision-maker? Should I use design partners, and how do I structure the deal? As a technical or first-time founder, how do I actually run a good sales call?