Article · 6 min read

Dear SaaStr: When Should a Startup Hire its First Sales Person, and What Should Their Profile Look Like?

Jason Lemkin · SaaStr Free Beginner

Lemkin gives you the exact sequencing this question needs: close 10 to 20 customers yourself first, then hire two reps (not one, so you can tell talent from luck), and do not touch a VP of Sales until those reps are already hitting quota. His one-line filter, do not hire someone you would not buy your own product from, is the sharpest gut-check an untrained founder can apply in an interview.

• Do founder-led sales until you have personally closed 10 to 20 deals; you cannot manage a rep at a motion you have never run yourself
• Hire two early reps at once, not one, so a win or a miss tells you something real instead of being noise
• A VP of Sales accelerates an engine that already works; hiring one to build the engine burns cash and the VP is gone in about 15 months