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Building A Sales Development Function for Early Stage Startups with Sally Duby

Mucker Lab

In navigating the transition from founder-led sales to a structured approach, the pivotal question arises: when to hire a Sales Development Representative (SDR) or an Account Executive (AE) ? If there are inbound leads, the situation is different; hiring an AE might be suitable if these leads align with the ideal customer profile.

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Startup CTO or Developer

TechEmpower

Here’s a graphic from Socal CTO that illustrates the roles as they change over time: In its earliest days, a startup’s top need is often to produce a product. That’s why the CTO’s attention is on programming for the earliest stage. Hiring a hands-on lead developer might seem like the right move for an early stage startup.

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NextView’s Early Stage Startup Guide: Product

View from Seed

Welcome to the first installment of the NextView Ventures Early Stage Startup Guides. Every stage of building a company comes with a certain set of challenges, and we have written a lot of content around the earliest set of challenges. The first guide we are releasing is around product. How to Hire the First PM.

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Hiring Developers Before Product/Market Fit?

SoCal CTO

Using my StartupRoar as a radar, I came across a great post by Gabriel Weinberg Do you really need a full-time hire for that? Hiring seems to be the preferred use of seed funds (by investors and founders), whereas I'd prefer a focus on customer acquisition. In other words, they come in asking for help with sourcing and hiring.

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Why Early-Stage VCs Should Be Careful About Intros from Bankers

Both Sides of the Table

What stage? Should I trust my instincts for founders and products or should I be more focused on the market size or business plan? There is one source I never liked and no early-stage VC should – investment bankers. I like to see how they improve their products when there are obvious holes. What price?

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The Importance of Proprietary Deal Flow in Early-Stage VC

Both Sides of the Table

What stage? Should I trust my instincts for founders and products or should I be more focused on the market size or business plan? I like to see how they improve their products when there are obvious holes. What kind of deals should I be doing? What price? With which other investors? Should I focus on geographies or industries?

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Is a Venture Studio Right for You?

Steve Blank

Three types of organizations – Incubators, Accelerators and Venture Studios – have emerged to reduce the risk of early-stage startup failure by helping teams find product/market fit and raise initial capital. They do the most to de-risk the early stages of a startup. Reducing Startup Risk.