Podcast 🎧 - Selling Before You’re Ready: How Early Stage Founders Close Their First Customers

Hey There,

The newest episode of The Startup Growth Podcast is live!

Listen to the episode here.

In this episode, I chat with Brian from Vanta and Ajith and Avinash from Cactus about early-stage sales strategies for startups. We discuss our experiences with founder-led sales, the importance of understanding customer pain points, and how to build trust with potential clients. I share how Fondo got its first customers through Twitter and the YC community, emphasizing the value of platforms like Bookface for startup founders selling to other startups.

We also explore the balance between building product and selling, with a focus on the importance of retention and delivering value quickly. I highlight the need for creating urgency in sales, whether through limited-time offers or other tactics, and how this applies to fundraising as well. Throughout the conversation, we touch on the challenges of cold outreach, the benefits of YC perks and the importance of implementing proper sales tools like CRMs early on in a startup's journey.

Key takeaways:

• Finding Early Customers on Social Media

• Founder-Led Sales and Balancing Building and Selling

• Advice for Non-Sales Founders

• Building Trust in Sales

• Creating Urgency in Sales and Fundraising

I hope you find this educational content valuable and can apply it in your business.

David Phillips

Founder & CEO at Fondo

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