Developing an Existing Brand vs. Establishing A New Base

For some sales leaders who've been heading teams for a while, looking to spice things up and jump into new challenges can be exactly what is needed to resharpen their hunting skills and reinvigorate their work life. After all, for someone to be exceptional at sales, they must be passionate and hungry. Often times leaders are promoted into leadership roles to reward their great performance, they get stuck behind a desk and begin to feel their sales muscles atrophy. For many, there is no more exhilarating or refreshing a challenge than to jump into a startup.

While there are many intricacies to running a successful company, either established or startup, we can all agree there is one thing, and one thing only that separates a great salesperson from the rest of the pack: their ability to generate revenue. After all, if there are no sales, there is no company. While there are many similarities in the sales processes of both, there are myriad differences between expanding an existing brand, and establishing a new customer base from nothing, such as in a VC or startup situation.

It's important to point out that while venture capital is a subset of private equity, they are two very different animals. The most notable difference is that venture capital funds raise capital from investors to specifically invest in startups and small- and medium-size private companies (SME) with strong growth potential. VC's focus on sourcing, identifying, and investing in what they believe are entrepreneurs and startups that will succeed and bring large returns later down the line. Depending on the VC partners’ expertise, VC funds have an industry or sector focus. The bottom line is that with VC one is betting on the idea/entrepreneur vs. an established brand.

For me personally, the difference is that in the VC world, you eat what you kill. There is no free ride. I love it!

While the startup path is definitely not for everyone, you'll find the best leaders in the VC world not only earn substantially higher incomes than their counterparts in established companies, they're always in high demand, and live more fulfilling and successful lives both on and off the field. So, if you are feeling a little tired of sitting behind the desk, or feeling that you're simply going through the motions, you may want to look into startups.