VC insights for Marketing and Sales Leaders

Growth in your career brings many questions; how do I move to the next level? What are the expectations? What steps should I take?

In a recent #AskTheVC event with @Melissa Pegus from Tech Square Ventures and @Sangeeb Zeb of Founders Circle Capital share insights on how they evaluate revenue leaders in start-up and scale-up SaaS orgs. Venture capital tends to focus on earlier stage growth orgs at the seed and Series A funding while private equity tends to focus on scale-up and grow-up orgs in Series A and beyond.

?? What is expected of founders

What are factors when deciding to invest in a organization?

• do you have the right leadership team to solve this problem?
• does this solution have a large market (TAM), 
• is revenue growing above 100%, 
• can the VC team help with go-to-market (GTM) support?

?? What is expected of revenue leaders

When evaluating candidates for marketing and sales leadership roles, what factors are considered?

• building the leadership team at growth stage is the #1 problem to solve. 
• experience is key to help drive the org through the current revenue range into next level, 
• good chemistry is desired to assist early CEO/CFO with coaching guidance, 
• have a point of view for tactical growth, and 
• always sharing your updated plan of how to grow the org in both strategy and tactical terms with the board and operating partner.

?? How to get into the next level of revenue leadership

How do you earn a seat at the table for your target role?

• identify target investment firms to contact and share your experience and ask questions as your career GTM campaign,
• avoid focusing on your work and being quiet - be visible, humble, and hungry,
• industry relevance is important, look for a second-in-command role if moving upmarket in revenue range, and
• know yourself and your decision-making style; do these align with the stage of org growth, match your experience/industry, and show you have the grit to get things done.

Further readiness:

Be prepared to answer, "How does the playbook need to change to evolve?" - this demonstrates self-awareness given that change is constant, and "Where can [the VC team] help out?" - to show you are thinking of where the holes are (there are always gaps to fill).

What are your tips and experience to share with emerging revenue leaders in marketing, sales, and customer success? Comment below ??