Jonathan Festejo spent two years building a complex Enterprise product only to hit a wall of 3-month sales cycles and "no decision" outcomes. Here is the exact ICP pivot that saved the company and dropped deal cycles to just 5 days.
In this episode, Jonathan (Co-founder & CEO of Salesbricks) reveals the "Enterprise Trap" that kills early-stage startups. Learn why shifting focus from Finance teams to Founders unlocked viral growth, how a simple "Powered By" button became their biggest marketing channel, and the painful hiring mistake that forced a round of firings.
π Key Lessons
- π’ The Enterprise Trap: Why building for complex enterprise needs early on created a product that was too heavy to sell.
- π The $1M Pivot: How shifting from Finance teams to Founders reduced sales cycles from 3 months to 5 days.
- π The Viral Loop: The specific "Powered By" mechanics that turn every sent contract into a high-intent marketing channel.
- π Hiring Mistakes: Why hiring junior engineers for "cost savings" resulted in negative ROI and a painful firing round.
- π§ Founder-Led Sales: Why the best way to sell to founders is to be a founder solving their late-night back-office pain.
π Chapters
- Introduction & The "Failure" Quote
- What is Salesbricks? (Deal Closing Platform)
- The Origin: The Halloween "DocuSign" Nightmare
- The Mistake: Overbuilding for Enterprise
- The Pivot: Finding the Ideal Customer Profile
- Product Adaptation: Building for Founders, Not Finance
- The "Powered By" Viral Growth Loop
- Hiring Lessons: Why Junior Talent Failed
- Lightning Round
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Resources:
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