The Aperiam Podcast Building a business beyond MVP
9 snips
Oct 15, 2025 Turning a great idea into a successful business requires founders to stay closely connected to their early customers. The pitfalls of hiring a senior sales leader too soon can derail progress, so a player-coach is often the better alternative. Effective storytelling and customer feedback are crucial for iterating on products. As companies scale, understanding when to transition from founder-led sales is essential. International expansion and channel partnerships present significant challenges that need careful planning and execution.
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Founder-Led Sales First
- Do lead early sales yourself or with founders deeply involved to learn the market and keep accountability.
- Avoid outsourcing initial sales because founders must hear customers and shape the product directly.
Hiring Sellers Too Early
- Joe recounts hiring four professional sellers early and regretting outsourcing founder sales responsibility.
- That experience taught him founders must stay accountable to land first clients.
Sell Vision To Projective Buyers
- Sell the vision to customers who can project how it scales, not just the current product features.
- Use analogy and clear KPIs to make complex tech understandable and compelling.