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Larry Chiang (@LarryChiang) |
Dont hate me when your VCs fire u post hiring 2nd vp sales
I risked it all revealing #cs183s cc #csMajorCRO #ENGR145s pic.twitter.com/BN1d0oBxNq |
By Larry Chiang
VCs fire founders.
When you take VC money, you transfer power to them. They decide whether to keep you.
#1 reason VCs fire you is because sales are not high enough.
Here are some common mistakes.
/1/ Many founders falsely believe that they can hire a vp of sales.
You. Must. Sell.
A v.p. Of sales will
a) suck at selling
b) be forced to wait while the MVP is tweaked
c) be stuck in meetings with the founders over internal deliverables.
You must sell as the cofounders.
/2/ Many technical cofounders believe that it takes a hacker and a hustler.
The new model is 2-5 CS majors. We all code. We all promote. We all sell.

/3/ Many founders believe that they can learn sales on the job.
Ideally, you practice doing sales in the summers between semesters. Ideally, you practice selling as a CS major at least on your three summers.