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When and How to Hire and Build your GTM Team

How to judge readiness, why early full-time hires backfire, why founders should lead recruiting, and what a hire really costs

Chris Gannon · Captivate Talent

Published September 6, 2024
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What you’ll learn

Chris Gannon outlines when a startup is ready to build its go-to-market team. He warns against premature full-time hires, argues for founder-led recruiting, and explains the full cost of a hire.

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All right hi everyone my name is Chris Ganon…

“all right hi everyone my name is Chris Ganon I'm the founder of a company called Captivate Talent um my first little bit of advice today is if you're a founder and you just started take a picture now because that's what you look like at the beginning this is the after six seven years of it you age a little bit quicker than you think um so real quick Captivate Talent we focus on building go to market teams and hiring Executives for startups and over the next 20 minutes we're going to teach you ab”
Watch at 00:04

Coincidentally after the ae's ramp ramp out he quit…

“coincidentally after the ae's ramp ramp out he quit sales plummeted they had no sales because the AE didn't have any help or support the founder got bumped out by the board he's now the CTO and they put a CEO in place because they lost faith in him really really dangerous if you're this small to make a full-time hire that's my business to make full-time hires for you and I'm telling you do not do this do not call me if you're this small figure out how to get a little bit bigger work with some co”
Watch at 03:27

Right we'll summarize it real quick so this is…

“right we'll summarize it real quick so this is Rebecca price she's a head of talent for primary Ventures um her advice is her Founders if they are not spending onethird of their time every week recruiting and On hiring they're going to fail series A and B companies a Founder profit people vision is what they should be doing people being one of those that third of the time so if you're a founder and you're getting ready to hire look at your calendar right now do you have 15 20 hours a week”
Watch at 06:46

Need to be somewhere in the middle you can't…

“need to be somewhere in the middle you can't have it all uh this is the cost of a higher um you know salar is a really funny number because you say you're paying 100K to somebody you're actually as an employer paying closer to like 140 as an employee they're probably getting closer to like 70 so salary is really just a fake number that we throw around um there's a lot of hidden costs in here this is without using somebody like me as a”
Watch at 10:10

Assessing sales readiness

“Conviction in ICP, repeatable sales motion, demand Don’t lose deals due to pitch or capacity constraints Do you have PMF? Do you have EPMF? Step 1: Assess your readiness I’m going to show you EVALUATE SALES PROCESS AND ENVIRONMENT SALES EXPERIENCE AND CAPACITY KEY METRICS”
Read slide 6

An early hiring mistake

“When is The Right Time to Hire? Example Challenge: Technical founder,didn’t know how to put together a GTM strategy. Relied on outside consultant for only “strategy.” Decision: Based on budget hired an AE. Result: AE needed support and hand-holding, was only in it for the paycheck. AE left after 7 months, didn’t feel they had any support, sales didn’t accelerate. Founder was moved to CTO role.”
Read slide 8

The GTM fit check

“GTM Fit Check Founders need to sell (longer than you want to) Your current process should have iterated Are your “customers” just pilots? Is your team AND product ready to expand Prep steps to complete before hiring Readiness Checklist”
Read slide 11

First-sales-hire ramp plan

“Ramp Plan for First Sales Hire Prep Onboarding Results Create a soft landing Use consultants to build infrastructure and enablement Understand your metrics and data Generate demand Time in = Success Build a checklist Block 25-50% of your week to onboard Involve your team and customers Expectations Leader should be ramped in 3-4 months Contributor 1-2 months”
Read slide 16

Understanding the cost of a hire

“Cost of a Hire Standard salary + OTE recommendation 75% Healthcare 10-20% 401k 1-3% Taxes 7.5-10% Software 1-5% Technology 1-3% Location Premium 5-10% T&E 2-5% Cost of time spent to hire 20% 100k Base Salary = 140k in cost”
Read slide 18

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  • When and How to Hire and Build your GTM Team - Slide Deck

About the speaker
Chris Gannon

Chris Gannon

Founder · Captivate Talent

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Chris Gannon is the Founder of Captivate Talent, which helps place top revenue talent at early-to-growth stage SaaS companies. Before starting Captivate Talent, Chris built out recruitment for two high-growth startups as their Head of Talent Acquisition he helped grow one from nationally from 75 to 250 and the other from 275 to 350 globally. Outside of growing a business, Chris is on an ongoing quest to find the world's best pizza.

Company revenue
$1M

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Each slide with a short explanation of what it shows. Open the slide text for its exact wording.

25 passages

Building an early GTM team

  1. Slide 1Open deck
    Slide text

    SaaSOpen, September 2024 When and How to Hire and Build your GTM Team Chris Gannon Founder, Captivate Talent

  2. Slide 2Open deck

    Three stages for building a GTM team

    The talk moves from assessing readiness to preparing for a hire and choosing the right candidate. It covers sales process, hiring costs, ramp time, seniority, and fit with company stage.

    Slide text

    Over the next 20 minutes I’m going to show you ASSESSING YOUR READINESS Evaluate current sales process and environment Sales experience and capacity PMF, EPMF and other key metrics before hitting go PREPARING FOR THE RIGHT HIRE Minimize ramp time and obstacles Picking the right seniority-level hire Understanding the cost of a good or bad hire FINDING THE PERFECT HIRES TO GROW What to expect from senior hires What to expect from junior hires How to align your interview with your growth stage culture and job

  3. Slide 3Open deck

    Hiring experience across 15,000 candidates

    The speaker frames the advice with experience making 500 early GTM hires from 15,000 candidates interviewed.

    Slide text

    500 Early GTM Hires Made From 15,000 Candidates Interviewed

  4. Slide 4Open deck

    Two hires generated over $60M in revenue

    The examples link early sales hiring to substantial company growth: the headline reports $60M+ in revenue generated off two hires. The supporting clippings describe US sales expansion at Paddle and revenue growth at HR Acuity.

    Slide text

    $60M+ in Revenue Generated off 2 Hires

  5. Slide 5Open deck

    Revenue paths diverge after early GTM hires

    The chart compares three companies after making first GTM hires: two revenue lines keep rising through year three, while the third peaks around year one and then falls. One reaches $40.0M by year three, showing how different the outcomes can be.

    Slide text

    Why When and How are Important Doing it right can yield huge revenue multiples

Assessing readiness

  1. Slide 6Open deck

    Assess readiness before hiring

    Before hiring, check for conviction in the ideal customer profile, a repeatable sales motion, and demand. Also assess sales experience and capacity, and whether the company has product-market fit and expansion product-market fit.

    Slide text

    Conviction in ICP, repeatable sales motion, demand Don’t lose deals due to pitch or capacity constraints Do you have PMF? Do you have EPMF? Step 1: Assess your readiness I’m going to show you EVALUATE SALES PROCESS AND ENVIRONMENT SALES EXPERIENCE AND CAPACITY KEY METRICS

  2. Slide 7Open deck

    Hiring triggers cluster around $500K-$1.5M ARR

    The chart's largest group of US companies reports hiring trigger points between $500K and $1.5M ARR, at 50.0%. Smaller shares are shown below $200K (8.3%), between $200K and $500K (25.0%), and over $1.5M (16.7%).

    Slide text

    When is The Right Time to Hire?

Hiring-stage examples

  1. Slide 8Open deck

    An unsupported AE hire failed to accelerate sales

    A technical founder who lacked a GTM strategy hired an AE based on budget, but the new hire needed more support than the founder could provide. The AE left after 7 months, sales did not accelerate, and the founder moved into a CTO role.

    Slide text

    When is The Right Time to Hire? Example Challenge: Technical founder,didn’t know how to put together a GTM strategy. Relied on outside consultant for only “strategy.” Decision: Based on budget hired an AE. Result: AE needed support and hand-holding, was only in it for the paycheck. AE left after 7 months, didn’t feel they had any support, sales didn’t accelerate. Founder was moved to CTO role.

  2. Slide 9Open deck

    An experienced seller became a sales leader

    After a founder established product-market fit, the company brought in help with sales operations and hired a leader with team-management experience and a strong network. The slide says the VP of Sales built repeatable wins, gained traction, and crossed the 1M mark after about a year.

    Slide text

    When is the Right Time to Hire? Example Challenge: Founder was selling on his own for quite a while establishing product market fit, had never sold in SaaS before. Decision: Hire a consultant to sort out the sales operations piece and hire someone who had managed teams before, but was an IC in last role with strong network. Result: Hired VP of Sales who is creating repeatable wins in the market and are getting traction, ~1 year in. Crossed 1M barrier.

  3. Slide 10Open deck

    Match leadership seniority to the job

    A team with several AEs and strong product-market fit needed process leadership, so it hired an up-and-comer from a larger company. Although the team performed, it later hired a true VP of Sales to provide the separation needed to scale.

    Slide text

    Example Challenge: Handful of AE’s determined strong product market fit, needed a leader to optimize process. Decision: Hired an ”up and comer” leader that had worked for a bigger company with more resources. Result: Though team performed, they felt like there wasn’t enough separation, came back and hired a true VP of Sales to scale. When is the Right Time to Hire?

  4. Slide 11Open deck

    Check sales readiness before hiring

    The readiness check asks founders to keep selling while the process develops, confirm that the sales process has iterated, and distinguish paying customers from pilots. It also asks whether both the team and product are ready to expand.

    Slide text

    GTM Fit Check Founders need to sell (longer than you want to) Your current process should have iterated Are your “customers” just pilots? Is your team AND product ready to expand Prep steps to complete before hiring Readiness Checklist

  5. Slide 12Open deck

    Prepare a US market entry checklist

    For a non-US company building its first US GTM team, the checklist covers team capabilities, US goals and paying customers, budget, networks and vendors, market research, legal readiness, and a go-to-market strategy.

    Slide text

    GTM Fit Check Prep steps to complete before hiring Readiness Checklist

  6. Slide 13Open deck

    Define the first US GTM role

    This build narrows the readiness checklist to US-based companies: assess founder strengths and gaps, define the new hire's work and expected timeline, and plan support and budget. It also calls for conviction in the ideal customer profile, a repeatable process, enough demand, and clear company values.

    Slide text

    GTM Fit Check Prep steps to complete before hiring Readiness Checklist

Preparing a hire for success

  1. Slide 14Open deck

    Prepare the role before recruiting

    The second step is to set a new hire up for success by minimizing ramp time, choosing the right seniority, and understanding the cost of both a hire and a bad hire.

    Slide text

    How to make sure your new hire is set up for success before you even hire How to make sure you hire the right profile How to understand the cost of a hire and cost of a bad hire Step 2: Prepare to hire I’m going to show you MINIMIZE RAMP UNDERSTANDING TITLES BAD HIRES

  2. Slide 15Open deck

    Founders should spend time recruiting

    The recruiting example recommends that early-stage founders spend at least a third of their time recruiting.

    Slide text

    Time Spent on Recruiting

  3. Slide 16Open deck

    Plan the first sales hire's ramp

    A successful ramp starts with a soft landing: build infrastructure, understand metrics, and generate demand before the hire arrives. During onboarding, use a checklist, reserve 25-50% of the week, and involve the team and customers; the slide estimates 3-4 months for a leader and 1-2 months for a contributor to ramp.

    Slide text

    Ramp Plan for First Sales Hire Prep Onboarding Results Create a soft landing Use consultants to build infrastructure and enablement Understand your metrics and data Generate demand Time in = Success Build a checklist Block 25-50% of your week to onboard Involve your team and customers Expectations Leader should be ramped in 3-4 months Contributor 1-2 months

  4. Slide 17Open deck

    Budget by seniority and expected work

    The slide gives OTE ranges of $375-500k for a VP, $300-375k for a director, and $120-300k for an individual contributor. The VP is framed as a strategic team scaler, the director as a player-coach, and the contributor as an owner of leads, pipeline, and closed revenue.

    Slide text

    Budget and Expectations for Hire VP-level $375-500k OTE Director-level $300-375k OTE IC-level $120-300k OTE A strategic leader that can Scale teams Improve process Strategize through pricing/product improvements A player-coach that can Open doors and help close deals Help build an infrastructure Manage a small team A contributor that can Manage demand/leads Move deals through pipeline Close deals/revenue

  5. Slide 18Open deck

    A $100K salary costs about $140K

    Salary and OTE are only part of the hiring budget: the slide adds benefits, retirement contributions, taxes, software, technology, location premium, travel, and hiring time. Its example estimates a $100K base salary at $140K in total cost.

    Slide text

    Cost of a Hire Standard salary + OTE recommendation 75% Healthcare 10-20% 401k 1-3% Taxes 7.5-10% Software 1-5% Technology 1-3% Location Premium 5-10% T&E 2-5% Cost of time spent to hire 20% 100k Base Salary = 140k in cost

  6. Slide 19Open deck

    Sales performance varies sharply across teams

    The diagram centers on an 8.9x velocity delta and connects it to uneven rep contribution and turnover. It notes that 17% of reps contributed 81% of revenue, turnover rose from 22% to 36%, and only 15% of teams had more than half their reps achieve 80% or more of quota.

    Slide text

    Cost of a Bad Hire

Finding the right profile

  1. Slide 20Open deck

    Choose a hire for stage and culture

    The final step covers expectations for senior and junior hires, then asks founders to align interviews with the company's growth stage, culture, and the role.

    Slide text

    What to expect from senior hires What to expect from junior hires How to align your interview with your growth stage culture and job Step 3: Find the Perfect Hire I’m going to show you HIRING VP OR C-LEVEL HIRING DIRECTOR / HEADS / AES STAGE AND CULTURE FIT

  2. Slide 21Open deck

    Leadership and IC roles need different specs

    The comparison gives leaders responsibilities for aligning and developing a sales organization, refining strategy, onboarding, and team accountability. The IC spec focuses on acquiring accounts, demonstrating the product, managing customer relationships, and meeting sales targets.

    Slide text

    Leadership Hire Job Spec VS IC Hire Job Spec

  3. Slide 22Open deck

    Map sales titles to revenue stage

    The chart places ICs near 500K ARR, directors around 2M, VPs around 5M, and CROs as revenue rises through 15M to 30M ARR and above. Its curve steepens at the higher stages, emphasizing that role scope changes as the company grows.

    Slide text

    Matching Hire With Revenue Stage IC Director VP CRO

  4. Slide 23Open deck

    Use role-specific competency profiles

    The worksheet assigns different strengths to each level: individual contributors emphasize coachability, curiosity, grit, and learning agility; directors add coaching, hiring, and accountability; VPs add strategic thinking and mission orientation. Planning, organization, and emotional intelligence recur across roles.

    Slide text

    Core Competencies Worksheet Competencies Worksheet Coaching Emotional intelligence Mission orientation Hiring Planning and organization Accountability for others Strategic thinking Accountability for others Planning and organization Conscientiousness Coaching Hiring Emotional Intelligence Coachability Curiosity Grit Resourcefulness Planning and organization Adaptability Learning agility Achievement Emotional intelligence Director or Head of Sales VP of Sales Individual Contributor (AE / SDR)

  5. Slide 24Open deck

    Review readiness, mistakes, and role fit

    The recap returns to three decisions: assess sales process and product-market fit, avoid hiring too junior for a strategy gap or too senior for a closing need, and match the title and interview to the company's stage.

    Slide text

    Over the last 20 minutes… I showed you: HOW TO MAKE YOUR FIRST REVENUE LEADER HIRE Start by assessing your current sales process and environment Do the founders have extensive sales experience? Do you have PMF? Do you have EPMF? MISTAKES TO AVOID WHEN MAKING YOUR FIRST REVENUE HIRE Don't hire a junior salesperson if you need help building out your sales strategy Don't hire too senior because you won't get enough support on closing deals Look at candidates experience at a similar size, scale, and budget to yours THE RIGHT TITLE TO HIRE FOR A FIRST SAAS SALES HIRE When to hire a leader When to hire a contributor How to align your interview with your growth stage culture and job

  6. Slide 25Open deck

    Thank you from Chris Gannon

    Chris Gannon closes by thanking the audience and leaves a generic invitation to get in touch.

    Slide text

    SaaSOpen, September 2024 Thank you! [redacted email] Chris Gannon Founder, Captivate Talent