Founder-Led Sales

Founder-led sales is what every startup does in its first 12–24 months, whether they want to or not. This category is for founders who are still the ones picking up the phone, covering the discovery questions that actually work, the awkward asks that close deals, and the messy reality of selling something you built yourself. No enterprise playbooks. Just the moves that work when it's just you.

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I'm a Consultant. Here's Why You Should Ignore People Like Me.

A consultant's case for ignoring people like him. Coaches, investors, mentors, and gurus all have opinions about your product — but only two groups bear the consequences of being wrong: your customers and your team. Who gets a vote, who gets a hearing, and the one-question filter that sorts them.

Jens Koester

6 days ago6 min read

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Your Top-Down Target Is Fantasy. Your Bottom-Up Target Is Timid. The Gap Between Them Is Your Strategy.

Top-down goals are pure fantasy. Bottom-up goals are too conservative. The most useful number in your startup is the gap between the two—because closing that very gap is literally what a go-to-market strategy is all about. In this blog post, learn how B2B and B2C founders set realistic MRR/ARR goals.

Jens Koester

Jul 136 min read

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Every ICP Guide Says "Analyze Your Customer Data." You Have Three Customers.

Every ICP guide starts with "analyze your customer data." You have three customers. Here's how founders actually build an ideal customer profile and 2–3 buyer personas — as a testable guess, not a template exercise — using the conversations you've already had and real humans instead of fictional characters with stock photos.

Jens Koester

Jul 57 min read

Hand writing on a whiteboard with a dry erase marker, forming the word audience in a bright conference room like setting

You're Losing Deals Somewhere Specific. Most Founders Have No Idea Where.

Most founders have no idea why a deal is not closed. They answer in vibes. Every guide on "conversion funnel analysis" assumes you have a data team. You don't. Here's the whiteboard version: map your real funnel and find the one leaky step that matters.

Jens Koester

Jun 296 min read

Woman with pen in thoughtful pose at a laptop in an office, with colorful sticky notes on a dark wall behind her.

Your B2B and B2C Startups Need Almost Opposite Sales Strategies. Here's How to Pick Yours.

Every "B2B vs B2C" article explains what the words mean. The real question is which strategy to actually run — and what to do when you're somehow both. A sales consultant's straight answer for 2026.

Jens Koester

Jun 76 min read

Notepad with pen on a wooden table, latte art coffee, and a potted plant create a calm workspace setting.

Your First 10 Customers Will Be Awkward, Slow, and Underpriced. That's the Job.

The first 10 customers aren't a marketing problem, they're a courage problem. A no-fluff field guide for founders who are tired of being told to "do things that don't scale," with a one-page checklist you can actually use this week. From a consultant who's worked with 500+ startups.

Jens Koester

May 106 min read