
Sales at SaaS startups? Help with choosing my next career move - blackberryuser
The tips on this board to land a job at a SaaS company WORK--the proof is in the offers. All guidance and opinions welcome:<p>The Question: Does anyone have experience starting out in sales at a unicorn or later stage startup w&#x2F; a target IPO date--what was it like?<p>Disclaimer: No prior SaaS experience but 2+ years experience selling advertising and digital marketing at the Mid-Market level as an AE (Fortune 500)<p>I have a 3 job offers from seed startups where a majority of the funding has been secured through a seed accelerator e.g. 500Startups or Y Combinator and 2 offers from companies that have a $1B+ valuation aka Unicorns and $100M+ in Series C+ rounds.<p>3 SDR roles in which I and a few others would be the first &quot;hires&quot; for a true SDR&#x2F;BDR dedicated role<p>1 hybrid SDR&#x2F;AE role that would be closing small deals and generating opps for Enterprise&#x2F;Mid-Market AEs<p>Early Startup Equity packages are similar (&lt;5% Shares to Outstanding)<p>Late Startup Equity -- Restricted Stock Option at &lt;$5 strike price<p>Early Startup Location: San Francisco--Bay Area and Remote<p>Late Startup Location: Atlanta, GA<p>Without giving too much away here are a few industries from the companies above:
Cybersecurity, Conferencing&#x2F;Communications, eCommerce Marketing, and Drone Software..
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anoncoward111
If you're in sales, none of this advice really matters. They just burn through
SDRs and promotion is mostly political.

You'll never have a very deep conversation on the phone about say, the
technical specs of conferencing software. You'll just memorize a few stats and
make 100+ phone calls per day in a vain attempt to set appointments.

After 6 years of SaaS sales, I quit to wait tables in a rural area. The
paycheck is more reliable and the work day is fulfilling.

Good luck and stay mentally strong!

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blackberryuser
Where were you based out of when you left SaaS?

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anoncoward111
Boston. The other hotspots I've noticed are NYC, Austin, the Bay, and maybe
Reston VA or Miami or Denver as regional plays.

I don't envy anyone going into an SDR role. I seriously enjoy waiting tables
more and the payoff is immediate. Sitting at a desk getting hung up on all day
kind of sucks mentally, physically, and financially.

Plus my rent is cheaper now that I'm not in a big city :)

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blackberryuser
Thanks for the insights. 6 Years without a promotion seems like a long time to
stay an SDR.

What type of startup was this? Also, what were your earnings like if you don't
mind me asking.

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anoncoward111
year 1 45k SDR saas salesforce widget type company

year 2 55k SDR same

year 3 75k rep (left company to do HW at Oracle)

year 4 99k

year 5 110k

year 6 50k (laid off by shitty new director)

saved a decent amount of money but the commission I made in year 5 was like
not sustainable. It was from customers buying a product that was going EOL.
And I was profiting off of like a 2 decade long install base.

Honestly just give it your best shot and network hard. Customer service agents
at your local utility company are making like 40-50k a year now. So if you
feel like your bosses are giving you shit, and you are making 40-50k, rest
assured that you have other options :)

I can share email if you like.

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blackberryuser
Thank you! Glad to hear your new adventure is more suitable for your mental
health. \--Do you have to do side work? I tried to make waiting tables work
but $3/hour for sweeping, mopping, and other labor...

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anoncoward111
I do a bit of side work yeah, cutting lemons, folding napkins and running wine
etc etc

I made $300 on 18 tables today!

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blackberryuser
Wow, the most I have ever made was about $100 in a night--the 6 weeks I worked
in the restaurant I mentioned earlier.

\--What are your average food+drink tabs?

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anoncoward111
This place is a "family style" italian restaurant, so lunch shift will average
like 25-60 depending on if its 2-4 people and depending on if they are
ordering alcohol and seafood

And then at dinner most of my tabs were 75-120, with $30 being the largest tip
I made because I got the manager to refund their clams which came late and
overly breaded :)

Real talk though, sales and SDR can make much more than $300 a day (so like
100k a year) if management doesn't get in their way, gives them excellent
leads, if commission structure is 10% or higher...

but typically management finds a way to ruin it

