This is all true, but tbh, OP is not going to make this happen.
Backing up a bit, companies have to pick their targets: smb, midmarket, or enterprise (say over $1.5B/annum). There is a vastly different sales motion required for each. Further, there are different sales motions (and different salespeople) even in the SMB vs midmarket world depending on price points: under $5k, under $50k, etc.
But the high level problem is actually really simple. Salespeople who are good at this -- really good -- can easily earn $1m/year in cash comp. That is not an exaggeration. A standard comp plan will have a commission north of 15% with accelerators after meeting quota. So they basically aren't hirable. They may be willing to be a cofounder, but most likely, they will want to work for a big existing company... because see the cash comp above. And unfortunately, to be the first salesperson, you need someone really good. Because they're going to be doing their own prospecting as well.
It is possible to strike it lucky with a salesperson looking for a break, but how do you evaluate that person? That requires sales skills. Just like you would never ask a salesperson to evaluate an engineer, an engineer is going to have a shit time evaluating a saleperson.
Backing up a bit, companies have to pick their targets: smb, midmarket, or enterprise (say over $1.5B/annum). There is a vastly different sales motion required for each. Further, there are different sales motions (and different salespeople) even in the SMB vs midmarket world depending on price points: under $5k, under $50k, etc.
But the high level problem is actually really simple. Salespeople who are good at this -- really good -- can easily earn $1m/year in cash comp. That is not an exaggeration. A standard comp plan will have a commission north of 15% with accelerators after meeting quota. So they basically aren't hirable. They may be willing to be a cofounder, but most likely, they will want to work for a big existing company... because see the cash comp above. And unfortunately, to be the first salesperson, you need someone really good. Because they're going to be doing their own prospecting as well.
It is possible to strike it lucky with a salesperson looking for a break, but how do you evaluate that person? That requires sales skills. Just like you would never ask a salesperson to evaluate an engineer, an engineer is going to have a shit time evaluating a saleperson.