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SaaS ICP Pivot: From Enterprise Trap to $1M ARR | Salesbricks
Manage episode 484165334 series 61396
Jonathan Festejo spent two years building a complex Enterprise product only to hit a wall of 3-month sales cycles and "no decision" outcomes. Here is the exact ICP pivot that saved the company and dropped deal cycles to just 5 days.
In this episode, Jonathan (Co-founder & CEO of Salesbricks) reveals the "Enterprise Trap" that kills early-stage startups. Learn why shifting focus from Finance teams to Founders unlocked viral growth, how a simple "Powered By" button became their biggest marketing channel, and the painful hiring mistake that forced a round of firings.
🔑 Key Lessons
- 🏢 The Enterprise Trap: Why building for complex enterprise needs early on created a product that was too heavy to sell.
- 🔄 The $1M Pivot: How shifting from Finance teams to Founders reduced sales cycles from 3 months to 5 days.
- 🚀 The Viral Loop: The specific "Powered By" mechanics that turn every sent contract into a high-intent marketing channel.
- 📉 Hiring Mistakes: Why hiring junior engineers for "cost savings" resulted in negative ROI and a painful firing round.
- 🧠 Founder-Led Sales: Why the best way to sell to founders is to be a founder solving their late-night back-office pain.
📖 Chapters
- Introduction & The "Failure" Quote
- What is Salesbricks? (Deal Closing Platform)
- The Origin: The Halloween "DocuSign" Nightmare
- The Mistake: Overbuilding for Enterprise
- The Pivot: Finding the Ideal Customer Profile
- Product Adaptation: Building for Founders, Not Finance
- The "Powered By" Viral Growth Loop
- Hiring Lessons: Why Junior Talent Failed
- Lightning Round
This episode is brought to you by:
💖 Gearheart → Book a free strategy session + get 20% off select services
Resources:
🎧 Full Show Notes: saasclub.io/444
🎤 Subscribe to the Podcast: saasclub.io/subscribe
💌 Get weekly 5-minute SaaS insights: saasclub.io/email
💡 Join the SaaS Club founder community: saasclub.co/plus
629 episodes
Manage episode 484165334 series 61396
Jonathan Festejo spent two years building a complex Enterprise product only to hit a wall of 3-month sales cycles and "no decision" outcomes. Here is the exact ICP pivot that saved the company and dropped deal cycles to just 5 days.
In this episode, Jonathan (Co-founder & CEO of Salesbricks) reveals the "Enterprise Trap" that kills early-stage startups. Learn why shifting focus from Finance teams to Founders unlocked viral growth, how a simple "Powered By" button became their biggest marketing channel, and the painful hiring mistake that forced a round of firings.
🔑 Key Lessons
- 🏢 The Enterprise Trap: Why building for complex enterprise needs early on created a product that was too heavy to sell.
- 🔄 The $1M Pivot: How shifting from Finance teams to Founders reduced sales cycles from 3 months to 5 days.
- 🚀 The Viral Loop: The specific "Powered By" mechanics that turn every sent contract into a high-intent marketing channel.
- 📉 Hiring Mistakes: Why hiring junior engineers for "cost savings" resulted in negative ROI and a painful firing round.
- 🧠 Founder-Led Sales: Why the best way to sell to founders is to be a founder solving their late-night back-office pain.
📖 Chapters
- Introduction & The "Failure" Quote
- What is Salesbricks? (Deal Closing Platform)
- The Origin: The Halloween "DocuSign" Nightmare
- The Mistake: Overbuilding for Enterprise
- The Pivot: Finding the Ideal Customer Profile
- Product Adaptation: Building for Founders, Not Finance
- The "Powered By" Viral Growth Loop
- Hiring Lessons: Why Junior Talent Failed
- Lightning Round
This episode is brought to you by:
💖 Gearheart → Book a free strategy session + get 20% off select services
Resources:
🎧 Full Show Notes: saasclub.io/444
🎤 Subscribe to the Podcast: saasclub.io/subscribe
💌 Get weekly 5-minute SaaS insights: saasclub.io/email
💡 Join the SaaS Club founder community: saasclub.co/plus
629 episodes
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