Startups with a direct sales model have to evolve from founders doing all the sales to managing a sales function. Since revenue generation is on the line, the stakes are high and the punishment for mistakes are even higher. A high-performing sales function can be the difference maker for successful future rounds of funding.

This supplement to the quarterly Founders Academy boot camp focuses on establishing and effectively managing the sales function for an early stage company. The topics covered include the following:

-Sales Models
-Sales Orgs & Territories
-Managing the Sales Team
-Sales Quotas & Compensation
-Intro to Enterprise Sales

About the Instructor

Gordon Daugherty

Gordon Daugherty is a seasoned business executive, entrepreneur, startup advisor, and investor. He spent the first ten years of his career in brand-name companies such as IBM and Compaq and then progressively gravitated towards early-stage and high-growth companies. Gordon spent eight years in the videoconferencing industry, including four years as president of an Israeli-based company that grew from $5 million to $36 million in a short few years and went public on the Euronext Stock Market.

Gordon oversaw most company functions while serving in executive capacities, but his primary focus was on strategy, marketing, sales, business development, and M&A. He was a senior executive for Austin-based NetQoS, which grew rapidly to more than $55 million in revenue before being acquired by CA Technologies for $200 million, and he was a founding advisor for digital advertising pioneer MediaMind, which reached $65 million in revenue and a NASDAQ IPO in 2010.

Gordon has vast experience with early-stage fundraising from both sides of the table. As a venture fund manager and angel investor, he has made more than 200 investments. He has also helped raise more than $80 million in growth and venture capital as a company executive, fund manager, board director, and active advisor.

Through his content creation practice, Shockwave Innovations, and as co-founder and president of Austin’s Capital Factory, Gordon now spends 100 percent of his time educating, advising, and investing in tech startups. He serves on the board of directors for several Austin-based technology companies and is a managing director at SoftMatch, a corporate innovation advisory firm.

Over the years, Gordon has given personal advice to several hundred entrepreneurs, and more than 1,000 startup founders have completed his Founders Academy boot camp. He has published more than 150 startup advice articles and is the producer of a video library with 50 streaming titles of educational content for startup founders.

What are Startup Founder’s Saying About Founders Academy?
“Founders Academy is a must! Gordon unlocked new value in concepts I thought I was already familiar with.”

“I’d recommend Founders Academy to other startup founders because of critical early alarms about easy to overlook things.”

“I wish we had done this a year ago.”

“I could not have been more pleased with how clearly Gordon explained things.”

“The way you convey the material is great and the examples you give makes things clear.”

“Fantastic. The camp really provides a complete view of the components necessary to build your business. The additional personal stories you interjected really validate your message.”

“I didn’t know anything about starting a company before joining Capitol Factory, and this workshop has probably taught me the most.”

“If you are thinking about becoming a founder this is an up close and personal intro from the trenches. If you’ve been around the block a few times, you’ll still learn something. A founder can’t hear this stuff enough.”

“I wish I could have done this years ago because my first venture with VC’s did not go well. You don’t know what you don’t know and the startup landscape is hard to navigate.”