1.5 · The problem· 2 min read
Nobody owns the loop
Direction belongs to the founders and tools belong to the team, but nobody owns how it all fits together. At most Series A companies, the loop falls to the founder until someone owns it in writing.
Ask your team four questions.
- When a customer says "it works", who asks for the introduction?
- When a deal is signed, who makes sure what you promised reaches onboarding?
- When a past user moves company, who notices?
- Who owns all of this, in writing?
At most Series A companies, all four have the same answer: you. Or nobody.
Three layers, one of them empty
Direction. What you sell, to which industry, and the number you're aiming for. That's you and your co-founders.
Tools. The CRM, the call recorder, the inbox, the product itself. That's your rep, your onboarding lead, and maybe an ops hire.
The part in between. How it all fits together. Which moment goes to whom. Where what was said and promised lives. Who leads at each stage. What happens first when two things happen at once.
No job description covers the part in between. So it falls to whoever knows the most. That's you.
Why the obvious fixes don't fill it
Hire a head of sales. They own the number and the team. They also inherit the same disconnected tools, and spend months rebuilding what's in your head.
Hire your first rep. They can work the deals you hand them. They can't get the introductions only you could get, because the relationships and the history were never written down.
Buy one more tool. Now you have one more thing that holds a piece of the customer.
None of these people fail. The setup asks each of them to fill a gap their role was never designed to cover.
The question
"Who owns the loop?" needs one name, in writing, with the authority to decide who leads at each stage.
Until it has one, the answer is you.
In the Sprint, that name is written down by day 45, on a signed one-page. What's on it →
Questions this chapter answers
- Who should own referrals and introductions at a Series A company?
- One named person, in writing, with the authority to decide who leads at each stage. At most Series A companies nobody owns it, so it falls to the founder by default. In the Sprint, that owner is written down on a signed one-page by day 45.
- Will hiring a first sales rep fix founder-led sales?
- Not by itself. A first rep can work the deals you hand them, but they can't get the introductions only you could get, because the relationships and the history were never written down. The setup asks them to fill a gap their role was never designed to cover.