Who do I hire first after getting funded?
Hire whoever fixes your biggest sales problem right now. If you have leads but not enough time to close them, hire an account executive (AE). If you close well but need more qualified conversations, hire a sales development representative (SDR). If you are unsure who to target, solve that before adding any headcount.
The starting point is founder-led sales. SaaStr founder Jason Lemkin is blunt about it: close "the first 10-20 deals yourself. This isn't optional." You need to understand why people buy, what objections come up and what the process looks like before you hand it to someone else.
The same guidance says the first AE will not get a finished playbook, and will be "helping you write it". So the playbook does not need to be complete. The 10-to-20 figure is a guide, and enterprise startups with long sales cycles can have enough evidence from fewer deals.
The real test is whether you can explain how a deal gets won and what the first hire needs to do to repeat it. Hire for what the founder can no longer handle. Adding reps before the sales process is documented sits among the costliest go-to-market (GTM) mistakes after funding.
Other startups' hiring plans are a weak guide. Revenue roles are also only one part of the post-funding hiring decision, and operational roles typically follow a different sequence.
What's the difference between an AE, SDR and sales leader?
An AE manages and closes deals, an SDR finds and qualifies leads and a sales leader runs the team. The right first hire depends on which of those is missing. Hire to fill a specific gap in the process, whatever the title.
Pick the role that matches the problem:
| Sales situation | First hire | What they do |
|---|---|---|
| More leads than time to close | Full-cycle AE | Prospect, run calls, close |
| Good at closing but need more meetings | SDR or business development representative (BDR) | Prospect and qualify |
| Long enterprise deals with multiple buyers | Experienced enterprise AE | Manage complex buying processes |
| Product has active users who need sales help | Product-led or expansion AE | Convert users to paying customers |
| Existing sellers need coaching and direction | Hands-on sales leader | Improve execution, manage the team |
| Can't find good accounts consistently | Fix the pipeline first | Targeting and qualification before headcount |
Work-Bench's enterprise playbook for a first sales hire points to entry-level support, "ie. BDRs", and puts it after the founder has "defined and executed on a repeatable sales playbook", so prospecting is handled while founders focus elsewhere. That is the SDR-first case: prospecting is the bottleneck.
SaaStr recommends AEs when founders need someone to take over more of the process, including closing. Experience with the deal type matters for enterprise sales. Someone used to quick, transactional sales can struggle with procurement, legal sign-off and a wide buying group.
A sales leader is a separate call, and Lemkin's rule there is firm: never hire a vice president (VP) of Sales until 2 individual reps are really closing. That is a scaling rule, and it leaves room for an experienced hands-on leader earlier.
How much does a first sales hire cost in Australia?
More than the salary. Australian employers also pay super, recruitment fees, tools and onboarding, and a new seller takes months to reach full output. For senior AEs or enterprise hires, add commission on top. Run the full number before you decide.
Payscale's Australian SDR salary data puts the average base at 60,412 Australian dollars (AUD), based on 11 salary profiles (updated 30 May 2026). The sample is small and covers 1 role. Payscale also lists bonuses of AUD 0 to 10,000, so add any variable pay you offer.
The Australian Taxation Office sets the super guarantee at 12% from 1 July 2025.
| Cost | Calculation | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Base salary | AUD 60,412 | AUD 60,412 |
| Super | 12% of base | AUD 7,249 |
| Sales tools and data | AUD 400 a month | AUD 4,800 |
| Recruitment | 15% of base, first year only | AUD 9,062 |
| First-year total | Sum of the above | AUD 81,523 |
This excludes commission, payroll tax, equipment, leave and management time. AEs usually cost more because a bigger share of their pay is variable and they are expected to close revenue as well as find leads. Senior AEs and sales leaders can also need equity to be competitive.
Ramp time adds to the cost. The Bridge Group's 2025 sales development report, drawn from 351 business-to-business (B2B) companies, puts average ramp to full productivity at 3.0 months, the lowest it has recorded since 2010. AE and sales leader ramp can look different, so budget more for them.
Work out the full cost per role: total equals base plus super plus variable pay plus recruitment plus tools plus other employer costs. Recruitment is usually a one-off. Everything else recurs. These figures also assume the hire works out, and what a bad first hire costs runs the numbers for one that fails and has to be replaced.
Should I fix my pipeline before I hire anyone?
Yes, if targeting, data quality or qualification are the real problem. Hiring another salesperson will not fix a broken pipeline. If they cannot find good accounts to work, they spend most of their time on research instead of selling.
3 signs you need to fix the pipeline first:
- Admin and research take up selling time. Salesforce's 2026 State of Sales research found the average seller spends 40% of their time selling. The rest goes on non-selling work.
- Outreach produces inconsistent results. There is activity, but the accounts don't fit: wrong size, wrong need, wrong timing.
- Customer relationship management (CRM) data can't tell you who to call next. Records are incomplete or out of date. There is no clear way to prioritise.
These are process problems. More headcount does not fix them. A good pipeline system connects account identification, verification, qualification and routing.
For example, a B2B software company targeting Australian mid-market businesses monitors hiring activity and expansion announcements. When an account matches the target profile, the workflow verifies the company, finds the right contacts and routes it for review. The team prioritises on clear criteria instead of gut feel.
That's what GTM engineering does: it connects signals, account data and sales workflows into a managed process.
When does hiring a salesperson actually make sense?
When closing or progressing deals is the constraint and the accounts are already there. A pipeline system can find and rank opportunities, but it can't run discovery, handle objections or build trust. When the deal requires real conversations, you need a person.
Large buying groups and brand-new categories are the classic cases, and when hiring more SDRs is right covers both. For a first revenue hire, the question is narrower: which seller, for which job?
Warm relationships call for an AE. If the founder has warm contacts through investors, networks or existing clients, finding accounts is no longer the problem. Following up and converting is. A first rep does not inherit those relationships by default, so expect the founder to keep making the introductions.
A known target list with too few conversations calls for an SDR. If the founder knows exactly who to target and closes well, but meetings are the limit, an SDR adds volume without taking deals away from the person who wins them.
What should I set up before I make the first sales hire?
Know who you're targeting, how you qualify leads and what the hire is expected to deliver. The process doesn't need to be perfect, and early sales hires can help improve it. GTMnow's first sales hire playbook suggests defining the ideal customer profile (ICP) in 5 to 7 criteria, then building a list of 50 to 100 accounts scored on how many of those criteria each one meets.
A signal-led approach to lead generation establishes which accounts and buying signals to focus on before you scale headcount. The first hire should fix 1 specific problem and should not carry the whole go-to-market build.
GTM Engineering
A wrong first hire is expensive. Compare a hire against a managed pipeline system using your own accounts and budget.
FAQs
Should a startup hire 1 sales rep or 2?
Two reps give you a comparison, so a slow start is easier to read: with a single rep you cannot tell a weak rep from a weak market. The trade is roughly double the first-year cost. Lemkin's published rule covers the step above this one: do not hire a VP of Sales until 2 individual reps are really closing.
Should a startup hire an SDR or an AE first?
Hire an SDR when you need more qualified meetings. Hire an AE when you have enough opportunities but not enough capacity to close them. The right choice depends on where the process breaks down.
When should a startup hire a head of sales?
When an established process exists and sellers need managing. Lemkin advises waiting until 2 individual sellers are hitting their numbers. A VP hired before that point has to build the process, and that is the founder's job first.
Is a first AE more expensive than a first SDR?
Usually, yes. AEs carry a bigger share of variable pay and are expected to close revenue, not only find it. Senior AEs can also need equity. Price both roles on base, super, variable pay, recruitment and tools before choosing.
Should a startup build a pipeline before hiring an AE?
Yes, if targeting and qualification are the real problem. A new AE can't fix bad account data or unclear targeting. If the pipeline is working and demand is there, an AE is the right next step.