It’s been a minute. Hope you’ve been well.
I let this slide for a few weeks while I’ve been building other stuff and kept telling myself I’d get back to it next Thursday. This is next Thursday.
Let’s dive in…
AE or manager?
When I was 25, a new VP of Sales gave me a choice that shaped the rest of my career.
I'd been an SDR for two years out of college (I quit on my two-year work anniversary, which felt very mature at the time). Then I joined a startup, built their inbound channel for six months, and moved into an AE seat. A few months later my boss left, and the new VP came in and kind of gave me an ultimatum. I could stay an AE, or I could go run the SDR team.
He'd seen that I could build my own pipeline, and I knew I wanted to manage people someday, so I took the team.
We grew it from 3 reps to 20. The company was about 200 people, so I was one level away from the C-suite, and that turned out to be the best part of the job. I learned how to prep for a board meeting, how to present to one, and how to talk to a CEO without rambling (it took a few tries). Eventually I reported straight to ours.
Years later I wanted out. I never enjoyed cold calling, and I wanted to build something, so I moved into partnerships. I leaned on my sales experience, sure. But the stuff that really mattered was what running that SDR team taught me... building relationships, training, how to present, how to ask for budget (and get it). I'd been doing it for years.
When I look back, I think every good rep hits the same fork, usually earlier than they expect.
Person A stays an AE. They work mid-market deals, push for enterprise, and if they're good they make a lot of money. They own their calendar and they're only responsible for themselves. That's a great life, and plenty of people I respect picked it.
Person B takes the team. Their number is now everyone's number, and the wins come slower and secondhand, through someone else's deal. It's hard. But they get into rooms early, and those rooms teach things the AE seat doesn't.
There's no wrong answer. But if you're staring at that choice right now, I'd take the team. Management is a skill you learn by doing, and it's a lot cheaper to learn at 25, when your mistakes are smaller. And it's the reason I think I'll build something of my own one day.
Cool stuff I'm into
How to spot 10-year trends (podcast): Kevin Ryan on Tim Ferriss. Best line: "the second mouse gets the cheese."
Protocols (book): Huberman’s book came out last month. It’s the podcast turned into a manual for sleep, focus, energy and training
Yerba mate (my go-to): What I drink instead of the second coffee. Enough to get me through a 4pm CEO call without the shakes
Homage x Starter jackets (shop): Back in stock and every bit as cool as the jackets you begged your parents for. Pullovers and windbreakers for your favorite NFL, MLB or NBA teams.
My AI team (post): Five agents for my day job. The hard part was writing down how I work.
One more thing
Last month I texted a buddy of mine who’s a founder. Just seeing how things were going.
Yesterday their name popped up in my inbox. 14 months of nothing, and then: “Are you still doing GTM consulting? We need help on the partner side.”
Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. But you only get lucky if you follow up.
Until next week,
TG
P.S. I reply to all emails