How to Think About GTM Before Hiring SDRs Ft. John Karsant

In this episode of AI GTM WTF, Rahul sits down with John to unpack the messy, unspoken realities of go-to-market for non-tech founders.

This conversation breaks down why many founders believe they have a “GTM problem” when the real issue is lack of judgment, premature hiring, and copying advice that worked for SaaS but not for their market.

We dive deep into:
– Why founders should close their first customers themselves
– When hiring SDRs actually makes sense
– Why hiring sales too early creates false expectations
– The hidden cost of delayed GTM
– Why copying playbooks without context backfires
– When agencies can (and can’t) help early GTM
– How investor pressure distorts GTM decisions
– Why arbitrary meeting targets hurt founders
– What realistic GTM outcomes look like in the first 90 days
– Why “perfect product” thinking kills momentum
– How non-tech founders should approach outbound
– Why speed beats perfection in early GTM
– How to prioritize GTM advice in a noisy market
– Why different industries require completely different GTM motions

This episode is a must-watch for non-tech founders, early-stage CEOs, operators, GTM leaders, agencies, and investors who want a realistic view of how GTM actually works outside of slides and theory.

Topics covered:
GTM strategy, non-tech founders, early-stage GTM, hiring SDRs, founder-led sales, outbound strategy, GTM agencies, PMF discovery, investor pressure, sales hiring mistakes, B2B GTM, vertical GTM, AI GTM context, sales cycles, realistic pipeline building.

#gtm #founders #startups #sales #saas #b2b #aigrowth #earlystage #leadership #revops #gotomarket #pipeline #entrepreneurship