$0-10 million in 13 months: How I Did It and How You Can Too

In 2010, I led GTM at Drawbridge from a mathematical proof on a napkin to a $10mm run rate in under 13 months. It wasn’t easy–but at the time, it actually felt pretty easy. We had a solid strategy and confidence in the execution. 5 employees to 30+, 0 customers to more than I can remember… it was a wild ride. And my hands were on the GTM wheel, shuffle steering like the recent Skip Barber Racing School graduate I was.

For the last several years I’ve been advising a handful of founders on how to find this success for their businesses–but I feel like something is missing.

This newsletter was a start, but not a complete solution. So now I’m launching a live, cohort-based course called GTM for Technical Founders. There are ~10 spots available for technical founders who want to level up their GTM game–both as founder-led salespeople and as managers and leaders of GTM. Our first cohort is in October. 

How did we do it at Drawbridge?

I wish I could explain this in a paragraph or less–but it was a lot. The key was getting the strategy right and then executing on that strategy. A course is the only way to really share how I did this properly, in a learning-focused, interactive environment.

Why now?

I’ve taught much of this material at accelerators like Alchemist, and the sessions get some of the highest ratings in the program (9/10). Time to unbundle–and open the material up for more founders. Perhaps I should have done this earlier, but as they say–the best time to plant a tree was 10 years ago; the second best time is right now. 

With interest rates declining, the VC tap is about to turn back on–at the same time that the AI hype will wear off, and more diverse ideas will be funded. This is great news for most startups, to a point. The era of follow on rounds without metrics is over. Founders need to get GTM right from the start. Nothing is worse than raising VC before you’re ready. Trust me, I’ve been there.

Who is it for?

Technical founders who are running an early stage technology company will benefit the most from the material. And because there will be between 10 and 20 peers, they’ll benefit even more by becoming part of a peer group. This peer group will be with you throughout your company building journey, helping reinforce learnings and acting as a network to lean on with a shared purpose and shared experience. I’ve had this through other channels and it’s still invaluable.

What is the course exactly? 

It’s a 2-week, intensive course with 9 hours of live instruction and take home work (that you can immediately apply to your business–no busywork). Topics range from the very tactical to board-level strategic.

First and foremost, we will focus on tactics that yield results. Like a good baseball coach, it’s fine to talk about how to get outs or your 0-2 approach at the plate. But you have to have good footwork and a solid swing to execute. I’ll teach the key fundamentals and practice them together. Everyone will experience success.

By building on tactics and fundamentals and focusing on results, we’ll develop confidence. Even after several successful (and unsuccessful) startups, as a founder I didn’t have enough confidence. In my case it had more to do with making product and engineering decisions than GTM, but VC pressures led to some classic mistakes–hiring too fast and pushing GTM before the product was ready–all things we cover and prevent. As in baseball, if you lack confidence it’s hard to hit well–even if your fundamentals are strong. This course creates confidence. 

At this point if you’re not a technical founder in the fight, you’ve read enough. So, I’ll leave it there. If you know anyone (friends, portco founders, etc.) who would be interested, I’m doing a big push to fill the course in the next couple of weeks. Info is here. The next 5 signups can get 10% off here. If you have any questions, I’m happy to find a time to talk to you or any founder–calendar here, or just reply.