If you’re a founder with institutional backing, you’re probably doing a lot right. But if you’re a technical founder, you might be in unfamiliar territory.

Building the product is one thing, but now you need to sell and market it—or hire and manage those who do.

In short, you need to nail go-to-market (GTM).

To succeed, founders need to figure out GTM early because everything hinges on it. Not only does more revenue mean more cash and less dilution, it also means better metrics and higher valuations–for each round, and for your exit.

It’s hard to trust or invest in what you don’t understand. Many technical founders learn GTM on the job, leading to critical mistakes. This course aims to prevent that by tactical and practical knowledge–learned and practiced in a group setting with your peers.

WHAT TO EXPECT

This course combines live lessons, interaction, peer activities, and in depth discussion. You'll receive 9 hours of live instruction over 2 weeks, plus have 4 hours of unstructured, live time with the instructor for your own specific questions. All of it will be recorded and available after the course is over.

You'll participate in fun, small group or 1:1 activities, such as practicing negotiating a contract, pitching a sale, or asking questions of a prospect.

Every major skill taught in the class will be practiced at least once.

You will leave knowing:

• How to find prospects, nurture them through the sales process and close sales

• How to transition from founder-led to professional sales and marketing

• How to hire and manage sales and marketing teams

• What terms are typical for sales of various sizes, from self-serve to enterprise, and how to negotiate them

• How to find and manage lawyers

• How to break GTM challenges into smaller, sprint-sized experiments

• What metrics to follow to keep your team on track

• How to conceptualize and build a financial model for your GTM efforts

• How to communicate with investors, advisors and your board

• How and where to leverage outsiders to drive your GTM processes forward (agencies, advisors, partners, lawyers, etc.)

COURSE CONTENT

• The customer-centric approach to marketing and sales

• How to understand your customer's journey and reach them where they are

• How to drive top-of-funnel leads and nurture them to be ready to convert or engage with sales

• How to create awareness and build a brand

• How to nurture relationships with potential acquirers early in your company's journey–without being distracted or giving away the secret sauce

• How to run effective campaigns in cold outbound email, social, and other tactics

• How to structure partnerships for success

• How to structure your customer agreements to increase your chances of closing, retention and growth while reducing sales cycle

• How to price at every stage of growth to drive higher close rates and better net revenue retention (NRR)

The course also includes:

• The top-of-mind questions you and your peers have on GTM

• Specific tactics, scripts and questions you can ask to uncover willingness to pay and pains your customers have

• Things you can do right now to drive additional leads–without sending a single cold email

• Detailed how-tos on things like the Customer Advisory Board hack and other strategies employed by veteran founders

• Hands on exercises reviewed by your instructor

• Detailed metrics on key channels so that you know if what you're doing is working

• Pitfalls and risks to be aware of so that you're never caught in a rut

• Optional homework or projects to help retain learnings–that are also useful in your business.

If you follow my writing, listen to my podcast, or have been through my sessions at the Alchemist Accelerator, you'll find this course draws on all of it so that you can internalize it and put it to practice.

Founders don't have to do everything themselves. You'll learn what you need to DIY everything GTM, but you'll also have the confidence to hire and manage others in various GTM roles.

WHO WILL BENEFIT MOST FROM THIS COURSE

While the course is open to all, the people who will get the most out of it:

• Are founders of technology companies, especially those launching novel products such as deep tech or AI companies

• Have a background in product, engineering, design, etc.

• Have raised institutional capital (Series Seed or later)

• Are at a company with a product either in development or already in market

WHO THIS COURSE IS NOT FOR

• Junior sales people or people trying to get into sales for the first time. The material is focused on management and board-level issues as much as it is on being good at sales; there are better courses for you if you're learning basic tech sales skills.

• People who think their product is perfect and have all their GTM problems figured out. Participants will benefit the most if everyone comes with a beginners' mindset and a curious approach. Nobody knows all the GTM answers (not even your instructor).

• People looking for the GTM magic bullet that will solve all of their sales or marketing problems. Sorry, no magic bullets here. But you will learn tactics, approaches, and strategies that might help you solve your problem without a magic bullet.

• People looking for a 1:1 coach or advisor, though there will be Q&A sessions, and you will definitely get to know your instructor and peers.