which game are you playing?

Apr 08, 2026

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At the end of last year, a founder I know decided his company would be a failure if they didn't reach a $100M valuation in 2026.

They had about $2M in revenue.

It sounds dramatic, but this is the standard more and more founders are holding themselves to. 10X in Year 1, $100M by Year 3. Anything less feels like losing.

As a result of this goal, he tore down everything that had been working for them until now to chase a (theoretically) bigger, faster-converting market.

They're still rebuilding.

I get where this pressure comes from. It's hard not to look at the numbers coming from breakout AI companies and think "that's what we should be doing."

But here's what most people ignore:

The majority of those companies are extremely successful product and community-led plays.

What made them work:

Product that sells itself (really)
Built-in virality
Heavy investment in community
Extremely large TAM
Consumer/prosumer users

What they didn't have to do:

Outbound
Run 6-month enterprise sales cycles
Hire and train a sales team to grow

If that's not what your business looks like right now... that's totally fine. 99% of companies don't have that kind of virality.

But you're going to need a different playbook that matches how your customers buy from you.

You will not win by copying strategies from companies that aren't playing the same game.

TRY THIS WEEK:

Look at what's actually needed for your customers to buy.

How do they find you?
How long does it take them to decide?
Who's involved in the decision?
What do they need to see before they sign?

Then ask: does my current GTM motion match this?

Are you overcomplicating it (too many steps that could be collapsed)?

Or are you oversimplifying it (expecting self-serve growth when your buyers actually need demos, pilots, and procurement)?

Match the motion to the buyer.

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which game are you playing?

Responses

Un-Gatekeeping Sales

I've spent 15 years helping founders stop burning runway on sales strategies that were never meant for them. This is the stuff I wish someone had told them earlier. Real frameworks, for your stage.

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