      SaaStr · 2013-07-01
      · 4720d
    

Hiring Big Company Executives in Early-Stage SaaS: Timing and Role Considerations

Jason Lemkin analyzes the optimal timing and conditions for hiring executives with large company experience into startups, arguing that BigCo hires are premature before $8-10M ARR but become valuable assets at scale. Different functions carry different risks, with sales and product hires being riskier early-stage compared to engineering or customer success roles.

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Metrics in this report

BigCo Hire Success Threshold - Sales/Product

4-5$M

minimum for risk consideration

Client Success and Engineering roles

Early-Stage Company Size at BigCo Hire

15employees

at time of hire

too early for BigCo executive success

Minimum ARR for BigCo Executive Consideration

8-10$M

minimum threshold

general BigCo hiring readiness

Revenue Generated from Single BigCo Hire

6$M

case study return on one $X00K decision

customers + subsequent hiring at $2M ARR hire

Scale Stage ARR Milestone

12$M

proven threshold

BigCo executive hiring success

Scale-Stage Company Size

60-70employees

optimal for BigCo executive onboarding

when established systems exist