Hiring Your First Salesperson: A Contrarian Framework for B2B SaaS Startups

Dave Kellogg outlines six critical criteria for hiring a startup's first salesperson: genuine sales passion, prior experience with target buyers, relevant deal size experience, executive presence, sales management background, and willingness to join early. The approach emphasizes a 6-12 month intensive onboarding partnership between founder and first salesperson to build sustainable sales infrastructure.