Founder Led Sales is a core principle in the SmartUp methodology, emphasizing that the CEO must personally engage in early sales to understand the market, gather feedback, and ensure product-market fit. Rather than delegating sales to a hired team or co-founder, founders interact directly with potential customers to discover whether the product solves a real problem and what features or pricing are desirable. This approach allows founders to pivot quickly based on direct market input, avoid unnecessary expenses, and develop a sales playbook that can later be executed by less experienced sales staff. Case studies from the SmartUp lectures illustrate both failures—where founders outsourced sales too early—and successes—where founders discovered critical insights that shaped the business model. Founder Led Sales acts as a bridge between early market discovery and the creation of a scalable sales engine.
