Early-stage startups are naive in thinking they can (easily) go after the Enterprise market.

Because all enterprise buyers are going to see is RISK.

“Can you prove to us it will work?”

Nope.

You don’t have a proven track record.

“Can you guarantee you’ll be around in 2 years?”

Nope

Your runway is only 18 months.

“Do you have all the security badges (SOC2, ISOXXXX)?”

Nope.

They’re on your roadmap.

“Do you have a robust support team if something goes wrong?”

Nope.

You’re relying on Timmy in Ops to figure it out.

“Do you have a way to train 1000 employees in 6 months?”

Nope.

You’re hoping everyone will read your user guide.

———

I’m not saying startups can’t build products to serve the enterprise.

They just have to understand what they are getting themselves into.

So while founders salivate over the market size, big budgets, and brand names…

They must be realistic about two things:

1. How the enterprise market will perceive you.

Like a kid setting up a lemonade stand.

2. All the non-product things you must build to actually win a deal.

Training, security, support, change management, testing, implementation, customer success, custom integrations, SSO, analytics and reporting, governance and control, legal compliance, and more.

hashtag#b2b

hashtag#saas

hashtag#enterprise