Founders Day: Getting to the next round of funding through GTM excellence hosted by Bluebird & Founder Led Sales

​*Please note that breakfast is included*

​Scaling smarter: building the GTM team that gets you funded
Practical insights from founders who’ve been there

​Scaling from one funding round to the next means proving more than product-market fit. It means showing investors you can build a GTM engine that wins customers, creates momentum, and signals repeatability. The toughest calls often come down to hiring: when to make the leap, which roles to prioritise, and how to find the people who will truly move the needle.

​That’s why we’ve brought together a powerhouse panel of founders and operators who have scaled GTM teams under pressure:

Stephen Whitworth (Incident.io), Harrison Rose (Goodfit, Paddle), and Erez Golan (Playroll). They’ll share the practical tips, hiring frameworks, and lessons learned that shaped their journeys, giving you insight you can apply straight away.

​Alongside them, a fireside chat with Seth and Machiel will set the stage on how GTM strategy shifts across funding rounds and what that means for your early team.

​What we’ll cover
• The first GTM hires that unlock growth at different stages
• How to sequence hiring decisions to protect runway
• How PLG versus SLG changes the profile of your early team
• The hiring mistakes that stall companies before they scale

​Agenda
9:00–9:30 – Arrival and networking
9:30–10:15 – Fireside chat with Seth and Machiel
10:15–10:30 – Break
10:30–11:30 – Founder panel discussion
11:30–12:00 – Networking

An à la carte breakfast will be served, so come ready to enjoy a fully catered menu. We will confirm orders and dietary requirements closer to the date.

​Speakers:

​Seth DeHart, Founder Led Sales
Seth has worked with over 100 founders in sales leadership roles, building processes and teams at early-stage startups. He created Founder Led Sales, a free resource and community, after noticing founders repeatedly asking the same questions about sales and go-to-market strategy.His philosophy: sales is more science than art. The platform helps founders identify where they are, what's missing, and what comes next for scalable revenue. Seth began as an SDR in 2004 and now lives in New Hampshire with his family.

Machiel Kunst, Bluebird
Machiel spent 9 years at N-able (later acquired by SolarWinds), playing a pivotal role in their growth from $6M to $250M ARR. Along the way, he hired, trained, and developed a 45-person sales team.At FastSpring, he built Europe from scratch—hiring a 15-person team and driving $0–$3M ARR in under a year.Now he’s the Founder of Bluebird, a team of ex-operators turned recruiters. Today, Bluebird is the #1 SaaS & AI recruitment and executive search firm in Europe—helping founders and VCs build high-performance teams.

​Founder Led Sales (FLS)
Too many founders struggle to sell and scale with confidence. Founder Led Sales changes that by empowering founders with the right tools and insights to grow faster with clarity.The platform provides real-world strategies, stories, and playbooks tested by experienced founders, replacing trial and error with direct guidance and practical resources.What makes it different:

• ​Built by founders, trusted by a growing peer community

• ​Weekly interviews with bootstrapped and scaling founders sharing candid insights

• ​70+ guides, playbooks, and templates for smarter selling, hiring, and scaling

• ​Recruitment support for critical first sales hires

• ​AI-powered Founder Assistant for on-demand help with emails, comp plans, and growth decisions

​Bluebird is a specialist recruitment and executive search partner for VC-backed SaaS companies. Our consultants are former SaaS professionals who assess talent with a deep understanding of the roles, ensuring fast, high-quality outcomes. We help founders scale GTM and product teams from Seed to Series C, typically delivering the hire you’ll end up making within just 7 working days. With a network of 25,000+ vetted candidates and a structured, candidate-first approach, we combine speed, credibility, and an exceptional experience to drive repeatable hiring success. We proudly partner with over 20 leading VCs across the UK and Europe to support their portfolio companies in building world-class teams.