Founder Real Talk - Build a Sales Engine that Doesn't Suck in 2026
✨ Founder Real Talk — Build a Sales Engine That Doesn’t Suck in 2026
When: Wednesday, December 10, 2025
Doors: 6:00 PM — Program: 6:30–8:30 PM PT — Networking: 8:30–9:00 PM
Where: YesSF — San Francisco, CA
Presented by: Sway × Wisdom Partners
Register: https://luma.com/ytnfbpe0
You can’t fund your way out of a broken GTM. Investors bet on repeatable revenue — not hope. Join a tight, tactical FRT session where real operators and sales experts hand founders the blueprints to build a predictable, VC-ready sales engine before you raise.
Featuring:
Gary Gardener — Founder, Lead Gen Hub (Lead Gen + Demand)
Mark Phinick — Deal Coach, Make It Rain (Closing playbooks & deal structure)
Johannes Hoech — CEO, Premonio (Sales ops & growth planning)
Why show up
This is the last Founder Real Talk of 2025 — short, practical, and zero fluff. Walk away with hiring checklists, scripts, comp plans, and a one-page ramp model you can use this week to grow revenue.
We’ll get tactical on
Designing a 0→1 sales motion (when founder-led must give way to reps)
The KPIs VCs actually care about — and how to present them in diligence
Hiring & comp frameworks: rep vs manager, equity vs commission tradeoffs
Ramp plans & 30/60/90 deliverables that predict seller success
Scalable outbound + inbound qualification playbooks and repeatable demos
Ramp-to-hire math: CAC payback, pay-mix, quotas — what “good” looks like at each stage
Interview scripts, onboarding checklists, and the contract clause that saves you headaches
Format
90 minutes: focused moderated panel → 3 live founder hot seats → tactical Q&A → networking
Small room, big signal — bring a real problem and get practical advice you can act on.
Who should come
Pre-seed & Seed founders who must prove repeatable revenue
Founders evolving from founder-led sales to hiring reps or sales ops
First AEs, BDRs, and early GTM hires building playbooks
Investors and operators who advise go-to-market strategies
Tickets
$15 Early Bird — before 11/27
$25 General Admission - before 12/5
$30 Last Call (3 days prior) - until 12/10
Snacks, drinks, and actionable conversation included.
Want a hot seat?
Reply with a 2-line pitch:
Company & stage
The single most urgent sales problem you want solved
We’ll pick a few founders for live, prioritized feedback.
Panelists
Gary Gardener is the founder of Lead Gen Hub, a demand-generation studio that helps startups and SMBs build predictable outbound and inbound pipelines. Gary specializes in practical, repeatable lead systems — list creation, outreach sequences, and qualification flows — that shorten sales cycles and increase demo-to-close rates. He works with founders to set measurable cadence and accountability so revenue scales reliably.
Mark Phinick is a deal coach and founder of Make It Rain, focused on optimizing deal motion and closing execution for growth-stage teams. He advises on qualification frameworks, negotiation tactics, and contract language that protect sellers and maximize conversion. Mark’s practical approach demystifies complex deals and helps sales teams turn pipeline into predictable revenue.
Johannes Hoech leads Premonio as CEO, helping startups turn early traction into repeatable go-to-market engines. Johannes focuses on sales ops, forecasting, and growth planning — building the processes and metrics founders need to hire the right reps, set realistic quotas, and present traction to investors. His work centers on making sales predictable through disciplined planning and operational rigor.
This is not another pep talk — it’s the hands-on playbook session you actually need to build a sales engine that works in 2026. Seats are limited — grab yours: https://luma.com/ytnfbpe0
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