Boardwave Workshop: The art of selling in early-stage software ventures

Boardwave Workshop: The art of selling in early-stage software ventures

Sponsor: Waypoint Partners

Host: Martin Ward, Boardwave Committee Member, Mentor and Partner at Waypoint

The ability to sell is the lifeblood of any enterprise and for early-stage software ventures it’s an acutely existential topic: low sales means slow or no growth, making it hard to raise capital and attract talent. This creates a vicious cycle, which eventually leads to stagnation and, in the worst case, business failure. And yet Founders are often not experienced sales people; they are deep domain or technical experts. After all, these are the very capabilities that led to their business being founded!

Many early-stage ventures search for a star sales person who has the proven skills and experience to drive the pipeline and secure new business deals. Such a sales presence is of course hugely valuable, and perhaps essential to every aspiring venture, but it’s only part of the story.

Join Waypoint Partners and a world-class group of early-stage SaaS founders and CEOs to discuss the essential sales ingredients to get you from start-up to scale-up. Debate key themes and learn how other Founders and Waypoint’s own experts have tackled the critical issues. Consider the story you tell, the business case you build and the forward path you create for your customers.

You will also get to hear from David Kean, writer, speaker and consultant at Catalyst who will provide a short opening keynote. David catalyses business growth and was once described by British Airways’ Business Life magazine as “the best pitch coach around”. He specialises in speeding up performance improvement for individuals and leadership teams and has been coaching, lecturing and running workshops around the world for the last 15 years. 

 “David helps you look in the mirror until you pay attention to who you are and what you really want to say. He doesn’t play with the lighting or let you put on any grease paint – he’s for being truthful, authentic, confident and direct. Time spent with David is entertaining, brutal, insightful and you always feel like you’re making breakthroughs.” Michael Green, Explorer

Come and network with other software Founders to broaden your contacts and horizons in what promises to be a fantastic Boardwave Workshop.

Workshop Agenda:

08.30am – Arrivals and breakfast – Registration and networking

09.00am – Welcome and Introduction –  David Kean will introduce the 3 key themes to be debated and answer any questions

09.20am – Attendees split up into groups - 20 minutes on each theme

THEME 1 – The story you tell

THEME 2 – The case you build

THEME 3 – The forward path you create

10.00 – Summary and wrap up 

10:15 - Q&A with David Kean

10.25 – Networking

10.45 – Event concludes