A Founder’s Guide to Landing an Enterprise Contract

You did it. Your startup has finally made it.

Not only did you get a second meeting with the VP, before you parted ways he said “look guys, I’ve seen enough. This is awesome. We’ll get you connected with the right people. It’s not going to be easy, but we’ll make sure you don’t waste your time.”

This is the best thing you’ve heard in a while. It’s been an emotional rollercoaster just getting a meeting with a corporation — any corporation.

You try not to get ahead of yourself, but it’s hard not to be excited.



Fast forward 18 months. You’ve now met with 1 SVP, 5 VPs, 8 AVPs, and 3 Directors. You’ve yet to gain buy-in from a product owner that can actually approve the budget spend for a pilot never mind a master services agreement (MSA), and you’ve spent money to improve and add to your product based on this massive client’s feedback.

Selling to a corporation can supercharge your trajectory, but it can also break you and your company.

I’ve worked with 29 startups in the last 3 years within the MetLife Digital Accelerator powered by Techstars and many more through my work with VCs and in an investment bank.

I’ve seen this scenario play out countless times. Selling to enterprises is hard.

🚀As a startup, there are specific steps that can take to find common ground and increase the odds of securing a partnership while protecting your company.🚀

• Don’t sell, build relationships
• Be transparent
• Make it simple to sell
• Find a sponsor with power and a P&L
• Don’t “improve” your product for a single client
• Learn about the onboarding process
• Negotiate
• Pay attention to red flags

Check out the detailed guide here👉 A Founder’s Guide to Landing an Enterprise Contract

Don’t let rejection or walking away discourage you. Each experience is a learning opportunity and you’ll get better at it every time.

When you think you may never break through to an enterprise, keep going — you’re a founder. You are passionate, incredible, and capable of changing the world.

✨If anyone can do it, you can.✨



Ready to supercharge your growth and sell to enterprises? 🚀 Let’s chat! 👉 Helping Startups Sell to Enterprises

It's never too early to start selling