Question
I'm building a SaaS platform related to big-data. Beta release is scheduled for end of April. The first customer is on board and ready to pay 25 to 50k, including licensing and services fees. This customer is also a SaaS provider and intends to white-label my product and provide it to other big customers such as AT&T.
At the same time, having worked for them, I know that Verizon and Cisco would be potential customers. I also have good entries in these two companies that I intend to leverage for business development purposes.
However, I am a software developer and business development isn't really my thing. Hence my question: what are some effective ways to quickly setup a business development team without breaking the bank?
My goal is to find the low hanging fruits and identify and possibly onboard 4 to 10 customers before getting out to raise some money.
Does this strategy even make sense to startup experts and successful entrepreneurs out there?
Answer
Hi there!
A couple of ideas you can use , in order to save money and develop the team without breaking the bank;
-The first and the most utilized, look for co-founders , and give them a % of the business, always have in mind that for this kind of business the magic number is 3, a person who build it, a person that sales it, and one that scale the business.
-Hire someone , don't pay too much but give him/them a % of equity and/or a small amount of commission per sale.
-I don't know in what country are you, but, look for government incentives for SMBs (non-reimbursable contributions) , you can use those funds to increase your capital and afford the business team.
-Finally, you can also look for sponsors in order to get more capital.
If you need more help with some of there actions, i will gladly help you.
Best,
