Mike chased his dream of playing professional soccer, though the career lasted only 17 minutes. He also spent time on the Warped Tour trying to sell out arenas, and sometimes selling no tickets at all. The lessons from both shaped his path as an entrepreneur and top performing seller at Pendo. Now he’s building Atlas, helping AI companies move as fast as their products.

Takeaways

• Early-stage sales requires evangelism
• Scrappiness and experimentation are key in early-stage sales
• Educating the market is essential for new product categories Value-Oriented Sales
• The Importance of Passion and Ambition
• The Role of Business Model in Sales
• The Significance of Will and Curiosity in Hiring
• Negotiation Skills in Sales

Chapters

• 00:00 The Journey of a Soccer Fanatic
• 15:00 From Music to Sales
• 23:15 Starting a Company in the Music Industry
• 33:54 Joining a Venture-Backed Company
• 47:12 Evangelizing a New Product Category
• 52:44 The Value-Oriented Approach to Sales
• 01:00:33 The Importance of Passion and Ambition
• 01:07:44 The Significance of Will and Curiosity in Hiring
• 01:33:03 Negotiation Skills in Sales