Welcome to another episode of Antifragile. Joining us today is Ben Metcalfe – entrepreneur, investor and community builder. Ben co-founded WPEngine and is currently into venture capital at Ridge Ventures. Today, he is going to share his experiences as a founder/investor and the dynamics of sales and marketing team.

Founders should motivate the sales team, and make sure that growth is occurring

Seeing the opportunity to help more founders, Ben shifted into venture capital. He shares that a lot of founders, especially technical people, have a lot of anxiety in the area of sales. To cope with that, Ben believes that, as a founder, the next most important job after identifying an opportunity is hiring the best people in your team.

Ben and I discuss the importance of mentoring and motivation in the success of the sales team, as he mentions that founders and sales team must make sure that growth is occurring. He also thinks that the Ivy League is overrated and that in fact, what gives entrepreneurs a much better chance at success is hustle and talent.

Episode Quotes

"As a founder your most important job after identifying an opportunity is to hire the best people who are smarter than you"

"Making sure that mentally you are in the most performant place you can be is really important"

"You have to motivate a sales team, there is a dynamic to being a successful salesperson"

"If you're an entrepreneur and you can hustle and you have talent, I think that gives you much better chance at success"

"If you're an entrepreneur it's hard, it is a journey but enjoy the journey"

Listen to Learn

00:15 Getting to know Ben Metcalfe, business journey (WPEngine)

04:02 How Ben got into venture?

06:29 Skills that entrepreneurs should develop

09:27 Make-it-or-break-moments as a founder

13:41 The concept of behavioral fitness

16:58 How did you solve business challenges?

19:42 Hiring a good sales leader, Founder and the sales team

25:24 Rapid Fire Questions

32:57 Links and announcements