Can a startup go straight to enterprise and survive? Shensi Ding, Co-Founder at Merge, shares how they scaled from zero to 25,000+ customers by starting enterprise-first, rebuilding their go-to-market team, and why founders should skip SMBs entirely.

⏱️ Timestamps

3:00 – Merge's origin story and why they wish they started with enterprise sooner

8:34 – The case for starting enterprise-first vs selling to startups

13:30 – Rebuilding go-to-market: hiring new CRO and team

18:00 – Rethinking B2B marketing beyond LinkedIn vibes

27:00 – Sales decks, POCs, and what actually closes enterprise deals

30:00 – AI in engineering: why founders should still code

38:00 – Pricing power and enterprise vs startup sales

42:00 – Fundraising and founder-VC dynamics

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