1/ $10M in ARR is the point at which a product led growth company needs to focus on enterprise if they want to grow to a billion in revenue, according to CRO at @MiroHQ, Zhenya Loginov @zhnlgnv, (previously @segment and @Dropbox)

Here’s why to start early and how to do it

2/ Want to build a billion dollar biz? For many companies, the SMB acquisition starts to slow around $100M in revenue. Many companies plateau at this stage and if they don’t have a new growth channel ready to scale they can’t sustain their growth rate

3/ Why start early? Because building an enterprise business doesn’t happen in a day. It takes minimum 3-4 years to launch, test, and scale a new go-to-market motion

4/ @MiroHQ started at the $10M point and was able to make the changes on product, sales, marketing, and support needed to shift focus to enterprise. Many startups underestimate what this takes.

5/ What to do first? Hire the right sales leader. One that deeply understands the value proposition and the problems that enterprise customers have and can advocate appropriately within the organization for those customers

6/ Ideally it’s someone who has done this before. @MiroHQ was explicit about this and brought on a seasoned sales team that could hit the ground running. And @KyleHParrish at @figmadesign is my go-to example of what best-in-class looks like to scale a sales function

7/ Next, build a marketing motion to reach enterprise buyers in the channels they use to get informed. Find early customer champions and leverage them to get more customers

8/ @salesforce is best-in-class at this. They have put their customers at the heart of their marketing — at events, in advertising, and through telling their stories. They have made their customers feel special and smart, so everyone wins

9/ Finally, be intentional about culture. The move from a product/eng focused culture to a business focused culture takes time. Customer feedback is everything and should shape your roadmap, focus, and team orientation

10/ At @Dropbox, customer feedback played a big role in how the roadmap and focus developed. It was collected at least quarterly (if not more) and factored into planning on what to build for the future

11/ The path to building an enterprise business can be a natural transition, but it requires time and careful planning.

Want to hear more? Check out the Hypergrowth podcast for the full discussion with the amazing @zhnlgnv! https://soundcloud.com/sheila-vashee/miro-with-zhenya-loginov