We are pleased to announce that this year Intech50 will connect Indian startups with experienced business catalysts and consultants visiting specially from USA.
Why Are We Launching Business Catalyst
In his famous blog, Ben Horowitz discusses why we need sales people in the cloud world.
Last year we saw many of our startups getting the POC from large US customers, but some of them struggled to close the deal. We felt the companies need for experienced local sales presence to help maneuver the enterprise sales process.
Partly quoting from Ben’s article, the purpose of the enterprise sales team is not just about relationship and introductions. They also have to talk about value for the specific customer, dethrone alternative options, and navigate through the complex enterprise procurement process. In addition, when selling a startup product, they have to mitigate the risk of buying from a startup.
Our goal for the Business Catalyst program is to help startups understand this process of selling in USA with their interactions with senior sales leaders and consultants.
And Yes, the business catalysts can also provide introductions to their customers and manage the sales process for you.
Some of the confirmed list of business catalysts are:
- Edward Diamond – Trumind
- Gopal Khaitan – Yellow Rickshaw
- Jude DCunha – Trumind
- Julie Stafford – Stafford Associates
- Kumar Gaurav – Beyond Sales
- Sanjiv Sinha – Yellow Rickshaw
- Vish Narayanan – General Motors
Is there a cost to participate in the Business Catalyst Program at the conference?
There is no additional financial cost that InTech50 will charge to participate in the program. The business catalysts will be choosy about who they take to their customers. They will be looking for companies that are ready for launch in USA market. The criteria generally include product readiness, some references; understanding of US based customers to target, competition and ability to fund sales expenses in USA. To this end, there will be a small questionnaire we will ask you to fill.
Most business catalysts will expect to enter into some financial arrangement if they decide to work with you after the conference. Our goal is to educate you on what they are looking for, and ensure a warm handshake.
Which Industries, verticals domains and geographies are the Sales Consultants from? Typical Profile?
While this is an evolving list, our focus is sales consultants from North America. We expect 4-6 sales consultants. Each consultant typically has 15+ years of sales experience in large MNC and now helping other companies on full time basis.
Do I have to work with sales consultants that Intech50 recommends?
No, there is no obligation to work with sales consultants after the conference.
