When to hire the first SDR, how to structure quota and comp, what activity metrics matter, and the traps that waste 12 months of runway.
The first SDR hire is one of the most-blown decisions in startup GTM. Hired too early it's a wasted salary; hired too late it caps growth. Structure matters as much as the person.
After the founder has personally booked 30-50 meetings from outbound and knows the message that converts. Before that, an SDR has nothing repeatable to execute and both sides get frustrated.
Month 1: training and shadowing. Month 2: 50% quota. Month 3: full quota. Typical quota: 10-15 qualified meetings per month for mid-market, 20-30 for SMB. Anything above 40 is call-center pace, not startup pace.
50-70K base, 20-40K variable, tied to qualified meetings held and sourced pipeline. Paying only on closed deals mis-aligns SDRs from their job. Paying only on booked-not-held meetings creates junk pipeline.
Meetings booked, meetings held, meetings converted to opportunity, pipeline sourced, sequence completion rate. Dials per day and emails sent are inputs, not outcomes — don't manage to them.
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