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Recently, Momentum CEO and co-founder Santiago Suárez Ordoñez joined the Focal Podcast for a tactical and honest interview that every startup founder should hear this year.
In it, he walks through how he went from having zero sales experience to closing over 100 sales calls, converting advice into dollars and building a scalable sales motion from the ground up.
Santiago’s experience is not theoretical. This is the behind-the-scenes journey of how Momentum went from an idea to a product validated by real revenue (despite starting in a space he had never sold to before).
For anyone working on early sales, trying to validate product-market fit, or simply facing rejection fatigue, this episode is required listening.
🎧 Listen to the full episode on the Focal Podcast.
Breaking the Mold: Why a Technical Founder Chose to Sell
Santiago had built a 15-year career in engineering. He co-founded Blameless and was one of the earliest engineers at Sauce Labs. But when he started Momentum in 2020, he made a bold decision: to build for salespeople.
That shift came with risk. He lacked a natural network in the sales world. He wasn’t sure how to run a sales call. But this lack of experience became a hidden advantage. He approached every conversation as a student, not a seller. And that curiosity led to high-quality learning loops.
For many early-stage founders, especially those without a GTM background, this podcast episode is a real-world case study in how to get unstuck and how to stop waiting for the “perfect” first hire.
Founder-Led Sales: Why It Works in the Early Days
Santiago didn’t try to delegate sales too early. Instead, he embraced founder-led sales as a non-negotiable phase. He got on calls. He asked questions. He ran follow-ups. Most importantly, he treated each interaction as a chance to validate, not just to pitch.
"You need high-quality signal. Not pats on the back. Not empty compliments. You need revenue."
This mindset was critical in shaping Momentum's early go-to-market strategy. Advice calls turned into design partnerships. Honest feedback shaped onboarding templates. Failed pitches revealed gaps in the value proposition.
And most importantly, the process helped him hone his ability to:
- Understand different personas
- Uncover real pain points
- Iterate on messaging and ICP
- Test and re-test sales motion and pricing
How to Book 100 Sales Calls with No Network
The magic wasn’t in Santiago’s contact list. It was in his follow-through. He built a high-volume outreach strategy using:
- LinkedIn exports from angels and advisors
- Cold emails to sales managers and sales reps
- Manual intros from friends, neighbors, and even apartment-mates
Every call had a purpose: gather signal, test interest, and identify pain. He also asked each participant for 2–3 referrals. That step alone created a snowball of meetings.
What started with a few advice calls became a pipeline of real sales conversations. He didn’t wait for inbound. He earned it by being thoughtful, persistent, and curious.
Real Signal Means Real Money
Santiago’s rule: if someone won’t pay for it, their opinion doesn’t count.
"Even $1,000 doesn’t mean much if it’s a corporate credit card spend."
That’s why he pushed for significant commitments—even before a full product existed. $6,000. $20,000. He wanted skin in the game. It’s easy to give a compliment. It’s hard to sign a check.
This forced clarity. Momentum avoided wasting time building for non-buyers. Instead, they focused on closing deals that reflected true product-market fit.
From Feedback to Design Partners: The Conversion Formula
Here’s the template Santiago used to shift from advice seeker to deal closer:
- Start with deep customer questions
- Avoid biasing with your pitch
- Test for urgency and willingness to pay
- Ask for a concrete next step: time, budget, or pilot
This approach let him qualify intent without pressure. The sales cycle started organically, but always with momentum. That same strategy now shapes how the Momentum sales team engages new leads.
The False Positive Trap: Avoiding Roadmap Distortion
One of Santiago’s biggest lessons came from closing a $20K deal early on. The buyer was excited. The budget was approved. But they weren’t repeatable.
"They were a signal. Just not the right one."
That deal nearly distorted the roadmap. It sent the team chasing a niche that couldn’t scale. The lesson: validate for repeatability, not just revenue. And always balance deal size with market fit.
Early Metrics That Matter (and the Ones That Don’t)
What Santiago tracked:
- Meetings booked
- Conversion to design partnerships
- Deal size
- Repeatability of persona
- Referrals generated per call
What he ignored:
- Email open rates
- Number of compliments
- Engagement with content not tied to pipeline
If it didn’t lead to committed time or budget, it wasn’t useful signal.
How Santiago Overcame Fear of Rejection (and You Can Too)
For technical founders, rejection is emotional. Santiago was used to being the smartest person in the room. Early sales challenged that identity.
So he reframed rejection:
This mindset shift helped him accelerate Momentum’s journey instead of delaying hard truths.
Scaling Beyond Founder-Led Sales: When to Hire
Eventually, Santiago had to evolve. With real customers and clear GTM hypotheses, it was time to hire.
Here’s what he looked for:
- Sales reps who could run the same playbook
- A sales manager who understood founder-led sales
- Templates for outreach, calls, and follow-ups that could scale
He also cautions against over-engineering too early. Founders need to live the process before they can delegate it.
Takeaways for Early-Stage Founders
- Don’t outsource learning: Founders must lead early sales.
- Ask for the sale: Advice calls are fine. But at some point, ask for time, budget, or both.
- Track the right metrics: Qualitative insights matter—but only if they convert.
- Use money as a signal: If they won’t pay, it’s not a validated need.
- Iterate constantly: No pitch survives 100 meetings. Use them to refine.
Listen to the Full Episode: Focal Podcast x Momentum
If you’re a startup founder navigating your first sales calls, this episode is a masterclass. Santiago doesn’t hold back. He shares the mistakes, the tactics, and the emotional toll of getting to product-market fit with nothing but grit and a spreadsheet.
🎧 Listen now on the Focal Podcast