Why 95% of AEs Never Make It Into Elite Startups…And How To Get There

Why This Matters

Everyone wants the breakout SaaS story. Most never get close. It is not a skill problem as much as an alignment problem. Elite teams filter for people who can win in their environment. If your background does not show that, you do not get the call.

Why Most AEs Get Filtered Out

Founders are not asking if you can sell. They are asking if you can sell here.

• No SaaS experienceSelling services or tangibles does not translate to recurring revenue and retention.

• No clear track record of overperformanceStrong AEs lead with quota, attainment, and wins that beat peers.

• Too many short stintsHopping yearly kills the proof of sustained performance and internal growth.

• No deal contextHiring managers need motion clarity: transactional, mid market, enterprise, strategic.

• Irrelevant industriesOff vertical experience rarely maps to technical SaaS motions.

• Fluffy resumesWords without numbers signal weak results and weak self awareness.

• No startup experienceIf you only sold with brand and inbound, it is hard to prove you can create momentum.

• Weak LinkedIn presenceGeneric headline, copy pasted duties, no metrics, no progression. No story, no signal.

You can tighten the resume and tell better stories. Surface fixes do not erase experience gaps. Founders want people who have sold through chaos and ambiguity and can create motion without enablement or brand.

The good news is you can build that background with strategy and patience.

How to Make Yourself Competitive

Top performers do not wait for elite startups to take a chance. They reposition to make yes easy.

1) Take a Step Back to Build True SaaS Experience

If you come from services or tangibles, asking for mid market or enterprise SaaS is a big If your experience is in tangible goods or services, you’re asking hiring managers to take a massive risk by putting you in a mid-market or enterprise SaaS role.

They won’t.

A smarter move is to take a step back, whether that means an SDR role, SMB AE position, or hybrid sales role to learn how SaaS actually works.

You’ll build the foundational skills that matter: running discovery, managing renewals, tracking usage metrics, and selling on value instead of product specs.

It might mean a smaller paycheck upfront, but it’s a fast path to credibility. One year of proven SaaS results is worth more than three years of experience that doesn’t translate.

2) Leverage Industry Expertise To Bridge Into SaaS

If you already know a specific vertical, that’s leverage…use it!

A rep who’s sold to hospitals, manufacturers, or logistics teams understands how those buyers think, how they evaluate tools, and what slows down deals. That knowledge is gold to a SaaS startup trying to win that market. Instead of trying to reinvent yourself, target startups that sell into the space you already know. If

you’ve been in medical sales, look at healthtech SaaS. If you’ve been in manufacturing, explore industrial or supply chain SaaS. You’ll speak the language of the customer and ramp faster than someone who doesn’t.

Translate your wins into terms that fit SaaS:

“Managed multi-stakeholder sales cycles in hospitals across five states.”

“Helped clients adopt technology that reduced manual workflows by 30%.”

That turns industry credibility into startup value.

3) Use Growth Stage Companies as a Launchpad

If you want the chaos (and glory) that comes from being at a 10-person seed-stage startup, but don’t yet have the resume to back up that move, aim for a Series B–C company with solid product-market fit.

These companies already have process and traction, but still need reps who can think like builders (and likely won’t be as particular about background and experience). You’ll get structure, but not bureaucracy. Support, but not hand-holding.

It’s the best way to learn the startup rhythm (pipeline creation, territory ownership, and fast iteration) without being thrown into total uncertainty. After a couple of strong runs here, you’ll have what early-stage founders actually want: proof that you can win without a big brand behind you.

This is specifically credible if you launch or grow a new vertical or can show you operated in a “startup environment” within a larger organization.

What Separates the Top 5%

They do not just have better resumes. They make better career choices.They will take a smaller base at a company with PMF, strong leadership, and clear upside instead of chasing inflated OTE at a stall.

One great run where they overperform and help scale something real multiplies market value for years.Most reps chase short term comp, miss, and spend the next decade explaining short stints.

Final Thought

If you want a seat in an elite startup, build the track record that earns it. Choose roles that sharpen skills, prove overperformance, and map to the motion you want. Do that and you will not chase interviews. Founders will chase you.

About ClosedWon Talent

ClosedWon Talent is a specialized sales recruiting firm that helps growth focused companies hire top GTM talent. We partner with founders, revenue leaders, and investors to build high performing sales teams across SaaS and beyond.

What sets us apart is the ClosedWon Method, a proven recruiting framework built on speed, precision, and transparency. We combine deep industry expertise with a curated candidate network to deliver shortlists of qualified, motivated sales professionals fast. Our team does not just fill roles, we act as embedded partners who understand how to assess selling style, territory experience, and growth potential based on each clients' specific needs.