Kumar: PernixData advisors and VCs interviewed early sales reps and leaders
Poojan Kumar · How Poojan Kumar Used “Discontinuity” to Sell Two Startups | Nutanix ($12B) & Commvault ($4B) · May 10, 2026 · at 37:51
Poojan Kumar, co-founder and former CEO of PernixData (acquired by Nutanix), explains how he compensated for his lack of sales hiring experience as a first-time technical CEO.
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“My advisors at Pernix, at least like literally would help me even in interviewing, you know, our head of sales in, in, and before even we had a head of sales, you know, interviewing with the reps and in, in some case, you know, VCs who have essentially neither been operators themselves or have essentially been in startups for long enough. They would also essentially be folks who would help you with all of these things.”
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