Insight certainty 4/5 debate potential 2/5

Penmetsa: Reaching $1M ARR and hiring sales leadership doesn't guarantee growth

Arun Penmetsa · The #1 Mistake Killing B2B Startups | Arun Penmetsa, Storm Ventures · Jul 21, 2026 · at 51:19

Arun Penmetsa, Partner at Storm Ventures, discusses the false assumption that hiring a go-to-market team after a Series A naturally unlocks scalable revenue.

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“That's the conventional wisdom, right, is, You get to a million ARR, you raise a series A, whatever the amount is, you hire a sales leader, you hire, spend money in marketing, and growth will come. But, you know, it doesn't because you have to do a lot of work to get there.”

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