Revenue is the Only Truth

A common pattern early on: Founders have dozens of positive customer discovery calls. People love your idea.

When you “ask for advice”, they give you everything. Time for calls. Encouragement. Introductions. Detailed feedback. Etc.

Then you ask for money, and they vanish.

Money requires real commitment. It means fighting for budget, spending political capital, and betting their reputation on your unproven startup.

They only do that if the pain is real. Money is by far the strongest signal whether you’re onto something.

Not LOIs. Not verbal commits. Actual money changing hands. It’s the only thing that counts.

Getting there is hard.

Start by being direct during discovery.

Ask "Would you spend money on this? Would you allocate budget?" Not "would you use it". Would you PAY?

If yes, push to close.

Easier said than done. Nobody wants to buy from "a rickety startup with no customers." Do what it takes to overcome the credibility gap.

When pushing for payment, remember: inconsequential money isn't validation. Amount matters.

As Santiago, co-founder and CEO of Momentum puts it:

"If you ask for inconsequential money, like $1,000, some will pay because it's easier to allocate small $ than disappoint you on a Zoom call."

For someone with a corporate card, $1,000 can make awkwardness disappear. That's conflict avoidance, not validation.

Push for real money. $5,000. $20,000. Whatever requires actual pain to justify.

Another reason for paying customers asap: They use products seriously. They demand real fixes, not hypothetical features. With revenue, you're building something real.

If nobody wants to pay, there’s no real problem.

People pay grudgingly? You're onto something.

People pay happily and want more? Double down immediately.

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Enjoyed reading this?

Check out my conversation on the focal podcast with Santiago Suarez Ordoñez, Co-Founder and CEO of Momentum, who spent 15 years as a successful engineering leader before deliberately building for sales teams - a market he knew nothing about. He went from "never sold anything" to building a thriving AI sales company in a short time period and has many lessons to share that especially fellow technical founders need to hear.

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