Sales Track
Ready to connect with your peers who are currently in school or have recently graduated? Grab your free ticket for Startup Boston Week 2025 on Sept 8th - 12th today!
More sessions are still being added to the SBW2025 agenda!
All sessions are available BOTH in-person at Suffolk University and virtually.
LANDING THE WHALE: WINNING YOUR FIRST ENTERPRISE DEAL
Perfect for: founders, early marketing and sales hires, and product leaders alike, this session will help you understand how marketing fits into the big-picture strategy of going upmarket - and how to turn your first enterprise deal into a growth engine.
Your first big enterprise customer can put your startup on the map, but getting there takes more than a slick pitch deck or a smooth-talking sales team. Enterprise deals are a full-team effort, and marketing plays a pivotal role in making it happen.
In this session, we’ll break down how startups can land their first enterprise customer by aligning marketing, sales, and product around a unified go-to-market motion. From generating the right kind of interest to enabling the sales team and building credibility with enterprise buyers, we’ll walk through what it really takes, featuring real stories and proven strategies from teams who’ve done it.
What you’ll learn:
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How to build and prioritize a target list of enterprise prospects - and craft messaging that gets attention
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The role of product marketing in shaping features and positioning for enterprise buyers
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How marketing can shorten long sales cycles through education, content, and strategic nurturing
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Ways to support the sales process with case studies, thought leadership, and social proof
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Tips for managing brand perception and buyer trust throughout the enterprise journey
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The most common mistakes startups make when marketing to enterprise - and how to avoid them
MONETIZATION THAT SCALES: HOW PRICING AND PACKAGING EVOLVE FROM MVP TO SCALE
Perfect for: founders, product managers, and early business leaders looking to build sustainable, scalable revenue from day one
Your pricing model isn’t just a number - it’s a strategy that can unlock growth or hold you back. For early-stage startups, getting monetization right is critical, but too often it’s treated like an afterthought.
In this session, we will break down how to choose, test, and scale a pricing strategy that actually works. You’ll get tactical advice on monetization models, key metrics to track, and common mistakes to avoid when building a revenue engine that scales. We’ll cover:
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Proven pricing models for SaaS startups - and when to use them
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How to evolve your pricing without alienating early users
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Metrics that matter most when it comes to monetization
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How to test pricing effectively (and avoid guesswork)
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What investors look for in your pricing and revenue model
LAUNCH LIKE A PRO: GTM PLAYBOOKS FOR FOUNDERS AND EARLY TEAMS
Perfect for: founders, PMs, and early GTM teams looking to build revenue-driven launch strategies that stick
You’ve built something great - now how do you sell it? For first-time founders, launching a product is more than a marketing splash - it’s about building a go-to-market (GTM) motion that drives real revenue from day one.
In this hands-on workshop, we’ll help you create a structured, actionable GTM launch plan focused on sales, not just brand awareness.
From aligning with product and marketing to choosing the right launch approach, this session will give you the frameworks, templates, and confidence to launch with purpose - and close your first customers. We’ll dive into:
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What a strong GTM launch plan actually includes
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How to align your sales, marketing, and product teams around launch
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When to soft launch vs go all-in - and how to decide
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How to define and measure launch success in sales terms
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Common GTM pitfalls and how to avoid them
DON'T CHASE VANITY METRICS: THE CRITICAL KPIS THAT COUNT
Perfect for: founders, GTM operators, and sales leads looking to sharpen their data game and steer their startup with confidence
Not all metrics are created equal. In the early days of a startup, it's easy to get distracted by vanity metrics - but the real signals of business health are often buried beneath the noise.
This interactive workshop will break down the essential KPIs every founder and GTM leader should know, track, and report.
We’ll help you connect the dots between what’s happening in your funnel and what investors actually care about, so you can measure what matters and make smarter decisions, faster. You’ll learn:
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Which KPIs are mission-critical at Seed vs. Series A
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How to accurately track CAC, LTV, churn, and burn
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What a clear, compelling dashboard looks like for investor updates
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How to evaluate your sales funnel for true efficiency
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How to avoid getting misled by vanity metrics
AI IN SALES: THE NEW PLAYBOOK FOR STARTUPS
Perfect for: founders, RevOps leaders, early sales hires, and anyone eager to grow smarter - not just faster - with AI
In this tactical panel, startup founders and sales leaders will unpack how to practically apply AI across your sales motions, pinpointing where it can save you time and where you need to lean in with a human touch. We’ll explore how to balance AI-driven prospecting and messaging with the relationship-building moments that still require a personal connection.
You’ll hear about:
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Tools and platforms that automate key sales workflows (and how to vet them)
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Training AI tools to speak in your startup’s voice and value prop
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The dos and don’ts of using AI in sales - what can and shouldn’t be automated
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Common missteps and risks to avoid when adopting AI
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Using AI to reduce customer acquisition costs without losing authenticity
Whether you’re a founder building your first growth engine, a sales leader looking to streamline your team’s efforts, or an early hire juggling sales, this session will offer grounded insights and frameworks you can apply right away. Expect actionable ideas, tool recommendations, and smarter ways to scale your sales efforts with limited resources.
COLD CALLING & COLD EMAILING IN 2026: WHAT'S WORKING, WHAT'S NOT
Perfect for: founders, RevOps leaders, early sales hires, and anyone who wants to up their game in cold outreach for the modern sales landscape
In this tactical panel, startup founders and sales leaders will break down the evolving landscape of outbound outreach in 2026 - what’s still effective, what’s lost its luster, and how to strike the right balance between automation and authentic connection. We’ll explore the tools and techniques that can supercharge your outreach while keeping your startup’s unique voice and value proposition front and center.
You’ll hear about:
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The most effective cold outreach strategies for 2026 and beyond
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How to write emails and call scripts that actually get responses
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Tools and platforms that can help you personalize and scale your outreach
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The dos and don’ts of automation in cold calling and emailing - when to let AI take the wheel and when to add the human touch
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Navigating data privacy and deliverability challenges in a changing landscape
Whether you’re a founder hustling to find your first customers, a sales leader looking to refresh your team’s outbound playbook, or an early hire handling prospecting alongside everything else, this session will offer grounded, up-to-date insights you can put into action immediately.
Meet Sundararaman Rengarajan! Sundar is our Sales Track Lead for Startup Boston Week 2025. This is his first year on the Startup Boston Organizing Team.
Some fun facts about him: he plays Indian Classical on the violin and has performed in concerts throughout Boston. Learn more about them here.