I agree with other commenters that you've advertised for a coufounding CEO, rather than a sales guy. Be your own CEO, or officially hand over the reins to a CEO

I agree with other commenters that you've advertised for a coufounding CEO, rather than a sales guy. Be your own CEO, or officially hand over the reins to a CEO hire -- don't hire a sales guy for the wrong job. But, here's my advice for an early hire startup sales guy, should to go that way: First, make sure they're a startup sales guy, not just a traditional sales guy. Other comments in the thread have given enough perfectly good reasons. There's lots of individuals who want to be (and are good at) doing startup sales. I'd liken the difference between big sales guys and startup sales guys similar to coders who perform best in large companies, versus strong first technical hires. You have to be a risk taker, and willing to go with really low/no pay for a while. Traditional sales guys are often very well paid, are strict 9-5 workers, and wouldn't handle the early startup stress Also, every job I've ever taken at a startup as a "sales guy" has been one where compensation is linked to performance. Not commission specifically, though that play a part; I mean that to get a salary, I have to deliver in regards to traffic, conversions, or any other measurable factor for the company. Basically, each week I'm called to be accountable for what I accomplished at a quantified level. I don't get paid until I hit a threshold ($15,000 in sales, x new clients based on my efforts, higher SE rank). Do the same for your hire. Do a 4-5 month contract to see if it's going to work, make compensation based on performance, and shake hands and part ways at the end of the period if it doesn't work out -- its business.