Fractional sales for startups.
First deals, first team, first markets.In 3-6 months you will grow your pipeline and win new customers.
$0 → $600k
Supernova. No sales when I joined. I closed nearly all of it myself, then built the team.$11m → $18m
Cloudfresh bookings in FY2023, as interim CSO.$1.4m+
What Pointee raised off the back of its first US deal.$6m+
Brandwatch revenue over five years from two new territories.
Stories
Five companies. What actually happened.
Brandwatch: two new territories
Brandwatch gave me Belgium and Scandinavia. Both were brand-new territories. I started with my own network.The first deals were Volvo, Ericsson SEAT, and the European Council. Then a long run of Brussels agencies. SEAT was a team effort. I was the senior person on the account. It came in at $300k.Giles Palmer, Brandwatch's founder, and I reckon those first deals created over $6m of revenue in the five years after.Supernova.io: from zero
I joined with zero in sales. I worked closely with Andy (CPO) and Jiri (CEO). I spotted the need for a documentation module. Once it was there, the dominoes fell. Customers included DoorDash, KLM, Mozilla, Standard Chartered and GSK.I closed most of the first $600k myself. Then I hired the team. When I left, the pipeline was four times that. The team hit $1m that year.Pointee: Liberec to Omaha
Two deals. AXA: a basic sales flow, then an in-person meeting. Closed.Mutual of Omaha: constant positive pressure on our sponsor. It was the first US deal ever for a startup from a small city in the Czech Republic. Pointee raised over $1.4m soon after.I also opened the acquisition conversation with a major RPA leader. That one didn't go the distance, but it showed market interest.
Cloudfresh: $11m to $18m
I went in as interim CSO. I started the Polish operation and hired the team there. I ran a team in Ukraine through the war. I trained the sales team, again and again.We worked tightly with marketing, at events and in cleaning up HubSpot.Bookings went from $11m to $18m in FY2023. My number as CSO. The team did the selling.Talentpilot: logos that use the product
Big logos are easy to chase. I wanted ones that actually use the product. E.g. a Fortune Global 500 tech leader and a global leader in energy infrastructure investment.I closed Mews, SpaceT, VerityX, 100Coconuts and Featherless.AI. SpaceT was the first customer ever to pay for AI credits.I opened Booking.com, Ofcom, ADP, Stellantis and Miro, then handed them over.The pattern. First deals. First team. First markets. Then I hand it on.
Products
Five ways to work together.
GTM Sprint: 6 to 12 weeks
For founders who need pipeline now. I work your ICP, open buyer conversations and hand you qualified opportunities. You take it from qualification.I commit to conversations and SQOs, not to closed logos in 90 days. The scope matches your stage. Before product-market fit: fast experiments, lots of rejections, a sharper pitch. After it: speed, new markets, more distribution.Day rate plus a share of what closes.Europe Beachhead: 12 weeks
For US and Chinese companies with traction at home that want their first European customers. We pick your first two markets by where your buyers are. I open the first buyer conversations through my network, profile your first local seller and help you hire them, and map the partners, agencies and events that matter.I opened Belgium and Scandinavia for Brandwatch and Poland for Cloudfresh, and took a Czech startup to its first US deal.Network Spritz
Intros to up to ten people in my network. Picked for your ICP. Warm, with context. Fixed price.Founder Advisor: up to 12 months
Ongoing. A regular call, pitch and deal reviews, help with your first sales hires. Monthly fee.Henry & Simon: podcast and events
A podcast episode built around your company. Henry and I talk to you about the problem you solve and who you solve it for. You get the full episode, plus clips and reels to use in outreach and on LinkedIn.It builds your brand where your buyers already are. And it gives you a reason to start conversations. Fixed price.Events: we moderate, MC and create content at your conference. You get clips and posts to use long after the day.henryandsimon.com · YouTube
Resources
Things worth your time.
Founder-ready check
How ready is your GTM for the next stage? A short self-check for founders. Take the checkWebinar: What should AI take off a founder's sales plate?
With Momina A. Rajput, September 2026. What AI can take off a founder's plate, what founders should keep owning, whether AI SDRs book better meetings, and how to tell if the gap is messaging or sales leadership. Watch on LinkedInTech Happy Hours, Prague: 20 October 2026
I'm mentoring founders on sales at Startup Kitchen's flagship event. Come and find me. Event details
Who I am
Simon McDermott
Based in the Czech Republic. I sell across Europe and North America.30 years in sales. 23 of those years in startups, the last 8 in Czech startups.Attentio. Brandwatch. Supernova. Pointee. Cloudfresh. Talentpilot.I'd rather know your buyer's business than your feature list. I will help you find the pain, and you will grow your unicorn.
Contact
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Email me at [email protected], find me on LinkedIn, or leave a note below.
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