SMB AE to Enterprise SDR? I was recently laid off from my role as an smb AE at a seed stage startup and am wondering if I should become an Enterprise SDR at a bigger company or try to find a AE role at startup again. I've been laid off in the last two roles I've been in as an AE and previously a Founding SDR. Both of these times it was not my performance but the performance of company and the inability to raise capital that led to me being let go. I am leaning towards becoming an Enterprise SDR as I am close to being offered by some of the top companies on Repvue and the OTE is higher than my last AE role. I am still unsure if it is a good idea to wait another 12-24 months before I can get back to an AE role again. Looking for any and all advice as I have not been apart of a company bigger than 50 people yet.
I would first try to break into an AE role at any big and or reputable company, because since you have the title of AE you can easily only be an AE again, and despite what people say taking a step back to SDR is not necessarily worth it. Now if you have an SDR offer that is the same or greater OTE as your last AE roles you're not taking a financial L, so you could definitely consider it. But I wouldn't do it just because getting promoted is an uncertainty
I went from a SMB AE to an ENT BDR at a early stage startup that had 'promised' a move into a closing role at the 1 year mark minimum. That did not happen and I was let go after 1 year after a round of funding and whole sales team re-org. It took me a couple more tries to finally get back into a closing role, so I wouldn't recommend going the route I did - stick to a closing role if you can.
First you need to assess the salary. If it is similar to what you’ve received, then that’s taken care of. You then need to decide, if you’re comfortable being in the SDR/BDR role for a few years. If you can accept that, I would say the SDR/BDR role is a decent move. You will also have the advantage of been in these AE roles before, and the AEs you will align with will likely see the value in that vs someone green. Find an AE you can work with you trust, let them know your background and intentions, and ask them to help you get there, in return for performing for them. I think you’ll end up on top!
Starting at an AI Company as an SDR and growing into AE might be helpful as AI companies are rapidly growing
You’re not starting over. You’re buying stability and exposure. People treat SDR roles like a step back, but in your case it’s more like a recalibration. You’ve done the founder-led chaos thing. Now go see what a functioning machine looks like. Learn from it. If you’re good, you won’t have to wait 2 years to promote. But even if you do? You’ll finally be on solid ground.