Startup with $2M+ quota… realistic or totally wild?! Hey all, I’m an AE at Big Corporate looking to move into startup land. I’ve got 2 offers and the quota differences are blowing my mind. Offer A: Series C legal AI unicorn Quota: $2.2M–$2.6M ARR Avg deal size around $290k They’re saying one rep closed $8M last year and a new rep already has a $2M deal in motion Team keeps insisting this is “very attainable” because the product is hot Offer B: Later-stage FinTech unicorn Quota: $1.1M ARR Historically proven attainment and predictable motion My question: Is anyone actually hitting $2M plus quota at startup scale? Is this legit or are they feeding me vision
$2M quota is definitely high, but let's break it down a bit: Let's say they are overshooting their average deal size, and it's more like $250k. That's eight deals you'd need to close a year. You'd probably need the normal 3x pipeline coverage - so, maybe $6M total in pipeline. That is a lot of pipeline coverage ---- but the AI gold rush is definitely on and companies are spending money hand over fist on AI initiatives. But here's the main thing to consider - what is the OTE for each role? If they are pretty similar, than the Legal AI company is paying you a lot less on what you would be closing. If using the rule of about 20% (between base and upside), the OTE should be about $400k at plan. If it's more like $230-240k, that doesn't seem fair to me.
Trust but verify... mostly verify. It's possible - but the numbers that they're citing represent the best case. Ask how many reps are on the team and what % of them hit quota last year - or will this year. Back channel to a rep on your own and get their take. It's not impossible. Legal AI is one of the best use-cases - both in terms of AI being able to add real value at scale, as well as customers/prospects with budget. You have 2 offers in a tough job market - so you have some leverage here. Congrats on that!