Most founders think the hard part is closing the round.
The real pressure begins the day the money lands. 🎉
That’s when belief becomes expectation, and narrative gives way to performance.
What trips teams up isn’t product failure. It’s go-to-market misalignment.
- The founder was on the road.
- The CRO was only half embedded.
- Sales was still pitching with Seed-stage decks.
- And the buyer? Misunderstood.
Then the quarter starts.
🚫 Pipeline isn’t where it needs to be
🚫 Hires need messaging that doesn’t exist
🚫 Targets start slipping before anyone realises what’s broken
Capital doesn’t fix this.
Clarity does.
🧠The founders who scale ask sharper questions before the raise closes.
âś… The 7 GTM Questions That Build Post-Raise Traction
1. Who is our real ICP, and what are they struggling with?
If you can’t describe their pain in their words, your team won’t land relevance or pipeline.
2. Why do customers switch to us?
It’s never just features. It’s risk, timing, and frustration. Understand the emotional and strategic drivers behind the deal.
3. What job are they hiring our product to do?
This defines what “success” looks like after the deal. It’s the anchor for onboarding, expansion, and retention.
4. Where do we win, and why?
Not in dashboards — in the customer’s own words. Capture that story and make it your GTM backbone.
5. What’s the first conversation we need to get right?
Every meeting should earn a second one. Your team needs to lead with insight, not introductions.
6. Is our messaging founder-led or team-ready?
If the founder is the only one who can tell the story, it won’t scale.
7. What does our first 100 days post-raise look like?
Not a headcount plan. A GTM sprint. Aligned around the buyer and measured by momentum.
📌 Series A and B give you capital — but they don’t build traction, pipeline, or trust with buyers.
That happens when you build your GTM around what your customer is trying to fix, avoid, or achieve.
🎯 Treat the raise as a checkpoint, not a finish line.
Build the GTM muscle before the board starts asking for answers.
If you want the 100-day sprint framework or the Switch Interview guide we use with scaling teams, comment GTM below, and I’ll send it over.