Ever wondered what it takes to walk away from a seven-figure corporate job to build something from the ground up?

In this week's newsletter, I'm sharing insights from my conversation with Lauren Goodell, founder of Zinnia – an AI-powered assistant for sales professionals. After a decade at Microsoft, LG, and Salesforce, Lauren left it all behind to solve a problem she faced herself. Her journey reveals why resilience matters more than experience and how treating investors like potential spouses might be the smartest approach.

What's inside:

• The uncomfortable truth about leaving corporate security behind

• How to approach investors (hint: don't ask for money on the first call)

• Why finding the right co-founder can make or break your startup

• The reality of working 100-hour weeks as a founder

Don't miss out: Check out this week’s episode with Lauren Gadell below!

Let's dive in!

This Week’s Founder Interview

Why Corporate Sales Reps Make Great Founders

Lauren's story highlights why so many investors are betting on former sales professionals to build successful companies.

"Sales and entrepreneurship go hand in hand," Lauren explained. "You're running your own territory as if it's your own business. You're identifying your target market, your marketing channels, how to reach out to them. You're fitting your product into their story, their initiatives, and their problems."

This perspective is why one of Lauren's investors frequently posts about how tech sales reps make the best founders and CEOs – they've already been running mini-businesses within larger organizations.

Walking Away From Corporate Security

After a decade in corporate sales, Lauren had achieved her biggest goals – closing the largest deal in her org and making seven figures in commission – but found herself unfulfilled.

The turning point? "I just closed the biggest deal of my entire career while playing Candy Crush on my phone."

For Lauren, the decision came down to values: "I'm not super motivated by cash flow. I'm more motivated by learning and growth and challenge."

Walking away brought fears of financial uncertainty and public failure. As Lauren admits, "What if I fail very publicly in front of everybody that I know?" But she's gained perspective: "Every successful entrepreneur I know has had five, six failures before they were ever successful."

The Investor Dating Game

Lauren pitched to 70 investors before getting her first term sheet. Her approach to investor relationships has completely transformed since then.

"When I first started pitching investors, I was like, 'VCs are scary.' What I realized is investors are people too."

Her key advice: "Talk to investors as early as possible, and your first call should never be asking for money."

Instead, she recommends reaching out 6-8 months before you need funding to build relationships. "You don't ever want to marry somebody without dating them. Getting into a partnership with an investor means you'll be talking to them every week or month."

Choosing the Right Co-Founder

With over 30% of startups failing due to co-founder conflicts, Lauren's approach to finding her CTO co-founder, Marco offers valuable lessons:

• They spent two full days discussing their values, work styles, and goals using First Round Capital's "50 questions" framework

• Started with a trial period where Marco worked without compensation

• Discussed everything from big-picture goals to small but critical compatibility issues

"Marco said, 'Why don't I work with you for the next couple months? Don't pay me. And if at the end of it, you think I've done good work, bring me on as your co-founder.'"

The Reality of Founder Life

Despite the highlights, Lauren was refreshingly honest about the challenges:

"If it was easy, everybody would do it. As a founder and CEO, my job is to do sales and marketing and operations, but I'm also the office janitor and the social committee and HR and everything else."

Currently, she's juggling 40-50 meetings per week, managing customer feedback, and working 100-hour weeks that can feel isolating and exhausting.

Zinnia: AI-Powered Sales Assistance

Zinnia functions as "an AE's best friend," handling the time-consuming research and preparation that sales professionals struggle to fit into their day.

The platform integrates with CRM, email, and calendar tools to provide:

• Personalized meeting preparation based on previous conversations

• Automated research on prospects and companies

• Call recording analysis and follow-up email drafting

• "Next Best Action" recommendations to prevent deals from "dying in your inbox"

With over 100 businesses now on the platform, Zinnia is gaining traction by automating the administrative burden that makes up "90% of the job" in sales.

Lauren's Advice for 18-Year-Olds

"Nobody knows what they're doing, so just go for it. Don't be afraid of failure because you will fail over and over, and that's okay because failure is just learning."

Connect with Lauren and Zinnia

If you're interested in learning more:

• LinkedIn: Lauren Goodell

• Website: getzinnia.ai

What's Your Biggest Question About Startup Life?

Are you curious about raising capital? Finding co-founders? Making the leap from corporate? Reply to this email with your biggest question about entrepreneurship!

Until next time,

Andres Sanchez
Host, Beyond the Wealth Podcast

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