How Not To Die During The $1M to $10M Journey | Why Specialization Beats Founder Magic | Why Hiring Carbon Copies of Yourself Cannot Work | Why Pipeline Generation Solves Everything | Guillaume Jacquet, CEO & Co-Founder, Vasco

Most startups die between $1M-$10M ARR because they try to reinvent the wheel.A lot is written about the $0 to $1M ARR journey. A lot less about the $1M to $10M journey - even though that’s where lots of promising companies die. Most of what it takes to get to $10M ARR follows established patterns. Yet, too many startups try to reinvent the wheel and die as a consequence. In this episode, Guillaume Jacquet walks us through the steps you have to take as a founder as you move from founder-led sales to a predictable revenue engine. Learn why 80% of scaling from $1M to $10M is science, not magic, and discover the counterintuitive hiring sequence that most founders get wrong.Guillaume Jacquet is Co-founder and CEO of Vasco, the revenue architecture platform for VC-backed startups to maximize go-to-market efficiency. He's built and scaled multiple B2B companies through the critical $1M-$10M journey and codified the repeatable systems that work.In Today's Episode We Discuss:00:00 - Why building $100M starts with forgetting about $100M01:17 - The founder magic trap that kills growth at $1M ARR03:13 - How to surgically narrow your ICP when everyone says go broader05:49 - Why your best customers move from purchase to value fastest10:16 - The impossible metrics problem when salespeople do everything13:18 - Mapping the real B2B customer journey most founders ignore15:05 - Why customer success must be your first hire (not sales)17:48 - The counterintuitive order for removing yourself from revenue20:01 - When predictable pipeline generation solves everything22:24 - Why full-stack sales reps destroy accountability and growth24:31 - How your ICP dictates your entire go-to-market motion32:31 - The exact close rate benchmarks that signal go-to-market fit37:26 - When to split implementation from retention for velocity39:17 - Why expansion specialists unlock 140% net revenue retention42:16 - The two paths from $10M to $50M (and why most choose wrong)44:48 - The 18-month hiring mistake that killed his first company