Oper secured its first paying customer within three months of founding by leveraging an existing network and focusing on a clear, well-defined product vision. For early-stage founders, having a design partner or initial customer is a powerful way to gain traction quickly and validate your offering. It also allows you to start generating revenue from day one, which is crucial for momentum.

Geert emphasizes the importance of quickly acquiring a second client to avoid building proprietary software for just one partner. Founders should be mindful of this trap and focus on scaling their product to serve multiple customers from the beginning, ensuring the solution has broad market appeal.

Oper's marketing strategy focuses heavily on producing high-quality, expert-driven content. By publishing reports and sharing best practices, they’ve been able to position themselves as thought leaders. This approach allows them to scale their insights to a wider audience, building credibility without relying solely on direct sales interactions. For founders, content creation can be a strategic way to establish authority and expand reach.

Oper made a strategic decision to eliminate SDRs, instead relying on experienced account executives capable of handling the full sales cycle. This approach is particularly effective for enterprise sales with high ticket sizes. Founders should evaluate whether their sales team structure aligns with the complexity of their deals and consider moving toward more senior, full-stack sales roles where appropriate.

Contrary to the advice that founders should eventually step away from sales, Geert believes in the power of maintaining strong, direct relationships with key clients, even as the company scales. Founders involved in sales build deeper trust with customers, especially in enterprise markets. For B2B founders, staying close to sales—especially with big clients—can help ensure the company stays customer-centric and continues to win major deals.