I’m a big Halo nerd, but this post has nothing to do with the videogame or TV show.
Back in 2023, three years into my 1st tech sales gig, I was evaluating what to do next. I walked Meka Asonye, Partner @ First Round Capital, through my framework for the next role. He listened patiently and said, “you’re missing the most important thing: the halo effect.”
At the time, I nodded like I understood. I didn’t then, but I do now.
If you haven’t yet worked at a known breakout company, the halo effect should trump almost everything else - great leaders, talent density, and ability to learn.
I Learned the Expensive Way (2x)
I hate admitting this, but I made the same mistake twice and it likely cost me millions in potential W2 and career growth opportunities.
Mistake #1 - Optimizing for Leaders: In 2020, leaving banking, I joined Branch for my first tech sales gig. I picked two amazing mentors, Navid Zolfaghari (now CRO, Zapier) and Tomer Chernia (now VP GTM, Cursor).
Talent density was high. Many of those teammates are now OpenAI, Anthropic, Cursor, Decagon…etc. I learned a ton from my mentors. But Branch capped out ~$100M ARR. No breakout exit. No category-defining moment. No halo.
Careers advanced, but often in circuitous paths. Talent density ≠ halo effect. Talent density is a subcomponent, not the outcome.
Mistake #2 - Optimized for Early Stage: Next stop was Series A Metronome in a Founding GTM role. Incredibly difficult sale. Tiny TAM.
I arguably learned more about true enterprise grit and how to be scrappy than I would at any “top 1%” company. But the harsh reality is, no one cares.
Last week, I had dinner with a few of our founding GTM crew. They are now at OpenAI, Langchain, Cursor, Anthropic, Zapier, Clay…etc.
The talent was elite, but billing is not a category people dream about. The TAM was small and it wasn’t going to be Snowflake.
Takeaway: In both roles, I grew, learned a lot, and worked alongside talented people. That is invaluable. But why not do that the same at a place where you can feel proud to have built a generational and customer-delighting company and get pulled along to the next big thing?
What the Halo Effect Actually Unlocks
I hit my 1-Year anniversary at Cognition last week and fully internalized what Meka meant. I try to articulate to the fresh grads on our team that they cannot take this experience for granted and encourage them to appreciate how lucky they are to have joined Cognition in their 1st job because career effects will compound. Some of the impact:
Doing the Impossible: This year, I chased down 17 signatures to get a Fortune 500 CEO to sign a 7-figure deal on the last day of the quarter, after procurement told us it would take 30 more days. In the past, I would’ve accepted the delay, but when surrounded by leaders who’ve seen hypergrowth before, your ceiling shifts. It’s like breaking the 4-minute mile, something that was previously impossible until you see someone else do it. That halo effect normalizes the impossible.
Real Sales Discipline: At Metronome, the TAM was small and there was a frequent debate as to whether we had found true product market fit. Everyone on our team chased unqualified deals because we needed at-bats. At a breakout company, the TAM is bigger, market pull is greater, and you get more swings. You get the right to qualify out deals when the market actually cares about your product.
Career Ceiling Removal: Coming out of Metronome, I was bucketed as “enterprise” sales (not "strategic" or “majors”). At Cognition, Fortune 500 penetration created the surface area and I got placed on the largest accounts and proved capability that was already there. I’ve watched colleagues go from SDR to Emerging Enterprise AE in < 12 months. Midmarket managers now running enterprise. Growth creates new seats at the table.
Recruiter Inbound Gravity: In the past, I had to claw my way into interview processes. Creative outbound to hiring managers. Warm intro gymnastics. Now? Recruiter inbounds from the same logos that I previously had to chase.
Why this Wont’ Change (At Least Until the Agents Take Over)
Robert Cialdini’s favorite two words: Social Proof (highly recommend reading Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion).
Hiring managers and buyers at great companies pattern-match because they’re busy and flooded with options.
If you worked at Stripe, they assume you can act like a consultant.
If you worked at Snowflake, they assume you are a master of sales discipline.
If you worked at MongoDB, they assume you have an elite network to hire from.
If you survived hypergrowth, they assume you can handle chaos.
Are these assumptions always true? Definitely not. Are there amazing operators who work at the no-name start-up who never got their breakout shot? Absolutely.
But, in a world flooded with options, people derisk.
Not for the Feint of Heart
Like any bias, or heuristic, there is some truth to these assumptions. In particular, working at a hypergrowth company is challenging because the team composition evolves so rapidly with new hires, quotas/targets/goals change to meet growth, competition is fierce, and messaging/product evolves on a weekly basis. You are expected to work around the clock.
Not many sales people want to be in that environment. Thriving in that environment is a good leading indicator you can do it again.
Conclusion
As you think about your next opp, if you haven’t yet been part of a breakout company, one element trumps all: the halo effect.
If you need help picking: here’s the framework I used to pick Windsurf
If you can’t break through the noise, here’s how I stood out in the hiring process.
Cheers,
Julian @ GTMBA