20VC · 2 min instead of 1 h 12 m · Oct 10, 2026
Decompose a rep's number to separate talent from order taking
MF
Max Freeman
Harry StebbingsHost · Founder, 20VC
Built a venture firm on his podcast; its third fund closed at $400M.
About this segment
Max describes how he tests whether a candidate's results were real. He breaks down their quota by source and has them reconstruct deals chronologically, including a deal they lost.
From “How to Build a Sales Machine | Max Freeman, Ramp”, Oct 10, 2026. Watch the full episode
“you have to decompose their number. And so, okay, you did 2 million. That's great. How much of it was inbound? How much of it was outbound?”
Takeaways
- Split their number by inbound, outbound, expansion and founder-sourced
- Make candidates rebuild two deals step by step in order
- Ask about a lost deal; weak reasons signal weak sellers
In this episode
Full episode9:25Decompose a rep's number to separate talent from order taking1:36