FOMO Sapiens with Patrick J. McGinnis S14 E26 B2B Sales Guru Rob Snyder on The Real Physics Behind Sales
Apr 23, 2026
Rob Snyder, serial B2B founder and HBS alum who helps startups find real demand, recounts two years of brutal rejection that reshaped his sales playbook. He explains testing demand before building, selling with conversations or a two-slide MVP, and finding the ‘hell yes’ customer. The talk focuses on unblocking buyers, iterating your story with prospects, and why persuasion often fails.
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Validate Demand Before You Build
- Do start with a hypothesis of who is trying to accomplish something and is blocked by current options before building anything.
- Rob Snyder advises showing up with that hypothesis and immediately trying to sell to validate demand without building product.
Use A Slide Deck As Your MVP
- Do use a tiny MVP like a slide or two to test buyer interest rather than building full product or website.
- Rob recounts getting to $1M with a three-slide deck and a spreadsheet as the product, proving minimal assets can close deals.
Demand Is Blocked Progress Not Product Desire
- Demand isn't wanting a product; it's people trying to make progress and being blocked by existing options.
- Snyder reframes demand as real-world to-dos that exist independently of any startup's existence.