DC Drew Calin
Foundry GTM
Foundry GTM Toolkit · Hire Series

The AE Hire Rubric.

Score AE candidates against a consistent bar. Five readiness checks first, then eight dimensions of candidate scoring, ending with a hire recommendation and specific interview moves per weakness.

01
Check your readiness
Five yes/no questions on whether your business can actually support another AE right now.
02
Score the candidate
Eight dimensions across track record, motion fit, execution, hunter instinct, coachability, resilience, communication, and culture.
03
Get a hire decision
Tier-based recommendation with specific interview questions per weak dimension. Different interviewers score different dimensions to reduce anchoring bias.
Are you ready?
AE Readiness Check · 5 Questions

Before you evaluate any AE candidate, verify your business can support one. An AE takes 3-6 months to ramp and costs $180-250K fully loaded. If any of the five below is a No, delay the hire and fix what's missing first, or you'll spend 6 months paying for a rep who can't ramp because the motion, coaching, or playbook doesn't exist yet.

Is your motion repeatable?
5+ deals closed by someone other than the founder in the target motion. If only the founder has closed, the motion isn't proven for a rep to plug into. An AE cannot be your first repeatable-motion experiment.
Do you have someone to coach them?
A dedicated Sales Manager, founder, or head of GTM committed to 3+ hours per week of 1:1 coaching, call reviews, and pipeline reviews. Reps do not self-develop. Without a coach, the AE either invents their own motion or leaves within 6 months.
Is there a quota, comp plan, and ramp curve defined?
Specific quota number, base/variable comp split, ramp expectations (%s at 30/60/90/120 days), and accelerator mechanic. Vague comp = you're negotiating the deal in the offer letter, not before.
Does a playbook exist for the AE to plug into?
ICP one-pager, discovery scorecard, showcase script, stage exit criteria, objection library. Not perfect versions. Working drafts the rep can start from. Without this, the rep spends the first 90 days building tooling instead of closing deals.
Do you have 9+ months of runway for this hire?
An AE takes 3-6 months to ramp. Then 3+ more months to know if they're going to hit. Under 9 months of runway means you're firing under duress before you know whether the hire was the right call.
Rate the candidate
8 Dimensions · Score 1 to 3
Scoring System · 1 to 3 Per Dimension
1
Major gapMeaningful mismatch or missing capability. Would require significant coaching or accepting real risk on the hire.
2
Partial fitSome of the capability but not the full pattern. Verify with references and additional interviews before offer.
3
Strong fitDirect match. Pattern is documented in their track record. High confidence.
Total Score
0/ 24
01
Track record
Have they hit or exceeded quota in the last 2-3 years? Specific attainment numbers against a specific quota, not "top performer" or "President's Club." Look for: H/M/L attainment for the last 5 quarters, verifiable with references.
02
Motion fit
Does their prior motion match yours? Inbound-heavy reps fail at outbound. Enterprise reps fail at SMB velocity. Look for: last 5 deals with ACV, cycle length, buyer titles, and prospecting source. Compare to your motion.
03
Deal execution
Can they run discovery, showcase, and close on the fly? Not "have they done it," can they do it in real time. Look for: role-play a discovery in the interview. Do they open cleanly, qualify pain, land a next step?
04
Hunter capability
Can they self-source pipeline? Or do they need it handed to them? Neither is bad, but it must match your motion. Look for: number of self-sourced meetings in the last 6 months. Under 20 means they need pipeline handed. Fatal for outbound roles.
05
Coachability
Willing to be coached. Curious. Applies feedback in real time. Look for: give them a piece of coaching in the interview. Watch how they respond. Defensive = fatal. Applies it in the next question = green flag.
06
Resilience + ownership
Handle rejection, tough deals, difficult quarters without breaking. Own their number even when they aren't fully in control. Look for: first-person accountability. "I missed" beats "we had a rough quarter." "I rebuilt my pipeline" beats "marketing didn't deliver."
07
Communication + presence
Written and verbal clarity. Executive presence in front of a CFO. Can hold structure under pressure. Look for: how they answer complex questions. Do they organize their thinking? Concise, direct, structured = signal. Rambling = red flag.
08
Culture + mission fit
Interviews for the mission, not the title. Interrogates your business. Wants to understand why you'd win. Look for: quality of questions they ask about your unit economics, motion, competitive position. Best AEs interrogate before accepting.
Hire Recommendation
Diagnosis
0 / 24
0% scored
Your call, my read
Score all 8 dimensions to see the hire recommendation and priority interview moves.
This is a rubric, not a rule. A single dimension scored 1 is not automatic disqualification. Great AEs occasionally have a 1 (usually hunter capability if they're coming from an inbound-only environment). Coach those specific gaps in the first 90 days. Poor hires often have all 3s on paper but fail on ownership under pressure. Use the score as the starting point of a conversation, not the end.
The Foundry Hire Series
Different hire, different rubric.

The best AE hires plug into a system.

An AE hire in a broken system fails. Every time. If your readiness check flagged gaps, a Foundry Playbook designs the operating system that your team runs your AEs need to ramp fast: ICP + motion + scorecards + onboarding. Then hire against this rubric.

Book a 30-min call Or take the 2-minute Foundry Scorecard for a custom engagement recommendation →