Salem Stanley

Background

About Salem Stanley

Most startups fail because no one wants what they built. I can fix that. I’m a 5x founder who can drop in into pre-idea and pre-seed startups to help them find real product-market fit, generate early revenue, and build momentum before scale breaks things. I’ve helped build multiple companies past $5M ARR, taken another to $2M, and learned the hard lessons that come with ideas that don’t work. My work spans B2C businesses across travel, tourism, events, higher education, and service-driven companies. Some highlights: Built Vacation Races and Global Adventures into category-defining brands; Invented virtual races through Virtual Running Club; Helped grow Wander Project, a nonprofit that has raised $2M+ for public lands.In the first 90 days, I focus relentlessly on fundamentals- Defining a clear target market- Sharpening the value proposition- Talking directly to customers to validate the problem to be solved- Proving the solution is meaningfully different - and wanted - Building repeatable early GTM channels that create revenue, not noise. I’m best before Series A. Once a company is scaling, my job is usually done. If you’re a founder or a VC with conviction but unanswered GTM questions, DM me. I don’t advise from the sidelines - I prefer to work in the trenches with you.