First Round launches Sales Combine, promising free training and company introductions

First Round’s Sales Combine will offer free sales training and company introductions, Liz Wessel announced on September 16. She named Notion, fal, Rillet, Gumloop, Serval and Verkada as examples. Her pitch is that AI companies are working hard to find good salespeople, while candidates can struggle to break in without the right past employers or years of experience. First Round is betting it can teach high-potential talent the human parts of selling as AI makes the mechanics easier to learn. The announced application deadline is October 3, 2026.