Growth · The Spark
Lighthouse or landgrab: the go-to-market choice every AI-era sales team faces
A16z's framework for picking a sales motion works for any B2B revenue team, not only AI startups. Here is how to choose between lighthouse and landgrab.
A lighthouse strategy wins a small number of marquee accounts whose credibility pulls the rest of the market in behind them. A landgrab strategy moves fast and wide, selling to anyone ready to buy, on the logic that speed and volume compound before slower rivals catch up. Most B2B teams pick one by accident. The right choice comes down to three questions, not instinct.
The two motions, in plain terms
Both are legitimate ways to take a product to market, and both fail when a team runs the wrong one for its stage and product.
- Lighthouse: a handful of named accounts, chosen for the credibility they lend to everyone watching them buy.
- Landgrab: broad, fast coverage of a market, betting that volume and speed compound before competitors organise a response.
Why a founder framework now matters to ordinary revenue teams
The framework was set out by Elena Burger with Andy McCall and Joe Schmidt on a16z's YouTube channel, built for founders selling AI products into the enterprise. Their point travels well beyond AI-native startups: any team choosing where to point a limited sales headcount in 2026 is making the same call, whether the product is agentic software or a traditional platform.
"The mistake we see most often is a mid-market team trying to run a landgrab with a lighthouse-sized team," says Josh Harris, founder of The Sparked Group. "You end up with forty logos and none of them referenceable, which is the worst of both strategies."
The three questions that actually decide it
Before choosing a motion, answer these honestly:
- Does your product need a marquee name to be believed, or does the value prove itself on a free trial?
- Can your team properly support ten fast-moving pilots at once, or only two done well?
- Is your category still being defined, or is it already crowded with buyers who know exactly what they want?
What we are telling clients this month
Most of the mid-market teams we work with default to landgrab because it feels like more activity: more meetings, more logos on a slide. But a small team running a landgrab motion usually ends up with a long list of half-onboarded accounts and no one left to reference in the next deal. For a team with fewer than five people across sales and success, lighthouse is nearly always the safer bet, even when it feels slower.
Pick the motion your team can actually deliver on, not the one that looks fastest on a slide.
Frequently asked
Questions buyers ask about this
What is the difference between a lighthouse and a landgrab go-to-market strategy?
A lighthouse strategy focuses on a small number of marquee accounts whose success convinces the rest of the market. A landgrab strategy moves quickly across a broad market, betting that speed and volume win before competitors respond.
Which strategy should a small B2B sales team choose?
A team with fewer than five people across sales and customer success is usually better served by a lighthouse motion, since it can support the hands-on delivery a few marquee accounts need without stretching thin.
Can a company run both strategies at once?
Rarely, and not well. Splitting attention between broad coverage and deep, hands-on delivery for named accounts tends to produce mediocre results on both fronts, so most teams need to commit to one motion at a time.
Where did the lighthouse versus landgrab framework come from?
It was set out by Elena Burger, Andy McCall and Joe Schmidt on a16z's YouTube channel, built originally for founders selling AI products into the enterprise, though the choice applies to any B2B go-to-market team.
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