Building outbound for an AI-driven data modeling platform in 60 days

Business context

A fast-growing, AI-driven data modeling platform had recently emerged from the product–market fit (PMF) phase. With over a dozen early customers onboard, market demand was proven—but growth was still driven by the founder’s personal network, investor referrals, and warm intros.

There was no outbound engine. No segmentation. No repeatable pipeline. While the product team had a strong technical vision, there was no clear path to attract or convert new buyers—especially beyond their immediate network.

Business goal

The team needed to scale beyond founder-led growth and build a go-to-market motion that could generate pipeline independently. That meant identifying who to target, how to reach them, and how to consistently convert interest into meetings—all without relying on warm connections.

Our role

Spright was brought in to build outbound from the ground up: define ICPs, shape messaging for a highly technical product, and drive consistent meeting flow. The focus was on creating a repeatable system—not just to deliver short-term results, but to lay the foundation for scalable growth.

Challenges

• No structured outbound motion—just founder-led sales
• ICP was loosely defined and untested
• Messaging had to speak to technical minds and business value
• No feedback loop between sales, product, and marketing

Process

ICP development through insight and iteration

We couldn’t lean on legacy data—there wasn’t any, we leaned into experience.

So we started with smart assumptions, grounded in domain knowledge and market signals.

We focused on:

• Vertical fit: Industries underserved by technical tooling or mid-transformation
• Functional roles: Both technical champions and business decision-makers—often in DevOps, DataOps, and API-heavy environments
• Company size & stage: Post–Series A startups and mid-sized tech-forward teams

These definitions weren’t static. Each week, we refined them based on live outreach signals and discovery calls—collaborating closely with the founder and marketing to realign in real time.

Cold outreach infrastructure & messaging frameworks

With no existing systems, we had to move fast—and build smart.

In just under two weeks, we deployed a full-stack outbound engine:

• Email infrastructure with high-reputation domains and warming protocols
• Calling systems with direct-dial access and structured scripts tailored to technical buyers
• Sequenced outreach via email and phone—turning product complexity into clear business value
• Modular personalization by persona, vertical, and use case—designed for scale

Because we were speaking to deeply technical audiences—developers, engineering leads, CTOs—the messaging had to hit right.

Our messaging avoided generic sales language—instead, we used technical vocabulary with precision, keeping the problem-solution story at the core.

Real-time feedback loop with Product and Marketing

We treated every discovery call as signal—not just success or failure.

That meant setting up a weekly feedback rhythm with the founder and marketing team to:

• Review outcomes and signal quality
• Adjust targeting parameters (industries, personas, pain points)
• Provide language and feedback to shape content and landing page updates
• Share anonymized objections, pain points, and competitor mentions from live conversations

This feedback loop turned outbound conversations into a growth lever for the entire company. The marketing team began shaping content based on real-world language used by prospects, while product gained clarity on how users were framing the problem.

Results

Pipeline traction in under 60 days

Within the first two months, the program delivered measurable outcomes:

• 3–4 qualified meetings per week, consistently generated via cold outbound
• 30% of meetings held with VP, C-suite, or senior technical decision-makers, confirming the strength of our targeting and positioning
• Improved ICP clarity, enabling tighter alignment between sales, marketing, and product
• The founder engaged directly with dozens of prospects, leading to multiple new deals and deeper insight into how users were articulating their needs

The outbound motion became a reliable and repeatable channel—not just for pipeline generation, but for strategic learning across the GTM function.

Why it worked

This wasn’t a plug-and-play SDR effort. The approach worked because it fit the company’s stage and technical audience:

• ICPs were hypothesis-driven and refined weekly
• Messaging spoke with technical fluency, not generic claims
• Feedback loops turned sales calls into inputs for product and marketing
• Outreach prioritized quality over volume, always grounded in real use cases

Conclusion

Outbound as a growth catalyst

For early-stage startups, outbound isn’t just about booking meetings—it’s about learning who’s buying, why now, and how they describe their pain.

By embedding outbound into the core go-to-market motion, we helped this AI-driven platform build a scalable pipeline, validate messaging, and connect with executive-level buyers—all within weeks.

The result: repeatable growth, sharper positioning, and a GTM engine ready to scale.