Spent an hour with Fivos Aresti (Head of Growth at ColdIQ) to unpack the key lessons from scaling GTM with AI tools for early-stage startups. Here’s the tl-dr: Manual Before Automation: Don’t overinvest in fancy tools early. Start with cold outreach via Gmail and LinkedIn. Founder-led content > Paid ads (especially pre-product-market fit).Prioritize Channels Wisely: Early-stage startups should (generally) focus on:Outbound: Low-cost, high-impact. Start here.Inbound & SEO: Builds long-term compounding growth.Content: Founder-led content builds trust + leads. Work on spotting underpriced attention (i.e. today, Linkedin).Data Enrichment = Your Secret Weapon: Use tools like Genesy, Clay and Apollo to scale personalization and automate research—turning basic outreach into super-targeted campaigns.
The "manual before automation" rule is something most early-stage startups overlook. too many founders burn cash on fancy tools before even validating their outbound. Also, totally agree that AI-native tools (like Gong) will dominate over AI add-ons. It’s not just about AI… it’s about seamless workflow integration. I always adore your articles, mate (so many great links and info). Thanks for that :)
The "manual before automation" rule is something most early-stage startups overlook. too many founders burn cash on fancy tools before even validating their outbound. Also, totally agree that AI-native tools (like Gong) will dominate over AI add-ons. It’s not just about AI… it’s about seamless workflow integration. I always adore your articles, mate (so many great links and info). Thanks for that :)
Thank you, it means a lot! Feedback always appreciated 🙏
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This is great!
Nice!
thanks hugo!
Deep Researchh is impressive
Haven't tried it yet but looks super interesting. I think its not yet available in Europe.