StartupGTM.com | I help b2b founders hack traction | Profitable founder (YC)

Transforming a startup from early to repeatable sales is HARD.

If you’re a B2B founder with early sales, then you've done many things right to win your first customers.

BUT - to raise a round A, your startup will need to have a product that's ready to scale because it can be 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙮.

To get repeatable sales - there are four blockers. 
 
You'll need to change each one from "not working" to "working": 
 
1️⃣ Consistently creating a 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢 of conversations with customers 
 
2️⃣ Converting these conversations into a 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢 of first meetings 
 
3️⃣ Converting these meetings into a 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢 of trials 
 
4️⃣ Converting trials into a 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢 of deals. 
 
These blockers need to be removed 𝙨𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 - i.e. one by one. 
 
💡 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗡𝗢𝗪. 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀.

—

I'm a former co-founder and CEO at ApolloShield - a profitable YC startup.

I work hands-on with B2B founders on turning their early sales into repeatable sales through a combination of disciplines:

1️⃣ 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀: Understanding the market, identifying target customers, and analyzing competitors.

2️⃣ 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴: Defining how the product fits into the market and crafting compelling messages to appeal to the target audience.

3️⃣ 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀: Developing strategies for selling the product, including choosing sales channels and partnerships.

4️⃣ 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵, 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Creating and executing campaigns to build brand awareness and generate leads.

5️⃣ 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀: Managing discovery and commercial discussions with clients and partners to get their business.

5️⃣ 𝗢𝗻𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸: Gathering customer feedback and continuously adapting the product and strategies accordingly.

6️⃣ 𝗜𝗧 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: Building support systems to holistically orchestrate and manage your GTM efforts.

7️⃣ 𝗥𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗱 𝗜𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Developing a method to move forward quickly, iterate and get market feedback - doubling what works and tossing what doesn’t.

🚀 Let's connect and accelerate your startup together!

Nimo Shkedy

Dhruv Patel

Co-founder @ Saleshandy

Hey there,  

I'm a guy who wears many hats, and I like it that way! 

My marketing journey kicked off at a company where I managed a team of over 25 folks as the Marketing Lead and Operations Manager. 

But my itch for something more took me down the road of content and niche marketing. That's how I ended up co-creating Saleshandy, a place where I'm still enjoying the ride and helping the company grow.

I'm a marketing junkie and a business starter, and I get my kicks from companies that encourage teamwork and don't put up roadblocks to success. I live to meet and exceed what customers want. I keep a close eye on the results and always tinkering with my game plan based on what's needed. When things go south, I don't get bent out of shape; I see it as a chance to learn. I take a good, hard look at what went wrong, figure out why, and then cook up solutions based on the facts.

As a growth hacker and digital marketing buff, I thrive on the hustle and meet life with a never-say-die attitude. My constant grin shows my love for creating strong teams and my readiness to lend a hand at the drop of a hat.

So here I am, a Co-founder at Saleshandy, extending an invitation for you to join me on this wild ride as we take over the marketing world, one success story at a time. 

Let's get together and see how we can help each other grow. What do you say?

Co-Founder

Saleshandy is a cold outreach platform that helps B2B businesses automate and scale their outbound sales efforts. 

» I am the person responsible for
- majority of marketing stuff
- people management
- developing and implementing systems & procedures throughout the organization
- operations

We just shipped Saleshandy’s CRM!

We turned the Prospects tab into a full outbound CRM…built specifically for cold outreach.

Here's the backstory:

We kept hearing the same thing from SDRs and agency owners:

"I'm getting replies, but I keep losing track of who needs a follow-up."

The old Prospects tab showed you data. But it didn't tell you what to do next.

So we rebuilt it.

Now you get:

→ A Kanban board that shows exactly where every prospect stands
→ A full timeline of every email, reply, note, and task (per prospect)
→ 1:1 emails, tasks, and notes (without leaving the CRM)
→ Custom views so SDRs, AEs, and managers each see what matters to them

Your existing data stays exactly the same. It's just way easier to act on now.

The team's been heads-down on this for months. 

If you run cold outreach, go check it out, link in the comments.

What's the first thing you'd use this for? 👇

Co-founder @ Saleshandy | Automating cold emails to drive lead generation & sales

No outbound tool on earth can solve this debate (including Saleshandy).

I saw this exact question pop up on Reddit:

"I tried cold emails and LinkedIn DMs, but neither worked. What tool should I try?"

Here’s the thing: It’s not the tool — it’s your expectations.

Cold email is designed for reach.

LinkedIn is built for visibility.

Cold email requires you to:
> Send in volume
> Use data
> Test fast
> Have new conversations

LinkedIn requires you to:

> Have social proof
> Take a warmer entry
> Use lower volume, but with higher intent
> Provide context before outreach

But here’s the mismatch:

People expect cold email to book meetings in less than an hour.

People expect LinkedIn to scale like ads.

That’s where things break.

Both channels have their risks:

Cold email: Deliverability issues, spam complaints, bad targeting hurts fast.

LinkedIn: Slower scale, inactive users, platform restrictions.

Neither channel is magic.

If you understand the differences, your strategy is simple.

If you don’t, you’ll be stuck blaming tools FOREVER.

It took me 3 years and thousands of failed campaigns to understand what makes a strong CTA.

I used to think it was:

– The one that asks for more
 – The one that pushes the deal forward

That’s where most sequences break.

The best CTAs don’t ask for more.

They ask for less.

Because every follow-up is a different trust conversation.

Your CTA must match that level of trust.

Sending the same ask five times isn’t a sequence.

It’s repetition.

Don’t adjust your CTA based on what you want.

Adjust it based on:

– Where they are in the buyer’s journey
 – Their current trust level

Real CTA progression looks like this:

Email 1 → Soft permission. One low-risk question.
 Goal: Safety.

Email 2 → Give value first. Build reciprocity.
 Goal: Trust.

Email 3 → Clear next step. Exact time. Clear outcome.
 Goal: Clarity.

Email 4 → Show proof. Reduce doubt.
 Goal: Belief.

Email 5 → Breakup. Clean exit.
 Goal: Closure.

Meet your prospects where they are.

Don’t drag them to where you want them to be.

Pull up your sequence.

Is each email earning the next step?

Or are you just rewording “want to hop on a call?”

If it’s the second one — fix it.

I’ve sent enough cold emails to know this: an unanswered follow-up is never an accident.

There’s always a reason for it.

And most senders never know which one killed their sequence.

Don’t be like most.

Here are 5 preventable reasons why a follow-up can go unanswered:

1. Wrong Timing

>You sent it at 9 AM on Monday (peak inbox overload).
>You ignored their time zone.
>You followed your calendar, not their buying signal.

Fix: Send when they’re ready to engage, not when you want to.

2. No New Value

7 out of 10 emails follow the same format:
> Email 1: “We help with X.”
> Email 2: “Just following up on X.”
> Email 3: “Bumping this up in your inbox.”

Same message. Three times. Zero new value.

Fix: Every follow-up needs a new reason to reply. 

A new insight. A new angle. New proof.

3. Wrong Channel

You only emailed. Never tried LinkedIn. Never called.

They’re active on LinkedIn but ignore email.

Single channel = single point of failure.

Fix: Test multiple channels. Meet them where they actually engage.

4. Wrong Ask

> Email 1: “Want a demo?”
> Email 2: “Still interested in that demo?”

You’re asking for commitment before you’ve built interest.

Fix: Start with soft asks. Build to bigger ones. Match the ask to their trust level.

5. Wrong Person

You’re emailing someone who:

> Left the company
> Never had decision-making authority
> Is a gatekeeper, not the buyer
> Was never the right fit to begin with

Fix: Validate who you’re emailing before Email 5.

Follow-ups don’t fail randomly.

They fail systematically.

And if you don’t diagnose why, you’ll repeat the same failure 100 times.

I first read The Gift of the Magi at 20, but I truly understood it at 30 — especially today, Valentine’s Day.

For those who haven’t read it, here is the story:

A broke couple wants to give each other Christmas gifts.

The wife has beautiful hair, admired by everyone, but she cuts and sells it to buy a chain for her husband's gold pocket watch.

The irony?

The husband sells his watch to buy her expensive hair combs.

In the end, the gifts are useless.

But the love behind them is priceless.

That story taught me something about building a business.

In Year 3 of Saleshandy, I had a choice:

Take a secure, high-paying job or keep building the business.

I chose to keep building.

It meant delayed comforts, tight budgets, missed vacations.

I was sacrificing security to create security. 

Just like the couple gave up their treasures to show love.

Entrepreneurship is the same:

You give up what you’re chasing to build the thing that will give it to you.

>Freedom requires long hours.
>Security requires risking stability.

Time with family requires missing memorable moments.

Those sacrifices aren’t wasted. 

They’re the gift.

Don’t tell me you love someone or something without ever sacrificing.

If it isn’t sacrifice, it isn’t love at all.

I don’t play chess with my team for fun.

At Saleshandy, everyone knows I’m a good chess player.

But there’s a small thing they don’t know.

I call Anil, Malav, and others to play during office hours for a reason.

I’m not looking for a break.

I’m observing how they make decisions under pressure.

> Who panics.
> Who slows down.
> Who sacrifices long-term position for short-term wins.

One pattern shocked me:

The people who move the fastest on the board often create the biggest mess in projects.

In chess, it’s called a rushed attack.

> Looks aggressive.
> Feels productive.
> Usually loses the game.

I see the same in business.

Teams move fast because speed feels like progress.

But speed without clarity creates expensive decisions.

Speed is an advantage only when it follows the right question:

Are we solving the right problem at the right time?

Aggressive founders win.

But the best operators know when not to move.

The board favors the one who knows how to read it.

So does the market.

From years of sending emails, I’ve seen it clearly:

Those who wait to earn trust are always late to close the deal, 

And those who ignore it never close at all.

Trust is what drives outbound success, and earning it is the hardest part.

I’ve seen senders add a personalized line and think, 

“Now the prospect will trust me.”

Unfortunately, trust isn’t built in one line

It’s built in 5 layers.

Most emails fail because they jump straight to Layer 4 or 5 without establishing the foundation.

Here's what each layer looks like:

> Layer 1: Identity Trust
Are you a real person at a real company? Professional email. Clean signature. No sketchy links. If this fails, nothing else matters.
> Layer 2: Context Trust
Do you actually understand their world? Their role, current problems, and industry reality? Generic context = instant delete.
> Layer 3: Competence Trust
Can you deliver? Show real results, relevant experience, and concrete proof. “We help companies grow” is not proof.
> Layer 4: Outcome Trust
What specifically changes for them? Don’t say "we improve efficiency." Say, "You save 8 hours/week on X."
> Layer 5: Intent Trust
Why are you reaching out? No hidden pitch. No pressure. Make it safe to say no.

Layers 1-3 are about YOU. 

Layers 4-5 are about THEM.

Most emails only have Layers 1-3. 

Pitching outcomes and intent without establishing identity, context, or competence first will get you nowhere.

The reader thinks, "Who are you? Why should I believe this?"

Build all 5 layers. 

In order. One by one.

It’s not easy, but there’s no way around it.

Most founders don't have a productivity problem.

They have a body problem they've renamed as a productivity problem.

The truth is:

We build systems for everything:

Pipeline. Hiring. Product. Revenue.

But very few real systems for our body.

And here's the dangerous part 

You don’t notice it breaking down in one dramatic moment.

You slowly become:
> Less sharp
>  Slower to decide
> Quicker to snap
>  Less focused after 3pm

You’ll blame it on workload, but it’s not just that.

It’s years of quiet neglect compounding.

Here’s what I now know, and wish I knew at 25:

Your body doesn’t give you one loud warning.

 It gives you a decade of small signals you ignore.

And then one day, you're 30+, dealing with back pain, lower energy, and a 
shorter focus window.

Fitness doesn’t get easier as you age.

Compounding works both ways.

If you’ve been consistent, your baseline stays high.

Recovery is faster. Focus lasts longer. Stress tolerance is higher.

If you haven’t, each year it gets harder to bounce back.

In your 20s, you can neglect your body and recover quickly.

In your 30s, the same neglect starts sending a bill.

I’ve seen founders spend their 30s trying to rebuild what could’ve been maintained in their 20s.

Don’t wait for the wake-up call.

Build systems for your body the same way you build them for your business.

My outbound campaign budgets went down the drain for one reason: ME 

Yeah, just like every other cold emailer, we look for reasons outside ourselves:

Is it the market?
Or the prospect?

But it turned out… it was us who ruined the campaign.

We rarely look at our own mistakes. 

And the shocking part? 

I noticed something universal:

Every cold emailer falls into predictable behavior patterns (myself included).

- Some prioritize volume over quality.
- Others overthink every word and lose momentum.
- Some are too aggressive, burning bridges faster than they build pipelines.

The problem? 

Most people can’t see their own blind spots.

So I decided to do something different.

I built a quick 2-minute assessment that reveals your actual outbound behavior—not what you think it is.

It maps your approach to one of 8 distinct archetypes, 

Each with strengths you’re underusing 

And problems you’re ignoring.

And the fun part? 

It compares you to a marine animal.

Here’s what I want you to do:

1. Connect with me & comment “OUTBOUND”—I’ll send you the link.

2. Promise me you’ll come back and comment which marine animal you got.

Let’s make the comment section interesting.

Don’t tell me you run a business if you’ve never felt this way:

The seasons of life and the seasons of business don’t peak together.

They almost never do.

Let me explain what I mean.

Year 7 of Saleshandy: We were scaling fast. Everything was on fire (in a good way).

Same year: My family needed me. Personal life was demanding.

Business was at its peak. Personal life was demanding too.

This pattern repeats all the time:

When business demands everything, life also demands everything.

And you can’t give 100% to both.

I accepted this only a couple of years ago.

> Some years, I’m a better founder.
> Some years, I’m more present personally.
> The goal isn’t to balance both perfectly every week.

The goal is to know which season you’re in

And be intentional about it.

Right now?

Business is stable. 

The team runs well without me in every decision.

So I’m choosing to protect time outside of work more.

In 2 years, that might flip. 

And that’s okay.

If you’re building something while living a full life, you won’t have perfect balance.

You’ll have seasons.

And wisdom is knowing which season you’re in and making peace with it.

Not guilt. Peace.

Because trying to peak everywhere, all the time, is how you burn out in both.

Every cold email expert you follow was once a beginner figuring out who to email and who not to.

They didn’t become experts because they started early. 

They became experts because they moved to the next stage.

The groundwork for all success: Knowing your stage.

There are 3 stages:

Stage 1: 0 Certainty

You don’t know anything. You’re guessing. Your message changes every week.
 
What do most people do?

They rush out of it.

They see 2 replies, assume they’ve found product-market fit, and hire SDRs.

That’s ego, not evidence.

Stage 2: Some Certainty

Now, you see traction. But confirmation bias kicks in.

You only listen to buyers who agree, ignoring those who don’t.

You shape the story to fit your beliefs.

That’s how weak positioning is born.

And most get stuck here, not knowing how to get out.

Stage 3: Scaling 

Scaling isn’t about “doing more.” 

It’s about protecting what works and testing what might work next.

Most teams either experiment forever and never scale, or scale forever and never improve.

The best teams know when to switch gears.

ICP research isn’t a marketing task—it’s decision control.

If you don’t control the stage you’re in, the stage controls you.

And that’s dangerous.

Learning matters the most inside Saleshandy.

When planning employee-friendly allowances, Piyush and I were clear about one thing.

We don’t want to give what others give. 

Rather, what an employee would truly be happy with.

We’ve offered a yearly learning allowance to our team for years.

It fixes a problem most founders don’t talk about.

The problem:

Founders scale expectations faster than people can scale themselves.

> New goals.
> New markets.
> New pressure.
 
Same thinking.

A learning allowance is how we close that gap without micromanagement.

It creates a signal:

 “You’re expected to upgrade yourself—continuously.”

No one is told what to learn.

No one is forced into generic programs.

People choose based on where they feel stuck.

And that changes everything.

Because the best learning doesn’t come from HR calendars.

It comes from friction:

 – a role you’ve outgrown
 – a problem you can’t solve yet
 – a decision you’re not confident making

We’ve seen teammates use it for:

- New skills.
- Deeper domain understanding.
- Better communication.
- Stronger judgment.

The output isn’t just certificates.

It’s confidence.

And confident people don’t wait to be told what to do.

They take ownership.

If you’re a founder thinking of adding a learning allowance, ask yourself this:

Do you want people who execute tasks—or people who upgrade themselves?

Believe me when I say this: Rome isn't built in a day, neither is your domain reputation.

You can't start outbound 3 days before and blame domain reputation.

It's built in 6 layers & takes weeks of time.

And skipping even one layer can kill your deliverability for months.

I have seen thousands of domains go from new to trusted (or new to spam).

Here's how domain reputation actually works:

1: Blank slate 

New domain. Zero sending history.

ESPs (Gmail, Outlook) have no data on you.

So they default to suspicious.

Your emails hit spam. Not because your copy is bad. Because you're unknown.

2: Warm-up foundation

This is where most people fail.

They buy a domain and send 500 emails Day 1.

Instant spam folder.

Instead: Start small. Send 10–20 emails/day. To real people. Who might actually reply.

Build engagement slowly. Prove you're human, not a bot.

3: Early reputation 

ESPs are watching everything now.

One spam complaint? Catastrophic.

One bounce? Amplified.

Mistakes that wouldn't matter later destroy you now.

This is the most fragile stage. Treat it like it is.

4: Reputation Building

Consistency is everything here.

Low bounce rates. Positive replies. Gradual volume increase.

ESPs start trusting you.

Inbox placement improves. You can scale volume—slowly.

5: Established reputation 

Your domain has history now.

Inbox placement is stable. Minor dips don't kill you.

You can handle higher volume without triggering filters.

ESPs recognize your sending pattern.

6: Mature protection 

Domain age becomes a shield.

You recover from issues faster.

You handle volume spikes without penalty.

ESPs know you're a legitimate sender.

Here's what most people get wrong:

They treat domain reputation like a switch.

"I warmed up for 2 weeks. I'm done."

No.

Reputation is a layer cake. You build one layer at a time.

Skip Layer 2? You never get to Layer 3.

Rush Layer 4? You fall back to Layer 2.

The takeaway here is simple:

Know your layer. Act accordingly.

You can't hack domain reputation.

You can only build it.

And if you skip layers, ESPs will remind you

By putting you in spam.

Imagine this: Your prospect is walking a thin line of patience, and you’re piling weight on with every line you send.

How is that fair?

Your prospects aren’t lounging in the Maldives with a cocktail in hand. 

They’re knee-deep in meetings, inbox chaos, and urgent fires.

So, they don’t just read your cold email. They calculate it.

> Cognitive cost: How much effort will this take to understand?
> Social cost: Does replying risk my reputation?
> Opportunity cost: What am I giving up right now to respond?

Here’s the brutal truth: 

If you miss just one of these costs, your email won’t land.

Even one cost too high, and your email is ignored.

All three too high? 

They will remember you for the wrong reasons.

So here’s what works:

 1️⃣ Keep it one idea, one action.
 2️⃣ Make replying safe and frictionless.
 3️⃣ Respect their time and attention — short, clear, valuable.

The secret?

Your email has to be cheap enough to read, but valuable enough to reply.

You might hate me for saying this: everything in life should come with a cost. Because if there’s no cost to falling down, one day you won’t get back up.

Most people don’t fail because they lack discipline.

They fail because their life has no forcing functions.

They rely on willpower. Mood. Inspiration.

And that’s silly.

The best people I’ve seen didn’t try harder.

They did this:

They designed environments where failure is expensive.

I learned this late.
For years, I kept asking the wrong questions:

 “How do I stay consistent?”
 “How do I focus better?”

I thought motivation was the problem.

It wasn’t.

The real question was uncomfortable:

What happens if I don’t act?


For most people, the answer is simple:

Nothing… right now.

So behavior doesn’t change.

And that’s where most of us stay stuck.

That’s why I stopped setting goals and started installing penalties.

Because behavior follows consequence, not intention.

For any change to stick, at least one real cost must exist:
 - A financial cost — money is lost if you don’t act.
 - A reputational cost — someone important sees the outcome.
 - A time-locked cost — a deadline that can’t move.

If none of these exist, the goal is imaginary.

Pick one thing you claim matters.

Now attach a cost:

 Miss the action → you pay money.
 Miss the action → you report publicly.
 Miss the action → you lose an opportunity.

No cost means no change.

The takeaway here?

Make failure so expensive that you can’t afford to fail.

You won’t fail.

Do you agree? How do you make failure costly in your life? Drop your thoughts below.

taplio

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Nimo Shkedy

Dhruv Patel

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