Maven Club

?? Succeeding in SEA: VentureSEA Consulting’s Approach to GTM and Expansion ?? This week’s Maven Club newsletter features Jing Rui Goh, founder of VentureSEA Consulting, who has helped 20+ startups crack the Southeast Asian market. Expanding into SEA isn’t as simple as copy-pasting your GTM strategy. It requires social proof, relationship-driven sales, and a deep understanding of local dynamics. ?? Key Highlights: ?? Social proof is everything—why early customers matter more than revenue. ?? US playbooks don’t work in SEA—how startups must adapt their messaging, pricing, and positioning. ?? Sales cycles take longer—why SEA buyers rely on relationships, not cold outreach. ?? Partnerships scale better than ads—how to find 3–5 strategic partners that drive growth. ?? The $1M mistake startups keep making—why rushing into SEA can cost founders millions. Curious how startups successfully enter SEA? Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/g4hw9Z3a ?? We hope this deep dive helps you rethink GTM, sales, and expansion strategy. For more founder insights, follow us and subscribe: https://mavenclub.io

Here is how you can get your first 100 customers for your early stage startups for free. Most founders struggle to get their first 100 customers. No budget. No audience. No resources. Just a dream and a landing page. But after working with multiple startups, I’ve seen zero-budget strategies work over and over again. Here are 7 scrappy ways to land your first 100 customers in 60 days: 1. DM Blitz – Reach out to 50-100 people in your network. Instead of pitching, ask: “Hey [Name], I’m building [product] to solve [problem]. Do you know 1-2 people who’d benefit?” People love helping—this turns cold DMs into warm intros. 2. Turn Users into Evangelists Instantly – Offer a “Founder’s Club” for your first 20 users (exclusive perks, early access). Before they join? They must refer at least 1-2 friends. ?? 3. Hijack Niche Communities (The Right Way) – Find 3-5 groups (Facebook, Slack, Reddit) where your audience hangs out. Add real value first, then casually mention your product as a solution. (Works like magic.) 4. Reverse Sales Calls – Instead of pitching, ask potential users: “If you had a magic wand, how would you solve [problem]?” Then say: “We built exactly that. Want early access?” 5. Job Board Hack – Find companies hiring for a pain point you solve. DM the hiring manager: “Saw your job post for [role]. Our tool solves this. Want to try it?” They already have budget & intent—it’s a shortcut to sales. 6. Early-Stage Founder Partnerships – Find non-competing startups targeting the same audience. Example: A CRM tool partners with a cold email software. Cross-promote each other’s tools = double the reach, zero ad spend. 7. Turn Customers into Case Studies Instantly – Give 5-10 users free access in exchange for testimonials. Post their success stories everywhere. Social proof drives exponential adoption. ?? Takeaway: Your first 100 customers won’t come from ads or automation. They’ll come from personalized, scrappy, high-touch actions. No budget? No problem. These 7 plays will get you there. Who’s trying to get their first 100 customers? What’s working for you? Let’s discuss ?? ------- I'm building Maven Club (sharing insights from top founders & GTM leaders) and Lumeo (GTM & content studio for ambitious startups). Building in public now – follow my journey to see if I succeed or stumble!

This founder bootstrapped his SaaS to 500+ paying users in months—here’s how. Mitchell Tan ??, founder of Kondo, didn’t rely on ads, outbound sales, or viral hacks to grow. Instead, he focused on solving a real problem, prioritizing the right customers, and leveraging word-of-mouth. In our latest Maven Club interview, Mitchell shares: ?? Why word-of-mouth beat every other growth channel (and how to encourage it). ?? How to filter out bad customer feedback and focus on your ideal users. ?? The toughest prioritization decisions when bootstrapping with limited resources. ?? Why he ignores most advice and focuses only on what works for his business. ?? The GTM strategy that got him to 500+ paying customers without a sales team. Learn from Mitchell’s playbook here ?? https://lnkd.in/gxFTVGFe Key Takeaways: 1?? Word-of-mouth drives REAL growth—Customers shared Kondo in private groups and DMs, leading to exponential referrals. 2?? Not every user is your user—Mitchell actively chose to ignore 5% of edge cases to focus on the 95% who benefit most. 3?? Prioritization is survival—With 10+ mission-critical problems, he had to master ruthless prioritization. 4?? Ignore most advice—Every startup is unique; blindly copying playbooks can be dangerous. 5?? Founder-led GTM matters—Mitchell personally onboarded 1,000+ users to refine his messaging and growth approach. Mitchell’s insights offer a real-world blueprint for founders looking to scale without massive budgets. Don’t miss out—read the full interview and subscribe to Maven Club here: https://mavenclub.io ??

?? How Kondo Scaled to 500 Paying Users in Months—Without Ads or Growth Hacks ?? This week’s Maven Club newsletter features Mitchell Tan ??, founder of Kondo, who built a better LinkedIn inbox that sales teams, founders, and agencies love. Instead of relying on traditional SaaS growth playbooks, Kondo found success through word-of-mouth, laser-focused ICP targeting, and ruthless prioritization. ?? Key Highlights: ?? Word-of-mouth growth—why private recommendations and WhatsApp groups outperformed paid marketing. ?? ICP clarity—why Kondo only builds for power LinkedIn users and ignores the 5% outliers. ?? Smart prioritization—how Mitchell and his co-founder manage 10 mission-critical problems with limited resources. ?? Ignoring bad advice—why blindly copying growth strategies from other startups can be a huge mistake. ?? Founder-led GTM—why Mitchell personally onboarded 1,000+ users to refine the product and messaging. Curious how Mitchell scaled Kondo while bootstrapping? Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/gXH8gMVY ?? We hope this deep dive helps you rethink growth, customer focus, and product prioritization. For more founder insights, follow us and subscribe: https://mavenclub.io??

This YC Startup is Redefining Hiring for AI-Native Engineers Contrario (YC W25) started as an AI-powered mock interview platform. But after joining Y Combinator, founders Arya Marwaha and Aditya Sood realized they were solving the wrong problem. Through relentless iteration and customer conversations, they pivoted to an AI-powered technical hiring platform—focusing on engineers who use AI tools like ChatGPT and Copilot better than anyone else. In this week’s Maven Club newsletter, we dive into their YC journey, how they pivoted, and the scrappy growth tactics that got them traction. Key Takeaways for Founders: ?? Why YC forces founders to iterate fast and pivot when needed ?? The unique insight that helped Contrario stand out in the crowded recruiting space ?? How they manually built a talent pipeline by flying to hackathons and outbounding YC startups ?? Why validating demand through spreadsheets is better than building a product no one wants Some key takeaways: - Validate Before Building – Before investing in automation, Contrario manually tested their hiring platform using spreadsheets and direct outreach. - Find a Unique Insight – They realized AI-native junior engineers were outperforming traditional senior engineers, giving them a strong market positioning. - Do Things That Don’t Scale – From cold outreach to flying to hackathons, they scrappily built their talent pool before automating growth. - YC’s Fast-Paced Environment is a Growth Catalyst – They compressed a year’s worth of learning into three months by focusing on customer conversations and rapid iteration. - Vision for Scale – Their long-term ambition is to make AI-powered hiring fully automated, seamless, and the go-to standard for technical recruiting. YC accelerates everything. What might take 12 months outside happens in 3 months inside—if you focus on talking to users and building what people actually want. Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/g6bTfqKN For more actionable insights from top founders, subscribe to Maven Club!

?? Inside Y Combinator: How Contrario (YC W25) Scaled Fast and Found Its Edge ?? This week’s Maven Club newsletter features Arya Marwaha and Aditya Sood, co-founders of Contrario (YC W25), the AI-powered recruiting platform redefining how top engineers get hired. Their journey through Y Combinator is packed with lessons on rapid iteration, scrappy GTM tactics, and finding true product-market fit. ?? Key Takeaways for Founders: ?? Speed over perfection – Why YC’s high-pressure environment forces founders to iterate fast and talk to users daily. ?? Pivoting with conviction – How they moved from AI interview prep to a unique approach in AI-native technical hiring. ?? Unscalable GTM that worked – Flying to hackathons, outbounding YC startups, and building a talent pipeline manually. ?? Validation before automation – How spreadsheets and manual testing helped them refine their AI-powered hiring process. ?? Want the full breakdown of their YC experience and GTM insights? Read the newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/g75NKRBk For more insights on startup growth, founder-led GTM, and early-stage scaling, follow Maven Club and subscribe! ??

?? How Yurii is Transforming LinkedIn Selling for Founders and Sales Teams ?? This week’s newsletter features Yurii Veremchuk, co-founder of Swipely, who’s redefining LinkedIn selling by eliminating outreach guesswork, optimizing GTM strategies, and fixing common sales leaks that kill conversions. With a focus on trust-driven sales, deep prospect research, and actionable content strategies, Yurii shares how LinkedIn is transforming the way early stage founders scale their startups. ?? Key Highlights:??? Research-led outreach—why personalized DMs beat mass messaging every time.??? Content as a lead magnet—how valuable LinkedIn posts drive inbound conversations.??? Spotting sales leaks—small fixes like tracking LinkedIn interactions that lead to big revenue gains.??? Smart use of AI—how tools like Common Room and Clay support research but human-led personalization wins.??? The future of LinkedIn selling—how Swipely plans to power LinkedIn content strategies for GTM teams in 2025. ?? Curious how Yurii and Swipely are changing the game for founders and sales teams? Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/gJEi48ah For more founder insights on GTM and scalable growth strategies, follow us and subscribe to our newsletter! ??

?? How BetterContact Scaled to 1,000+ Monthly Users Without a Sales Team ?? This week’s newsletter features Roman Hipp, co-founder of BetterContact, who is redefining B2B sales data enrichment by eliminating wasted spend, automating lead verification, and challenging the way outbound teams source contact data. With a sharp focus on content-led growth, product integrations, and pricing innovation, Roman shares how BetterContact built trust in a competitive space and scaled without relying on traditional sales tactics. ?? Key Highlights: ?? Content-driven growth—how LinkedIn became their #1 acquisition channel, driving 1,000+ monthly signups. ?? Frictionless onboarding—why making adoption effortless led to higher product activation and retention. ?? Challenging the data provider model—why outdated contact lists from legacy platforms cost sales teams millions in lost opportunities. ?? Integration-led expansion—how partnerships with tools like Clay and HeyReach unlocked new customer segments with zero outbound sales. ?? The future of sales tech—why SaaS is shifting from product differentiation to purely a sales and marketing game. Curious how Roman and his team scaled BetterContact in a competitive B2B SaaS space? Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/g-MApsBM ?? We hope this deep dive helps you rethink content-led growth, GTM execution, and scalable acquisition strategies. For more insights from top founders, follow us and subscribe to our newsletter here: https://mavenclub.io ??

The most unexpected lesson from my first year as an entrepreneur: Embracing the chaos. Here's my story: A year ago, I took the leap from a stable job to chase my dream of building something amazing. I imagined a smooth journey filled with quick wins. But reality? It was a wild ride. Every day brought new challenges—crafting a brand, embracing rejections, and juggling a million tasks. There were moments I felt completely overwhelmed. But in the midst of it all, my lessons learned: 1. Resilience is key. Each setback taught me to adapt and pivot. It’s not just a nice word; it’s essential for survival. 2. Community matters. I connected with fellow founders and mentors who not only supported me but also sparked new ideas (you know who you are!) 3. Authenticity > perfection. Sharing my ups and downs helped me build a genuine connection with my audience. It’s about being real. 4. Celebrate the small wins. Gratitude for the lessons learned changed my mindset and kept me motivated. Reflecting on this past year, I see how every twist and turn has shaped me into a better founder. For anyone on a similar path, remember: stay resilient and grateful for the journey, and stick to the community! Thank you for reading this post ????

cheat sheet for founders who want to work smarter, not harder: Klipy - Automate your CRM workflows to save time and stay on top of customer relationships effortlessly. HeyReach - Scale your LinkedIn outreach by automating personalized DMs to grow network faster. Smartlead - Streamline your email outreach with AI-powered tools to generate more leads at scale. Trigify.io - Transforming social data into actionable signals. ScrapeLi - Extract LinkedIn data efficiently to find leads and insights for targeted business growth. tl;dv - AI Meeting Assistant - Use AI to take actionable notes on customer calls so you never miss a follow-up opportunity. Kondo - Organize messy LN inbox and help you focus on meaningful conversations. Maven Club - Learn about how other top founders scale their startups. What did i miss? ????