VentureRise Mastermind Recap - Oct 15, 2025

Today we had CEOs and founders from venture-backed firms that have collectively raised over $70M in institutional capital. Here's what we talked about today. Come join us next Wednesday at 10am PT for the next VentureRise mastermind call.

Building a Systematic Revenue Growth Strategy

• Topic: Growing partnerships with major cloud providers (AWS, Microsoft, Google, Oracle) who are recognizing the shift in power from commodity cloud providers to unique value providers.
• Challenge: Despite strong momentum and 95% of the market still hasn't heard of the company's SaaS enablement capabilities that can replace 2-3 years of R&D with a 2-week implementation.
• Advice: Implement the 4-pillar B2B SaaS Growth System: 1) Build ABM lead lists targeting channel partner sales reps, 2) Execute systematic outbound email campaigns using tools like Instantly, 3) Deploy digital advertising across Meta, LinkedIn, and Google, 4) Create weekly content marketing schedule. Start immediately with 1,000 emails per day to 18,000 cloud provider sales reps. Use the four pillars of the B2B SaaS Growth System which are...
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  • Pillar 1: Build ABM Lead Lists
    • Use Apollo.io and Instantly to create targeted Account-Based Marketing lists
    • Focus on identifying ideal customer profiles and decision makers
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  • Pillar 2: Execute Outbound Email Campaigns
    • Target channel partners with systematic cold email sequences
    • Use 25-30 email inboxes sending 30 emails per day each (1,000 total daily)
    • Leverage tools like Instantly for automation and deliverability
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  • Pillar 3: Set Up Digital Advertising
    • Deploy ads across Meta (Facebook/Instagram), LinkedIn, and Google
    • Use matched audiences and retargeting campaigns
    • Include LinkedIn in-mails and thought leader ads for high-value prospects
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  • Pillar 4: Create Systematic Content Marketing
    • Develop weekly content marketing schedule
    • Build thought leadership to support other growth channels
    • Support overall brand awareness and lead nurturing efforts
      

Government Contracting Platform Expansion

• Topic: Building an AI-powered platform that automates government contract bidding while creating predictive demand insights for defense procurement.
• Challenge: Waiting for Department of Defense approval on first product approval to unlock $52 billion procurement market access, while simultaneously evaluating a complex acquisition strategy.
• Advice: Focus on the massive competitive moat opportunity and prepare for scaling operations with cold calling teams once government approval comes through. The timing is critical as this creates a "blessed by government" status with sustainable advantages
  

Potential Acquisition Discussion

• Topic: Evaluating the acquisition of a distribution business with $10-20M relevant annual revenue and $25M in government spending relationships
• Challenge:
  • Acquisition would extend business timeline by 3-5 years
  • Need to decide on raising capital before or after acquisition
  • Risk of unfavorable terms that could be problematic for current ownership structure
• Advice:
  • Structure as asset carve-out into clean entity to avoid unwanted business components
  • Consider 2-3x revenue multiple for valuation
  • Be prepared to walk away and find alternative contract vehicles if seller demands too much equity
  • Focus on strategic value: immediate access to $52B an agency within the Department of War and potential to become "government blessed" platform
  • Weigh short-term timeline extension against long-term potential for hundreds of millions or billion-dollar exit through government procurement aggregation
    

Equity & Compensation Planning

• Topic: Requesting equity refresh before Series B round as recognition for critical contributions to company growth.
• Challenge: Balancing fair compensation request with market standards while maintaining positive board relationships.
• Advice: Ask during positive momentum period with reasonable terms (though consider 4-year vesting instead of 3-year as market standard). Include single trigger for termination without cause and mixed triggers for sale events. The upside of asking outweighs potential downside.
  

Several tools were recommended during the call for B2B SaaS growth and lead generation:Lead List Building & Data:

• Apollo.io - for building comprehensive prospect lists
• Instantly - for cold email sequences and inbox management
• LinkedIn Sales Navigator - for targeted prospecting
• ZoomInfo - for contact data
• Seamless.AI - for lead generation
• ListKit - for prospect data
  

Email Marketing:

• Instantly - primary recommendation for cold email campaigns (can send 1,000 emails/day using 30+ inboxes at ~$200/month)
• Smartly - alternative email sequencing tool
  

Digital Advertising:

• Meta (Facebook/Instagram) - for matched audience ads and retargeting
• LinkedIn - for thought leader ads, in-mails ($1 per person), and matched audience campaigns
• Google - for paid search and retargeting ads
• Bing - for paid search campaigns
  

Data Services:

• Amin (Bangladesh-based data broker) - can provide 100,000 leads from Apollo for ~$600, with specific mention of $200 for 18,000 sales rep contacts