u/SeniorArgument9877

Title: GTM lesson from working with a YC startup: ICP isn’t found, it’s tested

I was working closely with a YC-backed company, and one thing that stood out in their GTM approach was how unstructured it actually was in the beginning.

There was no rigid framework, no overthinking about personas or perfect ICP decks.

Instead, they focused on speed + experimentation.

For ~6 months, they kept:

• Testing different markets
• Positioning the same product in slightly different ways
• Running continuous A/B tests on messaging, outreach, and use cases

The goal wasn’t to “define the ICP” upfront.. it was to discover it through data.

Some segments looked promising but didn’t convert.
Some random niches unexpectedly showed strong pull.

Over time, patterns started emerging:

• Who actually converts
• Who sees immediate value
• Who sticks around

That’s when they doubled down.

Big takeaway for me:
Your ICP is not a hypothesis to perfect in a doc.. it’s something you earn through iteration.

Curious how others here approach ICP discovery.. structured frameworks vs brute-force testing?

Over the last 10+ years, I’ve mostly been building things as a developer.

At some point, I got curious about a different question:
“Why do some products grow while others don’t?”

That curiosity pulled me into marketing and sales. Over the past ~4 years, I’ve been working at that intersection.. learning GTM, experimenting with distribution, building internal tools, and figuring out how to actually get users, not just ship features.

I’ve worked with YC-backed teams and built products like ArakYet along the way.

Right now, I’m focused on GTM engineering.. combining code + growth (automation, lead intelligence, funnels, systems).

Still learning, but I enjoy solving problems where engineering meets revenue.

If you’re working on something interesting and need someone who can bridge product and GTM, feel free to reach out.

Hey folks,

I’m a GTM engineer with a bit of an unconventional path.. started out as a developer (10+ years), and over the last ~4 years moved deeper into marketing and sales.

I’ve built and shipped products like ArakYet, Behavely and had the chance to work closely with YC-backed companies, which gave me strong exposure to early-stage growth, distribution, and what actually moves the needle.

These days, I’m focused on the GTM side of things.. blending engineering with growth (automation, lead intelligence, funnels, tooling, etc.). I enjoy working at that intersection where product, data, and revenue meet.

If anyone’s looking for someone who can both build and think GTM, happy to connect.

Thanks!

Hey Bangalore founders, I am looking forward to meet fellow founders in Bangalore. For context, I am running a GTM agency. How do I get started with meeting like minded folks offline?

I would want to build strong connections, talk to people and understand their pain points. Would really appreciate any help.

Apollo is great if you need everything. We didn't.. we just needed leads who were already showing buying signals. Funding rounds, hiring triggers, job changes, product launches.

So we built Greeny. It finds and qualifies leads based on those signals, nothing else. No CRM, no sequences.. just the leads.

Pay-as-you-go, so you only pay for what you pull. No $500/month plan to use 10% of a platform.

In early beta now. If you're doing outbound and want to try it, drop a comment or DM me.

Been building a B2B SaaS for the past year and lead research was eating us alive. Sharing the exact workflow we landed on since I see this question come up a lot here.

The problem: we were spending 8+ hours a week manually qualifying leads. Check LinkedIn, verify company size, look up tech stack, read recent news, figure out if they're even in-market. Then write a "personalised" email that was basically a template with a first name swapped in.

The fix wasn't a magic tool. It was a system.

1. Build on intent, not just fit (20 min)

Stop searching by job title and company size alone. Search for signals: who just hired a VP of Sales? Who posted 3+ SDR roles in the last 30 days? Who just raised a Series A? Fit + timing beats fit alone, every time.

2. Enrich in bulk before you write anything (15 min)

Pull 200–300 leads. Run them all through enrichment at once company positioning, tech stack, recent news, headcount changes. Don't read any of it yet. Get the data first.

We use ArakYet (arakyet.com) for this step because it pulls real-time data rather than cached enrichment from 6 months ago. Noticeable difference in accuracy. Other options exist depending on budget.

3. Score ruthlessly (10 min)

Hot tier: intent signal + ICP fit → write to these this week.

Warm tier: fit only → nurture sequence.

Cold tier: archive, revisit in 90 days. Write to hot tier only. 20 leads, not 200.

4. Write from the actual data (45 min)

They just hired a Head of Revenue? Mention it. They changed positioning last month? That's your opener. You're not guessing anymore.

Reply rate went from 3% to 11% over 6 weeks doing this. Not incredible but it's real and repeatable.

Happy to answer questions on any of the steps.