Going from zero customers to 100 in just four months sounds impossible—unless you’re a founder willing to roll up your sleeves and hustle relentlessly. I’m Gaurav Bhattacharya, co-founder of Jeeva.ai, an AI-powered sales outreach tool. By combining scrappy, hands-on selling with smart automation, we rapidly scaled Jeeva.ai from a half-built prototype to 100 paying customers and $5M in ARR.
Here’s our step-by-step journey, complete with real stories, tactics, and lessons learned along the way.
Introduction: The Grind from Zero
We started with a feedback-first approach instead of direct pitches, genuinely seeking advice and insights:
Cold Outbound / Feedback Emails:
Day 1 (Email): Subject: [First Name], quick request
Hi [First Name],
<Personalized Intro Line like >
As a fellow believer in revenue innovation, I’m reaching out for feedback on Jeeva.ai—our AI tool automating sales outreach with a human touch.Imagine your 5-person sales team performing like a 50-person crew, booking more meetings with less grunt work.
Would you be up for a 15-minute call this week? Your input would be incredibly valuable.
Best,
G – CEO, Jeeva.ai
Day 3 (Follow-up Email): Subject: Re: [First Name], quick follow-up
Hi [First Name],
Just following up on the feedback request for Jeeva.ai. We’re speaking to other GTM leaders and would greatly appreciate your thoughts.
<Personalized Value Prop Line - likeAre you free next Tuesday at 11 am or 1 pm PST?
Best,
GB
Day 5 (Last Attempt Email):> Subject: Final check-in [First Name]
Hi [First Name],
[City line – e.g., "We’ve got a few users from Austin already—have you spent time there?"]
I understand if you're busy, but wanted to check one last time—can we hop on a quick call?
Thanks for considering.
GB
Slack Outreach:
After initial feedback-driven conversions, we creatively leveraged Slack by joining various VC-backed and sales-focused Slack groups. I manually messaged hundreds of individuals offering demos. This landed our next 10 customers.
Month 2: Automating Outreach with AI
Full disclosure – this is what Jeeva AI does. With validated scripts from early sales, we structured our outreach into a multi-day sequence using AI:
Our AI Sales Team:
- Grant (AI Agent LinkedIn Profile Scraper):
- Compiled target customer profiles from LinkedIn Sales Navigator based on specific ICP criteria. We searched for VP Sales hiring sales development reps in US, 50-500 employee size companies in IT Services, Financial Services, & Healthcare Services industries.
- Gigi (AI Agent Email Personalization):
- Used the same detailed feedback emails as above. We didn’t change much here.
- June (AI Agent Automated Voicemail):
- Day 2 voicemail example:
"Hey [First Name], Gaurav here from Jeeva.ai. Sent an email yesterday—would love your thoughts on our AI outreach solution. Feel free to call me back at [number]. Or respond to the email I sent yesterday. Thanks!"
Multi-Day Sequence Structure:
- Day 1: Personalized Email
- Day 2: Automated Voicemail
- Day 3: LinkedIn Connection
- Day 5: Personalized Email 2
Metrics:
- Reply rate: 11%
- Demo booking rate: ~5 demos per 100 emails
For more tips and what tools to use for an automated sales outreach, look into: How To Build An Automated Sales Outreach Engine For Startups by ColdIQ
Month 3: Leveraging LinkedIn
We tapped LinkedIn’s power for inbound leads by posting daily by sharing insights and customer wins. We also supplemented LinkedIn activity with regular engagement in Slack communities.
Recent LinkedIn Viral Post Example:
- Posted: “Launching Jeeva AI”
- Result: 120,000 impressions, 300+ DMs, and 30 paying customers and 1,000+ free sign ups
Anatomy of Viral LinkedIn Posts
Creating viral LinkedIn content isn’t just about luck—it’s about strategy. Based on analyzing successful LinkedIn posts, here’s what we learned about crafting viral posts:
1. Hook Your Audience
A powerful opening statement immediately captures attention. Use curiosity, controversy, or bold claims to stop scrolling.
Sample Hooks:
- “99% of creators you admire don’t pay for ads.”
- “Imagine increasing sales by 300% without ads.”
- “I landed a $25 million deal by telling the prospect to ‘buy from our competitor instead.'”
2. Clear Formatting Matters
Optimized formatting enhances readability and engagement. Carousels, infographics, and polls outperform text-only posts.
Engagement Impact (compared to text-only):
- Carousels: 1.9x higher
- Infographics: 1.3x higher
- Polls: 2x higher
3. Strategic Commenting
Comments significantly boost visibility. Aim for longer, more thoughtful responses over short phrases.
Commenting Tips:
- Comments over 10 words: 2x more impactful
- Comments over 15 words: 2.5x more impactful
- Engage daily on 10-20 posts to increase profile views by 50%
4. Use Proven Copywriting Formulas
Structured formulas such as AIDA, PAS, BAB, and QUEST ensure clear, compelling storytelling.
Formulas Explained & Examples:
- AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action):
- Attention: “99% of creators you admire don’t pay for ads.”
- Interest: “There’s a secret they don’t share.”
- Desire: “Imagine increasing sales by 300% with no ads.”
- Action: “Join my newsletter to find out HOW!”
- PAS (Problem, Agitation, Solution):
- Problem: “Sick of your emails getting ignored?”
- Agitation: “And what’s worse, low open rates = less revenue.”
- Solution: “Steal my email templates to 10x your engagement.”
- BAB (Before, After, Bridge):
- Before: “Feel like you can’t get anything done?”
- After: “Imagine starting your day with clarity.”
- Bridge: “Our SmartPlanner app turns chaos into order!”
- QUEST (Qualify, Understand, Educate, Stimulate, Transition):
- Qualify: “For aspiring podcasters in 2024…”
- Understand: “Starting can be VERY tough.”
- Educate: “But our kit makes setup easy.”
- Stimulate: “Create viral pods that look and sound FIRE.”
- Transition: “Get started today with our kit!”
5. Consistency & Timing
Regular posting builds familiarity and expectation. Aim to post at the same time daily for maximum reach.
Top 1% Creator Habits:
- Post daily with high-quality content.
- Engage 3x more than ordinary users.
- Use predominantly visual content (carousels and infographics).
6. Optimize Engagement Ratios
High engagement activities like reposting, good comments, and dwell time significantly boost algorithmic visibility.
Engagement Priority:
- Repost: Very High
- Good Comment: Very High
- Dwell Time: High
- Likes: Low
By integrating these strategies consistently, you position your posts to leverage LinkedIn’s algorithm effectively and maximize your chances of going viral.
Learn more about LinkedIn best practices in The LinkedIn Playbook: How Startup Founders Can Stand Out & Scale.
Month 4: Partnerships & Referrals – Scaling Beyond Myself
To scale further, we built strategic partnerships and incentivized referrals.
- Agency Partnership: Created a revenue-sharing model offering 15% of the first-year ARR per referred client. This incentivized agencies to actively promote Jeeva.ai to their clients.
- Referral Program: Implemented a general referral system using unique referral codes, tracked via a custom dashboard. Offered a $50 Amazon gift card per successful customer conversion, resulting in 18 new customers.
Successful channel growth relies on identifying high-value platforms and structuring incentives clearly to align mutual benefits.
Creative Tactics: Competitor Scraping
We turned competitor weaknesses into opportunities and successfully converted several unhappy competitor users. Here are the steps we took:
- Step 1 (Competitor Identification): Analyzed competitors via G2, Capterra, and Trustpilot, focusing on those with declining ratings.
- Step 2 (Reviewer Analysis): Scrutinized negative reviews for clear dissatisfaction patterns such as poor automation, unreliable support, or integration issues.
- Step 3 (Contact Acquisition): Used LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Jeeva AI (you can use Apollo etc) to cross-reference reviewer names and find accurate professional contact info.
- Step 4 (Targeted Outreach):
- Example message:
"Hi [Name], saw your review about [Competitor]'s unreliable automation. Jeeva.ai resolves exactly these issues. Would a quick 15-minute call next week interest you?"
Channels: Direct calls, LinkedIn messages, personalized emails.
Key Inflection Points and Learnings
Throughout our journey, three key moments changed our growth trajectory:
- LinkedIn Post Virality:
- Some insightful posts significantly boosted visibility and inbound leads.
- Slack Community Referral:
- Some enthusiastic customers referred us in a community, instantly securing 10 new customers. Product love + 25% referral revenue agreement did the trick. Copy our 1 page agreement for free.
- Influencer Marketing:
- Influencer marketing. We used the referral agreement see attached for influencers to get good leads too. Got tons of influencers sharing our launch see examples:
Summary of Tactical Tips for Founders:
Here’s a distilled list of tactical insights from our experience:
- Manual before Scale: Do personalized outreach yourself first, then automate once validated.
- Consistent Outreach: Set daily outreach goals and stick to them.
- Optimize your Funnel: Track conversions at each step and continuously improve.
- Create Valuable Content: Share genuine insights that attract inbound leads.
- Build Trust in Communities: Engage authentically in niche groups.
- Leverage Partnerships: Collaborate with aligned partners and incentivize referrals.
- Own Your Mistakes: Use missteps transparently to build trust.
Take Care of Yourself: Protect your energy to sustain the long-term grind.
Conclusion: Replicating the Zero to 100 Playbook
The path from zero to 100 customers isn’t magic—it’s methodical. It involves relentless hustle, authentic engagement, thoughtful automation, and strategic partnerships.
This playbook worked for Jeeva.ai, and it can work for you. Execute relentlessly, learn rapidly, and never underestimate the power of genuine human connection, even in a technology-driven world.
Good luck—and see you at 100 customers!
