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In April a start-up Founder reached out panicking over lack of pipeline.

He scaled to $4M on referrals and inbound but now deals were drying up.

We jumped on a call and he talked about wanting to build an outbound strategy.

Instead of going straight into cold outreach, he:

1. Reached out to industry leaders

2. Asked to interview them for research

3. Featured them in thought leadership assets

From these conversations he understood problems, identified solutions and built relationships. You can do the same.

Let’s dive in.

Two Growth Stages

Most successful companies follow a predictable evolution:

Stage 1: Founder-led growth - Content creation, referrals, organic audiences, PLG. Your strength is converting people who already know you.

Stage 2: Outbound-driven growth - Systematic targeting, scalable messaging, strategic partnerships. Your strength is converting strangers through proven processes.

The problem? Most founders don't have a playbook for making this transition.

They know they need outbound but don't know where to start:

• Who exactly should we target?

• What message will resonate with strangers?

• What if we waste months on the wrong segment?

So they double down on what feels safer - more content, hiring agencies and exploring partnerships.

But none of these actually solve the problem.

Crossing the Chasm to Outbound

One solution I’ve seen work well comes from an unexpected place.

A start-up founder I worked with had a clever idea: what if we reached out to industry leaders not to sell them, but to feature them in a thought leadership piece?

People love talking about themselves. He'd connect with influential prospects. And he'd build marketing assets that positioned him as a thought leader.

But the real breakthrough happened during those conversations - he discovered exactly who to target and what problems resonated.

The Interview Method Framework

Here's the system we built:

Step 1: Research positioning - frame outreach around industry research, not sales

Step 2: Value exchange - offer to feature them as thought leaders in your content

Step 3: Strategic conversations - let pain points surface naturally during interviews

Step 4: ICP validation - use insights to define your outbound targeting

Step 5: Messaging foundation - turn their exact language into your outbound copy

Real example: B2B SaaS founder selling marketing automation to Series B companies. He positioned himself as researching "growth challenges at venture-backed startups" and targeted VP Marketing at portfolio companies of top VCs.

After 15 interviews, he discovered 80% struggled with "attribution across multiple touchpoints." This exact problem became his core outbound message.

TL;DR

Most founders know they need systematic outbound. Few know how to execute.

The Interview Method gives you a proven starting point: validate your ICP while building relationships and discovering the exact language that resonates.

It's the bridge between founder-led growth and systematic outbound.

Need Help?

If you're looking to scale through outbound or partnerships and want guidance on how to execute, I’m happy to help. Here’s my calendar.

Until next Thursday,

TSG

P.S. I reply to all emails.