📥 Closing Your First Contract

👋 Hey — Egemen here.

Ever felt like selling is just guessing and hoping someone says yes?

Most founders waste months chasing free trials and feedback loops.

I did too.

Then I came across a talk that showed me a faster, cleaner way to land real customers. It flipped how I think about early sales.

Here’s a snapshot of what’s on the menu today:

💡 Spotlight

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Presented by

🧠 Deep-Dive: The Sales Playbook for Founders

I stumbled across a Startup School talk from Tom Blomfield, the founder of Monzo and GoCardless.

It is called The Sales Playbook for Founders. At first I thought it would be another generic “how to sell” video. But this one hit different. It is simple, sharp, and very practical.

What stands out for me is how much time founders waste on things that feel like progress but are not. Tom breaks down a few habits that keep you moving fast and keep you focused on real revenue.

Here is what I took away:

• Avoid long unpaid design partnerships. They often turn into endless feedback loops without money attached.

• Go narrow and solve one burning problem. Even hack together a quick fix to prove it works.

• Run short pilots with clear numbers that show value.

• Start contracts with an opt out clause so trials convert into recurring revenue by default.

• Spend time on customer success. Happy customers renew and grow.

I like this approach because it is not about learning some magic sales script. It’s more about working closely with people, proving your product saves them time or money, and making it easy for them to stay.

👉 If you are an early stage founder, I think this talk is worth a watch. It makes the sales process feel less like a black box and more like a set of small steps you can try right away.

Check out what our readers also enjoy reading:

🗺️ Method

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⚾️ Catch

The future of AI customer service is at Pioneer

There’s only one place where CS leaders at the cutting edge will gather to explore the incredible opportunities presented by AI Agents: Pioneer.

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You’ll also get the chance to meet the team behind Fin, the #1 AI Agent for customer service. The whole team will be on site, from Intercom’s PhD AI engineers, to product executives and leaders, and the solutions engineers deploying Fin in the market.

Join Pioneer in-person or online on October 9th, 2025. Register today.

☝️ Scaled This Past Week: Interhuman 

Interhuman AI builds social intelligence for machines. It helps AI read tone, pauses, and body language, not just words.

They just raised 2M EUR – it’s the scale of the week!

Here’s what they do:

• Mixes computer vision, audio analysis, behavioral science and psychology to turn human cues into signals machines can read

• Offers an API and SDK so any AI system can better connect with people in training, sales, healthcare, or support.

Do you like SCALABLE?