How we tested outbound to SaaS scaleups after funding round

Client

This was our own test campaign, aimed at Polish SaaS scale-ups that recently closed their seed and Series A funding rounds. Target audience: companies employing over 50 people, building technological solutions for the B2B market. This segment is familiar with the challenges typical of this stage of development: the pressure to quickly deliver results and prove that the business model works in practice.

Challenge

We wanted to test how effective outbound is in the SaaS scale-up segment after a funding round - whether this customer profile actually has pain points we can solve, and whether our messaging will fit into their business context.

We set ourselves several hypotheses:

Is the pressure to perform after the round a real trigger?
Hypothesis: After closing financing, companies feel pressure from investors to grow rapidly. Without functioning acquisition channels, each month is a missed opportunity to achieve milestones.

Do they lack validated sales hypotheses?
Hypothesis: Companies have a product and a few customers, but they don't know exactly which market segment responds best. There's a lack of systematic testing of different target groups and messages.

Is stagnation in lead generation a problem?
Hypothesis: Current efforts are based primarily on recommendations and industry conferences. A scalable, repeatable process is lacking.outbound.

Is the upcoming Q4 a strong argument?
Hypothesis: The end of the year is a key moment for most B2B companies to close deals and build a strong pipeline for the next quarter. The question was: would this context be enough to spark interest in the conversation?

The campaign was a test of these assumptions.We wanted to see if we could validate GTM assumptions and generate the first qualitative responses from this segment within a few weeks.

Solution 

We approached the campaign strategically. It wasn't just about "sending cold emails to SaaS companies." The goal was to build a repeatable process and validate our hypotheses.

Strategic workshop
First, we analyzed the market: which SaaS companies in Poland have recently secured funding? What are the typical challenges after a round? Who makes the decisions about building sales processes?

ICP Definition and Segmentation
We defined the profile of the campaign's ideal recipient and selected a segment to test. We focused on a narrow group that had the greatest potential for rapid conversion.

Context-based messaging
Instead of a generic cold email about our services, we built our communication around the real challenges of our target group. We used specific business triggers and demonstrated our understanding of their specific situations.

Test sequence with variants.
We prepared a campaign consisting of three messages (initiation + follow-up + breakout email), testing two variants of the message. Each version had a different trigger: a funding round in 2023-2025, or if the round occurred in earlier years, delivering sales results in Q4.

KPIs and iterations. 

From the outset, we established clear success metrics: delivery rate, response rate, and hot lead rate. The plan involved rapid analysis of results and validation of assumptions.

ICP Definition and Campaign Strategy

A key insight was narrowing the target group to a very specific profile. We didn't test "all SaaS in Poland," only companies that:

• They are in the scale-up stage (over 50 people)
• They recently passed a round of financing
• They have product-market fit, but they need predictable sales processes
• They target the B2B market and have a challenge with scaling outbound

From this definition a database was created of 78 prospects, That is founders and C-level employees who are personally in charge of go-to-market strategy or oversee the construction processpipeline'usales.

The campaign launched in mid-September and lasted less than two weeks. We used a single email inbox, sending messages to 12 new contacts per day. This rhythm maintained a natural flow and didn't raise any suspicions in spam filters.

Messaging and Cold Mail Sequencing

Most cold email campaigns make the same mistake: they send messages that sound like a sales pitch. This doesn't work for scale-ups after a funding round. This audience receives dozens of pitches a week.

We, however, used a similar framework in the case of campaigns for our clients.

The first email was like a conversation with the founder without the unnecessary marketing.

Option A began with congratulations on the funding round. This wasn't just a flurry of compliments, and this trigger demonstrated that the sender knew who they were talking to and understood the business context. This was followed by a brief reference to the real-world challenge: pressure for results, lack of stable processes, and post-funding expectations.

The key was avoidancebuzzwordsInstead of "we offer comprehensive lead generation solutions," we now have specifics: "we validate sales hypotheses before the next round" and "I help founders with GTM and Product Market Fit strategies."

Option B addressed a different issue: the approaching end of the year and the pressure to close Q4 with a strong pipeline. The message was simple: nonpredictable outbound processes lead to stagnation precisely at the moment when results are most important.

Follow-ups built trust through case studies and specific numbers.

The first follow-up introduced an element of social proof. It didn't say "our services are great," but rather something specific: "For one of our clients, we generated 6 enterprise leads in a month" and "we set up an outbound process that generated 41 sales opportunities in 6 weeks."

The second follow-up email (breakup email) was written with empathy. Instead of pressure, there was a redirect option: "If your company has someone responsible for sales/GTM strategy, please provide a contact." This demonstrated that it wasn't about squeezing in a meeting at all costs, but about reaching the right person.

Why did this messaging work?

Because it was based on a deep understanding of the audience's context. Scaleup founders face a specific set of challenges after a round: investor pressure, the need to meet milestones, and the need to validate hypotheses before the next round. Every message in the campaign touched on one of these points without discussing the product or pricing.

Business Conclusions

Testing message variants revealed which trigger resonated best. "Q4 results and predictable outbound" generated the most responses.

Importantly, the campaign not only generated leads but also addressed assumptions regarding product-market fit. Prospects' responses confirmed that the pain points identified during the workshop were real and strong enough to inform the offer.