Client

ANDI Labs — AI-powered instructional coaching platform for K–12 educators

Context

A pre-revenue edtech startup with a compelling product and a founder with deep domain credibility but no prior sales experience. I was engaged initially as a GTM Readiness Sprint (January–February 2026), which expanded into a full GTM Execution Sprint. The engagement was compressed when I transitioned to a full-time role mid-engagement, requiring aggressive front-loading of all core deliverables.

Challenges

• No sales infrastructure, process, or tools in place — the founder was running outreach on instinct

• Positioning was investor-oriented and not translating for school and district buyers

• No research foundation to validate ICP, pain points, or product-market fit signals

• The founder needed to be able to operate and sell independently after the engagement ended

Approach

• Market Research & Positioning: Conducted 18+ primary interviews across teachers, instructional coaches, principals, and district leaders to validate pain points, surface authentic buyer language, and stress-test positioning assumptions. Synthesized findings into a Brand Narrative Kit with founder story, ICP matrix, message maps by persona, tagline candidates, and a field language glossary

• Competitive Analysis & Pitch Development: Mapped the market landscape and ran four rounds of pitch iteration, culminating in a multi-sided PMF framework and a final pitch draft grounded in buyer research rather than founder assumptions

• Sales Infrastructure & RevOps: Built full HubSpot CRM architecture — pipeline stages, contact properties, activity logging standards, and a build-as-you-go usage framework designed to avoid over-engineering early

• Sales Enablement: Delivered a complete Sales Guide (demo structure, discovery questions, product moment mapping, and close framework), an Objection Handling Guide mapped by buyer persona, and 17 email templates across six sales stages with A/B test variants and sequencing logic by ICP

• GTM Strategy: Developed a prioritized sequencing recommendation — wedge into large districts with at least one instructional coach, prove the model, then scale — with pricing rationale anchored to the cost of traditional PD and coaching

Impact

• Stood up a complete sales infrastructure from scratch — HubSpot CRM architecture, seven-stage pipeline, contact properties, and activity logging standards the founder now runs independently

• Built a repeatable sales process where none existed — demo structure, discovery framework, objection handling by persona, and a defined close motion

• Delivered 17 email templates across six sales stages with A/B variants and sequencing logic by ICP, ready for immediate execution

• Conducted 18+ primary research interviews across teachers, coaches, principals, and district leaders — surfacing validated pain points, buyer language, and product-market fit signals

• Replaced investor-oriented positioning with buyer-grounded messaging across every touchpoint — founder story, ICP matrix, message maps by persona, and a field language glossary

• Ran four rounds of competitive analysis and pitch iteration, resulting in a final pitch grounded in real market research rather than assumptions

• Defined the GTM sequencing strategy — entry point, ideal buyer profile, and wedge approach — giving the team a clear, prioritized path to first contracts

• Everything delivered was built for handoff — every system, process, and framework is actively in use, not sitting on a shelf