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How do you build a pipeline when your product is new, your audience is different, and your resources are… limited? Or, more precisely: how do you get new projects when your existing ones keep you fully booked?

Last month, I added three new projects to my pipeline. For a business of my size, that’s a real milestone. One is a business model sprint for a family business successor. Another is a strategy sprint for a SME founder repositioning for the next chapter. And one came in unexpectedly - from a legacy player in payments, where I began my career years ago. These projects helped me make my first two hires. It’s exciting, a little scary - but mostly, it feels like momentum.

And I did it all without a big brand, a sales team, or a marketing budget. Just an offer I believed in, a network I nurtured, and a few systems that helped me scale my time. I’m sharing those systems in this issue because even established businesses - especially legacy ones - are often trying to build something new for a market they don’t fully know yet. A new service. A spin-off. A digital layer. Whatever it is, the old playbook doesn’t always cut it. Even if you have customers today, it’s worth asking: are you reaching the people who will sustain you tomorrow? Are you building the kind of distribution that future-proofs your growth?

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Insight

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You already know the ending: three new projects, two new hires, and some actual momentum. Now let’s rewind to how I got there.

Because whether you’re launching a venture from scratch or spinning something out of a 100-year-old business, the steps are surprisingly similar. You’re building trust, attention, and traction for something new. And even if your company has been around for decades, that new thing starts with no audience, no data, and no guarantees.

In knowledge-based, high-trust businesses like mine - where clients aren’t clicking “Buy Now,” but buying into a person, a method, or a transformation - the path to new business often looks like this:

• Warm 1:1 | personal outreach to people you already know
• Warm 1:many | content seen by your existing network
• Cold 1:1 | tailored outreach to people you don’t know yet
• Cold 1:many | broad visibility through ads or mass marketing

Most founders, especially in service businesses, start with warm 1:1 - and it works, because trust already exists. But even large legacy companies can (and should) use this same thinking. If you’re launching a new product, trying to reach younger buyers, or repositioning your offer, this logic holds. Every company - yes, even B2B manufacturers or wholesalers - has relationships they can reactivate, stories they can share, and new customers they haven’t met yet.

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The rest of this newsletter walks through how I applied these steps - starting with the offer, then moving through each type of outreach - and how you can adapt the same thinking inside your business, whether you’re selling strategy sprints or steel valves.

Let’s get into it.

[ Step 1 ] Start With the Offer (Not the Funnel)

You can’t sell air. Alex Hormozi said it best: “You don’t have a business if you don’t have an offer.”

When I launched my firm in 2020, I thought my experience would be enough. I had a Master’s degree in Business Innovation and had led projects at SIX Group. I knew I could help. But experience isn’t an offer. It gets you meetings, not momentum. My first clients bought time - hours, slide decks, thinking sessions - but I wasn’t selling anything structured or scalable.

It took a lot of trial and error to translate my skills into something concrete. That’s how offers like the “Next Chapter Sprint” and “Business Model Sprints with Academia” were born. Specific, packaged, outcome-focused. And even with those offers in hand, I still had to earn trust - project by project, conversation by conversation.

Legacy businesses often skip this part. They assume decades of market credibility means they don’t need to revisit their offer. But when the buyer changes - or when the business changes - you have to rearticulate what you’re selling and why it matters now. Sometimes it’s the product that needs to evolve. Sometimes it’s just the framing.

A clear, testable offer is the foundation. Every email, every meeting, every campaign depends on it. Without that, you’re not really selling - you’re just hoping.

[ Step 2 ] Sell to the People Who Already Trust You (Warm 1:1)

The first thing I did - before writing a single LinkedIn post or building a website - was go through my phone, my inbox, and my LinkedIn messages. I reconnected with people I’d worked with. Told them what I was building. Asked who they knew. Followed up.

This warm 1:1 outreach brought in my first client. Just by showing up with clarity and asking the right questions.

Legacy businesses have an incredible advantage here. You’ve built trust over years - maybe generations. But most companies don’t activate that trust. They wait for referrals or assume customers will just “know” what else they offer. But if you’re launching a new product, entering a new segment, or exploring direct sales for the first time - you need to make the first move.

Warm outreach isn’t spam. It’s a conversation. One you already have permission to start. In my case, it looked like over 50 coffee meetings. In your case, it might be account reviews, personalized check-ins, or leadership emails.

But don’t underestimate the power of showing up directly - and asking.

[ Step 3 ] Stay Top of Mind with Content (Warm 1:Many)

Once I had those early conversations, I needed a way to stay visible without repeating myself in 30 separate follow-up emails. That’s when I turned to content. I started writing about the kinds of projects I was running, what I was learning, what wasn’t working. I didn’t try to “build a brand.” I just spoke clearly about what I cared about and who I could help.

And it worked. Two of my most recent projects came from someone who had followed my posts silently for weeks before reaching out. That’s the magic of warm 1:many: it doesn’t try to convince - it reminds. It tells people who already kind of know you, “Hey, this is what I do now.”

Most legacy businesses overlook this. They assume marketing means campaigns and budgets. But the best marketing - especially for high-trust services or B2B relationships - is staying relevant in the minds of people who already like you. They just need a reason to reach out.

[ Step 4 ] Cold Outreach (But Keep It Human)

At some point, your existing network will plateau. That doesn’t mean your business is broken - it just means you’ve outgrown the current circle of attention. If you’re launching something new or repositioning part of your company for a different type of customer, you’ll need to start connecting with people who aren’t already in your ecosystem.

This doesn’t mean cold calling 100 strangers or blasting generic emails. For successors and owners, cold 1:1 outreach might look more like reconnecting with someone you met at a trade event, reaching out to a peer in the industry, or messaging a potential partner on LinkedIn with a clear, respectful ask. The goal isn’t volume - it’s relevance.

Legacy businesses often don’t think of this as “sales.” But it is. It’s proactive visibility. It’s starting thoughtful conversations with future customers - even if they’ve never heard of your company before. And if you’re planning to grow into new markets or serve a next-gen buyer segment, you’ll likely need to develop this muscle. Done right, it’s not pushy - it’s strategic.

[ Step 5 ] Build One Part of the Funnel at a Time (So You Can Learn What Works)

This isn’t about patience for the sake of patience. It’s about learning fast, but with structure. The biggest mistake I made and see? Doing everything at once. A newsletter, some ads, a few calls, maybe a new landing page. Nothing's connected. And then wondering why nothing’s clear. Whether you’re running a service business or managing a 100M operation, the principle is the same: if you’re testing five channels at the same time, you won’t know what moved the needle.

That’s why I recommend building one sales motion at a time. Start with warm 1:1 - it’s the most direct feedback loop. Once you know how your offer resonates, you can scale or add content. Then, and only then, consider whether cold outreach or broader visibility makes sense. Each layer builds on the last. Don’t skip ahead.

Growth isn’t about doing more, it’s about getting smarter. One clean funnel. One segment. One signal at a time.

Question

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Which part of your sales process is actually working - and how do you know?

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Opportunity

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This specific opportunity has passed. If you want to build smarter innovation strategies - and actually turn them into real venture projects - subscribe to the newsletter and stay in the loop. The next one might be exactly what you need.