Start Small or Start Wrong

Take another look at the title.

Start small or start wrong.

When I started Inscaler, I didn't have a large outbound setup.

No massive lists.

No fancy automations.

The business was mostly inbound-driven but in the beginning, I still ran a few outbound campaigns to test the market and prepare for the slower summer months.

Carefully.

Intentionally.

Almost manually.

Looking back, that choice taught me one of the most important lessons: focusing on your first list of prospects, will help you scale way faster.

Here’s what I did.

A quick story from the early days

When Inscaler was just starting out, I faced a clear problem.

I knew who I could help in theory.

Early-stage founders. B2B tech.

Sales teams are stuck between founder-led sales and something repeatable.

But that description was still too broad.

So instead of asking:

“Who could buy from me?”

Instead, I asked a different question:

Who is most likely to reply right now?

I built a first target list of about 100 accounts.

Not 500. Not 2,000.

One-hundred.

I treated that list as something extremely valuable.

What I looked for in my first accounts

I set a few strict criteria.

• Founder-led sales
• Recently raised or about to raise
• Hiring a head of sales or a sales team in general
• Team size was small enough that sales were still messy.
• Italy-based, so conversations felt easier and faster.

Most importantly, I focused on signals, like:

“I am hiring my first SDR.”

“Revenue is growing but chaotic.”

“Looking for a head of sales.”

These were clear signs that told me to reach out.

What I ignored (on purpose)

This part is even more important.

I ignored:

• Big logos past 5M ARR - too big, too difficult
• CRO or Head of Sales - I wanted to talk to the founders.

I also didn’t focus on scale from the get-go.

Most people don’t want to hear this.

Even though LinkedIn is full of people talking about sending millions of emails, your first outbound goal shouldn’t be volume.

The first 100 accounts

Those mattered.

Because every reply mattered. Every open rate told me something. Every reply told me something.

I was checking numbers constantly:

• Open rate
• Reply rate
• Cold to interested

If the cold-to-interest rate dropped below 5%, I would try to improve something - like the list, the headline, or the message.

I changed the list.

Or the message.

Or both.

A simple 3-step method

If you’re building your first target list today, here’s what I suggest.

Step 1: Start smaller than feels comfortable

Choose 50 to 100 accounts that show clear signals. Go through them one at a time if needed.

Step 2: Run parallel ICP tests

Split the list into 2 or 3 micro-ICPs.

Different industries.

Different team sizes.

Same problem.

Watch who replies faster and with more intent.

Step 3: Control the outbound motion

Avoid sending mass AI-generated emails unless you have a very controlled process.

Use data enrichment to personalise around 20% of your emails.

The rest can go into sequences, but keep them targeted and intentional.

And...avoid pushing all this into your CRM.

Yes, you get the data in terms of activities.

But you also flood it with cold contacts your CRM who will never reply.

Five years from now, you’ll still be paying a lot to keep or clean up those contacts.

The real payoff

Here’s the best part.

When you’re this focused and specific early on, scaling later is much easier.

Why?

Because you already built:

• Clear ICP
• Repeatable messaging
• Simple processes
• Tools
• Templates

Building momentum gives you confidence.

Confidence makes scaling feel less overwhelming.

So before you build your next list of 2000 accounts, ask yourself: Have I really earned them?

Start with 50/100 accounts. Learn quickly. Build the right way.

You will scale later.

Thanks for reading this far, have a good weekend everyone!