Building a go-to-market foundation for Qlerify

Qlerify, an AI-powered enterprise software modeling tool startup based in Stockholm, wanted to grow the number of early customers and freemium user base with cost-effective strategies.

After completing the Techstars Stockholm ‘23 accelerator program and receiving pre-seed funding, the founding team needed to show more customer traction to raise a new funding round.

I worked with Qlerify for 1 and ½ years as a fractional head of sales & growth. During that time, several rounds of iteration on the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), value proposition, and clever choice of channels (outbound, partnerships, referrals, online content) helped Qlerify grow their paying B2B customers from 5 to 17, and freemium user base from 1000 to 2500. As a result, the founders were able to close a round of financing in a tough downmarket.

How did we achieve this?

We began by refining Qlerify’s ICP, buyer, and user personas, carefully reassessing who the product was for and how best to communicate its value. Through numerous customer discovery meetings via cold outreach, we sharpened our understanding of Qlerify’s ideal users—software architects, product owners, business analysts, and project managers—who were aligned with workflows like Domain-Driven Design and Event Storming. Insights from these interactions directly influenced our website copy, messaging, and product roadmap, ensuring alignment with the needs of our target audience.

Leveraging these findings, we tested a variety of low-budget go-to-market strategies, including outbound LinkedIn and email campaigns, content marketing, website SEO, Google Ads, referrals, partnerships, and live industry event participation. The most effective tactics were highly targeted LinkedIn outreach, founder-led engagement at industry events, and online content collaborations within niche user communities. These approaches not only secured new customers but also strengthened Qlerify’s presence in its specialized market.

A key takeaway was the critical role of founder-led sales. By staying directly involved in outreach, demos, and event participation, Qlerify’s founders became the company’s top closers. Additionally, focusing on a well-defined customer niche allowed the team to engage effectively in relevant online communities, fostering word-of-mouth that drove inbound leads—though this success was built on a foundation of intensive outbound efforts.