Workflow automation startup — good work, possibly overspent for our stage
SmarterOutbound delivered on the technical execution. In retrospect we hired too early for our stage and would have been better served by a tool plus founder-led outreach.
- Pre-Series A workflow automation startup.
- SmarterOutbound's work was solid — copy, deliverability, meeting flow.
- Cost was material relative to our revenue at the time.
- Four stars because the work was excellent; the decision to hire them at our stage was probably premature.
This review is about us, not them. SmarterOutbound did their job well. The campaigns produced meetings, the deliverability was strong, the copy was on-point. Where I’d push back is that we hired them too early.
At ~$30k MRR, the engagement fee was a meaningful chunk of our runway. The meetings they booked were good, but at our stage I could have produced 60-70% of the same outcome by running cold email myself with a $99/month tool and 8 hours per week.
The remaining 30-40% productivity gain wasn’t worth the burn for us at that revenue level. By Series A it would have been worth it. We jumped early.
Four stars
The work was five-star. The decision to hire was a stage mismatch on our side. If we hire them again post-Series A, this would be a five-star review.
If you’re an early-stage founder reading this: do the math on stage. The engagement is great if you can afford it. If you can’t, do it yourself first and graduate to outsourced later.
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