Client success story

How GrowthSpree Built Cimento AI a Feedback-First ABM Discovery Engine

A 2025-founded cybersecurity startup with no track record and a buyer worn out by vendor pitches. By leading with "no pitch, just feedback" and a founder-led, six-cohort ABM motion, GrowthSpree turned cold outreach into honest conversations: generating 98 interested replies, 46 meetings, and a stream of insight that shaped the product roadmap.

Interested Replies (3.15%): 98Interested Replies (3.15%)
Meetings Booked: 46Meetings Booked
Highly Fruitful Founder Calls: 15Highly Fruitful Founder Calls

Cimento AI × GrowthSpree: At a Glance

Client: Cimento AI, adaptive phishing simulation & AI security awareness training, founded 2025, Utah
Problem: A brand-new company with no track record, an unvalidated product vision, and pitch-fatigued security buyers
Result: 98 interested replies (3.15%), about 2× the benchmark, plus 46 meetings and 2 design partners
Scope: Founder-led ABM across 4,169 prospects at 3,109 companies, in 6 cohorts

Case Study at a Glance

Key Takeaways

Cimento AI, a super early-stage cybersecurity startup, hired GrowthSpree to run an ABM program where the goal was to learn, not to sell. A founder-led, "no pitch, just feedback" motion across six segmented cohorts beat pitch fatigue, validated the product vision, and produced genuine early demand.

4,169 prospects across 3,109 companies reached over 2,600 dual-channel touchpoints (LinkedIn + email).
98 interested replies (3.15%), roughly double the 1–2% cybersecurity ABM benchmark.
46 meetings booked (46.9% of interested); 15 (32.6%) flagged highly fruitful by the founder.
"No pitch, just feedback" disarmed security leaders tired of vendor pitches.
Best segments by interest rate: cybersecurity/L&D events (4.38%) and growing companies (4.21%).
6 product demos + 2 design partners, with feedback feeding directly into the roadmap.

The Mission

Cimento AI is an early-stage cybersecurity innovator building adaptive phishing simulations and AI-based security awareness training to help organizations tackle human risk. Going beyond legacy "checkbox" compliance tools, it delivers real-time, personalized training powered by behavioral analytics, built to defend against the world's most persistent threat: human error.

The Discovery Challenge

Breaking into the market, Cimento faced a dual challenge: not only standing out to security leaders tired of pitches, but also validating its unique product vision. As a brand-new company, the team needed honest conversations with practitioners and buyers, feedback to steer product development and sharpen positioning, before broad commercialization.

Key Challenges Identified

Pitch-fatigued buyers: security leaders are inundated with vendor pitches and tune them out.
Unvalidated product vision: a novel "beyond checkbox" approach needed real-world validation.
Brand-new company: founded in 2025, with no track record or credibility to lean on.
No early advocacy: zero reference customers or design partners to anchor trust.
Pre-commercialization: needed practitioner feedback before scaling go-to-market.
Lean resources: a small team with no budget to waste on unfocused outreach.

Baseline snapshot, before the feedback-first ABM program
Spend / channels	Founder-led, dual-channel outreach across LinkedIn and email, a lean team with no paid media and no budget to waste on unfocused outreach.
CAC / cost model	Not a paid-media CAC: success was measured by interested replies, meeting quality, demos, and design partners secured.
Conversion rate	Cybersecurity ABM typically converts at a 1–2% interest rate, and pitch-fatigued security leaders tune vendor outreach out entirely.
Credibility	Founded in 2025 with no track record, zero reference customers, and no design partners to anchor trust.

Our Strategy

We designed an ABM program where the goal wasn't to sell, it was to learn. Every message led with "no pitch, just feedback," using Cimento's founder profile to open doors with trust and credibility. The market was rigorously segmented into distinct cohorts so we could see exactly which audiences leaned in, and messaging was personalized per segment to break the ice through real commonalities and shared interests.

The GrowthSpree Approach

GrowthSpree orchestrated a dual-channel ABM campaign across LinkedIn and email, deliberately framing outreach as a request for honest perspective rather than a sales pitch. Running it from the founder's profile gave each message instant credibility, and tailoring the angle to each cohort's context made every interaction feel authentic, not automated.

Outreach was split into six targeted cohorts: competitor users, cybersecurity & L&D event attendees, alumni from the founder's university, companies growing year over year, members of relevant LinkedIn groups, and prospects signaling active intent for similar solutions. Each cohort ran as its own experiment, so we could read precisely where Cimento's story resonated hardest.

How GrowthSpree Saved the Day

Founder-Led Trust

Outreach ran from Cimento's founder profile, leveraging genuine commonalities (shared alumni networks, events, and interests) to earn credibility a cold vendor email never could.

Founder-Led3,109 Companies Reached

Six Targeted Cohorts

Rigorous segmentation (competitors, event attendees, alumni, growth companies, LinkedIn groups, and intent signals) meant every message was tailored, and every cohort a clean read on resonance.

6 CohortsPersonalized per Segment

Feedback-First Messaging

"No pitch, just feedback" disarmed pitch-fatigued buyers and invited candid input, turning outreach into both customer discovery and genuine demand at once.

3.15% Interested~2× Industry Benchmark

The results

The Results

Interest Rate (vs 1–2% Benchmark): 3.15%Interest Rate (vs 1–2% Benchmark)
Product Demos Booked: 6Product Demos Booked
Design Partners Signed: 2Design Partners Signed

From 2,600 touchpoints reaching 4,169 prospects at 3,109 companies, the program produced 197 replies, 98 interested conversations, 46 meetings, 6 demos, and 2 design partners. At 3.15% interested, roughly double the 1–2% cybersecurity ABM benchmark, Cimento turned a learning-first motion into authentic early advocacy and a validated roadmap.

Performance Breakdown

How a feedback-first motion converted at every stage, and which audiences leaned in hardest.

The Full ABM Funnel

A clean cascade from reach to advocacy: 4,169 prospects narrowed to 98 interested conversations, 46 meetings, and 2 design partners.

Prospects Reached4,169

197 replies · 6.33% of companies ↓

Replied197

~50% of replies were interested ↓

Interested (3.15%)98

46.9% of interested booked a meeting ↓

Meetings Booked46

13% advanced to a demo ↓

Product Demos6

33% of demos became design partners ↓

Design Partners2

Reply and interest rates are measured against 3,109 unique companies; meeting, demo, and partner rates against the 98 interested replies.

Interested Replies by Segment: Volume

Active-intent prospects and LinkedIn-group members generated the most interested replies in raw terms.

Intent27

LinkedIn Group19

Event18

Generic11

Competitor Clients & Followers10

Growing Companies8

Folks from Same College3

Meet-up2

Count of interested replies per cohort. Total: 98.

Interested-Reply Rate by Segment: Efficiency

A different story: events and growing companies converted most efficiently, while high-volume intent ranked near the bottom by rate, proof that volume and efficiency are separate signals.

Event4.38%

Growing Companies4.21%

Folks from Same College3.70%

Competitor Clients & Followers3.36%

LinkedIn Group3.29%

Generic2.46%

Intent2.39%

Meet-up1.34%

Interested replies as a share of outreach within each cohort. Campaign average: 3.15%, vs a 1–2% cybersecurity ABM benchmark.

Interested → Meetings

Nearly half of every interested reply turned into a booked meeting, exceptional for cold, early-stage outreach.

Booked a meeting 46
No meeting 52

Share of the 98 interested replies that converted to a scheduled meeting.

Meetings → Highly Fruitful

A third of all booked meetings were flagged by Cimento's founder as highly fruitful conversations.

Highly fruitful 15 (32.6%)
Other meetings 31 (67.4%)

Founder-rated quality of the 46 booked meetings.

The Business Impact

What a learning-first ABM motion delivered where it counts: pipeline, qualified interest, outreach efficiency, and early revenue signal.

Pipeline, meetings

46 meetings booked from 98 interested replies, a 46.9% conversion, exceptional for cold, early-stage outreach.

SQLs, qualified interest

98 interested replies at a 3.15% rate, roughly double the 1–2% cybersecurity ABM benchmark.

CAC, outreach efficiency

4.38%

4.38% interest on the best cohort (events) versus 1.34% on the weakest, showing exactly where to double down.

Revenue, early validation

6 & 2

6 demos and 2 design partners, with roadmap-shaping feedback and authentic early advocacy.

The discovery funnel in text (chart data)
Stage	Count	Rate
Prospects reached	4,169 across 3,109 companies	2,600+ touchpoints
Replied	197	-
Interested	98	3.15% (vs 1–2% benchmark)
Meetings booked	46	46.9% of interested
Highly fruitful meetings	15	32.6% of meetings
Product demos	6	-
Design partners	2	-

Interested replies by segment in text (chart data)
Segment	Interested replies	Interest rate
Event (cybersecurity / L&D)	18	4.38%
Growing Companies	8	4.21%
Folks from Same College	3	3.70%
Competitor Clients & Followers	10	3.36%
LinkedIn Group	19	3.29%
Generic	11	2.46%
Intent	27	2.39%
Meet-up	2	1.34%

What Made It Work

Four lessons from running ABM as a discovery engine at the earliest stage.

"No pitch, just feedback" beats the pitch

Security leaders are pitch-fatigued. Asking for honest input instead of a meeting earned a 3.15% interest rate, roughly double the cybersecurity ABM benchmark, and far richer conversations.

Founder-led outreach unlocks trust

Running messages from the founder's profile, anchored in real commonalities like shared alumni networks and events, gave a brand-new company instant credibility it couldn't buy.

Volume isn't efficiency, segment for both

Intent prospects produced the most interested replies (27) but one of the lowest rates (2.39%); events delivered fewer replies at the highest rate (4.38%). Reading both reveals where to double down.

Discovery compounds into demand

A learning-first motion still moved the funnel: 46 meetings, 6 demos, and 2 design partners, plus roadmap-shaping feedback and authentic early advocacy ahead of commercialization.

The Impact

By putting learning above selling, Cimento built authentic early advocacy, sharply iterated its product, and laid a trust foundation for market entry. The campaign proved that even at the earliest stage, a segmented, feedback-first ABM model can unlock not just development insights, but genuine demand, all with limited resources and no pitch fatigue.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What results did Cimento AI achieve with GrowthSpree?

Across a feedback-first ABM program reaching 4,169 prospects at 3,109 companies, GrowthSpree generated 98 interested replies (a 3.15% interest rate, roughly double the 1–2% cybersecurity ABM benchmark), 46 booked meetings, 6 product demos, and 2 design partners. Of the meetings, 15 (32.6%) were flagged as highly fruitful by Cimento's founder, and feedback directly shaped the product roadmap.

What was Cimento AI's discovery challenge?

Breaking into the market, Cimento faced a dual challenge: standing out to security leaders who are tired of vendor pitches, and validating a novel product vision. As a 2025-founded company, it needed honest conversations with practitioners and buyers to steer product development and sharpen positioning before broad commercialization.

What is feedback-first ABM?

Feedback-first ABM leads with "no pitch, just feedback", outreach asks for a buyer's perspective rather than a sale. It disarms pitch-fatigued audiences, surfaces honest product and competitive insight, and builds early advocacy. For an early-stage company, it turns outreach into both customer discovery and genuine demand generation at the same time.

Which audience segments performed best for Cimento AI?

By interest rate, prospects from cybersecurity/L&D events (4.38%) and yearly-growing companies (4.21%) converted best, followed by founder's-college alumni (3.70%). By raw volume, active-intent prospects produced the most interested replies (27) and LinkedIn-group members the second most (19), though both at lower rates, showing that volume and efficiency are different signals.

How did the campaign compare to industry benchmarks?

The campaign's 3.15% interest rate sat well above the 1–2% average benchmark for cybersecurity ABM campaigns, roughly double. It also produced strong downstream conversion: 46.9% of interested replies booked a meeting, and 32.6% of those meetings were flagged as highly fruitful by the founder.

How does early-stage ABM help before a product is commercialized?

At the earliest stage, ABM doubles as customer discovery. A feedback-first motion gathers product suggestions and competitive insight that steer the roadmap, builds authentic early advocacy, and converts the most engaged prospects into design partners, laying a trust foundation for market entry, all with limited resources and no pitch fatigue.

What is Cimento AI?

Cimento AI is an early-stage cybersecurity company founded in 2025 and headquartered in Utah. It builds adaptive phishing simulations and AI-based security awareness training powered by behavioral analytics, going beyond legacy "checkbox" compliance tools to help organizations defend against human error.

How much does GrowthSpree cost?

GrowthSpree is a B2B SaaS marketing agency that works on a flat $3,000/month, month-to-month engagement with no long-term lock-in. It holds a 4.9/5 rating on G2 and is a Google Partner and HubSpot Solutions Partner, with services spanning Google Ads, LinkedIn Ads, account-based marketing, and RevOps.

What is a design partner?

A design partner is an early customer who works closely with a startup to shape the product before general release, giving structured feedback in exchange for influence over the roadmap and early access. For Cimento AI, a feedback-first ABM program secured 2 design partners plus 6 product demos, turning discovery conversations into authentic early advocacy ahead of commercialization.

How do you do outbound with no brand, budget, or reference customers?

Send from the founder's own profile, anchor outreach in real commonalities like shared alumni networks and events, and ask for honest feedback instead of pitching a meeting. For Cimento AI, founded in 2025 with no track record, this "no pitch, just feedback" motion earned 98 interested replies at a 3.15% rate, roughly double the 1–2% cybersecurity ABM benchmark, and converted 46.9% of them into meetings.