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.
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
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.
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.
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.
The Results
(vs 1–2% Benchmark)
Booked
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.
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.
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