In today's episode, I chat with Faraz from ThynkGrowth, an AI-focused outbound agency specializing in consulting rather than full execution because companies increasingly want to build outbound in-house without agency dependencies - guiding teams to set up Clay flows and automated systems themselves. 

We explore his multi-channel sequencing strategy that scores prospects and pushes top 10% high-intent leads into LinkedIn sequences (email touchpoint → profile visit → connection request → DM) while others go through 3-4 hyper-relevant email sequences using annual reports, CEO commentary, and industry problem research to make emails look human-written rather than automated, plus his experiments with HeyGen for generating personalized videos with multiple angles and accent customization. Faraz shares client stories including performance marketing agencies struggling in crowded spaces and early-stage funded SaaS companies post-PMF, the common founder expectation challenge of "where are my results after two weeks of warmup?", and how LinkedIn comment engagement signals produce better response rates than Apollo/Prospeo lists since prospects are already active and engaging with relevant content. He recounts his unconventional journey from selling hoodies to four class sections at age 15 in school, building Delta Store selling consumer electronics through COVID (2020-2023) where he learned Facebook/Google ads and thought he was a performance marketing expert "only to realize every second person is," joining Go Marble in February 2024 where the founder said "don't do performance marketing, do demand gen" and shifted him from intern to full-time, learning cold email basics with only six months less experience than founders who were figuring it out themselves, owning entire GTM after 2.5 months of handholding, discovering Clay and web scrapers during June 2024's massive open rate slump when Google got stricter, segmenting e-commerce ad volume (high ad count = different message than low ad count), and getting a Sunday morning call from Zycus CMO who found him as a Clay creator and hired him as GTM engineer while he consults on the side. Faraz predicts the space moves so fast that what's exciting yesterday becomes normal today - Gumloop/n8n workflows got replaced by single GPT-4o prompts, Lovable + Apollo API LinkedIn scrapers became redundant when Claude got computer use - so he's waiting for his "aha moment" with full conviction before building something in the space rather than chasing trends. Faraz's advice: keep experimenting and throwing things at the wall because something will stick, focus on proof of humanness over automation signals, and leverage intent signals like LinkedIn engagement over static lists for better response rates.

Enjoy 🙂

(00:00) Introduction to Outbound Wizards 
(00:22) What ThynkGrowth Does: AI Outbound Consulting vs Execution 
(00:38) Focus on Guiding Teams to Build In-House vs Agency Dependency 
(01:24) Best Clients: Performance Marketing Agencies and Early SaaS Post-PMF 
(01:46) Performance Marketing Space Crowded, Hard to Get Results 
(02:19) SaaS Wants "Do It For Us," Agencies Want "Guide Our BD Team" 
(02:40) Client Story: "Where Are My Results After Two Weeks Warmup?" 
(03:14) Explaining Timelines: Month Minimum for Results 
(03:48) Common Founder Question: "When Do I Get ROI?" 
(04:05) Expectation Setting Key: Best Clay Table Won't Fix Misalignment 
(04:27) Operating in Competitive Spaces Makes It Even Harder 
(04:47) Channel Mix: More Email, Little LinkedIn Due to Limitations 
(04:58) Scoring System: Top 10% Hot Prospects to Multi-Channel 
(05:24) LinkedIn Sequence: Email → Profile Visit → Connection → DM 
(05:39) Regular Leads: 3-4 Email Sequences, Hyper Personalized 
(05:49) Checking Annual Reports, CEO Commentary for Problems 
(06:05) Industry Problems for Private Companies Without Reports 
(06:21) Goal: Make It Look Human-Written, Not Automated 
(06:36) Can't Rely on AI for Cold Calls Yet (Legal Question Mark) 
(07:09) Proof of Work: Show You Sat Down, Researched, Had 10-20 Tabs Open 
(07:19) Voice Notes and Videos Build Trust in Sequences 
(07:50) LinkedIn Comment Engagement Signals Respond More Than Lists 
(08:08) Active on LinkedIn = Easier Response 
(08:14) HeyGen Experiment: Upload Video/Pictures, Generate Script + Accent 
(08:36) Don't Want Video Looking Robotic, Wasting Other Efforts 
(09:16) Journey Started Age 15: Selling Hoodies in School 
(09:37) Four Class Sections, Bulk Orders, First Money Introduction 
(10:00) Delta Store (2020-2023): Consumer Electronics During COVID 
(10:14) Learned Facebook/Google Ads, Thought He Was Expert 
(10:26) "Every Second Person Is Performance Marketing Expert" 
(10:36) Go Marble Interview February 2024: First Formal Job 
(10:52) Founder: "Don't Do Performance Marketing, Do Demand Gen" 
(11:01) "Don't Come as Intern, Come Full-Time" Due to Hustle/Grit 
(11:26) Never Heard of Demand Generation Before That Day 
(11:36) Founders Had Six Month Edge, Also Figuring Out Cold Email 
(11:50) Month Learning Basics: Smartlead, Prospecting Setup 
(12:01) 2.5 Months Handholding, Then Full Ownership of GTM 
(12:23) Introduced to Clay, Web Scrapers, Learned Data Importance 
(12:36) June 2024: Industry Slump, Open Rates Tanking, Spam Issues 
(12:45) Google Got Stricter, Same Text = Spam Regardless of Reputation 
(12:54) Spray and Pray Doesn't Work, Build Smaller Focused Lists 
(13:09) E-Commerce Example: Scraping If Companies Running Ads 
(13:25) High Ad Count vs Low Ad Count = Different Messaging 
(13:41) Clay for Intent Signals: Hiring/Non-Hiring Personalization 
(14:07) Delta Store Taught Selling, Go Marble Taught GTM/Prospecting 
(14:17) Moved to Zycus March 2025 as GTM Engineer + Side Consulting 
(14:26) Sunday Morning CMO Call: "Saw You're Clay Creator" 
(14:37) Clay Too Complex, Need Dedicated Person, CRM Team No Bandwidth 
(15:22) Future: Entire Space Exciting, Yesterday's Excitement = Today's Normal 
(15:38) Can't Double Down on One Idea Because Everything Changes 
(15:45) Gumloop/n8n Workflows Replaced by Single GPT-4o Prompt 
(15:59) Lovable + Apollo Generators Redundant After GPT-4o 
(16:21) Waiting for "Aha Moment" with Full Conviction to Build 
(16:30) Claude Computer Use Recent Release: "Will My Job Be a Prompt?" 
(17:06) Closing and Contact Information

🔗 CONNECT WITH FARAZ

👥 LinkedIn

🔗 CONNECT WITH SAURAV

🎥 YouTube Channel

🐦 X (Twitter)

📸 Instagram

💻 Website

👥 LinkedIn
📧 Email - [email protected]

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