He raised a $10M seed with no revenue—then grew 30x to $30M in year two. | Bobby Samuels, Founder of Protege

Bobby  launched Protege in early 2024 to connect data holders with AI model builders. He raised a $10M seed with almost no demand pipeline. A year later, Protege jumped 30x to $30M in GMV and raised $30M from a16z.

In this episode, Bobby breaks down how he built a 250-partner data network by leveraging prior healthcare relationships, why he flies from New York every week to close seven-figure enterprise deals, and why the "texting terms" litmus test tells you if a deal is real.

Why You Should Listen

• Why ignoring a customer's "no" can be the best sales move you make.
• How flying to see buyers weekly became the number one growth driver.
• Why the gap between A and A-plus talent is worth blowing your budget for.
• How Protege went from $1M to $30M GMV in a single year.

Keywords startup podcast, startup podcast for founders, product market fit, finding pmf, AI data, enterprise sales, founder-led sales, data licensing, healthcare AI, a16z, B2B startup, Bobby Samuels, Protege

Chapters

• 00:00:00 Intro
• 00:03:01 Building the First Data Network
• 00:06:12 Why In-Person Sales Changed Everything
• 00:16:08 Going to Market with No Pipeline
• 00:21:07 Ignoring the Lab's No
• 00:27:40 From $1M to $30M in One Year
• 00:34:55 Why A-Plus Talent Is Worth It
• 00:38:28 The Moment of True Product Market Fit

Send me a message to let me know what you think!