Here's what we've noticed
It often seems that a whole army of specialists is needed to bring a startup to the market: marketers, sales managers, analysts, content makers. But our experience has shown us an amazing thing: a single person taking the role of CBDO (Chief Business Development Officer) can not only replace all these resources early on, but also actually lead the project through Proof of Concept. In fact, this person becomes the link between the product and its potential market, covering the whole range of tasks — from identifying the target audience to launching the first commercial contracts.
Common opinion
Before we came to this conclusion, we, like many other young teams, were sure: “We can't go anywhere without marketing.” Moreover, we were talking about a fairly serious amount of activity: you need to package the product, work out the positioning in detail, create a high-quality landing page, maintain social networks, and send emails. It was believed that this was the only way people would know about your decision, and the product itself would “pass the market's test”.
However, this approach has a pitfall: if you are still not completely sure about the uniqueness and value of your offer, then all these advertising and marketing tools are just “shooting a gun at sparrows”. We tried to act on our own, created pages, wrote promotional articles, tried to use any free and inexpensive promotion methods. Although we had some success, the general feeling was that we were acting by touch. There was no clear understanding of how deeply our product meets the needs of potential customers, and where exactly these customers who are willing to pay for our AI service are located.
A specific event that opened our eyes
Everything changed dramatically in the spring of 2024. Our goal was not just to “make yourself known somewhere”, but to truly confirm that we can solve the specific pains of our target audience. This meant not to be distracted by secondary hypotheses, but to focus on real negotiations with potential customers.
And that's when Alexander Korneev appeared on the horizon with extensive experience (over 15 years) in business development, B2B sales management and startup consulting. His track record includes working as Director for International Development at VK (Mail.ru Group), consulting IT projects in business, and participating in the Daily-Challenge venture ecosystem. We asked ourselves, “What if we hire that kind of person as a CBDO instead of looking for a lot of focused specialists?”
Alexander offered a different look at Proof of Concept: according to him, it's not just about posting an ad and hoping for incoming applications, but quickly getting several real negotiations and, first of all, hearing feedback “from the field”. He claimed that the main task at the beginning of the journey is high-quality communication with potential customers. So we decided to take a risk: entrust him with key negotiations, access to our team and freedom of maneuver in positioning issues.
Why this observation is important
The fact is that many startups have a problem at the start: limited resources (time, money, human resources), and a wagon of tasks. When you try to close everything at once — create a visual identity, think through a promotion strategy, “upgrade” social networks, test different advertising channels — it's easy to get lost in the details and miss the main thing.
When you have someone who can conduct targeted negotiations and really “get into the shoes” of a potential customer, the whole picture changes dramatically. For the first time, we received concentrated answers to the questions: “Who exactly needs this?” , “What is critical for them in our decision?” , “What is the ready-made implementation scenario?” And all this without lengthy discussion and endless searching of hypotheses, but directly “from the lips” of target companies.
In addition, we saw how quickly CBDO with established contacts can accelerate a startup's connection with the market. It's one thing to wrap doors alone (even with the best product). It's another matter when a person with a reputation and authority in the industry immediately gives access to the right people who are potentially interested in your product today.
Case example (how it happened and what became)
- Before: Our team has been gradually trying to expand its reach. Someone wrote posts on professional Telegram channels, someone researched competitors to understand why we are different, someone called up friends and offered to consider our AI bots. This activity was uncoordinated, and despite some positive signals, there was no real “test of strength”. We had guesses that the market was reacting positively, but we had to prove it convincingly.
- After: Alexander came to the project with a clear focus: “Let's get as many live” feedback from potential customers as possible in a short time.” He contacted his contacts and arranged a series of online meetings and telephone conversations. Many of these conversations revealed where we underperformed the product and which aspects already look strong. A precise list of priorities for the development of our AI solutions has appeared and, most importantly, within two months we managed to reach the signing of the first serious contract with one of the SPA franchises.
With her, we implemented the automation of business processes, tested a number of AI modules, understood how best to deliver our service, and made sure that the product really covers existing customer pain. This contract was a “living” confirmation that we passed Proof of Concept not in words, but in deeds.
Unexpected conclusion
As a result of the whole process, we understood:
- You can do without dozens of marketing tools and at the same time successfully prove that the market needs your product. If your team has a “point” specialist with business development experience and connections, he can single-handedly catalyze all these processes.
- Compactness and focus give special speed. Instead of stretching our efforts into endless advertising “tests”, we focused our resources on live meetings that confirmed or disproved the value of our decision.
- One successful contract It weighs more than dozens of “likes” under posts, because this is already a real example of how your product has been introduced into someone's business. This is Proof of Concept in all its glory: your service solves the problem, they pay for it, which means that the market voted yes.
So if you are in a similar situation — limited in money and time, but want to quickly test the viability of your product — you might want to consider whether you need your own “Alexander Korneev”. A real CBDO alone can sometimes develop a startup faster than a full but less experienced team.
The result: the story of our Proof of Concept has proved that the “targeted” inclusion of a competent business developer in a startup can significantly speed up market entry. In conditions where no one on the team has a lot of free time and budget, this approach was not only effective but also logical. After all, what is more important for Proof of Concept than real proof of demand and the first successful case?