CEO @ Conversion House 🏠 | On-demand design for small SaaS marketing teams so they can launch faster, position better and convert more.

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Joe Wheatley

After 2.5 years, I've closed the agency down.

In August 2023 I was completely new to business. Came from the defence industry. Didn't know what SaaS was, didn't even know the difference between marketing and sales.

Knew how to make websites and write, so started freelancing - blog posts and websites for marketing agencies.

Then started landing my own clients. Re-invested everything back into the business - courses, paid ads, tools.

A few courses said "pick a niche", so after some research and zero prior experience, niched down to SaaS.

Started posting about SaaS design on LinkedIn (around November 2024). One month later, landed my first major SaaS gig. Built a website for Summize.

A few more websites, then pivoted to content for SaaS companies. Started a podcast around this time. 

FYI, podcasts are one of the biggest growth hacks - you learn from people you wouldn't otherwise get in a room, they get free marketing.

Summer 2025, flew to San Francisco and filmed videos for a few names you'd recognize.

Came back, jumped on some disco calls. The demand was for outbound not content. Followed the demand. Learned outbound, picked up some new clients. Someone even offered equity for Demand House.

As of today: 30+ B2B companies, multi 10k+ projects, 27 five-star reviews. Not every project was a success - but when we failed, we reflected and learned from our mistakes.

At the beginning of Feb 2026, started thinking longer term. Two things kept coming to mind:

1. GTM agencies are fighting over lower market and small budgets - a race to the bottom with automation and AI.

2. The market rewards those with a top 1% skill, not a jack of all trades.

That pointed to one thing: build a career in tech sales, selling to mid-market and enterprise. Big budgets, opportunity, high-touch, human-led. Skill still matters.

Started applying for roles. Found Vertice - 13x growth in 2 years (one of the fastest growing tech companies in Europe).

Went to their office for the final interview and the floorplate was pure hustle energy. Perfect

Starting on monday as a BDR. Team look great. Very excited. All-in.

Reflections:

99% of this 2.5 year journey was raw action in the face of intense confusion & ambiguity

But push through and on the other side is clarity. Then you must repeat.

That's growth.

Everyone has been through this process, but most stop. The process defeats them. You see it all over their faces. This is what you must avoid.

Instead, you must learn to love the journey. The good, the bad. Every single part of it. Amor Fati

Like Yin and Yang, there is no light without dark.

Everything is connected.

So if you take away one thing away from this post it’s this:

- The journey is the point.
- There is no finish line.
- NEVER stop chasing growth.

GTM @ Vertice | Intelligent Procurement Platform | #1 fastest growing scale-up in UK (Sifted) | #2 in Sunday Times 100 Tech

Master these 5 areas of deliverability so you avoid the spam folder and book more qualified meetings

1️⃣ Infrastructure & Settings
→ Purchase domains with reputable providers like Porkbun
→ Use .com domains
→ Age domains for 30 days before sending
→ Buy backup domains for rotation
→ Use 2 inboxes per domain
→ For inboxes, use trusted re-sellers like Zapmail.ai
→ Diversity your sending infra (mix of Google, Outlook and 3rd party)
→ Ensure proper authentication and DNS (SPF, DKIM, DMARC, URL re-directs)
→ Warm-up inboxes (start at 5 per day, increase by 1 per day up to 15-20)
→ Set warm-up reply rate to 70%
→ When warm-up is complete, send maximum of 25 emails per day per inbox
→ Ensure warm-up stays on at 10-15, 70% reply rate
→ When starting cold email campaigns, begin with 5 emails per day in week 1
→ Then gradually increase to 25 emails per day by the end of week 2
→ Match ESPs for better deliverability (outlook to outlook, Google to Google)
→ Keep bounce rates < 2% and spam complaints < 0.1%
→ Check domains aren't blacklisted using MXtoolbox

2️⃣ Lead Lists
→ Ensure company is within your TAM or ICP
→ Ensure contact is a buyer persona
→ Use enrichment waterfalls like BetterContact to maximize both quality and quantity of contact data
→ Ensure proper enrichment, scoring, tiering, filtering and lead routing using Freckle.io or Clay

3️⃣ Offer
→ Must be compelling
→ And relevant

4️⃣ Sequence
→ Good sequence length e.g. for Tier 3 email-only outreach, max 3 emails
→ Optimize time between steps (depends on ICP and tier)

5️⃣ Copy
→ Write in plain-text (no links, no HTML)
→ Add unsubscribe option
→ Remove any spam trigger words (use spam checkers like Mail Meteor)
→ Use Spintax, messaging frameworks and AI-generated copy
→ Ask questions and personalize
→ A/B test
→ Follow copywriting best practices

Anything to add? Drop below

Helpping ecommerce brands scale to 8-figure with a proven marketing system | Ecommerce Marketing Agency and Coach

As an ambitious D2C or CPG founder with a business generating $5,000 per month in revenue, you've got a compelling vision and proof that your product resonates with the market.

You now want to scale, but don’t have the funds or the contacts to enable reaching that next level of growth you know is possible.

This can impact not just your business success, but also your personal well-being.

That's where I come in. I’ll help you get your business investment ready and hold your hand as we raise your next 250k to fuel growth.

 


🚀 Who I’ve Previously Helped 🚀

#1 Niche Supplement Brand: Provided strategic guidance in brand positioning, KPI development, and content marketing, yielding a 10x ROI through a refined content architecture and scalable brand messaging.

#2 Luxury Lingerie Brand: Following a change in ownership, I implemented a comprehensive growth strategy encompassing SEO optimization, email marketing, social media engagement, and customer service enhancement, resulting in a 20x ROI and a doubling of website traffic within 90 days.

#3 EMEA Smart Home Brand: I  developed a targeted go-to-market strategy for the UK market, facilitating initial B2B sales and achieving a 20x ROI in a new market.

#4 Billion Dollar Cinema Brand: I've consulted with Dolby EU on how to improve their sales process using AI, Marketing Automation, and expanding how they use their CRM systems.


👋 About Me 👋

After starting several online shops, one of which had customers in 12 countries, I have deep hands-on experience in how ecommerce works. 

Coupled with years of consulting experience with brands from pre-revenue to billion-dollar in annual revenues, I can help you fund your growth.

My collaborative approach ensures you have the clarity and support needed to confidently move forward with me as your key advisor, mentor, and consultant.

📧 Looking to raise 250k in the next 6 months to grow your ecommerce business? Send me a DM! 📧

AJ Saunders

Your Next 250k Funding Raised Within 9 Months | Growth Advisor for D2C brands | NED

💥 Why Investors Should Be Your Last Resort

Too many founders chase VC money before they’ve even exhausted the capital sitting right under their noses.

You don't always need to give away equity to raise growth funds. Plus, raising growth funds can become a full job, taking you away from growing your business!

Here are 3 "hidden" funding routes to consider first:

1️⃣ Trade Credit
Why pay upfront when you can pay in 30, 60, or 90 days? I’ve seen businesses fund their entire inventory cycle simply by negotiating better terms with suppliers. It’s an interest-free loan that doesn’t require a pitch deck.

2️⃣ Sweat Equity
You either need to spend money or sweat to build momentum! Can you find a way to make things happen by hustling? Could you hire a marketer for a small fee and a profit share? Can you cross-promote with another brand?

3️⃣ Customer Pre-funding
If your product is good enough, your customers will pay for it before it exists. Taking pre-orders is a great way to use your customers' cash to grow your business.

These are just 3 of the many ways I can help you grow your business BEFORE looking at investors. DM me for more!

taplio

The Battle

Joe Wheatley

AJ Saunders

Followers

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Performance ScoreAJ Saunders's LinkedIn Performance

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taplio

The Battle

Joe Wheatley

AJ Saunders

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Joe Wheatley's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreAJ Saunders's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreJoe Wheatley's LinkedIn Performance