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As the 2025 Summer Launchpad (SLP) hits its halfway point, founders are diving into ways to sell before the product is finished.
Week 5 Recap:
Workshop: Closing Your First Sales
TJ Allison
On July 9, early-stage sales expert and former Google strategist TJ Allison led a workshop on common early sales pitfalls. He described the “happy ears” syndrome, where positive feedback doesn’t translate into genuine buying intent. Allison then walked the founders through ways to move past false signals by refining their Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) and drafting a clear three-sentence outreach message. He also stressed the importance of early conversations to confirm demand and secure investment prior to spending time and money on full development.
TJ Allison on Selling to Customers:
“The best time to learn to sell was 10 years ago. The second best time is now.”
Ask-Me-Anything Session with Sebastian Jimenez (CAS ‘18), Founder & CEO of Rilla
Sebastian Jimenez (CAS '18)
On the same day, founders joined a Q&A with Sebastian Jimenez (CAS ‘18), a Dominican-born entrepreneur who went from stand-up comedy to building Rilla — a virtual ride-along tool for outside sales teams. Echoing points from Allison’s earlier session on “selling before building,” Jimenez highlighted that market focus and a strong sales process matter more than perfecting a product.
Sebastian Jimenez on Finding the Right Market:
“Markets matter more than anything. Most startups fail because most founders are not even playing the right game to begin with. They think finding product market fit is a one-sided equation and they try to obsess about building a great product.”
Workshop: Pitch Deck Design
David Isaacs (Gallatin '99)
On July 10, founders met with David Isaacs (Gallatin ‘99), creative director at R/GA who has helped over 200 startups raise a combined $3.5 billion. Isaacs invited founders to think of pitching as storytelling and find a clear beginning, middle and end. Instead of chasing perfection on the first try, teams should focus on getting a little better each time.
David Isaacs on Pitch Presentation:
“The fact that you're up there putting it in your own words, delivering the story … that is a presentation.”
Workshop: Storytelling
Darren Yee (Tandon '16)
To close out the week, Darren Yee (Tandon ‘16), senior venture associate at the NYU Entrepreneurial Institute and co-lead of SLP, led a deeper dive following David Isaacs’s session on pitch decks.
For Darren, every great pitch weaves together the user story, the industry story and the founder story. The user story begins with a problem, finds resolution through the product and ends with a clear path to revenue. The industry story zooms out to spotlight the overlooked corners of the market. The founder story centers on what makes the team unique.
Darren Yee on Telling Stories:
“People remember stories. A good story tells you just enough information, in the right order to be memorable.”
We’ll be back with more updates from SLP!
