The problem
Customers now ask AI instead of Google. Small businesses can't see whether AI recommends them, and GEO tools are priced for enterprises.
What I did
- 21 NSF I-Corps discovery interviews narrowed the ICP from "everyone" to digitally native SMBs and marketing agencies. 100+ interviews across U.S. and APAC SMBs tested willingness to pay.
- Positioned around the one-person marketing team: GEO plus SEO execution, not just citation tracking. 5 positioning hypotheses tested across 65 outbound prospects picked the message.
- Designed cheap tracking: statistical sampling, and re-running prompts only when models or rankings change.
- Led a paid pilot: multi-site SEO and AI visibility audits turned into an engineering action plan.
- Built the investor pitch: bottom-up SAM, phased GTM, 100+ question diligence bank.
Results
1first paying pilot
5LOIs in 30 days
+50%discovery response rate
NSFI-Corps backing
The pilot became an ongoing advisory relationship.
What I'd do differently
Lock the GTM motion earlier. Investors flagged it as the biggest gap. Positioning tests and pilots should have run in parallel, not in sequence.