Rebuilding GTM from scratch in a market with 80+ new competitors
“He built a marketing engine almost from scratch, in a tough environment, and made it work. He knows how to scale, how to lead, and how to ask the right questions. Most importantly – he shows up.”
Context
SOAX is a B2B SaaS platform for web data collection: residential and datacenter proxies, scraping APIs, and unblocking tools. Customers use it for AI training data, price monitoring, ad verification, and market intelligence.
The market is ultra-competitive and commoditized. Over 80 new competitors entered in 2024 alone. Differentiation is hard because the core product is infrastructure.
I was recruited to lead both marketing and sales with the goal of building a scalable, profitable go-to-market engine. Marketing had no reliable attribution, channels operated in silos, and CAC was rising without clear diagnosis.
“His work directly contributed to revenue acceleration, brand repositioning, and the development of a high-performing go-to-market function. Sandro has a rare ability to combine strategic thinking with operational depth.”
Challenge
No attribution system connecting marketing spend to pipeline or revenue. Channels running independently with no shared measurement. CAC increasing with no ability to diagnose which channels were underperforming.
Organic presence was minimal in a market where competitors were investing heavily in content and SEO. Sales had volume but not quality. Lead nurturing was nonexistent and the marketing-to-sales handoff was broken. The marketing team was five people.
“I was consistently impressed by his ability to quickly assess a business challenge and put practical steps in place to solve the problem. This was true no matter if the challenge fell directly within Sandro's sphere of responsibility or one in the wider business.”
Approach
I started with measurement. Before changing any spend or adding channels, I built the company's first marketing analytics infrastructure.
Analytics and Attribution
Defined tracking infrastructure, channel mix model, and attribution framework. Built on Amplitude and Redash. Designed reporting for investor updates, pipeline forecasting, and C-suite visibility into marketing performance.
Paid Acquisition
Overhauled the performance marketing engine across Google Ads and Microsoft Ads. Restructured campaigns based on attribution data, shifting budget from high-volume/low-quality sources to channels with better unit economics.
SEO and LLM Optimization
Grew organic traffic by 483% to over 34,000 monthly visitors through programmatic content, link building, and technical optimization. Keywords ranking in top-3 positions grew from 12 to over 550.
Created content specifically optimized for LLM consumption, achieving top-3 rankings on popular queries across AI platforms. Built an n8n workflow to automatically generate and publish glossary articles using AI, scaling content production without scaling headcount.
ABM and Lead Scoring
Implemented Clay for ICP identification, Attio as the CRM, and Lemlist for outbound sequencing. Built an AI-powered pipeline that scored leads against ICP criteria, generated personalized outreach content, and passed warm prospects to sales automatically.
Lifecycle and Sales Alignment
Partnered with the Head of Sales to overhaul the sales process and funnel. Launched lead nurturing campaigns that increased qualified pipeline and conversion rates.
Brand and Product Launch
Led brand repositioning across messaging, visual identity, and campaign strategy. Drove the launch of a new Web Data API product. Oversaw two M&A integrations and related communications.
Team
Grew the marketing team from 5 to 9. Built, scaled, and mentored a remote team across EMEA and North America. Defined KPIs, processes, and accountability frameworks.
“He's one of the most thoughtful and dependable marketing leaders I've worked with. Sandro brings a deeply systematic approach to everything he does – from high-level strategy to the smallest executional details.”
Result
CAC reduced by 78%. Revenue grew 33%. Organic traffic up 483% to 34,000+ monthly visitors. Top-3 keyword rankings from 12 to 550. Marketing became a measurable engine with clear attribution from spend to closed revenue.
“He combines deep marketing expertise with a strong commercial mindset and a rare ability to bridge departments – aligning marketing, sales, and product around shared goals.”