App Labs — 3.2x ROI
App Labs closed 2 deals within 60 days for an immediate positive ROI, earning a 42% positive reply rate from CTOs and VPs of Engineering at funded AI startups. The differentiator was a specific, verifiable deployment speed claim — “64% faster deployment times, proven across 12 Series A startup deployments” — that technical buyers couldn’t ignore because they could check it.Total Spend
$3,600
Revenue Generated
$15,000
ROI
3.2x
Meetings Booked
14
Cost Per Meeting
$257
New MRR Added
$7,500
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software Development |
| Company Size | 10-50 employees |
| Services Used | Cold Email + LinkedIn |
| Duration | 2 months |
The Challenge
App Labs needed to stand out with CTOs and VPs of Engineering at funded AI startups — the most technically sophisticated and pitch-resistant audience in B2B. Most software development agencies pitch identical capabilities. CTOs at AI startups dismiss vague promises on sight. Outreach needed a specific, verifiable claim that earned technical credibility instantly. Standard capabilities-first outreach leading with “we build apps, we know AI” rather than specific, verifiable deployment performance data was getting deleted without a second glance. Before Outbound System:- Generic capabilities-first positioning
- No targeting based on hiring intent signals
- Standard outreach failing with pitch-resistant CTOs
- No verifiable performance claims in messaging
- 42% positive reply rate from CTOs and VPs of Engineering
- $15,000 in closed revenue within 60 days
- 2 deals closed with immediate positive ROI
- Sub-1% bounce rate from proprietary infrastructure
The Solution
Instead of broad “AI company” targeting, the team filtered for startups with active AI engineering job postings. Open roles signal scaling technical capacity and development support needs. Positioning led with a specific, verifiable claim: “64% faster deployment times, proven across 12 Series A startup deployments.”Cold Email
Proprietary infrastructure delivered sub-1% bounce rates. Messaging led with the specific deployment speed claim, earning credibility with technical buyers who dismiss vague promises on sight. Every email gave CTOs something they could verify against their own experience.LinkedIn Outreach
Targeted CTOs at the same funded startups, engaging with their engineering content and establishing App Labs’ technical credibility before the email pitch arrived. The two-channel approach meant prospects saw App Labs in their professional feed and inbox within the same week.Beyond the Meetings
- Market Intelligence: Filtering for active AI engineering job postings proved a stronger intent signal than funding stage alone, identifying companies with immediate development capacity needs rather than theoretical interest.
- Pipeline Insurance: LinkedIn established technical credibility before email arrived, so prospects who saw the email had already been primed by App Labs’ presence in their feed.
- ICP Refinement: Series A startups responded at the highest rate, validating the sweet spot where companies have funding but haven’t yet built large internal engineering teams.
- Immediate ROI: Two deals closed within 60 days delivered immediate positive return, proving the model before any long-term pipeline compounding.
Campaign Timeline
Weeks 1-2: Intent-Signal Targeting
AI startup filtering by active engineering job postings. Specific deployment speed claims developed and verified against implementation data from 12 comparable projects.
Weeks 3-4: Campaign Launch
LinkedIn engagement building technical credibility with target CTOs. Email sequences deployed with verifiable performance claims. First positive responses within 7 days.
Full Metrics Breakdown
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Total Spend with Outbound System | $3,600 |
| Campaign Duration | 2 months |
| Qualified Leads Generated | 18 |
| Cost Per Qualified Lead | $200 |
| Meetings / Calls Booked | 14 |
| Cost Per Booked Meeting | $257 |
| Show Up Rate | 82% |
| Revenue Generated (cash collected) | $15,000 |
| New MRR Added | $7,500 |
| ROAS (on cash collected) | 4.17x |
| Total ROI | 3.2x |
“We have closed 2 deals with the leads Outbound System gave us, which gave us an immediate positive return on investment.” — Sanil Sawlani, Growth Director at App Labs
Get Results Like App Labs
App Labs proved that technical buyers respond to specific, verifiable claims rather than capabilities lists. If you’re an IT services or software development company selling to technical decision-makers, the principle is the same: lead with a number they can check, not a promise they’ve heard before. See how our cold email service delivers sub-1% bounce rates and our LinkedIn outbound builds technical credibility before the pitch arrives.Book a Strategy Call
See how hiring-intent targeting and verifiable-claim messaging would work for your dev shop’s pipeline.