Welcome Nurturers

I’m Nev Santana, the Founder of Nurtured, and I’m thrilled you’re here!

At Nurtured, we empower early-stage SaaS startups through expert guidance and a vibrant community. Our mission is to elevate GTM strategies with comprehensive services and educational resources, fostering sustainable growth and a lasting impact in the industry. We’re committed to equipping you with the knowledge, tools, and personalized support you need to thrive.

Nurtured for Startup Founders is specifically tailored for early-stage Founders who find themselves implementing their GTM strategies hands-on.

In our Founder’s Guide section, you’ll gain actionable insights tailored to your growth journey. Whether you’re bootstrapped or pre-seed, we’re here to help you navigate your Startup journey and drive revenue for your business.

Our Leading The Pack section is designed to help you build your brand as a founder. You’ll discover strategies to position yourself as a thought leader in your niche, enhancing your visibility and influence within the industry.

Do you have a Startup and innovative GTM strategies you want to share? Reach out to me directly at [email protected], and we’ll feature you in a future issue.

Cheers!!

TODAY’S LINEUP

Diagnosing Sales Drops & Building a Brand Without Burnout

Revenue slowing? It might not be your reps. The first piece shows how to find and fix hidden friction in your GTM system and our second piece talks about growing your personal brand as a founder without adding stress or stealing time from your startup.

FOUNDER’S GUIDE

Why Most Founders Confuse Growth Problems With Sales Problems

When revenue slows down, the knee-jerk reaction from most founders is: “Sales isn’t closing.” It makes sense on the surface: no new deals, no new dollars. But after working with and at dozens of startups at various stages, I’ve learned that what looks like a sales issue is usually a growth system problem hiding in plain sight.

Let me tell you a story

A founder just raised their seed round and was eager to scale. They had a sales team of two reps, the outbound motion was humming, and demos were coming in. But after a strong Q1, close rates started dropping… fast.

The founder panicked. “Maybe our reps aren’t good enough. Should we replace them?”

But after looking at the CRM, a different story unfolded. 60% of leads were coming from untargeted paid ads. There was no qualification framework. Reps were pitching to unqualified, low-intent prospects with no budget authority.

This wasn’t a sales problem. It was a RevOps problem. Specifically, it was:

• A lead quality issue

• A process definition issue

• A handoff and tracking issue

And this isn’t uncommon.

Sales is the tip of the spear, but the whole spear has to be sharp

In early-stage startups, every part of the GTM motion is tightly connected. If marketing over-promises or targets the wrong personas, sales gets stuck in conversations they can’t win. If your funnel stages are undefined, deals stall. If no one follows up post-demo, close rates crater.

Yet founders often make two big mistakes:

1. Focusing too narrowly on sales execution

2. Making gut-level decisions based on symptoms, not diagnosis

A poor quarter might stem from a bad ICP fit, no urgency, or a broken handoff between SDRs and AEs, not sales ability.

How to zoom out and spot the real constraint

The first step to solving this is to treat your GTM like a system. Revenue is an output. You can’t improve the output until you understand the inputs and the process that connects them.

Try this 5-step approach:

1. Map your funnel visually - From first touch to closed-won. Include lead sources, qualification, meetings, proposals, and handoffs. It helps expose broken links.

2. Audit your CRM - Are deals properly staged? Are activities being logged? Are reps chasing bad-fit leads?

3. Segment your win/loss data - Break it down by lead source, persona, industry, and deal size. What trends stand out?

4. Interview recent wins and losses - Ask: “Why did you buy?” and “What almost made you say no?” For losses: “What was missing?” and “Who did you choose instead?”

5. Fix handoffs - Are leads passed with context and urgency? Is there accountability for each stage? This is often where deals go to die.

A quick framework: The “Funnel Friction Map”

Draw the entire buyer journey and mark every point where friction shows up - unclear handoff, lost momentum, bad-fit lead, or missing automation.

Here’s a simple example:

Once you document this, the real issues become obvious.

From finger-pointing to system-fixing

This shift, from blaming individuals to fixing systems, is the foundation of RevOps. You move from reactive to proactive.

Here’s what that looks like in action:

• Old mindset: “Our rep didn’t close this deal. They’re not strong enough.”

• RevOps mindset: “We sent a proposal before urgency was qualified. Let’s add a checklist before moving to proposal stage.”

One early-stage company I worked with added a simple qualification framework: Budget, Authority, Need, Timing. Reps had to score each deal before sending a proposal. Within 45 days, their win rate improved by 28%.

Another company started tagging every lead by source and outcome. They discovered their podcast appearances had 4x the close rate of paid search leads. That changed their marketing budget allocation overnight.

What this means for founders

As a founder, your job is not to plug every leak with brute force, it’s to architect a repeatable system. That means building visibility into your funnel and focusing your team on improving the system, not just “grinding harder”.

Your Action Plan:

• Schedule a funnel mapping session with your GTM team this week.

• Run a win/loss analysis for your last 20 deals. Look for root causes.

• Create a RevOps backlog of systemic issues: handoffs, tooling gaps, unclear definitions.

• Pick one issue to fix this week. Small wins build momentum.

Final thought

If you’re constantly reacting to sales shortfalls, you’re operating in the dark. The RevOps mindset gives you light. It shows you that sales isn’t an island, it’s the result of every decision upstream.

So the next time you think you have a sales problem, pause. Zoom out. Follow the system. That’s where the real answers live.

LEADING THE PACK

How to Build a Personal Brand While Running a Startup (Without Burning Out)

Building a startup is intense, demanding your constant attention. You’re focused on product-market fit, customer acquisition, hiring talent, and fundraising… all while keeping your team motivated. With such an overflowing plate, personal branding might seem like an unnecessary burden, something to defer until you’ve hit certain milestones. But here’s the reality: your personal brand isn’t a distraction; it’s an accelerator that, if managed correctly, can significantly enhance your startup’s visibility, attract investors, and open doors you didn’t even know existed.

The good news? You can do it without burnout.

Clarify Your Brand Purpose First

Before you write a single post or record your first video, clearly define your personal brand’s purpose. Are you aiming to attract investors, potential hires, customers, or strategic partners? Maybe you’re passionate about educating people about your industry. Being clear about your objective simplifies the type of content you’ll create, removing the pressure of trying to appeal to everyone. Your brand doesn’t have to speak to the masses; it needs to resonate deeply with the audience you value most.

Leverage Your Existing Activities

Founders often overlook the simplest source of personal branding content: the daily experiences they already have. Every week, you’re solving problems, interacting with customers, navigating growth, and making important decisions. Each interaction, lesson, or insight is potential content. Did a customer meeting reveal something surprising? Share it. Did you overcome a challenging bug or solve a complex operational issue? Write about it. By sharing authentic experiences rather than trying to fabricate expertise, you’ll appear genuine and relatable.

Batch, Schedule, and Automate

Consistency matters more than volume. But consistency doesn’t mean posting every single day in real-time. Set aside just one or two hours per week to batch your content. Draft several short posts, reflections, or quick thoughts during this focused session. Tools like Buffer, Hootsuite, or even LinkedIn’s scheduling feature allow you to schedule these posts ahead of time. This batching method turns personal branding from a daily stressor into a manageable weekly routine.

Choose Simple and Sustainable Content Formats

When founders think “personal branding,” they often envision long-form articles or polished videos. While these can be effective, they’re also exhausting if you’re already juggling startup life. Opt instead for shorter, simpler formats that showcase authenticity:

• Quick reflections: A few sentences on something insightful or surprising.

• Short stories: Brief anecdotes highlighting a lesson learned.

• Lists: Quick takeaways from meetings or experiences.

• Video snippets: Short, informal videos shot right from your desk or phone.

These formats require minimal editing and preparation, making it easier to stay consistent without adding unnecessary complexity.

Delegate Without Losing Authenticity

Delegation can feel risky, especially when your personal brand depends heavily on authenticity. However, outsourcing certain elements of content creation can dramatically reduce your workload. For instance, record your thoughts or reflections as voice notes. Let an assistant or content specialist transcribe and format these recordings into social posts or newsletter snippets. You keep the content’s authenticity intact while eliminating the tedious editing or formatting tasks.

Set Boundaries to Avoid Burnout

Personal branding is powerful, but it can become overwhelming without boundaries. Clearly define how much time you’ll dedicate weekly, and stick to it. If that means only posting twice a week, that’s enough. The goal is long-term sustainability, not short-term intensity. Don’t sacrifice rest, strategic thinking, or essential startup activities for content creation. Boundaries preserve your energy, creativity, and sanity.

Engage Intentionally, Not Constantly

Building your personal brand isn’t just about posting; it’s about engaging. However, you don’t have to reply to every comment or DM immediately. Schedule short windows—perhaps 15 minutes at the end of the day—to intentionally engage. This helps you manage your energy and maintain meaningful interactions without burning yourself out trying to keep up with notifications.

Conclusion: Sustainable Branding Fuels Long-Term Growth

A well-managed personal brand amplifies your voice, boosts your startup’s credibility, and attracts valuable relationships and opportunities. By clarifying your brand purpose, leveraging daily activities, batching content, simplifying formats, delegating strategically, and setting healthy boundaries, you can create a powerful personal brand without compromising your well-being.

Done right, your personal brand becomes an asset—not another item on your never-ending to-do list.