GTM Advisory for Coana
About Coana
Coana is a pre-seed B2B SaaS company funded by Sequoia Capital and Essence VC.
They are an SCA (software composition analysis) tool that specializes in open-source vulnerability scanning, leveraging advanced reachability analysis to help app sec teams eliminate false positives, reduce vulnerability workloads by 80%, and focus on actionable security risks. This enables teams to ship secure software faster and more efficiently.
They built a new technology in a highly competitive yet fast-growing market.
The Challenge
🔴 Coana was operating in stealth mode with no structured GTM activities
🔴 While they had their first 2-3 customers through their personal network, there was no systematic approach to sales and marketing
🔴 They needed guidance to transition from customer discovery to structured founder-led sales
🔴 Anders was ‘alone’ on the GTM side - had no one to discuss ideas and priorities
In Anders’ (CEO of Coana) words: 👇
“We did not have any real GTM activities at all, basically operating in stealth mode. We had the first 2-3 customers (found through network) but no systematic approach to sales or marketing. In some ways, we were still in customer discovery mode and needed help shifting from discovery to sales.”
The Solution
Anders found me through my GTM content that I’m sharing on LinkedIn. After 2x calls we both saw a great fit and started our 12-month partnership.
During our 2-weeks GTM sprints, we together worked on Coana’s GTM:
1️⃣ Defined the GTM Strategy: Identified the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) and target personas, Messaging, Pricing, and establishing a sales process with initial predictability.
2️⃣ Launched the foundational GTM Assets: Built the website, developed the sales deck, discovery, and demo meeting framework, and ran outreach experiments (LinkedIn, Email)
3️⃣ Set-Up Operational Foundations: Worked on CRM setup, financial plans, and reporting formats.
4️⃣ Prepared for Fundraising: Discussed future GTM plans aligned with growth and investment goals.
The Results
Coana made some substantial progress in its GTM journey:
✅ Sales and Marketing Foundations: Coana moved from having no structured GTM to building a repeatable and predictable sales process.
✅ Customer Growth: Coana grew its customer base from 2 to 15 ICP customers.
✅ Path for Growth: They established a clear foundation for going from founder sales to founder-led sales with a defined ICP, messaging, and sales process.
✅ Built one of the best sales decks I've seen in a long time
What Anders said about the GTM advisory
“From basically nothing when we started, we then launched the company. We built a website, and sales deck, did outreach experiments, discussed future GTM plans for fundraising, and worked on our CRM, financial plans, and reporting formats. We’ve seen very promising results. Now, that we have a clear ICP and persona, we have a defined sales process with some initial predictability. We’ve built the foundation for growth, with 15 very cool customers and a clear path to many more.”
“Very good experience. Alex is professional, thoughtful, and an experienced GTM advisor. We set up weekly check-ins where he coached me in the GTM activities/experiments that we’ve been doing in a structured way.”
What was most valuable for Coana?
Before working with me, Anders was ‘alone’ on the GTM side.
So for him having a GTM ‘co-pilot’ on his side was invaluable. It enabled Coana to make better decisions faster and to learn at a much faster pace.
“Having Alex as a ‘partner/coach’ as we matured GTM over the last year has been invaluable and enabled us to make better decisions faster and to learn at a much faster pace than we’d be able to do alone.”
Anders appreciated not only my strategic advice but also the specific frameworks I shared with him, including sales cadences & homepage messaging.
Would you recommend Alex to others?
I would recommend Alex to anyone heading GTM in the early stages of a SaaS business.
If you’re like us and are building all the foundational building blocks for growth, Alex is an invaluable resource. To tap into his experience, knowledge, and frameworks regularly is a must if you’re an early-stage entrepreneur.
Final Thoughts
My advisory helped Coana transition successfully from operating in stealth mode to building a structured version 1 of their GTM strategy, enabling them to run a successful founder-led sales motion. With clear results and a solid GTM foundation, Coana is now well-positioned to continue to grow.
If you’re an early-stage SaaS founder looking for guidance on GTM, reach out to me and book your free intro call.
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