This page is for Harvard Innovation Labs founders looking for free GTM feedback from a B2B SaaS marketing operator with five startup VP of Marketing roles.

For Harvard i-lab Founders

You're building through the Harvard Innovation Labs. Now let's make sure your B2B marketing story is as strong as your credentials.

Free 30-60 minute GTM session for Harvard Innovation Labs founders. Honest feedback on your positioning, messaging, and early pipeline. No prep required. No pitch from me.

Request Your Free Session

Why this exists

I got help early. This is how I return it.

I have been VP of Marketing at five early-stage startups. Every one of them was built by people sharper than me on the technical side. What I could do that they couldn't, at least not yet, was take a complex product and turn it into a message that made a buyer say yes.

People gave me their time when I needed it most. That changed where I ended up. These sessions are how I build the bridge behind me.

The session is free because I think the right way to work with early-stage founders is to be useful before anything else. Some of those conversations turn into ongoing work. Most don't, and that's fine. The goal is that you leave with something you can act on that week.

If you're a Harvard i-lab founder trying to figure out how to turn a strong idea into a repeatable commercial motion, that's the conversation I want to have.

Who this is for

Built for the Harvard i-lab founder profile

You came out of Harvard with strong domain expertise but GTM still feels like guesswork The i-lab and Launch Lab X attract founders from every Harvard school. Medical, legal, policy, engineering, business. That depth is a competitive advantage. Turning it into a commercial story that converts is a skill most programs don't teach.
You're getting investor meetings but your customer pipeline is thinner than it should be Harvard gives you access. The i-lab gives you a community. What converts access into pipeline is a sharp commercial story and a repeatable outbound motion. That's the gap this session is for.
You're building B2B in a regulated or complex market Health, law, finance, government. Harvard founders often work in markets where buying cycles are long, stakeholders are many, and trust is slow to build. Getting the commercial story right for those buyers is different from standard SaaS GTM.
You're pre-Series A or in Launch Lab X and want to sharpen the GTM motion Launch Lab X gives you eight months of structured support. The commercial motion you build during that time sets the foundation for your next round. This session helps you get it right.

If you're a Harvard i-lab founder and at least two of those land, this session was built for you.

What we cover

30-60 minutes. One problem. Real feedback. Really free.

Positioning and messagingWhy your current language isn't turning technical depth into buyer urgency, and what to change first.

ICP sharpnessWhether your ideal customer is actually buyable at your stage, or whether you're aimed at a segment that can't move fast enough to matter right now.

Early pipeline structureHow you're generating demand, where the drop-off is, and what a realistic first GTM motion looks like with what you actually have.

First marketing hireWhether you're ready to hire, what to look for, and how to avoid the hire that looks right on paper and sets you back six months.

Your specific questionBring the thing that's been sitting on your whiteboard for three weeks. That's usually where we start.

No prep required. No slides. No pitch deck. Just show up and we'll dig in.

The Harvard i-lab ecosystem

A few companies with Harvard Innovation Labs roots

Harvard i-lab founders have collectively raised over $9B in funding. These are a few companies from the community.

WHOOP

Wearable health and performance tracker founded by Harvard alum Will Ahmed. Raised $200M+ and reached a $3.6B valuation, becoming one of the most recognized consumer health platforms.

Harvard i-lab

Thrive Earlier Detection

Liquid biopsy for early cancer detection. Harvard-connected founders raised $257M and were acquired by Exact Sciences for $2.1B.

Harvard Alumni

Proton.ai

AI-powered sales platform for B2B distributors. Harvard i-lab Launch Lab X company providing Amazon-quality recommendations to wholesale distribution companies.

Launch Lab X

Basys.ai

B2B AI platform for cardio-metabolic health serving providers and payers. Harvard Chan School of Public Health team accepted into Launch Lab X GEO.

Launch Lab X

About Tom

Five startups. Marketing Leadership.

Harvard produces a specific kind of founder: someone with deep domain expertise, often in a complex or regulated market, who brings unusual credibility to the problem they're solving. The challenge I see most often is that the commercial story matches the academic depth of the founder rather than the decision-making speed of the buyer. Making those two things meet is what this session is about.

I've been VP of Marketing at five B2B SaaS startups, from pre-revenue through Series B. The job was always the same: take a technically strong product, figure out who actually needs to buy it, and build the smallest marketing motion that proves the thesis before you scale it.

I run a Portfolio CMO practice with a small number of Series A and B companies. The free sessions sit outside that. No sales agenda.

More about my background

What comes after

Most sessions end at the session.

The session stands on its own. You'll leave with feedback you can act on. No follow-up pitch, no invoice.

A small number of founders want to keep going after the session. Some are trying to hire their first marketing leader and want a thought partner through that process. Some are a few months from a Series A and need someone in the room while they build the GTM motion. For those conversations, I work as an advisor or a senior marketing leader embedded in the business on a part-time basis, without the overhead of a full-time executive hire.

If that's relevant after we talk, I'll tell you what it looks like. If it's not, the session still stands. More on how I work with founders.

Common questions

Frequently asked

Is this really free for Harvard i-lab founders? What's the catch?

Yes. Fully free. No invoice at the end, no pitch. I do a small number of these for founders in programs like the Harvard i-lab because the conversations are genuinely useful to both of us. You leave with something concrete. I stay sharp on what early-stage founders are actually dealing with. The only ask is a real question.

I'm in Launch Lab X at an early stage. Is this session relevant for me right now?

Early in Launch Lab X is the right time. The eight-month program gives you structured support. The commercial decisions you make in the first few months, on ICP, positioning, and pipeline, will determine what traction looks like by Demo Day. This session helps you get those decisions right before they compound.

How is this different from the mentorship the Harvard Innovation Labs already provides?

The i-lab's coaches and mentors cover a wide range: fundraising, product, team building, investor readiness. This is specifically about GTM: your ICP, your positioning, and your first pipeline motion. I've been VP of Marketing at five startups. If the question is about how to sell what you've built, this is where you get depth.

I'm building in health, law, or another complex market through the i-lab. Is this relevant for my specific buyers?

Complex market buyers are exactly where this session is most useful. Health systems, law firms, financial institutions, and government agencies all buy differently from typical SaaS customers. They move slowly, involve procurement, and require a commercial story tailored to multiple stakeholders. Getting that story right early changes how fast you move through deals.

What's the difference between this session and ongoing advisory work after the i-lab program?

The session is one conversation. You bring a problem, I give honest feedback, you leave with something concrete. Advisory work means I'm embedded in the business part-time: team meetings, GTM strategy over months, accountable to pipeline. The session is the starting point. Ongoing work is for founders who want to continue.

I heard about this through the Harvard Innovation Labs. What happens when I reach out?

Send one sentence on what you're building and one sentence on the specific thing you want to think through. I'll reply within 48 hours. The session is 30-60 minutes over video call. No deck, no prep.