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

For Yale Ventures Founders

You're building through Yale Ventures with the full weight of the Yale network behind you. Let's make sure the B2B marketing story is just as strong.

Free 30-60 minute GTM session for Yale Ventures 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 Yale Ventures founder trying to figure out how to turn a compelling idea into a repeatable pipeline, that's the conversation I want to have.

Who this is for

Built for the Yale Ventures founder profile

You came out of Yale research or the Tsai CITY ecosystem with a real innovation Yale Ventures attracts founders across medicine, law, engineering, and science. The innovation is genuine. The commercial story often needs the same level of rigor you applied to the research.
You're getting strong signals from the Yale Angels and Y Startup Index but customer traction is slower Investor interest and customer interest are different things. This session is specifically about the latter: who buys, why they buy now, and how you build a motion that repeats.
You're building in a complex market where trust takes time to establish Health, law, finance, climate. Yale founders often work in markets where buyers are slow, sophisticated, and require a commercial story tailored to multiple stakeholders. Getting that right early changes your timeline.
You're pre-Series A and want to sharpen GTM before your next raise The commercial traction you build in the next six months will define your fundraising narrative. This session helps you build the right motion now.

If you're a Yale Ventures 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 Yale ecosystem

A few companies with Yale roots

Yale alumni have built some of the most influential companies in data, health, and consumer tech. A few you'll recognize.

Dataminr

AI-powered real-time event and risk detection platform founded by three Yale roommates. Raised $475M at a $4.1B valuation, serving corporations, newsrooms, and government agencies worldwide.

Yale Alumni

One Medical

Primary care membership platform founded by Yale alum Tom Lee. Grew to 200+ locations and was acquired by Amazon for $3.9B in 2023.

Yale Alumni

Fitbit

Consumer health wearable co-founded by Yale alum Eric Friedman. Pioneered the personal fitness tracking category before being acquired by Google for $2.9B.

Yale Alumni

FleetWorks

AI logistics platform using agents to match freight loads with available trucks. Yale Ventures-backed company that raised $17M from Y Combinator and First Round Capital.

Yale Ventures

About Tom

Five startups. Marketing Leadership.

Yale produces a specific kind of founder: intellectually rigorous, often working at the intersection of a hard domain and a hard technical problem, and sometimes the last person in the room to simplify the commercial story for a buyer who doesn't share that background. Yale Ventures is working hard to change that. This session is one more piece of that work.

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 Yale Ventures founders? What's the catch?

Yes. Fully free. No invoice, no pitch at the end. I do a small number of these for founders in programs like Yale Ventures because the conversations are useful to both of us. Yale produces some of the most intellectually ambitious founders I work with, and these sessions keep me sharp. The only ask is a real question.

I'm building through Yale Ventures or the Tsai CITY ecosystem. Is this the right time for a GTM session?

Active program is the right time. The commercial decisions you make while you have institutional support around you are the easiest to revise. This session helps you sharpen the ICP and pipeline story while you still have Yale Ventures' resources behind you.

How is this different from the mentorship Yale Ventures already provides?

Yale Ventures' mentors and EIRs cover a wide range: research commercialization, fundraising, legal, product. This session 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 selling what you've built, this is where you get depth.

I'm building in health, climate, or another complex market through Yale Ventures. Is that relevant?

Complex market buyers are exactly where this session is most useful. 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 Yale Ventures?

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

I heard about this through Yale Ventures. What happens when I reach out?

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

You're building through Yale Ventures with the full weight of the Yale network behind you. Let's make sure the B2B marketing story is just as strong.

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

Built for the Yale Ventures founder profile

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

A few companies with Yale roots

Five startups. Marketing Leadership.

Most sessions end at the session.

Frequently asked

One conversation. Something concrete to act on.