Build Less, Sell More: GTM Lessons from a Founder Who’s Done It All

Welcome to Maven Club. If you’re an early-stage founder building your first product, chasing your first 10 customers, or thinking about how to grow in Southeast Asia—this one’s for you.

In this edition, we sit down with Andrew Senduk, a Dutch entrepreneur who built and exited three companies across Southeast Asia. From co-founding the leading parenting e-commerce platform Orami (acquired by Sirclo) to scaling Workmate Indonesia (acquired by Persol, a top 10 global HR firm), Andrew’s journey is packed with hard-earned insights. Now an investor and mentor, Andrew reflects on what founders actually need to get right—and how to do it, practically.

Let’s dive into his lessons on startup validation, B2B GTM in SEA, scaling ops, and why founder-led marketing is still massively underrated in Asia.

1. Don’t Complicate It—Just Sell One

“If you can sell one, you can sell ten. That’s how it starts.”

In a world obsessed with scale, Andrew reminds us that all big businesses start with just one sale.

Example:
His first-ever product? A pillow. Bought for $10 in Asia, rebranded, and sold for $60 in Europe. His first buyer? A hotel GM who then placed a bulk order for 60 rooms.

Founder Takeaways:

• Obsessing over feasibility or scale too early is a distraction. Just prove someone will pay.

• Selling one forces you into real conversations, not pitch deck fantasies.

• Distribution starts at zero—optimize for action, not aesthetics.

Your First Milestone Isn’t Product-Market Fit. It’s Product-Customer Fit.

2. Find Your ICP, Then Win That Vertical

“It’s a huge mistake to serve too many verticals too early. Win one first.”

A key lesson from scaling Workmate: not all clients are created equal. Serving warehouses, hospitality, and logistics clients all at once stretched the team and blurred product focus.

Example:
Warehousing clients needed anti-fraud features. Hospitality clients needed shift scheduling. These diverging needs made it nearly impossible to prioritize or guide product development.

Founder Takeaways:

• Find one vertical where your product creates clear, consistent value.

• Build feedback loops within that vertical to iterate faster and deeper.

• Without a clear ICP, your product roadmap turns into chaos.

Depth over breadth. Win one vertical before thinking regional or cross-industry.

3. In SEA B2B, Relationships Eat Funnels for Breakfast

“You can’t build B2B in Indonesia behind a laptop. You’ve got to show up.”

Forget what the internet tells you about automation, scrapers, or AI tools. Andrew built Workmate’s first 50 clients the old-school way—door by door. Especially in SEA, business is still personal.

Example:
Relationships with hotel clients led to speaking opportunities at hospitality conferences, where the team reached dozens of ideal prospects in one go.

Founder Takeaways:

• In early-stage B2B, your job is 80% sales, 20% ops.

• Partnerships and warm intros beat cold ads and fancy decks.

• Want volume? First earn trust.

Founders in SEA: Trade your laptop for coffees and conferences.

4. When to Spend on Marketing? After You Hear “Wow” 50 Times

“You don’t need budgets until you’ve nailed your category and feedback loop.”

Too many founders throw budgets at marketing without clarity on what’s resonating. Andrew’s rule: get 25–50 customers in one ICP who consistently love what you’re doing—then start spending.

Example:
Before Workmate scaled, they focused deeply on solving for hospitality clients. Once they saw consistent feedback and usage, they increased spend—but always cautiously.

Founder Takeaways:

• B2B marketing spend only works after product clarity—not before.

• Don’t confuse growth hacks with a growth engine.

• Scale starts with repeatable value, not ads.

Until you’ve got a pull, don’t push. Build conviction before buying clicks.

5. Process Isn’t Sexy—But It’s Your Secret Weapon

“McDonald’s isn’t big because of burgers. It’s big because of SOPs.”

Startups die in chaos. Andrew emphasizes the boring but essential—tight systems, strong teams, clear accountability. He swears by the 3Ps: Product, People, Process.

Example:
At Workmate, creating SOPs helped the team operate without Andrew constantly in the weeds—freeing him up for strategic moves, fundraising, and expansion.

Founder Takeaways:

• Process = freedom. Without structure, your team burns time on repeatable chaos.

• People default to average. You have to build a performance culture intentionally.

• Most scaling problems are actually process problems in disguise.

Build your playbook early—or risk being stuck inside the business forever.

6. Founder-Led Marketing Is Still the Biggest Underrated Lever

“I got clients and keynotes from LinkedIn—just by showing up every day.”

Andrew’s not a marketer by trade, but his LinkedIn posts drove real leads for Workmate, attracted investors, and landed speaking gigs. He believes every founder should be a media company.

Example:
Inbound clients came through his content. Event invites. Investor intros. All from posting consistently—even when engagement was low.

Founder Takeaways:

• Content builds credibility. Quietly. Compounding.

• Even with low likes, the right people are watching.

• Your product is invisible if you are invisible.

In SEA, founder visibility is your growth advantage. Be loud, be useful, be real.

7. A Final Word for First-Time Founders

“Don’t quit your job yet. But yes—this is the best time to start.”

Andrew’s advice is pragmatic: if you’ve got a job, keep it. Use AI, no-code, and community tools to validate your idea on the side. But if you go full-time, give yourself a 12-month runway and play seriously.

Example:
He left a banking job at 26—during the mortgage years. Today, founders have far more leverage with tech tools to derisk the early journey.

Founder Takeaways:

• Don’t jump without a plan. Side hustle your way to proof.

• There’s almost no excuse not to start in 2025.

• Start lean, think long, and act with urgency.

Time is on your side—but only if you use it wisely.

Final Thought:
Andrew’s journey is a playbook in clarity. Don’t overthink your idea. Don’t chase scale before truth. Don’t outsource your visibility.

Instead, sell one, win your vertical, build tight systems, and tell your story.

As Andrew says:
“Entrepreneurship is a mindset game. The tools are here. The risk is low. The only thing missing might be your action.”

Until next time,
Maven Club