Go-to-Market Plan · First Customer Acquisition · 2026

Win the First
Ten Institutions.
Then the World.

NyAI's go-to-market is not a spray-and-pray marketing campaign. It is a precision sales motion backed by content, conference presence, and referral flywheel — designed to land $150K ARR from 10 institutions within 12 months on a lean $42,000 total budget.

Total GTM Budget
$42K
12-month spend
Sales Budget
$28K
67% of total
Marketing Budget
$14K
33% of total
Target ARR (Y1)
$150K
10 institutions × $15K
Target ROAS
3.6×
Revenue / total spend
Target LTV/CAC
8.9×
3-year LTV basis
§ 01 — Core Strategy

Sales-Led.
Referral-Amplified.

At pre-seed, paid advertising is wasteful in a niche B2B market. NyAI's strategy is direct outbound sales to institutions, amplified by warm referrals from neutrals, anchored by credibility-building content. Every dollar goes to the highest-probability conversion path.

Pillar 01 · Primary
Direct Enterprise Sales
Founder-led outbound to decision-makers at the top 50 US arbitration and mediation centres. Personal emails, LinkedIn, conference introductions. No SDRs — the founder is the salesperson. High-touch, highly personalised, zero media spend. This is the engine.
67% of budget
Pillar 02 · Amplifier
Neutral Referral Flywheel
Every neutral who uses NyAI sits on 3–5 institutional panels. Converting one neutral into an advocate opens multiple institutions without additional CAC. We incentivise referrals with priority feature access and co-authoring thought leadership. Word-of-mouth in a trust-driven industry compounds fast.
Zero incremental cost
Pillar 03 · Credibility
Content & Conference
Two articles per month in legal-tech publications (Law.com, Legaltech News, ABA Journal). One conference appearance per quarter (AAA, CPR, ABA Dispute Resolution). A free "AI in Arbitration" newsletter to 500 neutrals. Not for leads — for trust. Decision-makers buy from people they've read and heard.
33% of budget
Key Insight 01
Why not paid ads?
No arbitration centre has ever bought enterprise software from a LinkedIn ad. Trust is built through relationships, referrals, and reputation. Paid ads in a $42K budget at B2B deal sizes of $15K+ yield 0 conversions. Every dollar goes to direct sales and credibility instead.
Key Insight 02
The referral multiplier
Miles Mediation's referral to College of Commercial Arbitration — now in second demo — proves the model. A single warm introduction converted to a demo in 48 hours. Building a referral system around this is worth more than any paid channel at our stage.
Key Insight 03
Content builds the pipeline
A neutral who reads our article on "AI in arbitration" before a demo converts 2× faster. Content doesn't generate leads — it accelerates them. Two articles per month costs $0 in founder time and builds a permanent credibility asset.
§ 02 — Marketing Channels

Six Channels.
One Funnel.

Each channel serves a specific role in the conversion journey — from awareness through to closed deal. No channel operates in isolation. Together they create a surround-sound effect for every prospect.

Outbound Cold Email
Sales · Primary
Highly personalised 3-email sequences to decision-makers at 50 target institutions. Referencing specific cases, recent news, and the institution's own public panel data. Not spray-and-pray — 10 emails per week, each researched. Target: 40% open rate, 8% reply rate, 20% of replies becoming demos.
Annual Cost
$0
Target Open Rate
40%
Reply → Demo
20%
Expected Demos
~20
LinkedIn Outreach
Sales · Secondary
Direct LinkedIn connection requests and messages to GCs, heads of ADR, and senior neutrals. Paired with founder thought-leadership posts (2/week) that establish credibility before cold outreach. LinkedIn Sales Navigator for targeting. The goal is a warm connection before the cold email lands.
Annual Cost
$1,188
Connection Rate
35%
Posts / Week
2
Impressions/Mo
~8K
Conference & Events
Marketing · Brand
Attend and speak at 3–4 key dispute resolution conferences annually: AAA Annual Meeting, CPR Institute Annual Meeting, ABA Dispute Resolution Section Spring. Speaking slots convert to demos at 35% — far higher than any other channel. Each event yields 5–10 warm conversations and 2–3 demos.
Annual Cost
$8,000
Events / Year
4
Demos / Event
2–3
Conv. Rate
35%
Thought Leadership Content
Marketing · Credibility
Two articles per month submitted to Law.com, Legaltech News, and the ABA Journal on AI in dispute resolution, arbitration efficiency, and neutral productivity. A monthly newsletter "AI & Arbitration" distributed to 500 neutrals and ADR professionals. Content does not generate leads — it accelerates conversion and builds a permanent credibility asset.
Annual Cost
$0
Articles / Month
2
Newsletter Subs
500
Conv. Lift
+2×
Referral Programme
Sales · Flywheel
Formal referral incentives for neutrals and institution contacts: priority feature access, co-authoring opportunities, and a named acknowledgement in platform case studies. Every signed institution is asked for two warm introductions within 90 days. Target: 30% of new logos to come from referrals by month 9. Zero incremental CAC.
Annual Cost
$0
Referral Conv.
100%
Y1 Target
3 logos
Incremental CAC
$0
Case Studies & PR
Marketing · Social Proof
Publish detailed case studies for every pilot conversion (with permission). Submit to legal-tech press for editorial coverage — free earned media. One press release per major milestone (first contract, first 100 cases, first institutional renewal). Social proof is the #1 conversion driver in B2B enterprise — every case study becomes a sales asset used in every future demo.
Annual Cost
$2,400
Case Studies
4 / year
Press Releases
3 / year
Demo Conv. Lift
+40%
§ 03 — Budget Breakdown

$42K Total.
Every Dollar Justified.

Sales gets 67% of spend because at pre-seed, a founder's direct relationships close more deals than any ad campaign ever could. Marketing spend is concentrated entirely on credibility and conference presence — the two highest-ROI activities in B2B enterprise.

Sales Budget
$28K
67% · Direct outbound, conferences (sales), CRM tools
Primary driver
Marketing Budget
$14K
33% · Content, brand, PR, tools
Credibility layer
Target Revenue Y1
$150K
10 institutions × $15K floor ACV
Conservative
ROAS
3.6×
$150K rev ÷ $42K total spend
Year 1 target
Sales Budget — $28,000 (67%)
$28K
Founder-led sales motion · Direct outbound · Enterprise relationship-building
Conference attendance × 4 (sales focus)
Travel$12,000
LinkedIn Sales Navigator (annual)
Tool$1,188
CRM (HubSpot Starter)
Tool$612
Email sequencing (Apollo.io)
Tool$480
Demo environment / hosting
Infra$720
Proposal / deck design (one-time)
Design$2,000
Legal (contract templates)
Legal$3,000
Buffer / travel overrun
Reserve$8,000
Marketing Budget — $14,000 (33%)
$14K
Brand credibility · Content · PR · Tools
Website design & build (one-time)
Brand$4,000
Case study production × 4
Content$2,400
Newsletter tool (Substack Pro)
Tool$0
PR submission / press releases × 3
PR$900
Conference speaking submissions
Brand$0
Brand assets (logo, deck, templates)
Design$2,500
Video demo production
Content$1,500
Marketing buffer
Reserve$2,700
Budget by Category
Allocation
How the $42K is distributed across spend categories
Conferences $12K, Legal $3K, Design $6.5K, Tools $2.3K, Content $4.8K, Other $13.4K.
Monthly Spend vs Expected Revenue
12-Month Forecast
Cumulative spend vs projected ARR ramp over 12 months
Cumul. spend Cumul. ARR
Spend rises steadily to $42K. ARR starts at 0 and accelerates to $150K by month 12.
§ 04 — Unit Economics

The Numbers That Matter to Investors.

Every metric here is built from the bottom up — not benchmarked from comparable companies and hoped for. Conservative assumptions, 3-year LTV basis, no expansion revenue included in base case.

CAC (blended)
$4,200
Total $42K ÷ 10 customers
All channels blended
Conservative
ACV (floor)
$15K
Per institution / year
+ usage layer above floor
Floor only
LTV (3-year)
$37.5K
$15K × 3 years
No expansion assumed
Upside exists
LTV/CAC
8.9×
$37.5K ÷ $4.2K
Benchmark: >3× is good
Strong signal
Metric Base Case Upside Case Industry Benchmark Assessment
Total GTM Budget $42,000 $42,000 $50–$200K for B2B SaaS at seed Lean · efficient
Target Institutions Y1 10 18 5–15 for pre-seed B2B Achievable
ARR Year 1 $150,000 $280,000 $100–$500K pre-seed Y1 Strong base case
Blended CAC $4,200 $2,333 $5K–$25K B2B enterprise Below market · excellent
LTV (3-year, floor ACV) $37,500 $75,000 Depends on churn & expansion Conservative — no expansion
LTV/CAC 8.9× 32.1× >3× is good · >5× is great Exceptional
ROAS (marketing only) 10.7× 20.0× 4–8× good for B2B SaaS Excellent
ROAS (total spend) 3.6× 6.7× 2–4× typical Y1 B2B Above benchmark
Payback Period 3.4 months 1.9 months <18 months is good Exceptional
§ 05 — Sales vs Marketing

What Each Dollar
Is Expected to Return.

Sales and marketing serve fundamentally different roles. Sales closes deals directly. Marketing builds the credibility that makes sales easier. Here is exactly how each dollar is deployed, and what it is expected to produce.

Sales Effort
$28,000 · 67%
Direct outbound (email + LinkedIn)$1,668/yr tools
~8hrs/wk founder time
Conference attendance (sales role)$12,000
4 events × $3K avg
Demo delivery & follow-up$0 cash
~4hrs per demo
Contract / legal templates$3,000
One-time
Proposal & deck design$2,000
One-time
Demo environment$720/yr
Buffer / contingency$8,000
Expected outcome
10 logos
$150K ARR · 3.4mo payback
Marketing Effort
$14,000 · 33%
Website design & build$4,000
One-time
Brand assets (logo, templates, deck)$2,500
One-time
Case study production × 4$2,400
$600 each
Video demo (60-second product)$1,500
One-time
PR / press releases × 3$900
$300 each
Newsletter tool (Substack)$0
Free tier
Content writing (founder-led)$0 cash
~3hrs/wk
Expected outcome
10.7× ROAS
+2× demo conv. · 500 subs
§ 06 — Execution Timeline

12 Months.
Three Phases.

Phase 1 is about landing the first paying customer. Phase 2 is systematising what works. Phase 3 is scaling the flywheel. Each phase has clear go/no-go criteria before advancing.

Phase 01
Mar – Jun 2026
  • Close 5 demo conversations from existing pipeline
  • Convert 2 demos to pilots by Apr 28
  • Sign first paid contract by May 5 ($15K floor)
  • Launch "AI & Arbitration" newsletter to 500 neutrals
  • Attend AAA Annual Meeting — target 3 demos
  • Publish 2 articles in legal-tech press
  • Systematise follow-up cadence (fix 21% gap)
  • Open investor outreach with pipeline as proof
Phase spend~$14,000
Phase 02
Jul – Sep 2026
  • Scale to 5 paying institutions (total ARR $75K)
  • Activate referral programme — 2 intros per customer
  • Publish first case study (with pilot institution)
  • Attend CPR Annual Meeting — speaking slot target
  • Reach 100 cases processed milestone
  • Issue first press release on contract milestone
  • Measure NRR for first time — target 100%+
  • Close seed round (target $500K–$1M)
Phase spend~$16,000
Phase 03
Oct – Dec 2026
  • Reach 10 paying institutions (ARR $150K)
  • 30% of new logos from referrals (zero CAC)
  • NRR target ≥110% (first expansions landing)
  • Publish 4th case study — neutrals as advocates
  • Attend ABA Dispute Resolution — panel speaker
  • Newsletter at 1,500 subscribers
  • Hire first sales hire (seed-funded)
  • Set Y2 target: $500K ARR, 30 institutions
Phase spend~$12,000
§ 07 — Risk Register

Known Risks.
Clear Mitigations.

Every plan has risks. These are the six highest-probability risks to the GTM plan, their expected impact, and the mitigation strategy already in place or planned.

Risk
Impact
Probability
Mitigation
Sales cycle longer than expected
Institutions slow to approve new vendor contracts
High
Medium
Target 20+ demos in pipeline (not 10) so 50% drop-off still closes 10 logos. Start pilot conversations before formal procurement.
Follow-up gap persists
Current 21% follow-up rate is the biggest conversion leak
High
High
Implement a 5-touch automated sequence in Apollo.io by Apr 14. Follow-up cadence: Day 1, 4, 8, 14, 21. Track in HubSpot weekly.
Low ACV negotiation pressure
Institutions push back on $15K floor — request lower entry
Medium
Medium
Offer a 3-month pilot at $3K with full conversion to annual at $15K. Do not discount the annual — discount the entry cost. Protects LTV.
Founder bandwidth limits sales throughput
Founder doing sales + product + operations simultaneously
Medium
Medium
Time-block: 50% of founder time dedicated to sales M–W. Delegate product/ops to contractor. First sales hire funded from seed round (Phase 3).
Conference ROI disappoints
$12K conference spend produces fewer demos than expected
Low
Medium
Pre-book 3+ meetings at each event before arrival. Apply for speaking slots 6 months in advance. If first event underperforms, cut last event and reallocate to outbound tools.
Referral programme underactivates
Signed customers don't actively refer
Low
Low
Ask for referrals at contract signing (highest NPS moment). Offer co-authorship on industry article as incentive. Build a named "founding institutions" programme with status benefits.