
Unlocking the Power of Thoughtful Relationships with the Founders of Clay

Matt Preuss
Marketing Manager
About Matt & Zach Episode Takeaways Watch the Episode
Unlock your investor relationships. Try Visible for free for 14 days.
Start your free trial
About Matt & Zach
Matt Achariam and Zach Hamed are the Co-founders of Clay. Clay is a beautiful and private home for all your relationships. Populated from the ground up using your calendar and social history, Clay is the most stunning, powerful way to remember who you’ve met—and what matters to them.
Episode Takeaways
Matt and Zach joined us for season 3 of the Founders Forward Podcast to share their stories. Clay has scaled rapidly and has raised capital from the likes of Forerunner Ventures and General Catalyst. They join us to break down:
- How they acquired their first customers
- Why they manually onboarded their first users
- Why they focus on the problem to better build product
- Why founders should stop overthinking outreach
- The importance of empathy in the startup world
- Why you should compliment more people
- A relationship-based approach to fundraising
Related Resource: Investor Outreach Strategy: 9 Step Guide
Watch the Episode
Give episode 3 a listen below (or give it a listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you normally consume podcasts)
View more categories:
You may also enjoy:

Customer Stories
Building Trust and Vulnerability in Business with Max Yoder
On the fourth episode of the Thrive Through Connection Podcast, we welcome Max Yoder, the Founder of Lessonly and author of Do Better Work. Lessonly was an Indianapolis-based company that grew to over 300 employees and $30 million in annual recurring revenue before being acquired by Seismic in 2021. Max joins us to share the lessons he learned from scaling Lessonly and writing Do Better Work.
About Max
In addition to growing Lessonly to 300+ employees and leading it through a successful exit, Max became known for his thoughtful approach to leadership, insights he captured in his book, Do Better Work. He’s had a front-row seat to the highs, lows, and daily challenges that startup founders and leaders face. In this episode, Max breaks down the countless relationships that shaped both Lessonly and Do Better Work.
Mike, the CEO and Founder of Visible, had an opportunity to sit down and chat with Max. You can give the full episode a listen below:
Spotify Link
Apple Link
What You Can Expect to Learn from Max
How the mission and vision for Lessonly came to life
How mentors helped shape decision-making and strategy in the early days
The advantages of having a strong network
What it means to lead with vulnerability
The importance of aligning with investors and partners
Stay up to date with the Thrive Through Connection Podcast by subscribing wherever you listen to your podcast. You can find links to your favorite podcast hosts below:
YouTube
Spotify
Apple

Fundraising
Finding the Right Investors with Laurel Hess

Reporting
Navigating Investor Relationships with Brett Brohl

Fundraising
Going From Operator to Funder with Leo Polovets