Overview
You're helping build the initial GTM strategy for an AI holding company's portfolio. That means you'll be on Zoom calls with potential customers trying to figure out if the product ideas actually solve real problems, who would pay for them, and what the sales motion should look like. You're doing the research that comes before there's even a real sales team.
Role Snapshot
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Role Type | GTM Research/Strategy Intern |
| Sales Motion | Pre-GTM research - no active selling |
| Deal Complexity | N/A - Discovery phase |
| Sales Cycle | N/A - Not selling yet |
| Deal Size | N/A - Strategy development |
| Quota (est.) | No quota - measured on research output |
Company Context
Stage: Investment firm working with early-stage AI portfolio companies
Size: 16 employees at MVP
Growth: Building GTM for new AI portfolio companies in India/SEA
Market Position: Venture investor backing founders in emerging markets
GTM Reality
What This Actually Is: This isn't a sales role. You're doing the work that happens before sales exists. The portfolio companies are likely pre-launch or just launching, and someone needs to figure out who to sell to and how.
Your Job:
- Find people who might be customers and get them on calls
- Ask questions about their problems and workflows
- Document what you learn
- Help piece together a picture of who the ICP actually is
What You're NOT Doing:
- Not closing deals or hitting quota
- Not running established sales processes
- Not working with an existing playbook
What You'll Actually Do
Time Breakdown
Outreach/Scheduling (30%) | Discovery Calls (40%) | Documentation (30%)
Key Activities
- Cold outreach: You'll be reaching out to potential ICP profiles (likely via LinkedIn, email, maybe WhatsApp given the India/SEA market) to book 30-minute discovery calls. Response rates will be low.
- Customer discovery calls: You'll run 5-10 calls per week asking open-ended questions about their problems, current solutions, budget authority, buying process. You're trying to validate assumptions about who would actually buy.
- Research synthesis: After each call, you'll document findings, update ICP profiles, and report back on patterns you're seeing. This is mostly Google Docs and spreadsheets.
- Strategy input: You'll participate in weekly syncs with Shaurya to discuss what you're learning and how it should shape the GTM approach.
The Honest Reality
What's Hard
- Most people you reach out to won't respond. You're asking for their time with no clear value exchange since you're not offering a product yet.
- Discovery calls are awkward when you're early in your career. You have to build rapport quickly with senior people and ask probing questions about their business.
- The scope is vague. "Build GTM strategy" could mean a lot of things. You'll need to figure out what good looks like as you go.
- Working remote with minimal structure. You won't have a manager checking in daily. You need to self-direct.
- The companies you're researching might pivot or the strategy might change. Your work could become irrelevant quickly.
What Success Looks Like
- You complete 40-50 discovery calls over 2 months with people who match potential ICP profiles
- You deliver a clear ICP definition document with supporting evidence from conversations
- You identify 2-3 distinct buyer personas with specific pain points and buying triggers
- You create a recommended GTM approach (outbound vs inbound, messaging angles, objection handling) based on what you learned
Who You're Talking To
Discovery Call Targets:
- Will depend on the specific AI portfolio companies, but likely:
- Mid-level managers or directors at India/SEA companies who might use AI tools
- Founders/operators at startups in the region
- Could range from technical (engineering leads) to business (ops, sales, marketing leads)
What You're Trying To Learn:
- Do they actually have the problem the product solves?
- How are they solving it today?
- What would they pay for a solution?
- Who makes buying decisions?
- What's their evaluation process?
Requirements
- Currently pursuing undergraduate degree (they explicitly want a current student)
- Comfortable doing cold outreach and getting rejected 90% of the time
- Can run professional discovery calls without a script
- Self-directed—you'll be remote with light supervision
- Willing to work across India/SEA time zones for calls
- Strong documentation skills (you'll be synthesizing qualitative research)
- Genuinely curious about customer problems and GTM strategy
- 2-month commitment, expect 15-20 hours/week