How Scott Leese Built $1M+ Pipelines Using ‘Boring’ Sales Systems — And Why They Work Better Than AI in 2025

Scott Leese thinks they have a messaging, ICP, and human-connection problem.

While the startup world chases AI automation, complex funnels, and cold outbound hacks, Scott Leese has quietly been teaching founders how to build a $1M pipeline using something far less glamorous:

Boring, brutally-simple sales playbooks — executed with human relationships, crystal-clear messaging, and referral partners.

Scott is known as one of the world’s top SaaS sales leaders. He has scaled multiple companies from zero to tens of millions in ARR, built several revenue communities, and now advises founders as a fractional CRO.

In this episode of Edbound With Kinner, Scott breaks down the three fundamentals most early-stage teams skip, the referral-first GTM motion that beats outbound, and the human-led tactics that outperform AI in 2025.

He also shares the pitfalls he fixes in every startup he advises — including why nearly all founders pitch their product incorrectly, and why early sales hiring fails 70% of the time.

What You’ll Discover in This Episode

• Why human selling beats AI in 2025, and how authenticity becomes your greatest differentiator.
• The 3-part sales foundation: product pain → hyper-specific ICP → radically simple messaging.
• Why most founders overshoot their market and how to shrink ICP until traction appears.
• The referral-to-$1M pipeline model: how 10 well-connected partners can replace a sales team.
• The exact outreach script Scott responds to — and why he answers cold messages offering referral revenue.
• How to scale beyond $1M with multi-channel GTM instead of spray-and-pray outbound.
• The community-led motion every founder should start early — even at $0 ARR.
• Why messaging (not reps) is the #1 broken thing in every startup Scott works with.
• Hiring the first sales team: the 3-person cohort rule and the “startup-mindset” filter question.

Welcome to Edbound With Kinner

Edbound With Kinner is where founders, operators, and GTM leaders break down the real tactics behind modern revenue growth.

Hosted by Kinner N Sacchdev, Co-founder & CEO of Edbound AI and Knorish, this show dives deep into PLG systems, AI-driven workflows, and GTM frameworks used by today’s fastest-scaling SaaS and AI companies.

Real operators. Real systems. No fluff. Just growth.

🎧 Subscribe on Spotify or watch episodes on YouTube.

Connect With Kinner Sacchdev

• LinkedIn | X (Twitter)  | Instagram | YouTube |
• Website: https://edbound.ai

Meet the Guest — Scott Leese

Scott Leese is one of the world’s top B2B SaaS sales leaders — a founder, coach, author, and fractional CRO with two decades of experience building and scaling revenue teams. He has:

• Scaled multiple companies from early stage to tens of millions ARR
• Built global sales communities (including GTM United and Surf & Sales)
• Coached hundreds of founders on ICP, messaging, hiring, and GTM execution

Today, Scott helps companies scale from $0 to $25M ARR, while teaching founders how to sell — without losing their authenticity in an AI-driven world.

Connect With Scott Here:

• LinkedIn | X (Twitter) | YouTube | Instagram 
• Website: https://www.scottleeseconsulting.com/

⏱️ Episode Timestamps

• 00:00 – Intro: Scaling Startups from $0 to $25M ARR
• 00:42 – Scott’s intro
• 02:00 – Journey from sales leader to entrepreneur
• 04:20 – Why sales must be a conscious career choice
• 06:40 – The 3 foundations of a winning sales strategy
• 08:05 – How to define and shrink your ICP
• 10:03 – Fixing messy messaging
• 13:10 – Product-market fit & early traction
• 18:04 – The referral playbook: 0 → $1M ARR
• 20:00 – Scaling GTM beyond $1M
• 26:00 – Hiring your first sales team
• 32:00 – Community-led GTM
• 34:30 – Content as modern prospecting
• 39:14 – Messaging & copywriting (the #1 failure point)
• 48:14 – Human connection vs AI automation
• 50:06 – How to reach Scott