SaasRise Mastermind Recap - June 17, 2026

📬 Topic: Email Outreach & Domain Setup

Challenges: Lower deliverability when sending from a new/alternate domain vs. the main domain.

Advice: Test with purchased inboxes through Instantly to isolate whether the issue is the domain or the infrastructure setup.

🎨 Topic: AI Image Creation for Ads

Challenges: AI tools produce ~80-90% complete images that are difficult to edit, lack brand consistency, and can't easily generate unique variations at scale.

Advice: Identify tools that allow fine-tuned editing post-generation and maintain brand identity across outputs.

⚙️ Topic: Content Engine & Automation

Challenges: Creating authentic, on-brand content at scale without a strong existing content baseline.

Advice: Build a master markdown file using tools like Perplexity or Claude, pulling from all available brand content (website, social, videos); supplement with personal brand voice files and YouTube-to-blog automation.

🧱 Topic: Niching Down a SaaS Product

Challenges: Being spread across too many features/services leads to unpredictable revenue and operational strain.

Advice: Identify the stickiest, most recurring use case, focus on it, and expand only around that core.

🤖 Topic: Voice-Enabled Customer-Facing AI Agents

Challenges: Building a scalable voice AI agent across 59 countries and 22 languages, with concerns about latency, cost, and complexity when layering LLMs and third-party tools.

Advice: Use a platform like Retell as a wrapper to reduce custom coding effort. Cost runs ~15–20 cents/minute and can be charged to customers at ~50 cents/minute. Build an "AI brain" for memory retention and context management across channels (call, text, notes), and set memory conflict/expiration rules to prevent hallucination. Clone a custom voice or use Eleven Labs voices for realism. Latency is adjustable (e.g., add a half-second delay for a natural feel).

🎯 Topic: Outbound Email – USA vs. UK

Challenges: A UK outbound campaign yielded zero demos booked despite similar volume and open rates compared to the US campaign.

Advice: Retarget clickers via subsequences or one-to-one follow-up messages. Layer on LinkedIn/Facebook retargeting ads where privacy regulations allow. Treat outbound as a top-of-funnel awareness channel, not a direct revenue driver. Ignore inflated open/click metrics caused by security bots.

👥 Topic: Hiring a U.S.-Based Engineering Leader

Challenges: A dev team in India operates in a different time zone and has language barriers, creating friction with U.S. leadership and customers.

Advice: Hire the best person for the job; don't restrict by language. Invest in English/Toastmasters training for key India team members. Consider real-time translation tools (e.g., Slack/Teams) for cross-language calls. Hire a mid-level manager rather than a CTO if the team size doesn't justify it.

🔗 Topic: RCS Messaging Beyond USA

Challenges: The current RCS/RBM provider (Bandwidth) is USA-only, and carrier approval is slow and complex.

Advice: Explore Twilio or TELUS for RCS in Canada and potentially other regions. Go directly to Meta for WhatsApp internationally. Bandwidth pricing is $150 setup + $150 maintenance, cheaper than short codes. RCS is not yet widely available in Europe; adoption is still maturing.

Tools Recommended

AI & Voice

• Retell – platform used as a wrapper for voice AI agents
• Eleven Labs – voice provider for AI agents
• Custom cloned voice (via audio engineer)
• LLMs (including custom and major providers)
• Perplexity / Claude – for building master brand markdown files
• Gemini / ChatGPT – AI image generation tools (with noted limitations)

Outbound Email & Sales

• Instantly – outbound email campaigns and inbox management
• Apollo – lead source
• Yet Another Mail Merge – one-to-one follow-up to clickers

Ads & Retargeting

• LinkedIn Ads – retargeting
• Facebook Ads – retargeting

SMS / Messaging

• Bandwidth – RCS/RBM provider (USA only); $150 setup + $150 maintenance
• Twilio – alternative for RCS and previously used for SMS
• SendGrid – email (acquired by Twilio)
• TELUS – Canadian RCS provider
• WhatsApp / Meta – direct international messaging

Communication & Productivity

• Slack – team communication
• Microsoft Teams – real-time translation capabilities

Other / Referenced

• Toastmasters – English communication training
• Clearstream – SMS platform for churches, referenced for short code approvals
• Tatango – enterprise SMS company, referenced for carrier questions
• WePro / Wipro – India-based consulting/staffing firm

Best Advice

The strongest throughline across both sessions was building durable foundations rather than chasing quick fixes. Pull all your existing authentic content into one master markdown brand document so every future piece stays consistent, on-brand, and scalable instead of being generated from scratch. When scaling voice AI, lean on a wrapper like Retell and build an "AI brain" with clear memory rules to control cost, latency, and hallucination. Treat outbound — especially internationally — as a top-of-funnel awareness channel, retargeting engaged clickers across LinkedIn and Facebook rather than expecting demos directly. And when hiring globally, prioritize the best talent over language constraints, investing in communication training and translation tools to close the gap.