On this episode of The Founding AE Podcast, host Justin Dorfman sits down with Richie Duignan (Founding AE, Magic, a global digital marketing agency) to unpack how he went from referral-driven sales to launching a repeatable outbound motion—and closing a six-figure deal within his first five months. From Dublin to Melbourne, Richie shares his playbook for identifying ICPs, picking the first tools, mastering permission-based cold opens, and balancing top/mid/bottom-funnel work as a true zero-to-one seller in services.What you’ll learnWhen a company is actually ready to hire a Founding AEHow to stand up outbound from scratch (ICP → sequences → “press go”)Why cold calling still wins—and Richie's permission-based openerSelling services vs. product without a demo (pitches that feel like “product”)Tool stack: HubSpot Sales Hub, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, RocketReach, digital sales roomsTime allocation that works (40% top-funnel / 40% mid-funnel / 20% late-stage)Weekly leadership “reflection” cadence to accelerate learningOne big win (6-figure outbound deal), one mistake (negotiating without the executive buyer), and advice for first-time Founding AEsChapters00:00 Intro & Richie’s path (Dublin → Melbourne → Founding AE)02:40 What Magic does & who they sell to04:50 Why bring on a Founding AE (referrals → outbound)06:30 Building the first 30-day outbound playbook08:15 Tooling: HubSpot, Sales Nav, RocketReach, DSRs09:50 Channels that work: LinkedIn vs cold calling11:45 How to open a cold call (permission-based, tonality)13:45 Selling services without a “demo” (custom pitches)16:20 Customization vs. slide swaps17:55 Hand-offs, AM/CS, and staying focused on pipeline18:45 Time blocking: 40/40/20 + weekly reflections21:10 Entrepreneurial Sales Institute takeaways24:50 Founder handoff & using executive credibility wisely26:55 Rapid fire: win, mistake, advice for new Founding AEs30:30 Where to find Richie & learn more about MagicGuestRichie Duignan — Founding AE, Magic https://www.linkedin.com/in/richie-duignan-a8b161139/HostJustin Dorfman — The Founding AE Podcast https://www.linkedin.com/in/justindorfman87/💪 Try FollowUp for FreeBack-to-back demos and follow-ups piling up? FollowUp by AssetMule instantly generates personalized Digital Sales Rooms from your sales calls—built for Founding AEs to move deals forward and enable champions to sell internally. Try it for free: https://www.gofollowup.ai/#sales

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