How Rho Uses Origami to Target High-Intent Founders Before Anyone Else

Rho's outbound engine was already strong — 17 full-cycle AEs, a team of SDRs, and channels pushing high-value conversations. But finding the right startup founders before everyone else was still a major gap.

The problem? Traditional signals (like Crunchbase, ZoomInfo, or even LinkedIn updates) lagged weeks behind real-world behavior. By the time the data surfaced, competitors were already in the inbox.

Rho needed to find early-stage, high-intent founders faster — before they showed up in the usual places.

Origami deployed AI research agents to identify "moment of inception" triggers:

• ■Social and platform signals tied to early-stage acceleration
• ■Behavioral shifts associated with company formation and funding
• ■Network patterns of influential fintech builders and buyers

Signals were grouped into dynamically updating lists, reviewed regularly with Rho's GTM stakeholders.

Origami's data was funneled to:

• ■Growth Marketing to trigger ABM ads
• ■SDRs via Slack feedback loops
• ■RevOps for deduplication and routing logic

Lists were enriched, QA'd, and refreshed within a week — allowing the team to act while intent was still fresh.

Origami worked closely with Rho to design a proprietary signaling mechanism—built specifically to surface early-stage fintech intent indicators that aren't available through traditional databases.

While the details remain confidential, the system leverages a blend of social activity, behavioral patterns, and ecosystem-level signals to identify:

• ■Emerging founders in high-value markets
• ■Intent signals tied to new company formation
• ■Unmet needs expressed through public channels

These signals enabled:

• ■Targeting high-quality startup founders in SF and NYC
• ■Reaching pre-seed to seed-stage fintech buyers
• ■Surfacing early dissatisfaction with legacy providers

Each signal was used to drive personalized outreach strategies across ABM, SDR, and growth channels.

Rho's team quickly saw signal-driven workflows outperform standard outbound.

• ■2% conversion rate on outbound powered by Origami — a leading channel for new revenue
• ■Slack channel feedback loop enabled iterative testing and refinement
• ■Scalable data infrastructure laid to support growth across GTM use cases

"The signals are fire. I'm already thinking about how we can break this out by ABM segment and scale it across the whole org."

Erik Zeug, Director of Outbound, Rho

• ■Founder empathy: Origami knew what it meant to launch a company — they built signals that felt human
• ■Speed-to-insight: Lists updated faster than any traditional vendor
• ■Strategic alignment: Origami collaborated directly with Rho's GTM team to adapt signals in real time
• ■Custom coverage: No off-the-shelf database, just tailored lists built on real indicators

Rho's sales leaders aren't just automating prospecting — they're aiming to become the first call for high-intent founders.

With Origami, they're no longer reacting to the market. They're shaping it.

Want to reach the right founders before anyone else does? Talk to Origami →