2x SaaS founder: growth hacks that work with Dorian Ciavarella @Zeliq

saas.unbound is a podcast for and about founders who are working on scaling inspiring products that people love, brought to you by https://saas.group/, a serial acquirer of B2B SaaS companies.

In episode #15 of season 5 of the saas.unbound podcast host Anna Nadeina sits down with Dorian Ciavarella, co-founder and CEO of Zeliq, to dive deep into his entrepreneurial journey, growth strategies, and vision for the future of sales technology. From building a thriving influencer marketing platform to launching an ambitious AI-powered sales prospecting tool, Dorian shares valuable insights into fundraising, team building, company culture, and international expansion. This article unpacks the key takeaways from their conversation, offering founders and SaaS enthusiasts an inside look at what it takes to scale a SaaS business with a clear vision and passion for innovation.

From Influencer Marketing to AI-Driven Sales Prospecting

Dorian’s entrepreneurial story began over a decade ago in a small city in eastern France. As a student, he founded INC, an influencer marketing platform that connected over 500,000 influencers with brands across cosmetics, food, and fashion verticals. The business grew rapidly, reaching 100 employees and generating €7 million in annual recurring revenue within just three and a half years. Clients included industry giants like L’Oréal, Amazon, and LVMH.

After successfully raising €6.5 million in dilutive and non-dilutive funding, Dorian exited INC to PSG Equities, a US venture capital firm that built a French SaaS group called Skippers. Following a six-month break post-exit, he launched Zeliq with the ambition to create a better, more integrated sales prospecting solution leveraging AI. Within two years, Zeliq has raised €15 million and grown to a 40-person company headquartered in Paris, with a global team and an expanding footprint.

The Vision Behind Zeliq: Creating the Ultimate Revenue Workspace

Zeliq is positioned as an all-in-one AI-powered sales prospecting tool designed to simplify and supercharge the sales process. Dorian envisions it as a challenger to established players like HubSpot, not by replacing them but by complementing and integrating seamlessly. His goal is to build a unified revenue workspace where sales, marketing, and customer success teams collaborate efficiently within one environment without juggling multiple tools.

Unlike complex CRMs that users find cumbersome for daily operational use, Zeliq aims to be intuitive and performance-driven. It combines prospecting, data enrichment, and multi-channel outreach—email, LinkedIn, and calling—into one platform. This streamlined approach is especially suited for companies with sales teams ranging from 2 to 50 people, helping them book more meetings and close deals faster.

Building a Unicorn: Fundraising and Ambitions

Dorian’s previous success and network opened doors for a strong fundraising start. Remarkably, he raised €5 million on day one of launching Zeliq, enabling him to hire top tech talent and accelerate product development from alpha to beta swiftly. His ambition is clear: to build a global SaaS unicorn within eight years, not just a European success story.

He stresses the importance of cultivating relationships with venture capitalists long before asking for investment. Meeting investors over coffee, discussing visions, and building trust over months make fundraising smoother when the time comes. Dorian’s advice to founders: “Know your VCs, build those human connections, and then ask for investment when you are ready.”

The Human Side of Business: Co-Founders, Team, and Culture

For Dorian, entrepreneurship is a human adventure. He chose to start Zeliq with his former CFO from INC, someone whose strengths complemented his own and with whom he shared aligned ambitions. Having a co-founder provides emotional support through the highs and lows and the ability to challenge ideas and celebrate wins together.

Several team members from INC have joined Zeliq, including the head of sales and interns who have grown into key roles. While the team size is smaller, the company culture at Zeliq is intentionally different and built from day one. The core values emphasize ambition, radical transparency, hard work, and team spirit. Employees receive equity through BSP shares, reinforcing a sense of ownership and shared success. Despite having a global, distributed team, regular offsite gatherings and collaborative events foster a strong sense of community.

Expanding to the US Market: Strategy and Challenges

The US represents Zeliq’s second-largest market, contributing 20% of annual recurring revenue. To penetrate this competitive space, Zeliq has sales teams in Colombia (close to the US timezone), runs targeted marketing campaigns, and engages influencers to boost visibility. Dorian is considering opening a US office on the East Coast, citing time zone advantages and market potential.

He acknowledges the challenges of hiring in the US, where sales talent commands significantly higher salaries compared to Europe and where cultural differences mean US candidates often prefer American companies. To address this, Zeliq has intentionally built an international team and fosters an English-speaking, globally-minded culture from day one.

Influencer Marketing in B2B: A Strategic Advantage

Drawing on his influencer marketing background, Dorian applies a similar strategy at Zeliq but focuses on LinkedIn influencers specializing in sales, data, marketing, and growth. The approach includes paid posts, affiliate programs rewarding client referrals, and long-term partnerships with influencers who drive meaningful engagement.

Success metrics for influencer campaigns include engagement rates, video views, promo code conversions, and client acquisition. Besides LinkedIn, Zeliq actively produces webinars, YouTube content, and even experiments with TikTok, where Dorian’s creative videos have already garnered over 100,000 views in a week.

Leveraging AI to Empower Sales Teams

While AI is a hot topic, Dorian views it as a copilot for salespeople rather than a replacement. Zeliq uses AI to automate manual tasks like crafting personalized outreach messages based on company and personality data, and to analyze prospect personalities to tailor communication. Future roadmap plans include integrating AI-driven marketing intelligence and website intent data to provide sales teams with richer context and improve closing rates.

The product development teams at Zeliq are organized into three squads focusing on product-led growth, data, and prospecting—all embedding AI to make the platform smarter and more efficient. Ultimately, the success of AI will be measured by how many deals sales teams close using the platform.

Key Learnings and Growth Hacks from Dorian’s Journey

Dorian shares several hard-earned lessons from building two SaaS companies:

• Choose co-founders and executive hires carefully: These decisions are expensive and critical to maintaining culture and momentum.
• Hire fast, fire fast: Quickly remove team members who don’t align with company values or performance expectations.
• Adapt marketing by region: Messaging and language must be tailored to each country’s culture and language proficiency.
• Choose investors wisely: The right VCs bring valuable networks, advice, and follow-on funding support, while the wrong ones can add unhelpful pressure.

He also recounts a clever growth hack from his INC days: building an influencer community by reaching out to hundreds of Instagram influencers with an offer of free luxury products in exchange for social posts. This early validation and community-building tactic helped secure brand partnerships and scale rapidly with minimal budget.