Limbic: Clinical AI SaaS for providers and patients

How we launched AI SaaS to a skeptical audience

With initial US target markets of nonprofit mental healthcare organizations (tight budgets, skeptical therapists) and large health systems (typically 18- to 24-month buying cycles), but with expectations of instant traction, we had to find quick paths to revenue.

Challenge 1: Building global GTM ops and US-ready conversion pathways

When I joined Limbic, the UK team had already been using HubSpot for about two years. But the sales process had evolved since the implementation. Additionally, that process was purpose built for a very specific segment of the UK’s National Health Service. We needed something different for the US.

Actions

Interviewed the founders, UK sales team, US commercial lead, and a handful clinicians in the US to build documentation of UK and US sales processes and data needs.

Rebuilt HubSpot, starting with a comprehensive data cleanup. Implemented region-specific sales pipelines, lead workflows, and reporting. Also added Apollo.io in the US to support enrichment and list-building.

Outcomes

By the end of my first month, global teams were fully integrated into HubSpot, we had ABM lists and audiences for the US, and data was structured to support better reporting going forward.

Challenge 2: Messaging and conversion for US buyers

The existing Limbic website was UK-specific. Time on site was low, as was the inbound conversion rate. We needed messaging and experiences designed for US buyers, and a better way to convert traffic.

Actions

Updated existing brand so that we would have a scalable system. Created voice and messaging guidelines, codified the color palette and logos, and defined styles for illustrations, photography, and typography.

Then rebuilt the website in a six-week sprint, with localized experiences for UK and US buyers and landing pages built to convert various market segments.

Outcomes

Global 87% increase in time on site and roughly 300% increase in the inbound conversion rate (lead gen forms).

Challenge 3: Hard-to-reach US buyers

The nonprofit mental healthcare sector in the US is dominated by state- and federally funded organizations staffed by incredibly passionate, mission-driven people. They aren’t on LinkedIn like typical B2B SaaS buyers and careerists, and they are reflexively resistant to transactional sales processes.

Actions

We discovered that these buyers over-index on community and peer groups. They organize around overlapping local, state, and national groups and events. Lots of events. (We exhibited at 22 in the first 12 months.

We quickly built out an conference infrastructure—booths, interactive demos, swag. Routed marketing budget toward sponsorships and ancillary events—sponsored pickleball tournaments, intimate dinners without a whiff of a sales pitch. We wanted to be the place people would come to when they had questions about AI.

Outcomes

Three of our first four signed customers entered the CRM at our first conference. The fourth entered via inbound web conversion but ended up meeting with us at three different conferences along the way to becoming a customer.

When you’re a startup starting from zero, you try a few things to see what works, then do as much of that as you can until you get tractithings to see what works, then do as much of that as you can until you get traction. For Limbic's first year in the US, that was events.