Flaire — From Product Feedback to Market Activation
At Flaire, I worked across both product usability and early-stage marketing strategy. Rather than focusing on just one lane, I approached growth holistically: understanding the product experience first, then thinking about how it could be positioned and expanded.
Bounce — From Prospect Research to Partner Development
At Bounce, I worked on early-stage partner acquisition across the Bay Area, helping identify independent businesses that could expand the company’s luggage-storage network. My work combined territory research, lead qualification, multichannel outreach, and ongoing refinement of targeting and messaging based on prospect response.
Territory Research — Identifying High-Fit Prospects
I worked across 10 Bay Area points of interest, researching businesses located near high-traffic destinations and evaluating whether they could realistically serve as Bounce partners.
Rather than treating proximity alone as enough, I evaluated prospects based on:
-
Location relative to the assigned point of interest
-
Distance and overlap with other potential partner locations
-
Available space and operational fit
-
Business type and accessibility
-
Whether the partnership could offer meaningful value to the business
Across these territories, I researched and qualified 100+ independent businesses before prioritizing the strongest prospects for outreach.
Sales Execution — Taking Research Into the Field
After building and prioritizing prospect lists, I conducted outreach through email, phone, and in-person visits to introduce the partnership and gauge interest.
My outreach included:
-
20+ in-person business visits
-
Direct email and phone follow-up
-
Tailoring the pitch to individual businesses and their likely needs
-
Referencing prior conversations or visits in follow-up messaging
-
Tracking prospect status and follow-up activity in a structured spreadsheet
Working in person was especially useful because it gave me direct exposure to how different business owners reacted to the value proposition and which concerns came up repeatedly.
One of the independent cafés visited during Bay Area partner outreach.
Refining the Approach — Learning From Response Patterns
I initially approached a broad mix of independent businesses, but my targeting became more selective as I learned which prospects were actually receptive to the partnership. I noticed that highly image-focused or community-driven cafés were often less responsive, particularly when they already had a strong built-in customer community and seemed to have less need for the additional revenue or visibility Bounce could provide.
Then:
Deprioritized businesses where the partnership appeared less aligned with their existing customer experience or positioning
Focused more heavily on prospects where additional revenue, visibility, or customer traffic could be a clearer incentive
Adjusted follow-up messaging based on prior conversations and the needs of individual businesses
Used response patterns to decide which leads deserved continued attention rather than simply increasing outreach volume
This made the role as much about qualification and market learning as it was about prospecting itself.
Moving an Opportunity Forward
One prospect progressed beyond initial outreach into a second-stage conversation around partnership terms. I continued handling follow-up and communication as the opportunity moved forward, escalating when appropriate.
100+ Businesses researched + qualified
10
Bay Area POI territories
20+
In-person prospect visits
What I Took Away
Bounce strengthened how I think about sales as a process of learning, not just outreach. Prospect research, qualification, messaging, and direct conversations all influenced which opportunities were worth pursuing and how the value proposition needed to be communicated.
