Media & Events
From manual prospecting to a fully-booked Money 20/20 calendar — without hiring more SDRs
Service
Done-For-You Outbound + Event Campaign
Industry
HQ
Team Size
Results First: What We Delivered
Tearsheet needed a fully-booked calendar for Money 20/20 — the biggest fintech conference of the year. Their small team couldn't manually research and reach out to hundreds of vendors in time. Here's what happened in 60 days leading up to the event:
Qualified Vendors Identified: 612 perfect-fit companies selling tech or services to banks — filtered from thousands using AI.
Qualified Contacts Generated: 100+ decision-makers confirmed interested in meeting at the conference.
Back-to-Back Meetings: Aaron Singer (CEO) went from a sparse conference calendar to fully-booked meeting slots across all three days.
Response SLA: 15-minute average response time to positive replies — every hot lead got immediate follow-up.
No SDR Hiring Needed: Automation handled outreach, follow-up, and scheduling without adding headcount.
Multi-Channel Execution: Email + LinkedIn orchestration created touchpoints that felt natural, not spammy.
Brand Protection: Tight ICP filtering meant zero spam complaints — every contact was genuinely relevant.
"I couldn't breathe—back-to-back meetings, all the right people. A great problem to have."
-Aaron Singer
CEO, Tearsheet
The Context: When Conference Prep Meets Manual Prospecting Limits
Tearsheet is a media company covering fintech innovation — think conference organizer, podcast host, and industry analyst rolled into one. They host Money 20/20 Europe and run thought leadership events connecting fintech vendors with banks and financial institutions.
Aaron Singer, the CEO, describes it simply: "We punch above our weight." They're a lean team with massive industry reach, but their business model depends on connecting the right vendors with the right buyers at live events.
Here's why they reached out to Corebits:
Money 20/20 was 60 days away. The biggest fintech conference of the year was approaching fast, and Aaron needed a packed meeting calendar.
Manual prospecting was too slow. The SDR could research maybe 50-100 accounts per week. With thousands of potential vendors, they'd never finish in time.
"Fintech" keyword searches returned noise. Crypto companies, banks, B2C apps, and small credit unions flooded results — none of which were relevant buyers or sponsors.
Brand reputation mattered. Tearsheet's relationships are everything. They couldn't afford to spray-and-pray their way into spam folders.
Follow-up speed was critical. When someone replied "yes, let's meet," they needed immediate scheduling — not waiting 24-48 hours for the SDR to respond.
What they asked us for:
A laser-targeted list of vendors who actually sell to banks and financial institutions
Personalized outreach that felt like Aaron himself was reaching out, not a mass email tool
Multi-channel orchestration (email + LinkedIn) to build familiarity before the ask
Real-time response handling so hot leads got booked immediately
A system that protected Tearsheet's brand while scaling reach
"We punch above our weight. The challenge is reaching the right vendors—quickly and without spamming anyone."
- Aaron Singer,
CEO, Tearsheet
Strategy: AI Filtering, Signal-Based Personalization, Conference-Led CTAs
Our approach was built around one goal: fill Aaron's Money 20/20 calendar with the right people, fast. Here's how we engineered it:
1. AI ICP Filter That Actually Works
We didn't trust keyword searches. Instead, we built a Claygent AI agent that visited every company's website to answer one question: "Does this company sell tech or services to banks?"
Auto-excluded banks, small credit unions, B2C fintech apps, and crypto-only companies
Only kept vendors whose business model was selling solutions to financial institutions
Result: 612 perfect-fit vendors from thousands scraped
No more guessing. Every company on the list was a legitimate conference sponsor or exhibitor candidate.
2. Signal Stack (Per Contact)
We didn't just find contacts — we found reasons to reach out. For every prospect, we pulled multiple signals to personalize the message:
Signal Type | How We Pulled It |
Website wording | Text scrape → AI confirms "sells to banks" |
LinkedIn job moves | Clay LinkedIn enrich → recent role changes |
Hiring signals | Clay Jobs → filter roles mentioning "partnerships," "sales," "GTM" |
Conference panels | News scrape → keyword + company name |
Podcast appearances | Manual + automated web scrape |
Competitor follows | LinkedIn competitor follower scrape |
Each signal gave us something specific to reference in the email — not "I saw your company is growing" but "I noticed you spoke on the embedded finance panel at Fintech Nexus..."
3. AI Copy Engine
Claude (Anthropic's AI) took the top signals per prospect and wrote a 120-word email that sounded like Aaron himself wrote it.
Tone: Industry insider extending a personal invite, not a cold sales blast
Each email referenced the prospect's own conference activity, podcasts, or recent announcements
CTA: "I'll be at Money 20/20 — want to grab 30 minutes?"
The goal wasn't to pitch a sponsorship on email #1. The goal was to book a meeting at the conference.
4. Multi-Channel Orchestration
We didn't rely on email alone. Each channel played a specific role:
Email: The primary driver. Low-friction ask: "Let's meet at the conference."
LinkedIn: Warm-up sequence. Profile visit → connection request → DM mentioning the email.
Slack auto-routing: Every positive reply dropped into #hot-leads within seconds. Aaron or the SDR could respond in under 15 minutes.
Together, they created a flow that felt natural to the buyer — not spammy, not disconnected — just well-timed outreach that led to booked meetings.
5. Tech Orchestration
Clay drives research + personalization
SmartLead rotates domains for deliverability
HeyReach automates LinkedIn touches (visits, connections, DMs)
Make.com posts positive replies to #hot-leads Slack for same-day follow-up
HubSpot scores and tracks everything
All workflows were built inside Tearsheet's own Clay account — not ours. This means they own the system forever.
The Standout Campaign: "Meet at Money 20/20" Conference Wedge
This was the campaign that filled Aaron's calendar.
Instead of asking for a generic discovery call, we used the conference as a natural hook. The entire sequence was built around one simple idea: "I'll be there anyway — let's connect."
Why this worked:
Low-friction CTA: Asking for a 30-minute coffee at an event someone is already attending is infinitely easier than asking for a Zoom call.
Shared context: Both parties are in the fintech space, attending the same conference. The relevance is instant.
Urgency built-in: The conference date creates a natural deadline. "Want to meet at Money 20/20?" has more urgency than "Want to chat sometime?"
Aaron's personal brand: The emails sounded like they came from Aaron himself — industry insider, not a sales rep.
Campaign Breakdown:
1. Message Crafting
4-touch sequence: Email → LinkedIn visit → Email → LinkedIn DM
Subject lines tested: "Money 20/20 — meet?" performed best (short, event-specific, low-pressure)
No pitch in email #1 — pure meeting invite
2. Multi-Channel Outreach
Email #1: "Hey [name], I saw you'll be at Money 20/20. I'm covering the event for Tearsheet — want to grab 30 minutes to discuss [specific topic from their signal]?"
LinkedIn visit: Profile visit 24 hours later (no message, just presence)
Email #2: "Following up — still planning to attend? I've got a few slots open Thursday afternoon."
LinkedIn DM: "Saw you viewed my profile — are you attending Money 20/20? Would love to connect."
3. Results
100+ qualified contacts confirmed interested in meeting
Back-to-back meetings across all three days of the conference
15-minute response SLA on positive replies (thanks to Slack auto-routing)
Zero spam complaints — tight ICP filtering protected Tearsheet's brand
4. Why It Resonated
The conference wedge removes friction. You're not asking someone to carve out time in their calendar — you're asking them to meet at an event they're already attending. The value proposition is instant: "I'm here, you're here, let's talk."
"I couldn't breathe—back-to-back meetings, all the right people. A great problem to have."
- Aaron Singer,
CEO, Tearsheet
What Slowed Results (And How We Fixed It)
Every campaign hits speed bumps. Here's what we encountered and how we resolved it:
Challenge | Solution |
Keyword searches returned too much noise | Switched to AI ICP filter (Claygent). Visited every website to confirm "sells to banks." Noise dropped 80%. |
Generic emails blending in | Added signal-based personalization. Referenced prospect's podcast appearances, conference panels, or recent hires. Reply rates jumped. |
Slow response to positive replies | Built Make.com automation that posted every positive reply to #hot-leads Slack. Response SLA dropped to 15 minutes. |
LinkedIn connection requests felt cold | Added profile visit 24 hours before connection request. Acceptance rate improved significantly. |
Deliverability concerns | SmartLead rotated domains automatically. Warm-up handled. No inbox issues. |
The key learning: event-led outreach removes friction. Asking for a conference meeting is infinitely easier than asking for a cold Zoom call.
Why It Worked
Here are the key insights from the Tearsheet project:
Event-led CTAs remove friction. Asking "Want to meet at Money 20/20?" is infinitely easier than "Want to hop on a call?" You're not asking for calendar time — you're leveraging shared attendance.
Tight ICP filtering protects reputation. Every contact was genuinely relevant. Zero spam complaints. Brand protection while scaling reach.
Signals + AI copy beat generic blasts. Referencing a prospect's podcast appearance or conference panel makes the email feel researched — because it is.
Real-time response handling converts interest into meetings. 15-minute SLA meant hot leads got scheduled immediately, not 48 hours later when interest cools.
Multi-channel orchestration feels natural. Email → LinkedIn visit → Email → LinkedIn DM creates familiarity without being pushy.
Build in the client's Clay, not ours — handover is 10x simpler. Every workflow lives inside Tearsheet's account. They own it. They can edit it. They can clone it.
What's Next
The next stage for Tearsheet is all about replicating this playbook for future events and expanding beyond conferences.
Clone the playbook for Money 20/20 Europe: Same ICP filter, same signal stack, new geography. Already in progress.
Expand to other fintech conferences: Finovate, LendIt, Fintech Nexus — apply the same event-led outreach strategy.
Post-conference follow-up engine: Turn conference conversations into podcast guests, sponsors, and long-term relationships.
Evergreen outbound for Tearsheet's media partnerships: Adapt the playbook for non-event-led outreach (webinars, podcasts, sponsored content).
LinkedIn content play: Ghostwrite thought leadership content for Aaron to attract inbound alongside the outbound engine.
The foundation is built. Now it's about cloning what works and layering in new channels.
"You fit into our process, protected our brand, and felt like part of the team."
- Aaron Singer,
CEO, Tearsheet
