
How we built our own lead generation system — and why it became a separate business.
We built ClientiB2B because we needed a predictable system for ourselves. Referrals are great, but they don't scale. We needed something we could control.
— Mihai Grigore, Founder — AceAgency
The Story
It started, honestly, out of frustration. We'd finish a big project, celebrate, and then realize the pipeline was empty again. Referrals would trickle in, but never fast enough.
So we started experimenting with cold email. Not the spammy kind — the kind where you actually research the person, understand their business, and write something relevant. The first campaigns were rough. Low reply rates, a lot of learning.
But we kept iterating. We tested different subject lines, different approaches, different audiences. We built our own warm-up process, set up dedicated domains, and developed a system for enriching prospect data from multiple sources.
After three months, something clicked. The reply rates started climbing. Decision-makers were responding — not because we tricked them, but because the emails were genuinely useful. We were offering something they actually needed.
That's when we realized: if this works for us, it can work for others. The system was too good to keep internal. That's how ClientiB2B was born — not as a startup idea, but as a byproduct of solving our own problem.
Today, the same infrastructure that generates leads for AceAgency powers campaigns for multiple clients. We're not selling theory. We're sharing what we built and use every single day.
The Challenge
AceAgency is a digital agency in Bucharest. Good reputation, solid portfolio — but growth was unpredictable. Some months were packed, others were quiet. The entire pipeline depended on who happened to recommend us. We knew we were leaving money on the table, but we didn't have the bandwidth to build an outbound system from scratch while running client work.
Our Approach
We decided to eat our own cooking. We built a cold email infrastructure with dedicated domains, gradual warm-up, and carefully researched prospect lists targeting SaaS companies and tech startups across Romania and the EU. The copy was personal — no templates, no automation fluff. Every sequence was written like a human being was sending it, because one was.
How We Did It
Week 1–2
Infrastructure setup: 10 dedicated domains, DMARC/SPF/DKIM configuration, mailbox warm-up initiated. We set up everything from scratch — no shortcuts on deliverability.
Week 3–4
Audience research: defined ICP (SaaS founders, CTOs, Head of Growth), built initial prospect list of 2,000 contacts through Apollo, LinkedIn, and manual research.
Month 2
First campaigns live. 3-step email sequences with personalized opening lines. A/B tested subject lines across 4 variants. Early results: 2.1% reply rate.
Month 3
Optimization cycle: adjusted copy based on reply analysis, refined audience segments, increased volume gradually. Reply rate climbed to 3.2%.
Month 4+
Steady state: 12+ qualified leads per month, stable infrastructure, predictable pipeline. The system runs, we refine. Continuous improvement, no guesswork.
The Results
Reply rate (%)
Qualified Leads/month
Days ramp-up
Emails sent
Pipeline value (€)
ROI multiplier
AceAgency is where ClientiB2B was born. Every process, every template, every optimization — it started here. When we say we know cold email works, it's because we bet our own business on it first.