Selling AI goods to Universities & Large Orgs
Learn how to leverage AI to to build an sell solutions to people that need them.
With Mike Gioia & Johnny Garcia
What we'll cover today.
Introductions
Meet Johnny, an AI entrepreneur working with the Pickaxe Growth team.
What's working
Most success on Pickaxe comes from off-platform AI consultants.
Actions to take
Ask, build & sell.
About me…
2018:
stopped going to high school
now:
selling ai to schools
I started with absolutely no knowledge.
How did I end up here? Knowledge stacks…
Today, I'll show you why your own knowledge gaps, whether about AI or business in general, give you a huge competitive edge.
I'll also show you exactly how I've sold AI tools without the "qualifications" to do so.
What it takes in 2025 to succeed with AI.
Access to the internet.
With this, you have access to unlimited tools at varying price points.
Curiosity about others.
The problems are all out there, we just have to find them.
Ability to learn new tools.
Earning potential = skills you have + problems you find
We're all here together, whether…

1

You're new to AI
& you're here because you've thought about building or selling AI.

2

You have an AI Business
& you're here to learn how to grow to your company to sell to larger orgs.

3

You're a Long-time Expert
& you're here because you love learning.
Process?
Strategy?
What I do.
Not only that, by being in today's webinar, you'll get access to…
My favorite sales training video that's ever been made.
For FREE.
Why it works
1. He shows he cares about his subjects.
2. Celebrities are accustomed to repetitive questions.
3. He researches his guests far beyond surface-level facts, making the subjects truly feel seen.
First: Be Curious
  • Who?
  • What?
  • Why?
Second: Building with Intent
  • Stack
  • MVP's
  • 1 to 1
Third: Sales
  • Low pressure
  • High value
  • Maximum returns
Do this.

1

Ask everyone, everything

2

Listen

3

Take (mental) notes
You'll end up with more and more conversations with more and more people.
But what about the huge organizations we are trying to sell to?
And what does this have to do with AI?
Impact Scales.
100+
People to Ask
In larger orgs
5+
Departments
Each with unique needs
10+
Decision Makers
Who can sign the dotted line
Start looking at the organization
1
Find someone with a tech interest.
They should have influence and a need.
2
Research and reach out on all channels.
Ask relevant questions to show you care.
Find everything there is to find about the prospect.
Youtube Videos, LinkedIn, Socials, articles, research, company websites, etc.
Build a Pickaxe with all of the prospects information.
The best script: what's true.
Find ways to make cold emails, warmer.
This approach is nearly 8 years in the making.
It doesn't matter what you are trying to build or sell, find an excuse to make cold outreach warm.
What did all these outreach messages all have in common?

1. I took the time to do my research.

2. I knew what I had to offer.

If you are interested in more on outreach, check out our (FREE!) Skool group.

www.skool.com

VIRTUE | Create value with AI

Learn how to build & sell AI tools that can scale, integrate with other softwares.

in 2021 I moved to San Diego.
Virtue, building AI

www.virtue.company

Home - Virtue

We help business owners, universities, government offices, & founders create and sell ai.

At the tail end of 2023, I realized I was missing something.
I had started businesses to help people:
- Customers & Clients
- Friends & Family
- Me
And I had went from terrible student to a (somewhat) functioning adult in society.
But what if I was just one of the lucky ones?
School hadn't "worked" for me.
I wanted to be part of the solution.
I immediately sent an email to my High School English teacher asking to sit in on a class.
Notes | Feb 26, 2024, 6:47 PM
- K-12 Students are not engaged
- There is no personalization of learning
- AI is being demonized in schools
- Teachers are overworked
- State standards are hard to implement
- AI is hard to implement into the classroom
Granted, I hadn't built anything yet, I was still in the "Ask" phase.
"How do I sell AI?"
If you ask questions first, then build, the selling does itself.
First: Be Curious
  • Who?
  • What?
  • Why?
Second: Building with Intent
  • 1 to 1 to many
  • MVP's
  • Stack
Third: Sales
  • Low pressure
  • High value
  • Maximum returns
How to do it

1. We take note of the problems that we hear

2. We build

All the while, I was asking questions of as many people I could.
Anyone who was ever a student, or ever involved in education.
I found the Director of a Charter School and reached out to him.
No scripts. I sat down and thought about how I really felt about working together.
Before our meeting, I spun up a prototype.
I showed him what we had spun up, and of course, asked him a bunch of questions.
I knew very little about his workflows, but he knew very little about AI.
It was a match made in heaven.
And we did a deal.
Let's go! A chance to impact the education system.
I decided to transcribe meetings when talking with all of my clients.
I built a database of our conversations to further iterate on models.
Read.ai
The product took shape:
We built multiple versions.
Turn on "Clone-able"
Click "Clone"
Then, we launched.

Why do I tell this story?

Personal Your creativity & interests will set you apart. Show what you have Real tangible examples of what could be are extremely valuable. One to One Find one person in B2B, they can often lead to B2B2C.

We all have access to one of the most valuable features ever.
Here's 50 use cases for knowledge bases:
Out of these 50, how many do you think are already being done?
How many more examples could we come up with?
10,000?
100,000?
1,000,000?
Value in AI = Context
You need data.
But you only need a little bit to start.
"You should make a tool that can suggest the closest physical class to college students."
So we made it.
We had the help of an "insider"
  • Tech background or exposure.
  • Previous startup experience.
  • Active in university initiatives.
Break down large orgs into smaller pieces

1

Find People that stick out
Identify "fish swimming upstream"

2

Ask Questions
Find blind spots, even if unrelated to AI or software

3

Make stuff for them for Free
Build before even asking about a price

4

Iterate and improve
Once there is a threshold of interest, $
Don't be afraid to provide value upfront
Build without Insiders | Stone Cold Outreach
  • They buy your product
  • You're able to charge $
  • They don't buy your product
  • Welp?
Build with Insiders | "Warm" Outreach
  • They buy your product because you just provided value
  • You're able to charge $$$ since you just:
  • Consulted them
  • Built something custom
  • They don't buy your product
  • You may still get a testimonial
  • You can re-sell what you now know to other org
It is literally free to build for someone else.
And sometimes, you will still get ghosted.
I sent 20,000 cold emails in 2024. This is not to scare you (these weren't all good emails)
When you help a real person with a real problem, it all becomes worth it.
"Each of us in this lifetime will be rewarded for our effectiveness at making the people around us better."
Action Steps

1

If you're new to AI
Ask questions of everyone you can (ask a friend if you can build them a Pickaxe that helps them at their work)
Build as many projects as you can (find a local biz that could use a Pickaxe on their site)
Offer your help for free (^even better, build it then walk in and SHOW them)
Money WILL make its way to you-trust me.

2

You have an AI Business already
Find the innovators at a large org or institution (see if you can dedicate a whole day to one piece of outreach)
Record calls to iterate as fast as possible (have your Insider at these orgs supply you with as much data as possible)
Ask every person so many questions you get annoyed with yourself (be building too)
Your insider WILL help get your product adopted-trust me.

3

You're a Seasoned Veteran
Show other people what to do and how to use this technology (do it for free, and just see how it feels)
Join communities where there are all skill ranges (there are a ton, check out our Skool Group)
Consider ways to get younger generations involved in AI, and consider building for them.
Your legacy WILL leave an impact-trust me.
One more time…

1

Ask

2

Build

3

Sell

4

Grow
The less you know, the more questions you ask, the better off you are.
What's stopping you?
5 spots open for a 30 minute consultation.
Apply Ask, Build & Sell
We'll go over your current approach, and see where if we can help in anyways.
Limited Availability
Only open to the first 5 sign-ups.