From Cold Calls to Trusted Connections: Why We Built Apiario
When we first crossed paths at Unbabel, a fast-growing SaaS startup tackling multilingual customer support, the stakes were high. I was leading the global sales team, while Owen started as a BDR, quickly rising through the ranks to lead Business Development. Our mission was simple but relentless: win large enterprise deals. Uber, PayPal, Zalando, LEGO, Nike, Booking.com; these weren’t just aspirational logos on our pipeline report. They were accounts we actually closed, through sheer persistence, strategy, and execution. We had a product that solved a critical pain point, allowing businesses to scale customer support without hiring expensive native-language agents. But getting into the right conversations was an ongoing battle.
The problem? Pipeline never came easy.
Our inbound leads weren’t enough, investors were too busy managing their portfolios to open doors for us, and partnerships, while valuable, moved at a glacial pace. Every quarter, our targets increased, and we found ourselves constantly playing catch-up. We had world-class BDRs, top-tier sales tools, and a generous budget for events, PR, and ads. But even with all that, cold outreach remained a slog. Our team was burning time on emails that weren’t opened, calls that were ignored, and LinkedIn messages that felt like shouting into the void. We weren’t just competing against our direct rivals. We were competing against every single sales team trying to get the same decision-makers to listen.
The Outbound Paradox: More Volume, Less Results
BDRs have one of the toughest, most repetitive jobs in SaaS sales. Crawl LinkedIn, find contacts, send emails, cold call, repeat. The smartest, most ambitious people we hired saw it as a stepping stone, a temporary role before moving up or moving out. Over time, things got even harder. Tools like Apollo.io, Clay, and Sales Navigator helped automate more outreach, but they also flooded inboxes with even more noise. Spam filters tightened, data protection laws got stricter, and buyer patience wore thinner. And now, with the rise of AI-driven BDR automation from companies like Artisan, the problem is about to get even worse. AI BDRs don’t sleep, they don’t get tired, and they don’t care about personalization beyond what the algorithm tells them. This isn’t a solution. The more we automate, the more buyers tune out.The more messages we send, the less effective they become. Something had to change.
A Better Way: Trust Over Cold Outreach
In our own buying journeys, we never responded to cold outreach. When we needed a new tool, we didn’t rely on outbound marketing or vendor pitches, we asked our network. Who do you trust? What do you use? What’s actually working?That’s when it clicked.Trust is the missing link in sales. People buy from people they trust, and the best sales conversations start from warm introductions—not cold outreach. That’s why we built Apiario.
Apiario: The Marketplace for B2B Warm Intros
Apiario helps B2B sales teams get directly introduced to decision-makers through trusted connections, without relying on cold emails, AI spam, or random event networking.Think of it like this: Bees don’t randomly fly around hoping to find nectar. They have structured foraging patterns, they follow known pathways, and they bring pollen back to the hive efficiently. Apiario is the hive. We connect companies with the right people, at the right time, through trusted relationships.
Here’s how it works:
- Smart Matching - We leverage AI and a carefully curated list of vetted B2Bs and industry powerbrokers who are ready to make valuable introductions.
- Blinded Intro: Both sides receive anonymized profiles. The B2B gets a blinded summary of the connector, and vice versa, ensuring privacy.
- Double Opt-In: Both parties must agree to move forward before any connection is made.
- There's a Match: If there’s a fit, the profiles are revealed, and the B2B begins communicating with the connector to discuss alignment, potential messaging, edge cases, and more. This can happen via structured live calls or asynchronous communication.
- Time to Make Introductions: With a deeper understanding of the B2B’s unique selling points, the connector starts making introductions and is compensated for any meetings that are set.
Meanwhile, anyone with a valuable network can monetise their connections by making thoughtful, relevant introductions—helping both sides win.
The Future of B2B Sales
We believe sales is changing. Buyers are tired of spam. Sellers are tired of chasing people who don’t want to talk to them. The future isn’t more automation: it’s more trust, more relationships, and more human connection.
We built Apiario because we believe every company should have access to warm intros, and every professional should have a way to help and earn by making valuable connections. Join us, and let’s reshape B2B sales. One warm introduction at a time.
Filipe Barbosa, Apiario Co-Founder
