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Valley with Zayd Ali

Overview​

This page features an in-depth interview and product demonstration with Zayd Ali, founder and CEO of Valley, an AI-native LinkedIn outbound platform designed to transform B2B prospecting.

Key Topics​

Background and Inspiration​

Zayd's journey began at age 17 founding an outbound agency focused on financial advisors, which exited in 2021. He subsequently replicated the model for emerging funds seeking LPs before launching Valley in 2023. His prior hands-on experience directly shaped the platform's design philosophy.

Core Problem Addressed​

Traditional LinkedIn automation tools lack the research depth and personalization that drives results. Valley bridges this gap by combining "researching, personalizing, scoring leads, prioritizing leads" through AI automation.

Valley's Five Core Capabilities​

  1. Lead Discovery - Identifies high-intent prospects
  2. Research - Analyzes 60-70 data points across individual, company, and industry
  3. Scoring - Prioritizes ICP-fit alignment
  4. Messaging - Creates hyper-personalized outreach in the user's voice
  5. Execution - Autonomously sends messages at scale

Key Features​

Valley Studio Configuration​

  • Product definition and ICP specification
  • Writing style customization via "dos and don'ts"
  • Sequence import capabilities
  • Website intent tracking for visitor identification

Campaign Management​

  • Two modes: traditional templates (2% adoption) and Valley AI
  • Open-profile InMail optimization (800/month vs. 500 connection requests)
  • LinkedIn post engagement targeting
  • Autopilot vs. human-in-the-loop workflows

Research Library​

  • Automated news and fundraising tracking
  • Leadership change monitoring
  • Customer review analysis
  • Quote extraction from prospect content

Performance Metrics​

  • Post engager campaigns: 24% reply rate (12x industry average)
  • Traditional InMail: 8% reply rate
  • Messaging campaigns: 65% acceptance rate, 52% reply rate

Strategic Insights​

LinkedIn as Constrained Channel​

The platform's limitations (message caps) force quality over quantity, preventing the "0.1% reply rate" email problem.

Future Vision​

An integrated V2 outbound stack combining intent signals, warm outreach, enrichment, research, and qualification—"send 30 and book 10 meetings" through hyper-relevant targeting.

Differentiation vs. Competitors​

Valley emphasizes signal-intent-research layering. Unlike Outreach or Apollo, it provides "relevance" (clear why you reached out) and "investment" (one-to-one personalization feel).

Contact Information​

Notable Advisors​

Valley's advisory board includes executives from Brex (CRO), Ripling (SVP Sales), and Datadog (SVP Go-to-Market).