Polymath Ventures is a studio operating across Mexico and Colombia that focuses on creating companies for the fast-growing SME market in Latin America. Polymath launched more than 10 companies, and has raised more than $150M across companies. Some of the notable ventures in their portfolio are Monato, Kontempo and Digitt.

For this session we met online to talk over a simple topic: How do you build a strong B2B SaaS go to market motion from day zero?
It was a focused, honest and open conversation about what both teams are learning in the earliest stages of commercialisation.

Before we jump into the details, we did our first Roadshow session with the team at High Alpha, you can read that recap here.

Inside the session

Polymath shared their experience building for SMEs in Latin America, and we (Builders) shared our perspective on building early-stage B2B SaaS companies in Europe. Different contexts, but surprisingly similar patterns. Below are the learnings that stood out across both studios.

Key takeaways

1. Real validation comes from real commitment

Early ICP conversations are often positive, but the true signal appears when a potential customer takes a meaningful step. This could be reviewing a demo, exploring onboarding requirements or committing to a paid pilot. These moments bring clarity that is far more reliable than early enthusiasm.

2. Strong wedges matter more than full visions

Polymath shared a practical example from the logistics market in Mexico. Trucking companies face complex invoicing requirements, and this administrative pain turned out to be a strong entry point. By focusing on that single job first, they can gradually guide companies toward the broader product once trust is built.
For early go to market, the right wedge removes friction and accelerates learning.

3. Founder-led conversations are essential at the start

Across both regions, LATAM and EU, potential buyers want to speak directly with the people who understand the problem best. Founder-led interactions build trust, invite honest feedback and help refine the story far faster than any document or a landing page. It is not just a sales tactic. It is an early learning engine.

4. Early paid users give better signals than free ones

Both studios observed that free trials or free early access rarely produce useful insights. A symbolic financial commitment, even at an introductory rate, leads to clearer expectations, more active usage and more reliable feedback. This is especially valuable when shaping the first product iterations.

5. Go deeper than feature requests

Many SMEs describe their needs in terms of features, even when the underlying issue is operational. Both teams emphasised the importance of exploring what sits under the surface. Aligning around the actual job to be done keeps roadmaps focused and avoids drifting into custom-build territory.

6. Experiments need repetition, not variety

Early-stage teams often test many ideas quickly, as early stages are quite risk averse, it becomes very appealing to go crazy with experiments. But the real learnings appear when experiments are allowed to run through several iterations. Whether it is outreach, messaging, micro-tools or landing pages, both studios highlighted the value of consistency and refinement rather than moving on too quickly. It is usually the boring stuff that with compounded value added over time, move ventures forward.

What we are bringing forward

From Polymath

• Lead with the most urgent and recognisable pain
• Make early adoption easy by focusing on low-friction entry points
• Keep early users close and learn directly from their behaviour
• Focus on underlying needs rather than surface-level feature requests

From Builders

• Use commitment-based signals to guide early decisions
• Support founders in developing a strong public and customer-facing narrative
• Leverage micro-products and small tools to test interest quickly
• Keep experiments simple, narrow and iterative

Why this Roadshow matters

Even though our studios operate in very different markets, the early go to market challenges we face are remarkably aligned. These sessions help us compare notes, strengthen our approaches and build a clearer picture of what actually works when taking a B2B SaaS product from zero to one.

If your studio is working through similar challenges and would like to join a future Roadshow, we would love to connect.