EdMission Landed Public SaaS Clients Without Ads

By David Brennan, multi-time founder, AI consultant, and host of SaaS Founder Stories

When you're selling a SaaS platform into public institutions — especially in sectors like higher education — it's easy to assume you'll need a six-figure marketing budget, a polished brand, and a few high-powered sales hires to get traction.

But Milan Sanghani, founder of EdMission, proved that wrong.

EdMission recently onboarded three public universities — two in the U.S. and one in Canada — without spending a single dollar on paid marketing. No Google Ads. No SEO agency. No influencer strategy.

Instead, Milan built trust, generated warm leads, and closed deals using three foundational tactics that any early-stage founder can replicate:

1. Deep customer interviews
2. Strategic conference networking
3. Leveraging references to build credibility

In our conversation on SaaS Founder Stories, he walked me through exactly how he did it — and what other B2B founders can take away from his journey.

The Product: Fixing a Broken Recruitment System

EdMission is tackling a very real challenge in the international student market. Universities want to attract global applicants, but they’re also vulnerable to fraud, bad-fit applicants, and overreliance on questionable third-party agents.

“We offer an all-in-one solution where universities can recruit international students ethically, without needing to build overseas teams or rely on risky agent networks,” Milan explained.

The platform allows universities to see which students are a strong match for their programs and invite them directly — like a reverse admissions model. Students get notified when a university is interested, and the whole process becomes more transparent, more efficient, and more trustworthy for both sides.

But even with a clear problem and a solid solution, getting those first public-sector customers wasn’t easy.

The Challenge: Breaking Into Public Higher Ed

“When you're an early-stage company, credibility is everything — especially with public universities,” Milan Sanghani, founder of EdMission, said.

Private institutions were faster to adopt EdMission, but for Milan, landing public universities was the real milestone. Not only because they’re higher volume clients, but because they signal trust to the rest of the market — including students, parents, and regulators.

“If we could partner with a few public institutions, we knew we could use them as a reference point to build momentum.”

But instead of chasing that credibility with outbound sales or expensive demand gen, Milan took a more grassroots path.

Step 1: Customer Interviews That Turned Into Closed Deals

Before building anything, Milan personally interviewed dozens of universities across Canada. The goal? Understand the pain points and see if his idea actually solved them.

“I wasn’t selling — I was listening. But those same interviews became our first pipeline.”

That’s the magic of founder-led discovery. By showing up early, asking smart questions, and understanding institutional needs, Milan built relationships with decision-makers. So when EdMission was ready, the universities were too.

Step 2: Conferences — But Only the Right Ones

Rather than chasing every trade show under the sun, Milan was highly selective about where he spent time (and money). He focused only on events that had a clear ROI in terms of:

• Immediate customer alignment

• Strategic partnerships

• Long-term investor relationships

“The biggest thing I learned was to do your homework. I looked at who was attending, what stage they were at, and whether they aligned with our near-term goals — not just long-term potential.”

This made conferences less of a gamble and more of a targeted GTM channel. And because EdMission already had conversations going with some attendees, Milan was able to use those events to deepen trust — not introduce himself cold.

Step 3: Turning Wins Into Flywheel Growth

Once EdMission had a few logos — especially public universities — the growth loop kicked in.

“We didn’t need fancy ads or SEO. We just used the credibility from early partners to open new doors.”

In higher ed, where reputation is currency, one respected institution saying “yes” makes the next conversation a lot easier.

And when you're solving a high-trust problem like student recruitment, references speak louder than any case study ever could.

The Playbook for Early-Stage Founders

If you're building a SaaS product and trying to land your first few public-sector or high-trust customers, Milan’s playbook is gold:

• Start with real interviews, not pitch decks

• Prioritize conferences that match your buyer profile

• Use every early partner as momentum for the next one

“We didn’t spend on paid marketing, we didn’t hire a sales team — we just stayed lean, focused on relationships, and stayed close to the customer.”

That approach led to EdMission closing three public university clients last month — and they’re just getting started.

What’s Next for EdMission

Milan and the team are now focused on two big milestones:

• Growing to 25 university partners

• Reaching $1M in revenue within the next 12 months

They’re also actively raising a pre-seed round and looking for a U.S.-based advisor with strong higher ed experience to help accelerate their go-to-market.

“If anyone listening has connections into the U.S. university network, or cares about the future of ethical student recruitment — we’d love to connect,” said Milan Sanghani.

Book a Free AI Assessment if you're building your go-to-market motion in a high-trust or legacy industry and want help using AI to accelerate customer acquisition, streamline operations, or support early product delivery. We’ll break down where you’re stuck and deliver a clear, strategic roadmap to move faster with the resources you have.