Aymeric Gisselbrecht is a seasoned sales exec currently leading BD at Tsavorite Scalable Intelligence, a cutting-edge AI chip startup.

With over two decades of experience at semiconductor giants, he's mastered the art of strategic enterprise sales in highly technical industries.

Aymeric sat down with Eric of Origami to discuss his philosophy on relationship-driven selling and the evolution of sales strategies.

The instinct to go broad feels natural, especially when you're trying to hit numbers quickly. But in complex, strategic sales, it's often the wrong move.

At my current startup, we’re building advanced AI chips with a two-year design cycle. Although the products won’t be ready for customer testing for some time, we’ve already secured eight-figure pre-orders—demonstrating strong market confidence in our vision and technology.

There are natural gates to validate intent; we first signed an NDA, then an LOI, then an MOU. Some customers even started promoting our solution to their own customers before we had physical silicon.

That’s a big level of commitment! And it only happens because we invested deeply in understanding their business, their pain points, and their decision-making process.

The difference between being persistent and being ineffective comes down to conviction and developing a point of view. You need to genuinely believe your product will help the customer succeed.

Early in my career, I developed this instinct through pattern recognition—like an art expert who can spot a fake painting. But for newer salespeople, it's all about research. Before I engage with any prospect, I study their financial statements if they're public, analyze their LinkedIn posts, and understand their strategic direction.

The worst situation is when management pushes you to pursue an account that you know isn't right. I've seen too many reps waste months because they couldn't trust their gut or didn't have the conviction to push back.

When you’ve done the research and truly understand how your product addresses the customer’s needs, persistence becomes instinctive. You’re not pushing a sale—you’re helping the customer recognize an opportunity they might otherwise overlook.

The stereotype of the sales guy buying drinks and game tickets died years ago, but people are still figuring out what replaced it.

Time has become incredibly precious for executives. They're bombarded with outreach constantly, so you have maybe minutes to prove you're worth their attention.

When I finally get that meeting I've been working toward for months, I don't waste it on small talk. I show exactly how our solution will make them more money, save costs, or increase productivity.

The relationship still matters enormously, but it's built on business value first. Once you've proven you can help them succeed, then you can develop the personal connection that makes deals happen.

One of the reasons I enjoy startup environments is the contrast between internal corporate politics and customer dynamics. In large companies, too much energy goes into managing up, navigating egos, and avoiding missteps—work that often feels disconnected from actual business impact.

Customer politics, on the other hand, are like solving a strategic puzzle. You’re figuring out who really holds the decision-making power—whether it’s finance, legal, or a specific business unit. Some organizations are highly centralized; others give individual teams autonomy.

But this kind of detective work is energizing!! You're aligning the right stakeholders to move a pilot program forward. And unlike internal posturing, cracking the customer code brings a real reward: a design win that propels the business and delivers the kind of satisfaction that fuels top sales performers.

That’s it for this week!

Thanks for wanting to know more today than you did yesterday! If you liked this edition, forward it to your a friend who would like it too 🤝 

Find more Modern GTM interviews here.

Learn how Origami helps sales teams here.

And connect with Luke + Eric, if you feel so inclined.

‘Til next time!