Welcome. Here’s how you’ll help companies get paid for their data.
You’ll be running setup calls: helping business owners list the software their company runs on and measure how much data sits in each tool. This academy explains why that matters, how the business works, and exactly how to run a great call. Read it in order the first time.
Start with why we do thisYour first three days
Learn the business and watch it live
Read Parts 1 and 2 of this academy and watch the training call with Rodrigo from start to finish. Then shadow live setup calls with Andres or Rodrigo and write down every question you’d want to ask.
Run your first calls with Andres on the line
You run one to three setup calls yourself and Andres joins each one. Keep the client talking. If a question stumps you, message Andres in Slack or say “Andres, can you take that one?” and listen to his answer.
Run calls on your own
You take calls alone. Andres isn’t on them but is on standby in Slack. Keep Part 4 of this academy open while you work: the answers to common questions and the playbooks for unusual situations.
How this academy is laid out
Four parts, in the order you’ll need them. Each chapter ends with a link to the next one.
Why this exists
AI labs want to learn how real businesses run. The best record of that is the data inside the software companies use every day. That data is worth real money right now, and Ventra helps companies get it.
The opportunity, in plain words
Every company runs on apps: email, a CRM, accounting, scheduling, chat, files. Over the years, those apps fill up with records of how the business actually works. An email turns into a deal in the CRM, the deal turns into an invoice, the invoice turns into a payment.
AI labs want that kind of data, called operational data, to train their models. Think of a founder asking an AI how to run inventory for a shipping company. To answer well, the AI needs to have seen how real companies do it. The labs aren’t interested in one company’s secrets. They want to learn how a business like theirs runs on its software.
So labs are paying companies to license this data. The company keeps running as usual; the lab gets a copy of the records to train on.
Established companies
Labs want 20 or more employees, most of them working at a computer. Some labs ask for more. Desk work leaves a data trail; field work doesn’t.
Many tools, many years
The more apps a company uses and the further back the records go, the more interesting the data. Rare, niche apps can stand out.
English data
Right now labs mainly want English-speaking companies whose records are mostly in English.
Why we move fast
When this started, labs bought data from almost any company. Within weeks they started asking for more tools, then 20 or more employees, then 20 or more people at a desk, plus proof. They get stricter every week and nobody knows how long the window stays open. That’s why we push clients to finish quickly, and why you can honestly tell them not to wait.
What it’s worth
Offers vary a lot. The portal tells clients recent valuations have ranged from about $100K up to $2 million. There is no clear formula, and every lab values things differently. One early client, a furniture company, got about $100K from one lab and about $360K from another for the same data. That’s why Ventra sends every client to several labs.
You will be asked “what’s my data worth?” on almost every call. You don’t know, and that’s fine. Chapter 12 shows how to answer.
How Ventra works
Ventra is a broker. We find companies with valuable data, help them list what they have, take that list to several AI labs, and bring back the best offer. We never handle the data ourselves.
A company’s journey, start to finish
Nine stages. Yours are highlighted: you take a client from a half-filled portal to a complete inventory the labs can quote.
- LeadNot spoken to yet.Sales
- Spoken toIntro call with an account manager.Sales
- Account madeClient is filling in the portal. Your setup call happens here.You + client
- Info upload completedPortal finished, proof of headcount in. Ready to quote.You + client
- Submitted to labsWe send the inventory to several labs.Sales
- Quote receivedUsually 3 to 7 days. We bring back the best offer.Sales
- Contract signedThe client accepts a lab’s offer.Sales
- Data uploadedClient exports and delivers the data the lab’s way.Client, with our help
- Payment receivedNet 30 to 60 days.Sales
Account managers
Mike, Kyle, Josh, Tristan, Alex and others. They find companies, pitch them, talk to the labs, present offers and handle contracts. Each client has one, shown as the owner in the admin desk.
Data experts
Andres, Rodrigo, Leo and now you. You run the setup call: the portal, the tools, the measurements. You never pitch and never talk to labs.
Dev team
Pedro, Guilherme, Arthur and Andrii build the portal and the Chrome extension. They ship updates almost daily and read the extension Slack channel.
AI labs
They decide what they want and what they’ll pay. Only sales talks to them. Which labs we work with is a sales topic, not yours.
What the client needs to give us to get quoted
- Basic company information: name, website, what they do, and above all, accurate headcount.
- A list of every tool the company runs on that holds records they can export.
- How much data is in each tool and how many years it covers.
- Proof of headcount and a short note on what makes their data unique.
That’s it. No files, no logins, no data. All of it goes into the Ventra portal at joinventra.com.
What you can tell clients
Share these as information about how the process works, never as promises. Most of what happens after the setup call is out of our hands.
- We don’t touch, download or store their data. At this stage we only need tool names, sizes and dates, and they never upload files or share logins.
- Once they’re done, we submit them to several labs and try to find them the best offer, not just the first one.
- Data only goes to a lab after they accept an offer and sign.
- Labs are expected to anonymize the data and remove personal information. That’s on the lab, so describe it as how the process should work, not a guarantee. Details go to the account manager.
- The setup call is free and optional. Some clients do it alone.
- Creating an account is free. Whether to accept an offer is always their decision.
What happens after an offer
The client accepts an offer and signs. Then the client exports their data and delivers it the way that lab asks. From what we’ve seen, labs give about one to two weeks for this. Payment follows on net 30 to 60 day terms. Data experts can help with exports, but the account manager owns this whole stage.
Referral partners
Anyone can refer companies to Ventra and earn $10,000 for each company that comes through their link, plus $5,000 for companies referred by partners who joined through them. Clients sometimes mention friends who’d be interested. Point them to their account manager for the details.
Words we use
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Client | The business we’re onboarding. |
| Tool | One product the client uses (Gmail, QuickBooks, Toast). A tool not in the catalogue is a custom tool. |
| Desk employees | People who work mainly at a computer. Labs care about this number more than total headcount. |
| Proof of headcount | A screenshot or export (Workspace users, payroll) showing the people the client says it employs. |
| Client-wide export | An export of everything in a tool, not one user’s view. Usually needs the admin account. |
| Vendor request | The client asking a vendor’s support for a full export. The client sends it; we never do. |
| Account manager | The deal owner (Mike, Kyle, Josh, Tristan, Alex or another rep). Shown as the owner in the admin desk. Owns every conversation about price, labs, contracts and next steps. |
| Round robin | The shared booking link that spreads setup calls across data experts. Your personal links book clients to you specifically. |
| Admin desk | joinventra.com/admin. Where you see each client’s details and tool answers before the call. |
| License | What clients do with their data. Labs license it; they don’t buy the company. |
Your role on a setup call
You’re the helpful expert who makes the hardest part easy. By the time a client books with you, sales has pitched them and they’ve decided to go ahead. Your job is to get their inventory finished.
What you do
- Walk the client through the portal at joinventra.com
- Make sure their company details and headcount are right
- Help them find every tool that holds their records
- Run the Ventra extension with them and review what it finds
- Get them to proof of headcount and the last question
- Book the follow-up if needed, and tell the account manager when they’re done
What you don’t do
- Pitch Ventra or explain the opportunity to someone sales hasn’t pitched
- Price their data or promise a number
- Decide whether they qualify
- Talk to the AI labs or see what labs send us
- Explain contracts, fees or legal terms
- Touch, download or store any of their data
The portal, screen by screen
Everything a client does happens at joinventra.com. Learn each screen well enough to explain it in your own words. Make a test account and click through it yourself before your first call.
Sign up
Name, role, email, phone and a password, or Google sign-in. Takes a minute. If a client hasn’t done this, do it with them at the start of the call.
Company
Company name, legal name, website, LinkedIn, headquarters, year founded, whether it’s still operating, and what it does. Most of it is filled in automatically by an AI search, so it can be wrong. Go field by field.
Team & scale
The screen labs care about most. Two columns: Today (people employed and paid now) and Most at one time (their peak). Rows for full-time employees, part-time employees, full-time contractors and part-time contractors (freelancers).
Then desk employees: out of today’s people, how many spend most of the day at a computer. A waiter or a roofer doesn’t count. Then locations: what percentage of the team is in each country.
Tools
Every tool the company uses that holds records they can export. Three ways to build the list:
- From memory: browse the categories or search.
- The AI prompt (best): they copy it into any AI they use, it reads what the company pays for in its accounting software, and they click “Paste AI reply”. If there’s no connector for their accounting tool, the AI walks them through exporting a transactions CSV instead.
- The extension: it can find tools too, but save it for later.
A tool that isn’t in the catalogue can be added by name, with or without a URL. Chapter 7 covers which tools to keep.
Rank the top 15
They drag their 15 most important tools into order. It’s for our internal priority only, so don’t spend time on it. Then “Continue to sizes”. If the next page offers to book a call with a data expert, click “Do it yourself”: you’re already on the call.
Sizes
The heart of the call. For each tool:
- Amount and unit: GB for some tools; counts for others, like pages, invoices or conversations. One tool can have several entries.
- Status: verified, estimate or partial. Estimates are fine.
- Years of data: how far back they can actually get. Exact start and end dates are optional.
- What they use it for and what’s inside: a short plain answer.
- Can it be exported? Always yes for catalogue tools. Format is usually CSV or ZIP.
Each tool has a “Where do I find this?” guide with steps and a docs link. Doing twenty tools by hand takes hours, which is where the extension comes in.
Finish
Only once every tool is done. Finish opens the last two questions:
- Proof of headcount: a screenshot or export showing the people they employ now. The user list in Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 admin is easiest (remove shared inboxes like support@). Payroll reports work too.
- What is unique about your dataset? Three to five sentences, for our sales team only. They’re pitching their data, not their company: years in business, locations, niche tools, how the tools connect. Suggest they draft it with an AI.
Some clients also see optional questions (language of records, how fast they can export, privacy limits). The owner should answer those.
The admin desk (your view)
Sign in at joinventra.com with your Ventra Google account to see the admin desk: every company, what they filled in, which tools still say “Need answer” or “Missing”, the stage, and the owner (their account manager).
The Chrome extension
Ventra’s extension does the slow part of the call for the client. It opens each tool in a tab, clicks around like a person would, counts what it finds and fills in the sizes. Install it on your own computer and use it on a few of your own tools before your first call.
What it does, and what it doesn’t
It does
- Open a tab for each tool and navigate it, like an AI using a computer
- Read storage pages, usage pages and reports, and count records
- Request a full export from the vendor when that’s possible (it lands in the client’s email)
- Fill in the size fields when the client clicks Save
It doesn’t
- Download or copy any files
- Save passwords or personal information
- Send anything to Ventra except the numbers shown in the portal
- Change anything inside their tools
When and how to bring it up
Not at the start. First explain the size fields by hand (Chapter 5, screen 6). Once the client sees how long twenty tools would take, they’re ready for a shortcut. Pitching it first can feel abrupt and make people wary of installing something.
Install it
Always from the portal, never the Chrome Web Store: the store takes about two days to approve each update, so its version is always behind.
- DownloadIn the portal’s top bar, click “Get the extension” and download the Chrome version. Safari has its own version.
- UnzipExtract the download into a folder they can find, like Downloads.
- Open extensionsClick the puzzle piece in Chrome’s toolbar, then “Manage extensions”. Or type
chrome://extensions. - Developer modeTurn on “Developer mode” in the top right corner.
- Load unpackedClick “Load unpacked” and select the unzipped folder. Click it once and press Select; don’t double-click into it.
- Pin itClick the puzzle piece again and pin “Ventra” so it stays in the toolbar.
- Sign inOpen it and sign in with the same account they use for the portal (Google or email).
- Own windowPull the Ventra portal tab into its own window. The extension opens a lot of tabs.
Use it
- Measure toolsIn the extension, click “Measure tools”. Skip “Find tools” if their list is already done.
- Test one firstUnselect everything and pick one tool they’re comfortable with. Once it works, measure the rest 3 to 5 at a time (up to about 10 on a strong computer).
- Admin sign-inA tab opens for each tool. They must sign in to the admin account; a regular login sees only part of the data. If it opens the wrong account, sign out of it first.
- Stay on the Ventra tabEverything that needs the client shows there: a sign-in request, a “go to app” button, a question. Answer it, and type “done” when they’ve signed in.
- Watch “Data found”Expand it to see what was counted. “Partial” comes with a reason. The chat box lets them redirect it, for example to a different account.
- Say yes to exportsWhen it offers to request a full export from the vendor, accept. The request goes from their account to their email.
- Save, then refreshWhen a tool finishes, click Save and refresh the portal page. The sizes fill in.
- Review every toolOpen each one with the client: fix units, add years of data, what it’s for, what’s inside and export format.
When something goes wrong
The extension is new and changes almost daily. Problems are normal. Stay calm, tell the client the team ships fixes every day, and post what happened in the Chrome extension Slack channel with a screenshot.
| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| Errors on every tool, or results that don’t save | Check the version on chrome://extensions. Remove it, download it again from the portal, unzip, Load unpacked, sign in again. Tell the dev team in the Chrome extension Slack channel with a screenshot. |
| It froze after opening an account that isn’t the admin | Sign out of that account, sign in as the admin, go back to the Ventra tab and measure again. |
| Stuck: can’t move on to the next tool even after stopping or restarting | Report it in the extension channel. Don’t burn the client’s time: tell them the team is on it, and email them when a new version is out so they can reinstall. They reply to that email if it happens again. |
| A tool times out | Click “Continue with agent” or retry it on its own. Run fewer tools at a time. |
| It found the wrong account or a personal account | Tell it in the chat box which account to use, or skip the tool. |
| It keeps asking the same question | Tell it you’re done with that step, or cancel that tool and enter the numbers by hand. |
| Computer slows down | Close other apps and tabs, measure 3 at a time, close finished tab groups. |
| Client is on Safari, Edge, Brave or Firefox | Edge and Brave install the same way as Chrome. Safari has its own version in the portal but is slower to set up; Chrome is usually faster. Firefox isn’t supported. |
| Size shows in bytes | Convert to MB or GB with the client before moving on. |
| You notice something confusing for clients | Post it in the extension channel. The team changes the extension based on what experts see on calls. |
Which tools count
One rule covers almost everything: a tool belongs on the list if it holds the company’s own records of how it runs, and they can get that data out. Ask three questions of every tool: What do you use it for? Is it your company’s account? Can you export from it?
Keep, fold in, or remove
| Tool or case | Decision | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Video calls without recording (Zoom, Meet, Teams) | Remove | Nothing to export. Add the note taker (Grain, Fathom) if they record. |
| Google Calendar, Meet, Chat, Forms, Ads, Analytics | Fold into Google Workspace | Covered by the Workspace export. |
| Gmail and Google Drive | Keep, next to Workspace | Labs like to see those numbers separately. |
| Microsoft 365 alongside Google | Keep if it holds different files | Ask what lives there that isn’t in Drive. |
| Tools holding their clients’ data (agency accounts, client channels, partner logins) | Remove | Not the client’s data to license. Mixed tools stay only if their own data can be separated. |
| Hiring sites (Indeed, Glassdoor, ZipRecruiter, Upwork) | Remove | Job posts aren’t how the business runs, and little comes out. |
| Developer tools on a laptop (VS Code, PowerShell, Docker, GitHub Desktop) | Remove | Nothing to export. GitHub itself stays. |
| Website hosting only (WordPress, Webflow, GoDaddy) | Remove | Keep only if real operational workflows run there. |
| Password managers, antivirus, file-transfer tools | Remove | No useful data, and nothing password-related goes on the list. |
| A vendor (a company they pay, not software they use) | Remove | Check payroll and service providers that show up from accounting. |
| Automation tools (Make, Zapier) | Keep if heavily used | Two hundred scenarios, keep. A couple of zaps, remove. |
| AI tools, Canva and similar | Keep company accounts | Personal accounts come off. |
| A tool mostly in another language | Usually remove | Labs are looking for English data. |
| Excel, Word, Acrobat for viewing PDFs | Remove | The files live in Microsoft 365, Drive or Dropbox. Count them there. |
| Personal subscriptions (Spotify, Audible, carriers, personal Amazon) | Remove | Not company operations. |
| A reviews page, a quiet LinkedIn page | Remove | Little data, hard to export, not how the business runs. |
| A tool started a few weeks ago | Usually remove | Too little history to matter. |
| Contracts and e-signature (PandaDoc, DocuSign) used for real work | Keep | Contracts with staff and vendors are operational records. |
| Retired tool with access or an old export | Keep | Past operations count. Mark the dates it covers. |
| Retired tool, no access, no export | Remove | If they can’t get it, it can’t be licensed. |
| Banking or anything the client isn’t comfortable with | Client’s call | Removing one tool rarely hurts. Don’t push. |
Measuring the tricky ones
Local, server and in-house software
Desktop or self-hosted tools (a server CRM, AutoCAD files, a SQL database) and anything the client built themselves can’t be scanned. Add the tool, have them export it or put everything in one folder, and enter the size by hand. A full database export is the right export for a SQL system.
Old exports and CSVs
Data exported from a system they left still counts. Add the old tool by name (no URL needed) and enter the size of the files.
Several accounts in one tool
Multiple entities, workspaces or profiles: include every account with real data. Start with the most complete one; when the extension can’t combine them, measure each by hand and add them up.
Google Workspace
Use the admin console storage page for the total. The extension sometimes misses Drive; check the number against Storage and enter it by hand if needed. Request the full export early.
QuickBooks Desktop
The quick scan works on QuickBooks Online. For Desktop, measure the company file size and use reports for counts, or come back to it.
Apps that only export part of the data
Slack’s standard export, for example, leaves out private channels. Suggest they ask the vendor’s support for a complete export. If it can’t be had, they give what they can.
Big social or ad accounts
Meta and similar can take a long time. Leave the tab running, finish everything else, and save it when it’s done. If it never finishes, an estimate is fine.
Your toolkit
The handful of tools you use around every call. Set them up once on day one.
| Tool | What you use it for |
|---|---|
| Admin desk | joinventra.com, signed in with your Ventra Google account. Check every client before the call: what they filled in, which tools are done, and who the account manager is. |
| Zoom | The calls. When the client shares their screen, click the green pencil, then Draw, then Vanishing pen to point at things. Close that toolbar before you mute or end the call. |
| Calendly | You’re in the round robin, so setup calls get booked to you. Keep personal links for 60, 90 and 180 minutes to rebook clients with you. Block time (lunch, errands) with a calendar event marked Busy; an event marked Free can still be booked over. |
| Grain | Records your calls automatically. Nothing to do; keep “Data Licensing” in the meeting name. |
| Slack | The sales team channel to reach account managers, and the Chrome extension channel to report bugs and what clients struggle with. |
| Follow-up emails to clients. Send them from your Ventra email with the account manager in CC, and include your personal Calendly link when they need to rebook. |
Watch real calls
The fastest way to learn the rhythm of a setup call is to watch a few all the way through. Start with the training call, then a client who got completely wrapped up in one sitting. Each card lists the moments worth jumping to. All of these were recorded on older versions of the portal and Chrome extension, so the screens will look different from what you see today.
Recordings open in Grain in a new tab. You need access to the Grain workspace. If a timestamp opens at the start, drag the player to the time shown.
The call, step by step
Setup calls are booked for an hour, and most of it goes to tools and measuring. If the client prepared, you’ll finish in one call. If not, you’ll set them up to finish and book a follow-up. Click a segment to jump to that step.
Before the call (10 minutes)
- Find the client in the admin desk by company name or the booker’s email.
- Not there at all: they never made an account. Go in ready to ask whether they want an overview or are ready to start (step 1).
- Account but no company name: they signed up and stopped. You’ll start from zero.
- Filled in: read the team numbers. Round numbers like exactly 20 usually mean a guess; plan to ask for exact ones. Compare tools with headcount: 250 people and 8 tools means tools are missing.
- Open the tools tab. “Need answer” or “Missing” shows what isn’t sized yet.
- Note the owner. That’s the account manager you’ll contact if anything is off.
- If there’s time and the client looks unprepared, message the account manager first: did they pitch them, and do they know to have admin logins ready? Clients booked through Calendly already get automatic reminder emails at booking, 24 hours before and 2 hours before.
- Look up any tool you don’t know in the app export reference. Check that the meeting name has “Data Licensing” in it.
Open and set the frame
- About a minute of small talk to break the ice.
- Say what you saw in the admin desk and ask why they stopped there. It tells you what they’re unsure about.
- No account? Ask: “Do you want an overview of what we do, or are you ready to get started?” Overview means they need sales, not you (see Uncommon situations).
- Ask them to open the portal in its own window and share their screen.
- Ask early whether they have admin logins for their main tools. It decides how far you’ll get.
Company page
- Most of it is autofilled by an AI search. Go field by field and fix anything wrong.
- Have them copy the LinkedIn URL into a new tab. It’s wrong more often than you’d think. No LinkedIn page is fine.
- Several LLCs? Use the entity the client would want paid. If unsure, the operating company.
Team & scale
- Labs filter on headcount and verify it, so these numbers must be real, not guesses typed to move on.
- Two columns: how many today, and the most they ever had at one time.
- Desk employees: of today’s full-time people, how many work mainly at a computer. A roofer or a waiter doesn’t count.
- Type 0 in empty fields. The grey numbers are placeholders, not answers.
- Founders who work full-time count as full-time employees.
- Locations: what share of the whole team (employees and contractors) is in each country, as percentages.
- Ask out loud where most of their customers are, so it’s on the recording. Some labs ask, and the portal doesn’t have the field yet.
- Tell them why it must be exact: labs filter on it, and they’ll upload proof of headcount at the end.
Tools
- Probe. Walk the categories out loud: “What do you use for email? Chat? CRM? Accounting? Scheduling? Files? Support? Payroll?”
- Best route: the AI prompt in the portal. They paste it into any AI they use (Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, even a personal account), it reads what the company pays for in the accounting software, and they click “Paste AI reply” to add the list. Prefer this to the extension at this stage; installing the extension this early can feel like a lot.
- No connector for their accounting tool (Wave, for example)? The AI gives steps to export a transactions report as CSV. Feed it that, then paste the reply.
- For every tool, ask what it’s used for and whether it’s a company or personal account.
- Tool missing from the catalogue? “Add a tool” with its name and login URL. No URL is fine for server or desktop software.
- Keep only tools they can get data out of. Zoom without recordings goes; the note taker that records the calls stays.
- Retired tools count if they still have access or an old export. No access, leave it out.
- Fold duplicates: Calendar, Meet and Drive live inside Google Workspace; Excel files live in Microsoft 365 or Drive.
Rank the top 15
Ask which 15 tools hold the most valuable data or run the business most. It’s for our internal priority; don’t spend time on it. Then click “Continue to sizes”. If the next page offers to book a call, click “Do it yourself”: you’re already on the call.
Explain the sizes, then bring in the extension
First, explain what each tool needs. Open one tool and walk through the fields in your own words. Don’t fill it in.
- Amount and unit: GB for some tools, counts for others (Notion pages, QuickBooks invoices, Teams conversations). One tool can have several units.
- Years of data: how far back they can actually get. Exact start and end dates and the notes are optional.
- Can it be exported? If the tool is in our catalogue, the answer is yes. Format is usually CSV or ZIP; don’t spend time on it.
- Each tool has a “Where do I find this?” guide with the steps and a docs link, if they want to do one by hand.
Then pitch the extension. The full install and how-to is in Chapter 6. Once they see how long twenty tools would take by hand, they’re ready for the shortcut. Pitching it first can feel abrupt and make people wary of installing something.
- Install from the portal (“Get the extension”), not the Chrome Web Store: the store takes two days to approve each update, so it’s always behind. Unzip, chrome://extensions, Developer mode on, Load unpacked, pick the folder, pin it.
- Pull the Ventra tab into its own window; the extension opens a lot of tabs.
- Sign in to the extension with the same account they use for the portal.
- Unselect everything and test one tool they’re comfortable with. Then measure the rest, 3 to 5 at a time.
- They must sign in to the admin account of each tool. If a tool opens an account that isn’t the admin, sign out of it first.
- Stay on the Ventra tab: any question the extension has shows there. When it offers to request a full export, say yes; it lands in their email.
- When a tool finishes: Save, then refresh the portal page.
Review every tool
The extension does the hard part (finding the records) but rarely fills everything. Open each tool with the client and check:
- Size and unit: sensible? Convert bytes to MB or GB. Some tools get counts (invoices, messages, hours) instead of bytes, sometimes as several entries.
- Status: verified, estimate or partial. Estimates are fine; verified is better.
- Years of data: always. Start and end dates if they know them.
- What you use it for and what’s inside: a short plain answer.
- Export: yes, and the format (CSV, ZIP, PDF).
- Partial or odd result? Retry it, or plan a vendor request for a full export.
- Lost access to older years, or an app only exports part of its data? That’s fine. They give what they have.
Ideally you read every value back with them. If time is short, getting the client wrapped up matters more than a perfect review.
Finish: proof and the last question
- Tell them not to click Finish until every tool is done. Finish opens the last two questions.
- Proof of headcount: easiest is the user list in Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 admin (screenshot or CSV), with shared inboxes like support@ removed. Payroll or HR exports work too. It must show the people employed now.
- “What is unique about your dataset?” Three to five sentences, for our sales team only; labs don’t see it. They’re pitching their data, not their company: years in business, many locations, niche or rare tools, how the tools connect.
- Suggest what you noticed during the call and have them draft it with Claude or ChatGPT.
- Optional questions (language of records, how fast they can export, can their team export and upload, open to licensing, privacy limits): fill them if the client can. The owner must answer the licensing and privacy ones.
Wrap up
- Say what happens next: we submit to several labs, quotes usually take 3 to 7 days, the account manager follows up.
- Tell them to start exports now: one folder, a subfolder per tool. Google’s full export alone takes 3 to 7 days to arrive. Labs move fast once there’s an offer.
- Only proof of headcount and the last question left? No second call; they can do that alone.
- Tools still unfinished? Raise it about 10 minutes before the end, not at the last second. Ask what time works, convert it to your time zone and book it yourself on your Calendly. Send your personal link only if they hesitate.
- They won’t rebook? Don’t push. Send the link and add honest urgency: labs get stricter every week, so the sooner they finish, the sooner they’re quoted.
- Send the follow-up email from your Ventra email with the account manager in CC.
- Tell the account manager the client is wrapped up, or what’s missing.
Always, never, and points to hit
Most of the job is judgment. These are the few things that don’t change from call to call, and the explanations that come up in nearly every one.
Always
- Check the admin desk before you join.Know whether they have an account, their headcount, their tool list and their account manager. If they look unprepared and there’s time, message the account manager first.
- Get headcount right, today and at peak.Ask if numbers are exact. Count desk employees name by name if you need to. Wrong headcount is the top reason labs cut or cancel offers.
- Use the admin account for every tool.A regular login only sees part of the data. No admin, skip the tool and come back.
- Keep only tools with data you can export.If nothing comes out of it, it doesn’t belong on the list.
- Review every tool the extension saves.Fix units, fill dates, purpose, contents and export format. The extension is a helper, not the final word.
- Say yes to export requests and start exports early.Offers come with deadlines. A client with exports ready closes faster.
- Route money, labs, contracts and law to the account manager.Say you don’t know, say who does, and offer to connect them.
- Explain plainly.Even CEOs of tech companies ask what “parse” means. Say “it counts”, not “it parses”. Speed up for people who clearly know this; slow down for people who don’t.
- End with a clear next step, booked by you.Wrapped up and handed to sales, or a follow-up you put on your own Calendly with a homework list. Account manager in CC on every follow-up email.
Never
- Pitch Ventra or explain the opportunity to someone sales hasn’t pitched. Get the account manager.
- Say which labs or platforms we work with, or what Ventra’s cut is, even if you’ve heard the answer.
- Give your own estimate of what their data is worth, or promise anything about offers or timing.
- Tell a client they qualify or don’t. That’s the sales team’s decision, with the labs.
- Ask for, type in, or keep a client’s password. They sign in themselves on their screen.
- Ask a client to upload their data to us. At this stage we only need sizes.
- Fill team numbers for them or let a guess stand.
- Remove a client’s tools or change their answers yourself in the admin desk. Have them do it on their screen.
- State legal facts as certain (deletion periods, liability, regulations). Point to the account manager and the contract.
- Name other clients or what they were offered. “A furniture company” is fine; a company name is not.
- Leave a call with nobody owning the next step.
Points to hit
Get each one across at the moment it matters, in your own words.
Why we ask for headcount
Labs filter on how many people a company has, and especially how many work at a computer. Desk employees leave a data trail in software; a crew in the field doesn’t. Labs also ask for proof, so the numbers have to hold up.
What labs actually want
Not the client’s secrets or customer list. They want to learn how a business like theirs operates: how an email turns into a CRM entry, an invoice, a payment. That’s why the tools, how many there are and how they connect matter.
Only tools with data that comes out
A tool belongs on the list if you can export its records. Meetings in Zoom leave nothing behind; recorded calls in a note taker do. A reviews page isn’t operations; a booking system is.
We never touch your data
The extension counts what it sees and saves only the numbers. No files, no passwords, nothing in our backend. Clients don’t upload anything until they’ve accepted an offer, and then it goes to the lab, the lab’s way.
Estimates are fine, and so is “that’s all we have”
Labs accept estimates to quote. Closer to verified is better, because a big gap between what we submit and what gets delivered can lower the final offer. If they lost access to old years, or an app only exports part of its data, they give what they have. We’re not asking them to dig for data; we just need it to be honest.
Don’t wait
Labs get stricter every week (more tools, then 20+ employees, then 20+ at a desk) and nobody knows how long the window lasts. A client waiting for a hire or an acquisition to close should submit what they have now.
English data
Labs are mainly looking for English-speaking companies whose records are mostly in English. That’s why we ask where the team and customers are. A tool that’s mostly in another language usually comes off the list.
Every tool helps
Adding a real tool with real data can only help. Niche tools almost nobody uses, long history, and many locations are what make a dataset stand out.
Start your exports now
Once there’s an offer, labs move fast. From what we’ve seen they give about one to two weeks to deliver, and Google’s full export alone takes up to a week to arrive. One folder, a subfolder per tool, filled as exports come in. The client does the exporting, not us.
What happens next
We submit to several labs and bring back the best offer, not the first. Quotes usually take 3 to 7 days. The account manager owns everything from here.
Answering questions
The questions clients actually ask, how Andres answers them, and who owns the real answer. Turn on practice mode to hide the answers and test yourself.
Uncommon situations
These don’t happen on every call, but each has happened more than once. Open one to see how it shows up, what to do, and the moment Andres handled it.
Add a situation
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Call library
Every moment linked in this academy, grouped by call. Search for a topic or filter by situation. Each timestamp opens the recording in Grain at that point.
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Only you and other editors see this form. Paste the Grain share link and the time the moment starts. It shows up here and under its topic everywhere in the academy.
Practice
Drill the questions clients ask and the situations that knock a call off track. Answer first, then compare with how Andres handles it. Your progress stays in this browser.
Live copilot
Keep this open next to the call. It follows where you are in the call, shows what to do in that step, and brings up Andres’s answer when a client question or an uncommon situation comes up.
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Flag a card that showed up at the wrong time, an answer that needs work, or a moment the copilot missed. Add a note, then copy the list and send it.
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