# He raised a $10M seed with no revenue—then grew 30x to $30M in year two. | Bobby Samuels, Founder of Protege

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/a-product-market-fit-show/he-raised-a-10m-seed-with-no-revenue-then-grew-30x-to-30m-in-year-two-bobby-samuels-founder-of-protege
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/a-product-market-fit-show/he-raised-a-10m-seed-with-no-revenue-then-grew-30x-to-30m-in-year-two-bobby-samuels-founder-of-protege.md
Podcast: [A Product Market Fit Show | Startup Podcast for Founders](https://stenobird.com/podcast/a-product-market-fit-show)
Published: 2026-04-13T09:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1889238/episodes/18988283-he-raised-a-10m-seed-with-no-revenue-then-grew-30x-to-30m-in-year-two-bobby-samuels-founder-of-protege.mp3
Audio file: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1889238/episodes/18988283-he-raised-a-10m-seed-with-no-revenue-then-grew-30x-to-30m-in-year-two-bobby-samuels-founder-of-protege.mp3
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Duration seconds: 2364

## Resource

Bobby launched Protege in early 2024 to connect data holders with AI model builders. He raised a $10M seed with almost no demand pipeline. A year later, Protege jumped 30x to $30M in GMV and raised $30M from a16z. In this episode, Bobby breaks down how he built a 250-partner data network by leveraging prior healthcare relationships, why he flies from New York every week to close seven-figure enterprise deals, and why the "texting terms" litmus test tells you if a deal is real. Why You S...

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