In this episode of Drinks & Deals, Assad Quraishi sits down with Calson Sheng, a serial entrepreneur and former Next 36 fellow, to talk about what every founder eventually learns the hard way: success isn’t just about ideas—it’s about partnerships.
Calson shares lessons from building startups across AI, SaaS, and Web3, and how his latest project aims to transform financial operations for nursing homes. The conversation dives into deal-making, audience scoping, and how understanding industry-specific workflows can make or break your go-to-market strategy.
He also discusses the art of outreach, the reality of cold calls, and why relationship building is the only true moat in today’s B2B world. Whether you’re launching your first product or refining your pitch, this episode offers clear, grounded advice on building something that lasts.
Key takeaways:
Identify the right pain point for the right audience.
Narrow your focus — “everyone” is not your customer.
Understand industry workflows before writing a single line of code.
Don’t skip relationship-building — it’s your most defensible advantage.
Founders should validate problems before building solutions.
Entrepreneurship, startups, business development, B2B SaaS, partnerships, deal-making, audience targeting, cold calling, Next 36, relationship building
Where to Connect with Calson Sheng
LinkedIn: Calson Sheng on LinkedIn
Contact Info for Assad
LinkedIn: Assad Quraishi on LinkedIn
Websites: QS Consulting
Music by Oleksandr Stepanov from Pixabay