Volta Residency Program
During the day, I help run a high-performance AI-first incubator.
In June 2024, I joined the Volta team to rebuild their early stage growth programming. The goal was to drastically increase the odds that founders got their first paying customers and scaled to $50-100K+ ARR.
- 29 teams joined the program over the past year.
- 7% left early due to timing, priorities, or personal choice.
- 21% exited after validating that the market didn’t want what they were building.
- 72% of teams remain active in the program.
Of those in the program for 6+ months:
- 73% have at least one paying customer
- 46% are generating $5K–10K+ in ARR
- 36% have reached $50K–100K+ in ARR
As of May 2025, I am working on building out programming to help those teams continue scaling to $1M+ ARR.
The Cold Start
A field guide for early-stage founders chasing real traction.
Launched in June 2025 by Jessy Gervais, The Cold Start is a biweekly newsletter built for one purpose: to help early-stage founders get their first paying customers.
Every issue pulls from real coaching sessions with startup teams navigating the messy path to $1M+ ARR. You’ll get clear thinking, proven fundamentals, and practical tools—not theory, noise, or recycled advice.
This is not a growth-hacking digest or a founder inspiration feed. It’s a quiet, focused resource for builders who want to stay grounded in what actually works.
- Biweekly insights on what’s working, why it works, and how to apply it.
- Practical templates, scripts, and tools—shared when they’re useful, not just to fill space.
- Access to the full archive of field-tested, no-fluff lessons.
About the Author
Jessy Gervais is a growth coach who works 1:1 with early-stage teams to help them land paying customers, build systems that scale, and avoid the traps that stall momentum. This newsletter reflects what that work really looks like—on the ground, in motion, with clarity.
Reading List
Here are the books I would recommend reading as a founder:
- Transcripts from your calls with potential customers
- Nothing else, stop reading books. Start booking calls.