The Dream 100: Save yourself a $100K consulting fee

Want distribution? Go where it already exists.

That’s the idea behind the Dream 100: make a list of 100 people, brands, or platforms who already have your customers’ attention—and find a way to show up in their world. Shoutouts, collaborations, podcast swaps, integrations, newsletter mentions, Slack group intros—whatever gets you in front of their audience.

If you’re building a consumer product, this is usually straightforward. Scroll TikTok, hop on Reddit, map out a few influencers or niche forums, sign up for influencer marketplaces, and you’re off. But if you’re working in B2B, SaaS, or especially anything targeting enterprise, the “watering holes” aren’t always obvious. Sometimes they’re invite-only. Sometimes they’re not even digital.

So this post is a breakdown of how to actually build your Dream 100—and what to do when your buyers aren’t on Instagram.

We’ll cover:

• A step-by-step way to build and prioritize your Dream 100 list

• How to warm people up without coming off salesy or weird

• What to look for when your customers don’t hang out in public

• Where enterprise buyers actually spend time

• Tools and tactics to speed all of this up

Steal the whole thing, turn it into your own client playbook, or just use it to stop wasting time on low-impact outreach.

How to Build Your Dream 100 (Step-by-Step)

This is the process I use when building a Dream 100 list for my own projects—or for clients who need a better growth engine than dumping more money into ads. The entire goal is to reverse-engineer where attention already lives and build a system for showing up in that space.

Define Who You Actually Want Attention From

Start here. This seems obvious, but most people skip this and end up targeting people with big audiences who don’t actually have the right audience.

Ask yourself:

• Who exactly am I trying to reach?

• What kind of job do they have?

• What tools do they already use?

• What kinds of content do they already consume?

• What language do they use when they talk about their pain points?

Don’t overcomplicate this. You’re just trying to build a simple mental picture of your ideal buyer. If you’re building for mid-market COOs, that’s a different list than if you’re going after indie creators or freelance marketers.

Map the Ecosystems

Now figure out where that person is already spending time. This includes:

• Social platforms (LinkedIn, Twitter/X, YouTube, etc.)

• Niche newsletters

• Podcast circuits

• Events or webinars

• Slack or Discord groups

• SaaS partner ecosystems

• YouTube comments or Substack replies

• Online forums, communities, Reddit threads

At this stage, don’t worry about specific names yet. You’re just building the buckets.

Find the People and Platforms

Now fill in the blanks. Find the creators, hosts, admins, writers, and companies that are already trusted in those ecosystems.

Where to look:

• Use SparkToro to see what your audience follows and listens to

• Search Substack for newsletters in your niche

• Look at what your competitors or peers are engaging with on LinkedIn

• Use BuzzSumo to see what content is performing

• Browse podcast guests from shows your audience listens to

• Reverse-engineer who’s speaking at the events your buyers go to

You’re looking for signal, not just reach. A LinkedIn creator with 12,000 followers who gets comments from your exact ICP is better than someone with 2M YouTube subs but no overlap.

Prioritize the List

Not all 100 people are equal. Some have more reach, some are more relevant, some are easier to get in touch with. So sort your list.

You can keep it simple:

• Tier 1: Highly relevant, engaged, reachable

• Tier 2: Some overlap, medium effort

• Tier 3: Long shots or low ROI

The point is to avoid wasting time. You don’t need to go top-down or by follower count. Focus on who’s most likely to say yes and get you in front of the right people.

Create a Value Hook (Not a Pitch)

Before you DM anyone, stop and ask: what’s in it for them?

Most people skip this and go straight into the ask. Bad move.

Ask:

• Can I help them look good to their audience?

• Can I bring them leads, insights, or revenue?

• Can I give them something they’d actually want to share?

Examples of value hooks:

• A guest article or workshop that solves a common pain point

• Free tools or insights that their audience would love

• An affiliate offer or partner bonus

• A shared audience event or co-branded piece of content

Don’t just ask to “hop on a call” or “collab”—show up with something that helps them look smart, useful, or generous.

Warm Them Up First

You don’t need to send a cold pitch right away. The goal is to make sure your name isn’t totally unfamiliar when it hits their inbox.

Here’s how:

• Reply to their newsletter

• Leave thoughtful comments on LinkedIn or X

• Mention or quote them in your own content

• Share their stuff and add context

• Show up to events, AMAs, or webinars

This doesn’t have to take weeks. Even a few well-placed interactions will put you on their radar. The key is to be specific and relevant—not spammy.

Make the Ask

Once you've added value and popped up a few times, then you can reach out directly. Make it short, specific, and built around the value you’ve already shown.

No need for a long pitch deck or an attached Notion doc unless they ask for it. Keep it conversational.

Sample message:

This is 10x more effective if you’ve already shown up in their world.

Track It Like a System

Use a CRM, spreadsheet, or Notion to keep track of:

• Who’s on your Dream 100

• Where you’ve engaged

• When you last reached out

• What the next step is

Don’t worry too much about tools, but also don’t lose momentum because you forgot who you emailed last week.

What to Do When the Watering Hole Isn’t Obvious

Sometimes the Dream 100 is easy. You’re building for creators? TikTok, Reddit threads, newsletters, and you’re off. But if you’re going after enterprise buyers—COOs, compliance teams, security leads, procurement—good luck finding them hanging out in public.

This is where it helps to shift from looking for “influencers” to looking for distribution points. Not just people who have your audience’s attention, but platforms, tools, associations, and events that are already positioned between you and the buyer.

The concept here is borrowed from the Discipline Entrepreneurship framework—they call it identifying virtual watering holes. But sometimes the watering hole isn’t even virtual. Sometimes it’s an association, a certification, a private channel partner network, or even a trade show booth with the right signage.

So if the Dream 100 names aren’t obvious, zoom out and ask:Where are deals already happening—and who’s already trusted in that space?

Here are places to look when attention isn’t loud or public.

Curated Executive Communities

Senior operators don’t join Facebook groups. They join vetted, invite-only communities that give them trusted peer connection and filtered information.

A few examples:

• Pavilion (go-to-market leaders)

• Chief (senior women execs)

• YPO and Vistage (CEOs)

• Board.org, SaaS Alliance, Modern Sales Pros

• Startup incubators and their mentorship programs

• VC-hosted groups (you won’t find these listed publicly, but they exist)

These communities often host AMAs, virtual panels, and deal-sharing threads. You don’t always need to join—you just need to track who’s active, who’s speaking, and who gets mentioned.

The Comment Layer on LinkedIn

Most enterprise buyers don’t post every day, but they do comment—on analyst reports, conference recaps, funding announcements, peer shout-outs, or shared articles.

These comments are gold. They show who’s paying attention, what language they’re using, and where their interests are shifting. If you see the same 10 names pop up across different industry posts, you’re circling your next Dream 100 targets.

Industry Associations and Member Networks

Every vertical has some kind of formal structure. People complain about them, but they still join and engage. If you're in HR, SHRM. If you're in healthcare, HIMSS. Retail? NRF. Finance? ABA. Tech? IEEE. Marketing? ANA.

These orgs often run:

• Webinars and member forums

• Slack communities

• Internal job boards

• Resource libraries or newsletter shout-outs

• Speaking opportunities for members

Most people only see the surface-level outputs. Dig a little deeper and you’ll find who those resources are built around.

Podcasts, Panels, and Guest Articles

Buyers might not post, but they’ll show up on a podcast.

Check:

• SaaS podcasts in your vertical

• VC firm interview series

• Media brands in your industry (e.g., CIO.com, AdAge, FinTech Insider)

• Vendor-hosted shows (Salesforce, Workday, Snowflake all do this)

Track who’s speaking. Track what they’re saying. These people already have the trust of their peers—and they’re more likely to say yes to a smart, value-driven collaboration.

Events, Roundtables, and Yes—even Trade Shows

Sometimes old school works. Trade shows, summits, and partner expos are still where many B2B deals get started.

You don’t need a booth. But you do want to look at:

• Who’s sponsoring or hosting key events

• Who’s speaking or featured in panels

• Who’s running workshops or breakouts

• Who gets tagged in the LinkedIn chatter around the event

These people often have pull within their niche, and they’re actively building their own visibility. Make the connection.

Also: Roundtables and invite-only dinners are picking up as a preferred networking format. VC firms, SaaS vendors, and media brands are all hosting small curated gatherings. Watch for them.

Existing Distribution Channels and Platform Ecosystems

You can use the Dream 100 concept to work into existing distribution channels.

If you can sell into—or alongside—tools your buyer already uses, you shortcut the trust-building process completely. The platform has already done the heavy lifting for you.

Examples:

• Becoming an official partner in the HubSpot, Zapier, or Shopify ecosystems

• Integrating with Slack, Notion, or Airtable and getting listed in their marketplaces

• Running co-marketing campaigns with tools your ICP already pays for

• Building workflow-based integrations with RevOps or enablement stacks

These are high-leverage channels, and they feel like Dream 100 plays—because they give you access to curated, targeted attention at scale.

The right API or integration can outperform a dozen cold outreach campaigns.

Bring It All Together

The Dream 100 isn’t just a list. It’s a mindset shift.

Instead of trying to manufacture attention from scratch, you go and find where it already lives. You look for the people, platforms, communities, and events that are already in motion—and you insert yourself strategically.

If your buyers are loud and visible, great. Make your list, warm them up, and start collaborating.

If your buyers are quiet, hard to find, or hidden inside complex systems, even better. Because once you figure out how to show up where they already are, you’re playing a different game—one where the pipeline builds itself.

Map the attention. Add value before asking. Track the system.