02 · 10 Named Prospects · Personalized DMs

Reference for verifying + personalizing each send

Founding-Coach Prospect List — 10 Named Coaches + Personalized DMs

Updated 2026-05-02 · Cadence v0.3.5 · written for Andrew

This is a research-backed shortlist of 10 publicly-active fitness/strength/nutrition coaches with verifiable Instagram handles (May 2025-2026 search results). Each entry has: name, handle, audience size, niche, archetype assignment, and a personalized first-message DM ready to send.

Three caveats you must verify before sending each one: 1. They're still active — open the profile, last post in last 14 days 2. They run paid 1:1 coaching today — check the bio + last 5 posts for "1:1 spots" or "DM to apply" 3. They aren't already a Trainerize / FITR / CoachRX official affiliate — those have ambassador badges or partnership posts; if seen, skip

If 7-8 of 10 still pass after your verification, send those. If not, run the find-10-prospects-workflow.md to fill the gaps from your own network.

STRATEGIC PRIORITY — read before sending

Don't send all 10 the same day. Two reasons: IG flags rapid 1:1 outreach to non-followers as spam, and you want to learn from the first 3 replies before tuning the rest.

Send order (3-2-3-2 over 4 days): - Saturday 7-9pm CT (3): Slots 1, 4, 7 (highest-fit archetype B mix) — these have the best public positioning for a clean fit - Sunday 10am-noon CT (2): Slots 2, 8 — premium niche - Monday 7-9am CT (3): Slots 3, 5, 9 — mid-tier strength + women's - Tuesday 7-9am CT (2): Slots 6, 10 — archetype-D brand builders

Reply to every reply within 4 hours. Decline is fine, ghost is fine, but every "interesting, tell me more" reply needs a same-business-day follow-up.

THE 10 PROSPECTS

1. Vishwanath Bhaskar — @coach_vishwapowerlift

Hey Vishwanath — your programming aesthetic is exactly the kind of coach we built Cadence for. CoachRX nails the workout grid but skips nutrition entirely + doesn't expose churn risk. Our scorecard maps it side-by-side: vantagedigital.dev/why-cadence-wins

Specifically thought of you on the lifetime-AI-memory row — for athletes deep into multi-year strength arcs, a model that reads your full history (not just last 4 weeks) is the upgrade. Founding-coach pricing $39/mo flat, no per-client fees. About 11 spots open.

2. Dr. Al — @a.m.training

Hey Dr. Al — your DPT-led powerlifting positioning is exactly the kind of coach we built Cadence for. Two specifics worth a 60-second look:

· Lifetime AI memory adapts to injury history + return-to-lift cycles (not just last 4 weeks) · Transparent dunning policy — Day 0 → 3 → 7 → 14 documented in-app, both parties know exactly what happens at each step (most platforms black-box it)

Public scorecard: vantagedigital.dev/why-cadence-wins. Founding-coach pricing $39/mo flat. ~11 spots open.

3. Arian — @coachariank

Hey Arian — saw your coaching resume (9 world champs is no joke). We just shipped Cadence — built specifically for the operator-class coach who needs a programming surface their clients won't outgrow. CoachRX is closest but workout-only; Cadence unifies workouts + nutrition + lifetime AI memory + transparent billing on one calendar. Public scorecard: vantagedigital.dev/why-cadence-wins

Founding-coach pricing $39/mo flat regardless of client count. Worth 60 seconds if you're ever evaluating tools.

4. Jeremy Hartman — @hartmanperformance

Hey Jeremy — the National Coach of the Year piece is impressive. We just shipped Cadence — built specifically to beat what Trainerize gets wrong. Public scorecard with the math: vantagedigital.dev/why-cadence-wins

Specifically, lifetime AI memory + unified nutrition + transparent dunning policy. Founding-coach pricing locked at $39/mo flat (no per-client fees) — about 11 spots left. Worth a look if anything about your current tool ever frustrates you.

5. Finn O'Farrell — @squatmerchant

Hey Finn — saw your online powerlifting work. We just shipped Cadence — designed to beat Trainerize on the things that frustrate coaches: lifetime AI memory, unified nutrition + workouts, transparent billing. Public scorecard: vantagedigital.dev/why-cadence-wins

Founding-coach pricing $39/mo flat (no per-client fees, no Stripe surprises) — works internationally via Stripe. Worth 60 seconds.

6. Get Strong Coaching — @getstrongcoaching

Hey — your women's strength brand work is exactly the kind of operator Cadence was built for. White-label depth most platforms skip: vanity domain, your colors, your splash screen, your tone. Cadence stays out of sight.

Plus 12 other rows in the public scorecard: vantagedigital.dev/why-cadence-wins. Founding-coach pricing $39/mo flat. Your client app would live at app.[your-domain] with zero "powered by Trainerize" anywhere.

7. Darin Starr — @darin_starr

Hey Darin — your contest-prep work caught my attention. Cadence ships something I think prep coaches specifically need: lifetime AI memory that reads each client's whole arc (every cut, every rebound, every show) — not just last 4 weeks. Plus nutrition + training unified on one calendar (no split between PhysiqueTrainer + Trainerize).

Scorecard: vantagedigital.dev/why-cadence-wins. Founding-coach pricing $39/mo flat. Worth 60 seconds if you're ever stack-frustrated.

8. Corey Upton — @thecoreyupton

Hey Corey — IFBB Pro work is the elite tier. We built Cadence for coaches whose clients deserve a platform that doesn't look like 2014 SaaS. White-label vanity domain + lifetime AI memory + unified nutrition + transparent billing. Public side-by-side: vantagedigital.dev/why-cadence-wins

Founding-coach pricing locked at $39/mo flat, no per-client fees. About 11 spots — happy to skip the line if it's a fit.

9. Emma Doherty — @emmafituk_

Hey Emma — your 20-spot 1:1 cohorts are exactly the kind of operator Cadence was built for. The Pause/Resume per-client + Vacation Mode toggle handle cohort gaps automatically (no Trainerize "manually freeze each client" pain). Plus the public scorecard at vantagedigital.dev/why-cadence-wins shows 12 other rows that beat what every other platform skips.

Founding-coach pricing $39/mo flat. White-label on your domain in 24h.

10. Radomira Sunavcova — @rad_sun_fit

Hey Radomira — your women-30+ compassionate-coaching positioning is the exact aesthetic platforms like Trainerize completely flatten. Cadence ships full white-label — your colors, your tone, your domain. Plus lifetime AI memory + unified nutrition + transparent billing for the operator side.

Public scorecard: vantagedigital.dev/why-cadence-wins. Founding-coach pricing $39/mo flat. Worth 60 seconds.

HOW TO ACTUALLY SEND THESE

  1. Open the prospect's IG profile. Verify last post within 14 days. Verify bio still says "online coach" or similar.
  2. Read their last 3 posts. Replace any [BRACKETED] in the DM with a concrete reference to something they posted. (e.g., "saw your post about [the deload week framework]" → if they posted about deload weeks, swap that in)
  3. Send the DM. Don't send a follow-up message immediately — wait 5 days for archetype A/D and 3 days for archetype B before any follow-up.
  4. Track the send in marketing/prospect-list.csv with date, archetype, variant used.
  5. Reply within 4 hours to any response. Use the objection-reply scripts in marketing/founding-coach-outreach-v2.md.

PARTNER TARGETS (NOT founding coaches — affiliate prospects)

These are too big to be founding coaches but are exactly the right audience-holder profile for the 30%-lifetime affiliate program:

Handle Audience Pitch
@therealbrianmark (Brian Mark) 651K · Business coach for online trainers Direct his audience to Cadence — affiliate revenue
@australianstrengthcoach (Sebastian Oreb) 731K · Mentor for personal trainers His mentees are our target market
@charliejohnsonfitness (Charlie Johnson) 506K · "World's #1 Fitness Business Coach" Same — coaches in his program need our platform
@hypertrophycoach (Joe Bennett) Established · Olympia-level Premium audience holder
@stephpiruns (Steph Pi) 111K · DPT runner Hybrid-athlete audience adjacent to coach buyers

For partners, use DM template G from marketing/founding-coach-outreach-v2.md:

Hey [first name] — building an affiliate program for Cadence (the white-label coaching platform we just shipped). 30% lifetime recurring on every referred coach, no caps, no clawbacks. Full terms at vantagedigital.dev/partners.

On a Studio plan that's $44.70/mo per referred coach forever. 5 referrals/mo = $223/mo passive. Worth a look if your audience is coaches.

Send these AFTER you have at least 1 paying founding coach. Partners want to refer to a proven product, not a hypothetical.

VERIFICATION CHECKLIST PER PROSPECT (90 seconds each)

Before sending, run this checklist on each handle:

If 5+ check, send. If 3-4, score lower and skip to v0.4 broader campaign.

SOURCES

All handles verified as appearing in public search results (Instagram + niche-specific listings) during 2025-2026 research. Audience numbers are from search-result snippets — verify current count yourself before sending.