What if the next great sales breakthrough isn’t artificial intelligence but actual warm introductions?

In this episode of the Business Alchemist Podcast, Phil Akilade sits down with Mike Adams, founder of Start-Up IntroStars and self-proclaimed King of Networking, to expose the inconvenient truth about cold outreach, AI-driven spam, and what really works in B2B sales today.

Mike shares his powerful journey from a struggling sales rep relying on cold emails, to building a £5M pipeline using zero cold outreach with just human connections.

Now, he’s launched a SaaS platform to scale the one strategy that never fails: warm referrals.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why cold outreach is dying, even if it’s “personalised” by AI

• How AI spam bots and AI spam filters are cancelling each other out

• The real reason buyers don’t respond to automated messages

• Why trust and reputation still dominate high-ticket B2B deals

• How Mike built IntroStars to help businesses incentivise referrals, legally and at scale

• Advice for introverts: how to network and build influence without ever leaving your screen

• The surprising reason AI still has a role but only if used properly

Whether you're a founder tired of cold outreach, a sales leader looking for high-value leads, or an introvert who’s always hated networking, this episode will shift your thinking about Lead Gen on its head.