From Wall Street to Startups: Rohit Bhadange on Scaling Zamp and Mastering Content

Rohit Bhadange, co-founder of Zamp, shares how he left Wall Street to build a game-changing tax compliance startup.

Author

Ben Sharf
January 31, 2025

In Season 3, Episode 11 of Turning Pro, Ben Sharf and Adrian Alfieri catch up with Rohit Bhadange, co-founder and CEO of Zamp. If you’ve ever wondered how someone transitions from the buttoned-up world of Wall Street to running a startup that’s shaking up tax compliance, this one’s for you. Rohit’s story is all about finding gaps, taking risks, and leaning into what works, even when it feels uncomfortable.

Rohit dives into how he grew his LinkedIn following from 3,000 to 15,000 in just a few months by showing up daily, posting the kind of stuff his audience actually cared about, and treating it all like a science experiment. He also talks about the early grind of getting Zamp off the ground, why founder-led sales are non-negotiable in the beginning, and how relationships—not algorithms—drive real business results. It’s packed with insights for founders figuring out growth, building trust, and staying real along the way.

Listen to the full episode now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.

10 Lessons from Rohit Bhadange’s Turning Pro Episode:

  1.  Start with the “Negative 1 to 0” Phase: Before Zamp hit product-market fit, Rohit focused on proving his team’s credibility and iterating the product based on real customer feedback. Lesson? Nail this early phase to build a foundation for growth.

  1. Content Wins When It’s Audience-First: Rohit’s LinkedIn strategy took off by shifting from writing about what he cared about to addressing his audience’s challenges. Ask yourself: What does my audience actually need to hear?

  1. Post Daily, Even If It’s Not Perfect: Consistency trumps perfection. Rohit grew his audience by posting daily and treating each post as an experiment. Vanity metrics (likes, comments) might not tell the whole story—impressions and connections matter more.

  1. Leverage Personal Relationships in BD: Skip the big conferences. Rohit builds deeper connections through coffee chats and small dinners. These personal touches create trust and long-term business opportunities.

  1. Qualify, Then Onboard Customers Like Pros: Bringing on the wrong customer can hurt morale, churn rates, and your reputation. Rohit’s team rigorously qualifies leads and invests in onboarding to ensure every client finds real value.

  1. Activate Your Investor Network: After raising $10M in Series A funding, Rohit turned to his investors to unlock marquee partnerships and client intros. Don’t just secure the funding—leverage the network behind it.

  1. Treat Content as a Top-of-Funnel Engine: Rohit’s LinkedIn presence keeps Zamp top-of-mind with referral partners, potential clients, and investors. Even without high engagement, the impressions led to unexpected business wins. 

  1. Scale Founder-Led Sales Into Systems: Rohit and his team started with boots-on-the-ground BD. Over time, they built systems for inbound marketing and scalable partnerships to handle hundreds of leads monthly.

  1. Get Comfortable With the Uncomfortable: Whether it’s posting on LinkedIn or cold DMing potential clients, Rohit emphasizes the importance of stepping outside your comfort zone as a founder.

  1. Know When to Step Back: Rohit is hiring to shift operational tasks (like finances) to focus on high-growth opportunities like partnerships and strategic BD. Delegation is key to scaling effectively.

Rohit’s story is a reminder that there’s no blueprint for startup success, but a combination of consistency, relationships, and experimentation can take you far. Whether you’re writing LinkedIn posts or managing a team, the focus remains the same: stay audience-first and never stop iterating.

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