How Scalix Built Serval 40 Demos and $619K in Pipeline Before Sequoia Wrote a $75M Check

About Serval

Serval was founded in 2024 by Jake Stauch and Alex McLeod, who previously led product and engineering at the security company Verkada. The company is a unified AI-native IT platform combining a help desk, access management, and workflow automation into a single system. Serval integrates with Okta, Slack, GitHub, AWS, Salesforce, and more than 50 other tools, and is SOC 2, HIPAA, and GDPR compliant. The company is backed by Sequoia, which led its $75M Series B at a $1B valuation.

Background

When Serval brought Scalix in, they were already investing significantly in Google Ads, but demo volume was inconsistent, and there was no clear attribution back to pipeline. MQL and SQL visibility was limited, and the team had no reliable way to know which activity was generating real pipeline versus surface-level engagement.

Serval's product sits in a competitive, fast-moving category, AI-native IT and enterprise automation, where buyers are sophisticated, the sales cycle is complex, and every demo carries real strategic value. The brief was to build a demand generation engine that could produce consistent, qualified demos and attribute them accurately all the way to closed-won.

Challenges

Challenge #1: Broken Tracking Undermining Every Spend Decision 

Conversion events were firing inconsistently, feeding Google's algorithm corrupted signals.

• Smart bidding was optimizing toward the wrong outcomes, and budget was being allocated without a reliable performance signal to justify it.

Challenge #2: No Visibility From Click to Pipeline 

There was no connection between ad activity and what was happening in the CRM.

• The team could not see how paid search clicks mapped to MQLs, SQLs, or booked demos, making it impossible to assess quality or make confident scaling decisions.

Challenge #3: Demo Volume Declining Despite Growing Spend 

The company spent more on ads, but the pipeline didn't grow at the same pace.

• Without proper attribution and funnel alignment, spend was accumulating in the wrong places, generating activity that looked like performance but was not producing qualified demos.

Solution

Scalix deployed its full-funnel attribution and pipeline alignment framework, starting with a comprehensive tracking audit before touching any campaign. No optimization decision should be made on corrupted data, so the foundation had to be rebuilt correctly before a single dollar of spend scaled.

Strategy 1: Tracking Audit and Attribution Rebuild

We ran a full diagnostic of every conversion action in the account, identified misfires, duplicates, and gaps, then rebuilt the tracking infrastructure from scratch. Clean, accurate signals from day one meant Google's algorithm had real data to learn from. 

We then connected Google Ads directly to Serval's CRM, configuring lifecycle stage signals (MQL, SQL, demo booked) to flow back into the platform for smart bidding, closing the loop between paid search activity and actual sales outcomes.

Strategy 2: ICP Targeting and Funnel-Aligned Architecture

We defined Serval's ideal customer profile, the mid-market and enterprise IT and security teams. Next, we built tightly segmented targeting around that buyer, systematically filtering out broad, unqualified traffic so budget concentrated on the accounts most likely to convert. 

We then restructured the account around Serval's actual B2B buying journey, with each campaign serving a distinct role at a specific funnel stage, giving full visibility into where pipeline was entering, where it was stalling, and where budget had the highest return.

Strategy 3: Differentiated Creative Testing

We created and tested ad copy highlighting Serval's AI-native architecture, 50%+ ticket auto-resolution, and Sequoia backing. Ongoing testing showed which messages attracted the highest-quality demo requests from enterprise buyers.

Ongoing Optimization

We ran a weekly pipeline quality review with Serval's sales team, feeding real conversion signals back into targeting and bidding. Each week's learnings compounded into better lead quality and more efficient spend the next.

Results

40 demos booked. $619K in pipeline. A 1,420% pipeline ROI. And a $75M Series B closed while the channel was live.

Demo volume. 40 demos booked across three months, growing every single month from enterprise IT buyers with a complex, multi-touch sales cycle: 

• 12 in January 
• 13 in February
• 15 in March

Pipeline and ROI. 27% of those meetings progressed to active pipeline opportunities, generating $619K in pipeline value. On any-touch attribution, the channel delivered a 1,420% pipeline ROI, with value continuing to build as active opportunities in the sales cycle progress toward close.

The raise. During the period Scalix was running this channel, Serval raised a $75M Series B at a $1B valuation, led by Sequoia, with Google Ads generating consistent go-to-market traction as part of their investor narrative.

Business Impact

Serval went from a Google Ads account with inconsistent demo volume and no attribution to a channel that produced 40 qualified demos in three months, growing every month, with full-funnel visibility established for the first time. 

Every MQL, SQL, and booked demo is now attributed back to the campaign and keyword that drove it. Of those demos, 27% progressed into active pipeline opportunities worth $619K, a strong conversion rate for enterprise B2B with a considered buying process, delivering a 1,420% pipeline ROI on any-touch attribution, with value still building as opportunities progress toward close.

The bigger signal came from outside the account. Google Ads was operational and producing consistent go-to-market traction while Serval closed its $75M Series B at a $1B valuation, led by Sequoia. Fix the foundation first was the principle, and it is why 40 demos, $619K in pipeline, and a 1,420% ROI were possible inside 90 days. With active pipeline still converting, the number keeps growing.