Your first sales tools
Founders buy sales software in roughly the reverse of the useful order. Automation is the last layer, not the first.
First: a list you believe in
Fifty named accounts that match a real trigger. Research tooling helps here more than anything else you could buy, because it turns list-building from a week of work into a scheduled job.
Second: a way to explain it
A deck or demo that makes the product obvious in two minutes. Most early deals are lost to confusion, not to competitors.
Third, only then: sequencing and pipeline
Once the list and the explanation work, add the tooling that repeats them. Adding it earlier just sends a weak message faster.
What to measure from day one
Replies per 100 contacts, meetings per reply, and how long a deal sits without a next step. Three numbers, reviewed weekly.