Professional Overview
Michel Lieben is the Founder and CEO of ColdIQ, a sales prospecting agency and technology platform that specializes in scaling outbound sales through AI and software solutions. He officially committed full-time to ColdIQ in early 2023 and has since grown the company from inception to a significant recurring revenue milestone.
Company Performance and Growth Metrics
- Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR): Grew from $0 to over $2.5 million in just 19 months (as of September 2024).
- Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR): Surpassed $250,000 MRR by November 2024, equating to an annual run rate exceeding $3 million.
- ColdIQ operates with a lean and expanding team, growing from 9 to soon 10 employees (March 2024).
- Michel openly shares strategies and data-driven tactics used to reach milestones such as generating 460 meetings in 90 days and detailed phases of growth to $150k+ MRR.
- ColdIQ also runs a cold email agency generating around $4 million per year, developed in under 24 months.
Entrepreneurial and Educational Background
- Michel earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management at the Free University of Brussels.
- He is an alumnus of Le Wagon, a coding bootcamp, indicating a combination of economics and technical knowledge supporting his leadership in a SaaS and AI-powered business.
- Prior to founding ColdIQ, Michel worked as Growth Marketing Manager at Weenect.
Industry Position and Recognition
- Recently named CEO of the Year by Tekpon (June 2025), an award recognizing impactful SaaS leadership and innovation.
- ColdIQ is recognized within industry circles for leveraging artificial intelligence extensively to optimize outbound sales processes.
- Michel is a reputable thought leader with numerous public speaking engagements, podcasts, and media appearances focused on sales technology, GTM (Go-To-Market) engineering, and AI sales stacks.
Expertise and Thought Leadership
- Vocally promotes AI-powered sales coaching, which enhances team training, performance tracking, and automates real-time feedback mechanisms.
- Advocates for building comprehensive AI sales stacks, reportedly using over 1300 AI sales tools as part of ColdIQ’s technology infrastructure at a $6M ARR scale.
- Emphasizes intent signal utilization and sales prospecting methods to systematically increase lead quality and conversion.
- Frequently shares insights on sales software stack construction, outbound campaign frameworks, and hyper-personalization strategies combining AI copywriting and data insights.
- Engages actively on LinkedIn and YouTube, publishing content aimed at sales acceleration, prospecting techniques, and the paradox of all-in-one sales platforms.
Company’s Operational Philosophy and Approach
- Focus on bootstrapping and sustainable growth — ColdIQ’s early success hinged on disciplined outbound sales and content creation.
- Promotes employee visibility and branding, encouraging every ColdIQ employee to be “famous” on LinkedIn, suggesting strong internal sales culture and social selling advocacy.
- Uses AI agents integrated into sales tech platforms, allowing seamless management of outbound processes without relying on multiple disconnected tools.
Additional Pertinent Details
- Michel has extensive practical experience building a cold email agency and outbound system that can be replicated through training and mini-courses offered by ColdIQ.
- He openly discusses entrepreneurial journeys including several failed startups before ColdIQ’s success, demonstrating resilience and iterative learning.
- His agency has worked with more than 70+ B2B SaaS companies and agencies, reflecting a broad network and industry reach.
- ColdIQ’s growth and machine-like efficiency in campaign execution position Michel as a leader in scaling outbound sales with AI and data-driven methodologies.
This profile describes Michel Lieben as a data-driven, entrepreneurially seasoned CEO leveraging AI technologies to innovate and grow ColdIQ rapidly in the competitive B2B sales enablement space. His academic grounding in economics combined with technical bootcamp training underpins his strategic and practical approach to sales technology and company scaling. The recent accolade as Tekpon CEO of the Year further validates his industry impact and leadership in SaaS sales innovation.
