A technical founder with no sales background learns to sell into big pharma and drives hundreds of thousands in revenue after coaching with Higher Levels.
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Andre Biehl is the co-founder and CEO of Flyway Health, an AI startup that uses insurance claims data and intelligent agents to help pharmaceutical companies maximize patient reach during drug launches. He had no formal sales background. He was fresh out of university, selling a technical product into one of the most regulated industries on the planet, and running every call completely ad hoc. This case study is for founders who are smart and technical but closing nowhere near their potential.
Most technical founders enter enterprise sales with two things: a great product and zero sales process. That combination kills deals. The problem is not the product. It is the approach.
In a highly regulated, high-ACV environment like pharma, buyers are sophisticated. They have seen a hundred pitches. They are not moved by features. What moves them is a founder who understands their clinical reality, asks the right questions, and earns credibility before asking for anything. Andre was brilliant technically. And early on, he was talking at prospects instead of listening to them and understanding their needs first and foremost before pitching. That is where a lot of deals stalled.
When Andre started Flyway Health, he knew the science. He knew the product. But he did not know how to sell. He came from a technical background and as he put it:
When I kept rewatching my calls, I just had a sense that I wasn't even sure where to start about picking apart some of the things that need to be improved.
That is one of the toughest parts of having limited exposure to an enterprise sales motion. You know something is off but you cannot name it. That uncertainty compounds over time.
Add to that the complexity of his market. Flyway Health sells into biotechs, top-20 pharmaceutical manufacturers, and large healthcare systems. These are not quick-win accounts. Every conversation requires credibility, precision, and patience.
Before working with Higher Levels, Andre had no repeatable structure. He was hoping his domain knowledge would carry the conversation, but without a framework, even smart founders wander.
"I was doing every single one ad hoc. They didn't have a clear structure or framework to them."
Buyers do not reward expertise. They reward people who understand them.
The biggest change Andre made was flipping the conversation from talking to listening. Before coaching, his default was to lead with the product. After coaching, he switched almost entirely to questions.
"I flipped entirely to questions. Mostly listening. And that reframe has completely changed everything because it makes the cycles way quicker."
This is what discovery-led selling looks like in practice. You enter the call with a framework, not a pitch deck. You ask about the prospect's launch strategy, their data gaps, who is involved in contracting, what the timeline looks like. You surface pain before you offer any solution.
As a result, Andre now knows exactly who the decision-makers are, when deals can move, and what the real objection is. That information compresses timelines and kills the "I'll think about it" stall.
Andre directly attributed the shift in approach to a measurable impact on revenue.
This directly impacted sales by the tune of hundreds of thousands.
That is not a small number for a pre-Series A startup selling into one of the world's most difficult verticals. And it came from a mindset shift, not a product change.
One of the most underrated pieces of advice Andre shared was about patience and relationship investment. When you are doing enterprise sales in healthcare or pharma, you are not closing a transaction. You are building a relationship that will outlast any single deal.
His exact advice: "Invest in dinners, invest in relationships, go to conferences and shake hands. Think of a three-year strategy with your prospects."
That means not being too aggressive on follow-up. Not treating a prospect like a quick win. And sometimes telling a buyer that the expensive package is not right for them yet. That kind of restraint builds trust in a way that no pitch ever will.
You want to provide value. You want to be a thought partner. Especially in these regulated industries where it's high ACV.
Q: How do you sell AI into a regulated healthcare or pharma environment?
A: Lead with credibility and clinical understanding, not features. Buyers in healthcare and pharma need to trust that you understand their world before they will listen to your pitch. Ask questions, understand their clinical reality, and position yourself as a thought partner, not a vendor.
Q: What is the biggest mistake technical founders make in sales?
A: They talk at prospects instead of listening. Leading with the product or pitch deck before understanding what the buyer actually needs is the fastest way to kill a deal.
Q: How long does it take to see results from sales coaching?
A: Andre started seeing measurable results within months of working with Higher Levels. The shift happened quickly once he had a structured call framework and started leading with discovery.
Q: What does enterprise sales in pharma actually require?
A: Patience, relationship investment, deep domain knowledge, and a long-term mindset. High-ACV deals in regulated industries are not closed on one call. They are won by founders who show up consistently, build trust, and know when to push and when to hold back.
If you are a founder navigating enterprise sales in a complex or regulated industry, the Founder-Led Sales Accelerator is built for you. It will give you the call structure, discovery framework, and closing strategy to turn your expertise into revenue. Talk to our team about our Founder Program
If you're a tech founder with a sales team looking for custom training, talk to our team about custom engagements here.
Last updated: March 2026
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