I Stopped Waiting for “Better Data.” I Built a Signal Engine Instead

There’s a specific kind of exhaustion that hits around 2 PM on a Tuesday.

You’re staring at 500 leads in Salesforce.
The CRM says they’re “qualified.”
LinkedIn says they’re “active.” But you know-you know-that 90% are noise.

For 15 years, from Google to Fudo Security, I’ve fought this battle.

We buy more tools. We hire more SDRs. We run more sequences. And we still spend half our week chasing ghosts.

A few weeks ago, I hit a wall.
I realized I was waiting for someone else to fix the data problem; RevOps, Engineering, the universe.

So I stopped waiting. I opened a code editor and decided to solve it myself.

I’m not a software engineer. I’m a Sales Director.
But thanks to AI tools like Cursor and Replit, the barrier to building has collapsed.

You don’t need a CS degree anymore.
You just need to understand how revenue actually works.

I built Basin::Nexus Signal Scorer over a couple of weekends.

The goal wasn’t to launch a startup.
It was to build a logic gate a system that would force every lead through a revenue reality check before I picked up the phone.

The Logic: Ruthless Prioritization

The algorithm is simple but strict. It scores leads on a 0-100 scale based on four “Signal Pillars”:

Industry Match (0-25 points): Cybersecurity/AI/ML gets +25. SaaS gets +15. Everything else has to earn its way in.
Funding Stage (0-25 points): Series B companies get +25 (they have budget and urgency). Seed gets +5 (too early).
Tech Stack Match (0-35 points): High compatibility = +35. No match? Kill the lead.
Market Fit Bonus (0-15 points): Variance to account for timing, momentum, and outliers.

Then, the system sorts leads into actionable tiers:

🔥 HOT (75+): Priority outreach today.
⚡ WARM (50-74): Nurture sequence.
❄️ COLD (<50): Do not touch.

The Output: Signal over Noise

The result isn’t pretty. It’s not an enterprise SaaS product. But it works.

It takes a list of 100 “maybe” leads and turns them into 5 “must calls.”

What This Changed

This little project shifted how I view my own career.

For years, I thought my job was to “manage the process.” Now I realize my job is to architect the system.

If you’re a GTM leader heading into 2026, you can’t just demand better data.

You have to be willing to get your hands dirty and build the filter yourself.

The future of GTM isn’t about having better tools.

It’s about becoming the kind of leader who can prototype solutions when the market hasn’t caught up yet.

That’s the shift from Operator to Architect.

It’s not a title. It’s a refusal to accept the noise.

Let’s get back to work.

– Leon

Want to talk about building custom signal engines for your team? Let’s connect.

🔗 Builder Resources

The Code: github.com/BasinLeon
The Portfolio: basinleon.github.io
The Architect: Connect on LinkedIn

Signal. Architecture. Revenue.