E6: "Clients don't pay for crazy, they pay for effective": Building custom software at Clay scale

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E6: "Clients don't pay for crazy, they pay for effective": Building custom software at Clay scale | Patrick Spychalski

The Kiln co-founder and Clay OG reveals his programmatic Lovable integration, how to save 60K on Clay credits with API keys, and why GTM engineers should focus on value over flashy workflows.

Matteo Tittarelli

Jared Waxman

, and

patrick spychalski

Sep 17, 2025

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About our guest — Patrick Spychalski

Patrick Spychalski is co-founder of The Kiln, a skunk works collective of GTM experts, data scientists, and former Clay employees that turns messy RevOps data into revenue engines for SaaS teams. He's a bonafide Clay OG who spent two years at Clay running their early partnership program and now drops marathon-length Clay table teardowns on LinkedIn.

Beyond his agency work, Patrick founded and runs Unique Market, a web store showcasing men's vintage designer and avant-garde fashion. This combination of technical GTM expertise and creative taste gives him a unique perspective on building both functional and aesthetically compelling solutions.

Patrick's approach centers on assembling "the Avengers" of best-in-class tools for each specific use case, while maintaining a ruthless focus on business value over technical complexity. His recent viral Lovable integration that builds custom software programmatically at scale exemplifies his philosophy of pushing GTM engineering boundaries while solving real business problems.

Core takeaways

The "Avengers assembly" approach — finding best-in-class tools for specific use cases rather than one-size-fits-all solutions
Credit engineering mastery — how strategic API key usage can reduce Clay project costs from 60K to 7-10K
The Lovable breakthrough — building custom software programmatically at scale through Clay integrations
CRM data cleaning as foundation — why enrichment and data quality must come before any advanced workflows
N8N vs Clay decision framework — when to use workflow automation versus enrichment-focused tools
MCP servers as emerging skill — why Model Context Protocol development is becoming essential
Value-first philosophy — clients pay for effectiveness, not complexity or flashy demonstrations
The technical skills spectrum — from beginner-friendly Lovable to engineer-focused Cursor for vibe coding

Top quotes

Best Definition of GTM Engineering: "In my mind, a go-to-market engineer is somebody who has both highly technical ability and the tools required to run go-to-market systems, specifically automated go-to-market systems, as well as the general strategy and intuition of somebody who would be in a go-to-market leadership position."
On His Background: "I actually wasn't in sales prior to Clay existing. And so I actually got into sales at the same time as discovering Clay... I can't really imagine having to go and individually prospect and research and reach out to people. I've actually never had to do that."
The Avengers Approach: "I think the best way to approach it initially is just figuring out what the best tool for any given use case would be. And it very quickly allows you to assemble the Avengers for a specific client."
On Clay's Power: "Clay feels like cheating almost... It's obviously, in my opinion, the best one. I don't think there's a close second... it's just an aggregate of every enrichment tool. Fundamentally, that's what Clay is."
Credit Engineering: "You can literally, if your client's planning on using Clay regardless of whether they hire you or not, you can make the money they're paying you back just in recommending a specific set of API keys."
The Value Philosophy: "Clients don't pay for crazy. They pay for effective... You're not getting hired to build crazy workflows that people think are cool. You're building workflows that actually add value."
On Learning: "Think about these tools as a value vehicle and not a... just a Lego set that you build for fun."

Referenced tools and resources

Clay: Primary enrichment platform and ecosystem orchestrator ("aggregate of every enrichment tool")
N8N: Workflow automation platform for AI agents and trigger-based processes
Lovable: Vibe coding tool for building custom software and dashboards with natural language
HubSpot: Current preferred CRM with enterprise support and integration capabilities
Attio: Future CRM bet as it develops enterprise features
Claude: Preferred LLM for writing tasks due to superior voice and tonality
HG Insights: Expensive but powerful technographics integration within Clay (8 credits per run)
Crust Data: Live LinkedIn enrichment scraper with higher accuracy than static lists
Exa.ai: Underrated natural language lead sourcing tool for niche prospect finding
Cursor: Engineer-focused vibe coding platform for technical development
Fathom: Current call transcript tool (via Zapier integration despite limitations)
MCP: Emerging requirement for advanced GTM engineering integrations