Category Thinkers

In this podcast episode, Hywel Carver, CEO of Skiller Whale, shares his company's category design journey after attending a workshop by Category Design Advisors, sponsored by Concept Ventures. He discusses the challenges they faced in defining their offering and how the workshop, along with the book "Play Bigger," helped them create a new category called "Live Team Coaching." The process involved the entire senior leadership team and emphasized the importance of alignment and internal collaboration. Carver also touches on the significance of humor in their brand identity, the role of storytelling in building a category, and their long-term vision of reskilling knowledge workers. The episode highlights the iterative nature of category strategy development and the value of external feedback in refining a company's approach. Hosts Mike “Damp” Damphousse and Kevin Maney.This episode is sponsored by:Category Design AdvisorsBeTheStage.liveFlag & Frontier

Commercial real estate isn't usually a place that is associated with technological innovation, but that makes it ripe for category design. Meet Frederik Hendriksen, the founder of Rensair. Explore their groundbreaking smart ventilation system, seamlessly integrating hardware and software to optimize energy efficiency and indoor air quality in commercial buildings. Beyond offices, envision its potential applications in homes and transportation. Witness them forging a new category in building engineering with a strong focus on sustainability. Experience the future of category design with Rensair.This episode is sponsored by:Category Design AdvisorsBeTheStage.liveFlag & Frontier

In this episode, John Rougeux interviews Lauren Pufpaf, the President, COO, and co-founder of Feed Media Group. Lauren's company was founded on the insight that apps need the right music experience to fully engage users. But as the company grew, they learned that they weren't going after a big enough problem. Listen in to learn how Lauren and her team used category design to shift their thinking.This episode is sponsored by:Category Design AdvisorsBeTheStage.liveFlag & Frontier

A.I. has created a massive shift in context, and with that comes massive opportunities for category designers, but it also means a flood of competitors into the same space.Brian Shiff had capitalized on this shift, focusing on leveraging A.I. to take customer support from a cost center to a profit center, and is now using category design to avoid commoditization as the lookalikes show up in his space.This conversation is moderated by the founders of Category Thinkers, John Rougeux and Mike "Damp" Damphousse.This episode is sponsored by:Category Design AdvisorsBeTheStage.live

Al Ramadan is the CEO of Play Bigger, LLC and one of the co-authors of “Play Bigger,” and a dedicated board member of Save The Waves Coalition. In this replay of our live AMA event, we'll dive deep into the art of category design. Discover how shifts in context—ranging from environmental changes to global events like pandemics, wars, or financial crises—can spark innovative solutions and new categories. We'll unpack how category designers are fortunate to have a skill that extends beyond startups to nonprofits, global warming, public companies, and more.This conversation is moderated by the founders of Category Thinkers, Pablo Gonzalez, John Rougeux, and Mike "Damp" Damphousse.This episode is sponsored by:Category Design AdvisorsBeTheStage.liveFlag and Frontier

In this episode, we interview Rebecca Kirstein Resch, the founder and CEO at inqli. Rebecca's company is dedicated to helping workplace teams tap into the power of ‘tacit knowledge.' She's been using category design as a framework for uncovering new problems and now has a clear story about why a new type of solution called ‘social knowledge sharing' needs to exist. Listen in to hear the insights Rebecca has unlocked through her founder's journey and how she's thinking about the future. This conversation is moderated by the founders of Category Thinkers, John Rougeux and Mike "Damp" Damphousse.  This episode is sponsored by:Category Design AdvisorsBeTheStage.live

In this episode, Nick Tippmann, former CMO of medtech company Greenlight Guru, joins Pablo, Damp, and John to break down his journey as a marketer turned investor. Nick shares why vertical SaaS companies should think like category designers and how he evaluates the category potential of early-stage startups.  We discuss:How Greenlight Guru tipped from tool to platform to category, Why he believes vertical SaaS is fertile ground for category designers, How he evaluates the category potential of early stage startups as an investor.This conversation is moderated by the founders of Category Thinkers, Pablo Gonzalez, John Rougeux, and Mike "Damp" Damphousse.This episode is sponsored by:Category Design AdvisorsBeTheStage.live

In this episode, we're joined by Dan Gottlieb, a Senior Director Analyst at Gartner. Dan shares his take on how analysts like him define categories and when to establish a new one. He also unpacks how startups can stand out in crowded categories by defining their “critical capabilities” and shares how and when startups should educate analysts like him about their solutions. This episode was hosted by John Rougeux and Mike "Damp" Damphousse, and sponsored by:Category Design AdvisorsBeTheStage.liveFlag & Frontier

Sangram Vajre is one of the best-known category designers in B2B SaaS, with community and events being critical parts of his playbook. Not only did Sangram bring the account-based marketing category to life during his time at Terminus, but he's also used the same playbook to launch a successful paid community (Peak), and now a service business (GTM Partners). In this recording of our life AMA with Sangram, you'll learn how community and events can help drive your category strategy.We touch on topics like:Sangram's playbook for events that turn communities into content to design a categoryWhy it's not too late to build a category and community in your spaceThe mindset and team it takes to pull these feats offThis conversation is moderated by the founders of Category Thinkers, Pablo Gonzalez, John Rougeux, and Mike "Damp" Damphousse.This episode is sponsored by:Category Design AdvisorsBeTheStage.live

In this episode, Brad Luttrell joins us to talk through how he discovered category design a year and a half ago, why it was the strategy Holler Commerce needed to adopt, and what he has done to design social commerce as a service category ever since. He speaks with our co-founder, John Rougeux and Damp, about: Whether category design is a choice or a need, and whyHow he rethought his product strategy with a category lensWhat he is doing to build a moat by being radically differentThis episode was hosted by John Rougeux and Mike "Damp" Damphousse.‍This episode is sponsored by:Category Design AdvisorsBeTheStage.live

In this episode, Ken Rutsky joins us to explore a concept he calls ‘category memetics.' It's the idea that new categories can act like memes – they can enter the mind, replicate, and rapidly spread to others. Ken shares his insights on how to create a successful category meme and unpacks some of the research he uncovered that led to these insights. Listen now to:Hear how memes can act as a cultural transmission tool in businessUnderstand how to create effective category language Learn how memetics can inform and influence your category strategy This conversation is moderated by the founders of Category Thinkers, Pablo Gonzalez, John Rougeux, and Mike "Damp" Damphousse.This episode is sponsored by:Category Design AdvisorsBeTheStage.live

It takes a lot of time and commitment to write a great strategic narrative, but if you can use battle tested frameworks, they will save you  time, money and even heartbreak.   Strategy and brand design expert Josh Lowman walks us through the three tools he uses to quickly pitch and vet new category ideas, and engages with our community in our monthly AMA.  He covers topics like:How the "shift" affects the category narrative, and how it differs between technological and cultural shiftsThe difference between problems, enemies, and villains when defining the category What constitutes a good category name, and how to deliver itThis conversation is moderated by the founders of Category Thinkers, Pablo Gonzalez, John Rougeux, and Mike "Damp" Damphousse.This episode is sponsored by:Category Design AdvisorsBeTheStage.live

Scott Albro, co-founder and CEO of Goldie shares his insights on why analyst buy-in is crucial for category success, strategies for effectively communicating your category vision, and real-world examples from his time at TOPO.   For those unfamiliar, TOPO, Inc. was a research and advisory firm that provided insights and consulting services to high-growth companies. Under Scott's leadership, TOPO became a beacon for businesses looking to understand and conquer their markets before being acquired by Gartner. Today, Scott brings his wealth of experience and knowledge to our discussion on topics like:Why it makes sense to let analyst name your categoryHow engagements with analysts differ whether you are customer or notWhat many early stage companies get wrong the first time they engage analystsThis episode was hosted by John Rougeux and Mike “Damp” Damphousse.‍This episode is sponsored by:Category Design AdvisorsBeTheStage.live

Innovative companies must convince buyers and analysts why their solutions differ from the status quo, and why that difference matters. But sometimes, developing the right narrative can be a challenge. This is where a well-crafted point of view (POV) can help. In this episode, we're joined by David West, co-founder and CEO of Proscia. After attending a category design workshop, David was finally able to get the market to understand why his company's solution in pathology was such an important breakthrough. Listen now to learn:Why category design helped David's company set itself apart from commoditized products in his industryHow Proscia gained analyst support by telling their customers the story they hoped to hearWhy having conviction in your point of view is so crucial in conditioning the market to think differentlyThis episode was hosted by John Rougeux and Mike “Damp” Damphousse.‍This episode is sponsored by:Category Design AdvisorsBeTheStage.live

Category design principles can be applied in different ways, for different outcomes. And while sometimes it's clear that your business needs to act like a category designer, other times the answer is less straightforward. In this episode, we're joined by Jonathan Gandolf, founder and CEO of The Juice. Jonathan was introduced to category design early in his career, and used the discipline in software and even breweries. Now, at The Juice, he's in the midst of deciding if and how category design should apply to his latest venture. Listen now to find out where we land. In this episode, we cover..How to redirect demand from a known category into something newThe importance of understanding the “why” for your business How once novel categories can create new problems (and the need for new solutions)This episode was hosted by John Rougeux and Pablo Gonzalez.This episode is sponsored by:Category Design AdvisorsBeTheStage.live

In this episode, Jared Robin, founder of RevGenius, shares his take on how category design and community can mutually reinforce each other. In 2020, Jared took a small LinkedIn group and turned it into a community that now has over 40,000 members. In our conversation, you'll hear all about Jared's journey and how he plans to build community going forward – all with a category design lens. Episode highlights include:Jared's path to discovering category design and how it has shaped his thinking about building a communityWhy some communities are replaceable (and what to do about it)Why a vibrant community needs a shared Point of View (and how category design thinking can help you find yours)This episode was hosted by John Rougeux and Pablo GonzalezThis episode is sponsored by:Category Design AdvisorsBeTheStage.live

In this episode, we're joined by Pietro Bezza, co-founder and managing partner at Connect Ventures. Pietro shares a framework he calls “minimal viable category design,” which focuses on helping early stage startups have the right conversations about the problem they're solving and their plans for evangelizing it. Listen now to find out: The challenges of pursuing “product/market” fit instead of “market/product” fitWhat Pietro looks for when evaluating early stage startups for investmentWhy understanding the timing and evolution of your category is keyThis episode was hosted by John Rougeux and Mike Damphousse. This episode is sponsored by:Category Design AdvisorsBeTheStage.live

After Kevin Maney co-authored the book Play Bigger in 2016, he and Mike Damphousse founded Category Design Advisors to guide CEOs in implementing category design. That was seven years ago. Now, after over 40 client engagements and joined by John Rougeux, the team decided it was time to rework its own category Point of View. In this recording of a live AMA, the CDA team shares why they decided to apply category design to themselves, the process they used to redefine their Point of View, and the lessons they learned along the way.This episode was moderated by Pablo Gonzalez.This episode is sponsored by:Category Design AdvisorsBeTheStage.live

In this podcast episode, James Carbary, founder of Sweet Fish Media, discusses how he went from running a blog writing agency to becoming the category king of B2B podcasting, thanks to category design. He debunks the myth that category design is only for VC-backed companies or those with large budgets and shares his pivot into designing a new category around owned media.This episode was moderated by John Rougeux.This episode is sponsored by:Category Design AdvisorsBeTheStage.live

In 2020, Doug Camplejohn was working at Salesforce when a global pandemic suddenly changed the world. He soon realized that there might be an opportunity to address the new ways in which people found themselves working. That's when he decided to start Airspeed, a family of apps that helps employees feel connected and celebrated. Through the lens of category design, we dive into his journey, including:How he determined if his idea represented a new category opportunityHis process for identifying what had changed in the world and what was missing as a resultWhy he has yet to define a category name (and why he isn't worried about it)This episode was moderated by Mike Damphousse and John Rougeux.This episode is sponsored by:Category Design AdvisorsBeTheStage.live

In this episode, Lauren discusses the importance of category design for startups. We delve into startup challenges that are addressed by category design. Lauren shares how they've used Guidewheel's FactoryOps category point of view to attract the right people, investors and customers. We talk about the evolution of sustainability as a priority, the impact of AI on data-driven companies, and the impact of category design on a startup's valuation.Listen in to unpack…How category can provide the type of clarity founders often struggle with when deciding what to say "no" to Which order of problem prioritization will allow you to create the biggest impactHow she used languaging to speed up market adoptionThis episode was moderated by Mike Damphousse andPablo Gonzalez.This episode is sponsored by:Category Design AdvisorsBeTheStage.live

Jared Fuller and Isaac Morehouse were the dynamic duo behind our recent conversation about nearbound – a radically different approach to GTM that's reshaping the partnership landscape. These two have always been staunch advocates of category design, and they've harnessed this discipline to create one of the fastest-growing B2B media brands of all time.In this episode you'll hear:How Jared and Isaac have used category design to “punch above their weight class”How content, community, and category design have worked in concert for the Nearbound movementHow the team at Nearbound leveraged other events to pull off a highly successful lightning strikeThis episode was moderated by Pablo Gonzalez, John Rougeux, and Mike Damphousse.This episode is sponsored by:Category Design AdvisorsBeTheStage.live

This week's show is with Dan Tyre, a legendary executive at HubSpot. Hired as employee number six, Dan talks about the backstory of the inbound category, how to get sales to support your category design strategy, and the importance of company culture when designing a category.This episode was moderated by Pablo Gonzalez and Mike Damphousse.This episode is sponsored by:Category Design AdvisorsBeTheStage.live

Fresh off a category design workshop in NYC, Rachel Josepho, Founder & CEO of Mindfull, and Waleed Cope, CEO of The Soap Box, joined us to share their journey as category designers leading early-stage startups.Listen in to unpack…How early stage startups can use category design chart their strategy Why category designers need to start with a highly targeted audience and expand over timeHow to uncover what's missing in established categoriesThis episode was moderated by Pablo Gonzalez, John Rougeux, and Mike Damphousse.Mentioned in this episode:MindfullThe Soap Box22 Laws of Category DesignWhere Good Ideas Come FromPosition Yourself or Be PositionedThis episode is sponsored by:Category Design AdvisorsBeTheStage.live

In this Category Short, John Rougeux explains why a concept called “category jail” needs to be on the radar of every startup. Category jail occurs when your novel solution is mentally miscategorized by buyers, causing your company to get unfairly written off as another “me-too” product.Listen now to learn:Why category jail can keep radically different ideas from gaining attention from customers and investors.How the wiring of buyers' brains can work against you (and what to do about it).A powerful method for escaping category jail and helping your startup get a fair evaluation.Join our category design community for free at CategoryThinkers.comThis episode is sponsored by Category Design Advisors and BeTheStage.live

In this episode, we chat with Rio Hodges, Principal at Antler. Rio encounters hundreds of startups each year through his firm's accelerator programs, so his perspective is invaluable if you're in the early chapters of this journey. We cover:The one crucial slide that many startups leave out of their pitch decksWhy startups should obsess about the problem instead of the productHow to right-size the problem your startup is addressingThe right way to address the TAM when pitching to VCs.Links mentioned in this episode:AntlerCategory Design AdvisorsPlay Bigger (book)Featured in this episode: Rio HodgesJohn RougeuxMike Damphousse

Scale Venture Partners' Craig Rosenberg joins us on the show to talk about how category design drives demand, how he mentors founders, and a handful of stories from the startup and VC trenches.Craig is the Chief Platform Officer at Scale and long-time friend and collaborator of our co-host, Damp.In this episode, we'll discuss:Category design stories from Scale's portfolio.How Craig teaches young founders category design principles.Is it ever too late or too early to pursue category design?Common Point of View pitfalls.If you want to join a free community of over 500 category designers and join these conversations, you can do so at CategoryThinkers.comConnect with our guest and hosts on LinkedIn:Craig RosenbergMike DamphousseJohn RougeuxPablo Gonzalez

Very rarely do we see such an explosion of innovation as we are seeing right now. The rise of AI reminds us very much of the early internet... just like the early dot-com era, AI will spawn a new generation of categories and subcategories.In this episode of Category Thinkers, we invited AI and machine learning expert Manny Bernabe to help us cover:New categories and subcategories that AI is making possibleHow entrepreneurs can leverage AI to create their own niche or categorySimilarities between the early internet and early AI developmentsWhy ChatGPT is currently the dominant design for AI text generatorsEnjoy! If you're not satisfied with just listening, join the real conversations in our Slack community at CategoryThinkers.com.Connect with our guest and hosts on LinkedIn:Manny BernabeMike DamphousseJohn RougeuxPablo Gonzalez

You spoke and we heard you — this community needs a book club!We kicked off the first ever Category Thinkers Book Club with Eddie Yoon's classic, Superconsumers.Listen to Eddie, the co-founders of Category Thinkers (Mike Damphousse, John Rougeux, Pablo Gonzalez), and members of the community discuss:Where Eddie came up with the insights that led to his book on SuperconsumersHow to apply a Superconsumer strategy in B2B service companiesWhy understanding Superconsumers is the key to creating a profitable community strategyand much more!If you want to join future events like these, join our community at CategoryThinkers.com

Today, we have a special guest whose work has made a lasting impact in the realm of category design — Kipp Bodnar, the Chief Marketing Officer at HubSpot.

There's plenty of examples of founders, obsessed with a problem, applying category design to build their business and dominate their market.But realistically, most people that first encounter category design are not in the founding stages of their company.  That's why talking to the CEO of a publicly traded company that decided to apply category design to reinvent his company after 25 years will give you the insights you may need to apply category thinking in your business.Carl Daikeler is that CEO. His company, BODi, has revolutionized home fitness for the last 25 years with products like P90x and Insanity, but recently found themselves in a comparison trap when entering the digital landscape.   That's when he found the mental scaffolding of category design, and is now designing a completely new category around fitness called, health esteem.In this episode you'll learn about:What it looks like to have a CEO and company obsessed with a problem they need to solveHow BODi has leaned into their superconsumers in 3 different ways to get big resultsWhy Carl feels like the category design work is just beginning for his BODi and what the risks of poor implementation areYour hosts today are John Rougeux and Pablo Gonzalez (connect with them on LinkedIn!)If you want to stop just listening and join the conversation, join our community at CategoryThinkers.com

You can read the books, and listen to all the podcasts about Category Design, but nothing beats learning from the experience of someone currently in the trenches of designing a new category.That's why we wanted to pull the curtain back on what it feels like to be actively designing a category as a startup founder/CEO with Hannah Grady Williams, Founder of d'Skills.After a TEDx Talk and best-selling book led to a thriving consulting business, Hannah decided to design a new category of education for Gen Z...So she founded a company called d'Skills and even recruited Christopher Lochhead to her board.Join the co-founders and ambassadors of the Category Thinkers Community, John Rougeux and Pablo Gonzalez, to pick Hannah's brain about:Why she decided to play bigger and design a categoryHow she spends her time as a founder in the middle of a category designWhat she did to monetize her idea before the category is ready to emergeHow often she iterates on her category language and strategyThis was recorded as part of a Category Thinkers Community AMA so you'll hear questions from our community being incorporated into the conversation.If you want to be part of our next online event, join our community at CategoryThinkers.com!Sponsors for this episode are:Category Design AdvisorsBeTheStage.live

Bill Macaitis is the former CMO then CRO of Slack, CMO of Zen Desk, and SVP of Marketing at SalesForce and in this conversation we dive deep into what made Slack the category king of team collaboration tools it has become.You'll notice that most of this story took place before Play Bigger was even written so this was intuitive category design by Bill and his team, and you'll have a chance to see:How Bill thinks about the way category design and product led growth work together within a go to market strategyWhy  Slack never focused on their competitors and chose to focus on their consumers insteadWhat Sketchers, Crocs, and Slack all have in commonAnd more!This is a conversation between Bill, and the co-founders of the Category Thinkers:Mike DamphousseJohn RougeuxPablo GonzalezStop just listening in and join the daily category design dialogue inside our free community at CategoryThinkers.com

Category Thinking is everywhere, and your ability to identify it in the wild will sharpen your skillset as a category designer.And in this episode of #CategoriesInTheWild, we'll examine WWE's development of the "sports entertainment" category. It's a perfect case study that every category designer should learn from.Join John Rougeux and Pablo Gonzalez in their conversation with Rajiv "Rajnation" Nathan as they explore why the WWE is one of the best modern examples of category design. They'll discuss: How new language was used to differentiate WWE from other forms of wrestling and even other sports.Why Wrestlemania was such an effective lightning strike and helped establish WWE as a staple of American culture.How changes in the technology allowed WWE to develop an entirely new different distribution channel and reach people at scale.About our special guest:Rajiv "Rajnation" Nathan is the founder and  Chief Pitch Artist of Startup Hypeman, a Category Thinkers Community Ambassador, MMA ringside announcer, and pro wrestling aficionado.When we saw Raj's LinkedIn post about how the WWE used category thinking to develop a multi-billion dollar organization, we knew he'd be the perfect addition to this conversation.To participate in our live podcasts and events, join our community for free at CategoryThinkers.com.

When founders first start considering a category strategy, they spend a lot of time bouncing ideas back and forth to develop a point of view.That can feel great or it can feel like a battle, but it's impossible to know if it's productive until they share it with someone else to see if it resonates.But how should the conversation go?  How do you know if you're making progress? How do you know if you should really pursue a category strategy?That's why we decided to produce an entirely new type of episode of this podcast that we're calling a "Category Jam",  where we showcase these types of conversations.Josh Roenitz and Kim Bach are the co-founders of DailyHuman, a company working on  problems in the workplace coming from a change in work, and a generational change in humans.On this call, they're talking to Category Thinkers co-founders, Mike Damphousse and John Rougeux, to:See if it's worth it for them to pursue a category strategyIron out a point of viewGet help with a category nameand more!Listen along as Pablo Gonzalez narrates parts of the conversation, and let us know what your takeaways are inside our free community at CategoryThinkers.com

Mark Kilens has built a career as a marketing leader and category designer with HubSpot and Drift. Now, he's the CMO at Airmeet, the company behind Event-Led Growth.In this conversation, we break down what Mark's learned as a category designer, including:How to wrap your category in a familiar context to help buyers understand it.Mark's 3 step framework for developing category language.Why category design needs to be led by a CEO who can keep the team focused on the category strategy.To participate in our live podcasts and events, join our community for free at CategoryThinkers.com.

When Apple launched the Vision Pro, it wasn't just a product launch, it was the launch of a new category called "spatial computing." But did Apple get everything right? They did a lot of things well, but we think Apple had a couple misses, too. Join us as we deconstruct Apple's newest category launch and discuss what we might have done differently.In this #CategoriesInTheWild episode, we'll cover: What Apple did differently from MetaThe problem of "leaving out the problem" Who Apple's REAL target audience for the announcement wasAbout our special guest:  Mike Damphousse scoured LinkedIn to figure out which member of our community had the most insightful post and invite them onto the stage.  That honor went to Jordy Van de Locht, Fractional CMO and Category Designer at Boil.This was recorded as a live episode with the Category Thinkers community. To participate in future shows, join our community at CategoryThinkers.com.

One of the biggest reasons we knew the world needed the Category Thinkers Community (apart from our own desire to talk category strategy all day) is that there are many misconceptions about the discipline of category design, and who it's for.In fact, the term "category thinking", expands the tent on category design in a way that allows us to use it more freely in our efforts to create businesses, careers, or social impact. Where category design was the discipline we all flocked to, category thinking is the daily muscle memory that brings categories to life. That's why we brought the inimitable godfather of category design, Christopher Lochhead, to talk about:why there is an  increasing rate of category design successes how to convince a CEO that category design is for themwhat "small 'e' entrepreneurs" seem to understand that  "Big 'E' entrepreneurs" keep getting wrongand much more!As soon as you're ready to stop just listening to this podcast and join the conversation, join our free community at CategoryThinkers.com and help end Category Isolation!

The discipline of category design was formally launched seven years ago with the book, Play Bigger. If you were paying attention, it predicted what was coming – that in the next six to ten years, category design would tip into the mainstream.That's why on category design's seventh birthday, we decided to reunite three co-authors of Play Bigger (Christopher Lochhead, Al Ramadan, Kevin Maney). In this episode, they look back at the birth of the discipline, map out the current lay of the land, and paint a vision of a rich future for category designers. We conclude with an AMA session with the Category Thinkers Community.We hit on:How they set out to establish a discipline instead of sharing an idea (and why it worked)What each of their approaches to establishing a POV looks like and how they've evolvedFailures in category design and how to avoid themAnd much more, all wrapped up in legendary behind the scene stories of bringing the book to lifeIf you want to be a part of the next conversation, join the community for category designers at CategoryThinkers.com

This isn't just a podcast.  It's the launch of a community.  A different community dedicated to the understanding and application of category design.Naturally, we're kicking it off with our POV.If you are a category designer looking for a band of pirates to be a part of...If you are category curious and looking to become category capable...If you know different beats better...Join the community at CategoryThinkers.com