Podcasts about 100m arr

En esta tertulia de Itnig celebramos un hito histórico: Factorial ha superado los 100M€ en facturación anual recurrente (ARR). Además, hemos sido reconocidos con el Premio a Emprendedores del Año 2025 por Endeavor, un reconocimiento que nos llena de orgullo y valida el trabajo de todo el equipo y la comunidad que nos rodea.También compartimos novedades clave: la apertura de nuevas oficinas, la mudanza a nuestra sede central en Barcelona y cómo estamos afrontando la siguiente etapa de crecimiento. Pero más allá de los logros, reflexionamos sobre los grandes retos del ecosistema: la inteligencia artificial, el acuerdo entre OpenAI y Oracle y el enorme impacto energético que supone el avance de la IA en la sociedad y los negocios.Si te interesa el emprendimiento, SaaS, inversión y tecnología, aquí encontrarás una conversación honesta sobre lo que significa escalar una startup desde España al mundo, los desafíos de liderar en un sector global y las oportunidades que abre la inteligencia artificial.

NumberEight converts mobile sensor data into contextual audience segments without capturing PII, addressing the fundamental breakdown of cookie-based targeting as media consumption fragments across podcasts, gaming, and connected TV. What began as a thesis project for contextual SoundCloud recommendations has evolved into a B2B data platform serving podcast platforms, media sales houses, and agencies. In this episode of Category Visionaries, we sat down with Abhishek Sen to unpack how NumberEight navigates the complex adtech ecosystem and the tactical GTM strategies that drive their expansion across multiple customer segments simultaneously. Topics Discussed: How NumberEight evolved from a Netherlands thesis project (contextual SoundCloud recommendations) to solving adtech's identity crisis Technical architecture: converting mobile sensor data to contextual audience segments without PII collection Multi-segment GTM approach across podcast platforms (AdSwizz, Triton), media sales houses, and agencies Why the company targets podcasting and gaming simultaneously despite different data density challenges Conference strategy: 45+ targeted meetings per event while completely avoiding booths Building category credibility through IAB Tech Lab standards work and white paper contributions The breakdown of cookie-based targeting as consumption fragments beyond web browsers GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Execute systematic conference preparation to maximize deal flow: Sen books 45+ targeted meetings across 4-day conferences like Cannes Lions through advance relationship mapping and mutual connection identification. The tactical framework: pre-research each prospect's annual priorities, identify shared connections for warm introductions, and plan specific value propositions for each conversation. Execute daily follow-up during the conference to prevent pipeline degradation. Sen's insight: "Prep is incredibly important... we evaluate okay, Brett, head of monetization at ABC Company. Who does Brett know that I know? What is the actual proposition we want to discuss?" Avoid booth competition when capital-constrained: NumberEight deliberately avoids exhibition booths at major conferences, recognizing the futility of competing against Amazon's "entire city mockups" and Google's massive displays. Instead, they focus on authentic relationship building through targeted meetings and dinner sponsorships. The strategic principle: startups should leverage their authenticity advantage rather than attempting to out-spend established players in awareness channels where they're fundamentally disadvantaged. Maintain strict messaging separation between investor and customer tracks: Sen emphasizes the critical disconnect between vision-focused investor pitches and problem-focused customer conversations. His customer insight: "You tell any customer you're going to revolutionize... they're like 'man, you make me money, I'll be your friend.'" The implementation: develop completely separate messaging frameworks where investor decks emphasize market transformation while customer presentations focus exclusively on measurable business impact and revenue generation. Build category authority through standards body participation: NumberEight invests significant engineering resources in IAB Tech Lab white papers and industry standards development without direct revenue impact. This work establishes credibility when defining new data categories in established industries. Sen's co-founder leads technical working groups on identity-less targeting standards. The strategic value: "If you're trying to change the game, you have to be seen as someone giving back to the ecosystem and that helps drive your credibility." Time market entry around regulatory and consumption pattern shifts: NumberEight's positioning leverages two simultaneous disruptions: privacy regulation breakdown of cookie-based targeting and consumption fragmentation beyond web browsers. Sen identifies the core market inefficiency: "Consumption has moved beyond the web... but the data companies, in terms of how data is actually collected, hasn't changed. There's a mismatch." Founders should identify regulatory or technological shifts that create incumbent solution inadequacy and time market entry accordingly. Focus on vertical-specific events over broad industry conferences: NumberEight exclusively attends podcasting-focused (specific platforms), gaming-focused, or adtech-specific conferences rather than generalist marketing events. Sen explains: "We don't attend any conferences that are generalistic... The ones we attend are very focused on either podcasting or gaming or adtech focused ones. That's where we get the most bang for buck." This concentration strategy yields higher prospect quality and more productive pipeline development than broad industry networking.   //   Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.  www.GlobalTalent.co   //   Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM   

OpenInfer addresses the enterprise infrastructure gap that causes 70% of edge AI deployments to fail. Founded by system architects who previously built high-throughput runtime systems at Meta (enabling VR applications on Qualcomm chips via Oculus Link) and Roblox (scaling real-time operations across millions of gaming devices), OpenInfer applies proven architectural patterns to enterprise edge AI deployment. The company targets three specific customer pain points: cost reduction for AI-always-on applications, data sovereignty requirements in regulated environments, and reliability for systems that must function regardless of connectivity. In this episode of Category Visionaries, CEO and Founder Behnam Bastani reveals how external market catalysts like DeepSeek's efficiency breakthrough transformed investor perception and validated their compute optimization thesis. Topics Discussed: System architecture pattern replication from Meta's Oculus Link to Roblox to OpenInfer The compute efficiency gap: why "throwing hardware" at AI problems creates market inefficiencies How DeepSeek's January 2025 breakthrough shifted investor sentiment from skepticism to oversubscription Customer targeting methodology: focusing on business unit leaders facing career consequences Government market discovery: air-gapped environments and data sovereignty requirements Technical demonstration strategies for overcoming the 70% edge deployment failure rate Privacy-first AI positioning unlocking previously inaccessible use cases GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Target decision-makers with career-level consequences: Rather than pursuing prospects who might "take a risk," Behnam focuses on "those that lose their jobs if they're not solving the problem" - specifically business unit leaders whose profit margins or sales metrics directly impact their career trajectory. This creates urgency that comfortable cloud users lack and accelerates deal cycles by aligning solution adoption with personal survival incentives. Leverage external market catalysts for thesis validation: OpenInfer initially faced investor pushback ("Nvidia's got everything working well. Why you think you can do anything better?") until DeepSeek's efficiency breakthrough provided third-party validation. "January hits and then there's DeepSeek... People called us, hey, you're DeepSeek on edge." Founders should identify potential external events that could validate their contrarian thesis and be prepared to capitalize when these catalysts occur. Lead with technical proof points over explanations: In markets with high failure rates, demonstrations eliminate skepticism faster than education. "We definitely have metrics, demos, and we go with those. We demonstrate what's possible... we remove this skepticalism in terms of ease of deployments, power of edge in one shot." This approach recognizes that technical buyers need confidence before curiosity. Pursue unexpected traction sources aggressively: Despite targeting enterprise ISVs, government demand emerged due to air-gapped environment requirements. "Government is actually becoming huge traction primarily because data ownership was a major topic to them." Rather than forcing initial market hypotheses, founders should redirect resources toward segments showing organic product-market fit signals, even when they require different sales processes. Build credibility through architectural pattern repetition: Investors backed OpenInfer because "we are the people that have built this twice, scaled it to millions." Repeating proven technical patterns across different contexts creates sustainable competitive advantages that new entrants cannot replicate without similar experience depth.   //   Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.  www.GlobalTalent.co   //   Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM 

Surgical Safety Technologies is pioneering the transformation of operating rooms from secretive environments into data-driven spaces that optimize patient outcomes. With their "Operating Black Box" platform now deployed in over 50 hospitals across the US, Canada, and Western Europe, the company has generated over 100 peer-reviewed publications demonstrating the ability to reduce patient morbidity and mortality by more than 30% while increasing hospital efficiency by $20 million annually for a typical 40-50 OR facility. In this episode, we sat down with Teodor Grantcharov, founder of Surgical Safety Technologies, to explore his 20-year journey from academic researcher to category-creating entrepreneur in the challenging world of healthcare innovation. Topics Discussed: The evolution from virtual reality surgical simulators in the late 1990s to comprehensive OR analytics platforms Breaking through the cultural resistance to measurement and transparency in surgical environments The strategic decision to target top-tier academic medical centers as early adopters Building a platform with four distinct modules: efficiency, compliance, quality/safety, and education The 10-year journey from research hypothesis to proven commercial success with measurable patient outcomes Creating the category of "data-driven healthcare" in traditionally dogma-driven medical environments GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Use demanding customers as product validation engines: Teodor's team deliberately targeted top-tier academic medical centers as their initial customer base with a specific thesis: "If we can make the best in the world even better, then we can make anyone better." This wasn't just about prestige - these customers had "internal, very sophisticated systems" and "very knowledgeable professionals and leaders" who would stress-test the platform in ways that revealed product gaps early. The approach creates a competitive moat: once you can satisfy the most demanding buyers in your category, you possess capabilities that competitors serving easier customers lack. Build category credibility through academic validation at scale: Surgical Safety Technologies generated over 100 peer-reviewed publications before their sales process accelerated, creating what Teodor calls "irrefutable" evidence. This wasn't just marketing - the publications came from top hospitals proving 30% mortality reduction and $20 million annual efficiency gains per 40-50 OR facility. The strategy transforms sales conversations: instead of pitching features, they present peer-reviewed outcomes data that procurement committees and clinical leaders cannot dismiss. Category creators in regulated industries should consider academic validation as sales ammunition, not just credibility building. Structure modular platforms for multi-stakeholder enterprise sales: Rather than forcing binary adoption decisions, Surgical Safety Technologies created four distinct platform modules (efficiency, compliance, quality/safety, education) that can be sold individually or as a complete suite. This addresses the reality that "each of those have different stakeholders" within hospital systems. The modular approach enables two distinct sales motions: land-and-expand with single-module entry points for budget-constrained buyers, or comprehensive platform sales when "we usually upsell additional modules to the subscription." This architecture is particularly valuable in complex enterprise environments where different departments control separate budget lines. Leverage mission-driven culture as a competitive advantage: Teodor emphasizes that every hire must understand "what we do, why we do it" and that the company constantly reminds itself "this is not just a gadget or an application. We have a responsibility for improving performance and ultimately improving quality of care for patients." In industries where trust and outcomes matter more than features, a genuine mission-driven approach becomes a critical differentiator that influences everything from branding to employee retention. Time market entry with regulatory and cultural shifts: The company's success accelerated as healthcare systems became more willing to measure performance and embrace transparency. Teodor observes: "Now we see hospitals recognize that you can't improve what you can't measure." B2B founders should identify when broader industry trends create openings for previously resistant categories, and position themselves to capitalize on these inflection points.   //   Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.  www.GlobalTalent.co   //   Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM 

Copernic Catalysts is developing next-generation chemical catalysts using computational materials design to replace century-old technology in the $80 billion ammonia industry. The company has raised $10 million and is working with top-five global ammonia producers to prove their Neptune catalyst can deliver tens of millions in annual savings per plant while reducing the industry's 1% contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions. In this episode, Jacob Grose shares insights from his journey from BASF venture capitalist to deep-tech founder, revealing how his team is navigating one of the most conservative B2B markets while building transformational technology for both current chemical production and future sustainable shipping fuels. Topics Discussed: The century-old ammonia catalyst problem and why the industry hasn't innovated Copernic's computational approach to rationally designing drop-in replacement catalysts The extreme conservatism of chemical industry customers and how to overcome it Multi-stage go-to-market strategy from lab samples to pilot demonstrations to commercial scale Using toll manufacturing partnerships to scale capital-efficiently while building customer trust The historical significance of ammonia synthesis and its role in feeding 8 billion people Building a platform technology for multiple catalyst products across different chemical markets GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Navigate ultra-conservative B2B markets with staged proof: Jacob outlined a methodical approach for entering markets where customers are "terrified of change" due to tight margins and operational risks. Start with small lab samples to top customers, progress to pilot-scale demonstrations over 6-12 months, then secure commercial installations. This staged approach allows conservative buyers to gradually build confidence while de-risking their decision-making process. Leverage toll manufacturing for customer credibility and capital efficiency: Rather than building manufacturing capabilities, Copernic partners with established catalyst manufacturers using an "Apple model" - they own the IP while trusted partners handle production. This approach provides three key advantages: faster scale-up, capital efficiency, and most importantly, customer comfort with proven quality control systems. For deep-tech founders, partnering with established players can accelerate market acceptance. Turn industry conservatism into a competitive moat: While chemical industry conservatism creates barriers to entry, Jacob recognized it also creates powerful moats once you're established. Companies using 100-year-old iron-based catalysts represent massive switching costs and customer lock-in opportunities. Founders entering conservative industries should view initial resistance as future protection against competitors. Design for drop-in replacement adoption: Copernic deliberately engineered their catalyst to work within existing plant infrastructure, minimizing customer adoption friction. Jacob emphasized using "base metals" (common, inexpensive materials) and standard manufacturing techniques to ensure compatibility. When disrupting established industries, reducing implementation complexity can be more valuable than maximizing performance gains. Build technical credibility through domain expertise transfer: Jacob's nine years at BASF provided deep industry knowledge that proved essential for both product development and customer trust. His background in corporate venture capital gave him insights into how large chemical companies evaluate new technologies. Founders targeting specialized B2B markets should consider how domain expertise - whether through hiring, partnerships, or personal experience - can accelerate credibility and customer relationships. Position platform technology for multiple market opportunities: While focused on ammonia catalysts initially, Jacob positioned Copernic as a platform company with computational catalyst design capabilities applicable across multiple chemical markets. This platform approach appeals to investors seeking larger addressable markets while providing strategic flexibility as the company scales.   //   Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.  www.GlobalTalent.co   //   Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM 

Eldon put a $150K line of credit on his house to start eSentire in 2001. No VCs would touch him—they didn't understand services businesses. He worked 12-hour days, 7 days a week for 7 years to hit $1M in revenue. His co-founder coded while he flew to New York on $99 JetBlue flights from Buffalo to save money. Then something clicked: they brought in an experienced CEO who transformed their scrappy cybersecurity consulting into a managed service. Revenue grew from $1M to $10M in just 3 years. They won 95% of competitive deals against Dell-backed SecureWorks by comparing themselves to a local burger joint versus McDonald's. Today eSentire is worth over a billion dollars. This is the raw, unfiltered story of building a massive B2B company without following any of the Silicon Valley playbook—no YC, no venture capital for years, just pure survival mode.Why You Should Listen:How to win head-to-head sales battles against bigger competitors with no marketing budget.Why taking a long time to hit $1M ARR doesn't mean failure.How bringing in an experienced CEO after 8 years saved the company.Keywords (comma-separated):Startup podcast, Startup podcast for founders, eSentire, Eldon Sprickerhoff, cybersecurity, bootstrapping, managed services, B2B sales, Canadian startup, MSSP, founder-led sales, pivot00:00:00 Intro00:01:00 Starting eSentire after 9/1100:03:26 The dot-com crash reality00:05:23 $150K home equity line to start00:08:32 Landing first customer at ING00:14:03 Making up the rules as they went00:19:09 Bringing in an experienced CEO00:22:44 The hamburger pitch that beat Dell00:28:36 From $1M to $10M in 3 years00:34:39 Common founder mistakes00:40:39 Chief survival officer mindsetSend me a message to let me know what you think!

Discover how Glean AI is transforming enterprise productivity with AI-powered search and intelligent agents.About the episode:Join Nataraj as he explores the evolution of enterprise AI with Arvind Jain, CEO of Glean. From its roots as an AI-powered search solution, Glean has transformed into a comprehensive AI agent platform, helping companies like Zapier, Carta, and Grammarly boost productivity. Arvind shares his journey, the challenges of building a universal AI assistant, and his vision for the future of AI at work. Discover how Glean is helping enterprises leverage AI to streamline workflows and enhance employee efficiency. Learn how Glean ensures AI delivers value safely and securely.What you'll learnUnderstand the evolution of Glean from an AI-powered search tool to a comprehensive AI agent platform.Discover how Glean helps enterprises address productivity challenges by providing quick access to internal knowledge.Learn about the techniques Glean employs to reduce hallucinations and ensure accurate, reliable AI-driven insights.Explore the diverse use cases of AI agents in sales, customer service, engineering, and legal departments.Gain insights into Arvind Jain's vision for the future of work, where AI proactively assists employees in their daily tasks.About the Guest and Host:Arvind Jain: CEO of Glean, work AI platform, and co-founder of Rubrik.Connect with Guest:→ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jain-arvind→ Website: glean.comNataraj: Host of the Startup Project podcast, Senior PM at Azure & Investor.→ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natarajsindam/→ Substack: ⁠https://startupproject.substack.com/⁠In this episode, we cover(00:01) Introduction to Arvind Jain and Glean AI(01:13) What Glean does: AI-powered search and conversational AI assistant(03:43) The origin story of Glean: Solving productivity challenges in fast-growing companies(06:46) The evolution from search to an AI assistant(09:45) The advantages of tackling hard problems in startups(12:37) Techniques to reduce AI hallucinations and ensure accuracy(17:31) Model Hub: The different models Glean uses(20:16) Use cases for AI agent platforms across various departments(24:42) Workflow agents and the importance of integrations(31:59) The future of work: Proactive AI companions(37:14) Glean's cross-platform vision(39:07) How AI is changing the business of fast-growing startups(43:39) How Glean is becoming more AI-first internally(47:04) Ideas Arvind would explore if starting over with AI(49:49) Key metrics Arvind watches at Glean AIDon't forget to subscribe and leave us a review/comment on YouTube Apple Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.#GleanAI #EnterpriseAI #AISearch #AIAgents #FutureofWork #Productivity #ArtificialIntelligence #Innovation #SaaS #Startups #BusinessInsights #Technology #AIPlatform #WorkflowAutomation #MachineLearning #DeepLearning #AIStrategy #DigitalTransformation #AIinBusiness #TechPodcast

Callidus Legal AI is transforming litigation practice by building comprehensive AI-powered workflows for legal professionals. With 1,200 customers and 100% quarter-over-quarter growth, the company has developed a product-led growth strategy that combines domain-specific AI tools with visual multi-step workflows. In this episode, Justin McCallon shares how Callidus has achieved rapid growth through a zero-friction PLG approach while building trust in a traditionally conservative industry. Topics Discussed: The current state and future potential of AI in legal practice  Callidus's approach to building domain-specific legal AI tools with visual workflows  The company's comprehensive case database containing 11 million U.S. cases  Product-led growth strategies that drove 100% quarterly growth and 1,200 customers  Performance marketing optimization for legal AI tools  Building trust and eliminating hallucination risks in AI-powered legal research  The evolution from chatbot-based tools to sophisticated visual workflows  Organic growth strategies including making case databases freely accessible on the web GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Master zero-friction PLG for professional services: Callidus achieved 1,200 customers and 100% quarterly growth by eliminating traditional B2B sales friction. Justin explained their approach: "Initially we did this with zero touch points, zero friction. You don't need to talk to anybody. It's basically just you come to our website, you sign up for a trial, you start using the app." This model works particularly well for professional services where individual practitioners can make purchasing decisions independently. Focus on high buyer-intent keywords for performance marketing success: Rather than casting a wide net, Callidus targeted specific, high-intent search terms. Justin emphasized: "A lot of people focus on words that maybe are too informational with lower buy intent." They focused on keywords like "legal AI assistant" and "legal AI research" that indicated immediate need rather than general curiosity. Founders should prioritize keywords that align with their ICP and indicate purchase readiness. Create organic acquisition through valuable free resources: Callidus moved their entire 11 million case database to the web for free access, creating a powerful organic acquisition engine. Justin described the strategy: "People have free access to every case that we have. And they can search, say Brown versus Board of Education. And we'll be one of the groups that has a page dedicated to that." This approach generates organic traffic while demonstrating product value, creating a natural conversion funnel from free users to paid customers. Optimize every funnel step with ruthless precision: Callidus's performance marketing success came from methodical funnel optimization. Justin broke down their approach: "Every step of the funnel. Break it down. What conversion rate are we seeing on this step of the funnel? What's benchmark? And then for the areas that are below benchmark, why are we not doing well?" Founders should treat each funnel step as a conversion problem to solve, using data to identify bottlenecks and creative solutions to address them. Build trust through domain expertise, not just technology: In conservative industries like law, trust is built through demonstrating deep domain knowledge. Callidus differentiates itself by combining legal expertise with engineering: "We have really visual multi step workflows, we have really deep engineering, we've tied both the legal knowledge and the engineering expertise." Founders entering regulated or conservative industries should emphasize domain credibility alongside technical capabilities. Use evaluation systems to optimize AI model performance: Rather than fine-tuning models, Callidus built comprehensive evaluation systems to optimize performance across different foundation models. Justin explained: "We've gone through and had lawyers say, hey, here's my case I've worked on in the past. Here are all of the cases I would reference here... Then we can say, okay, it looks like for this API call, GPT-4 is the best, and this one's Claude." This approach allows for dynamic optimization without the overhead of model training.   //   Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.  www.GlobalTalent.co   //   Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM 

Hamming AI has emerged as a pioneer in voice agent quality assurance, creating what founder Sumanyu Sharma calls a "new category" of QA for conversational voice agents. After spending a decade building data products at scale at companies like Tesla and Citizen, Sharma recognized an acute pain point as voice agents began proliferating: enterprises desperately needed confidence that their voice agents would work reliably before launching to production. In this episode of Category Visionaries, Sharma shares how his team accidentally created a new category by following their instincts and leveraging a decade of expertise in reliability testing, audio processing, and machine learning. Topics Discussed: The evolution from Tesla's data science team to founding a voice agent QA company How "wandering the desert" for months led to finding the perfect problem-solution fit Building a completely inbound-driven go-to-market strategy in an emerging category The decision to launch before feeling ready and building alongside customers Why the voice agent market skeptics were wrong about market size Creating enterprise trust through reliability testing at scale GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Follow your instincts when you have deep domain expertise: Sharma spent months "wandering the desert" looking for the right problem until voice agent QA clicked. He emphasizes that when you have a decade of relevant expertise, you can recognize the perfect problem when it appears. As he put it, "when you see it, you kind of know... I am perfectly equipped to solve this specific problem. I'm built for this." Founders should trust their instincts when they have genuine domain expertise rather than overthinking market validation. Build something people want before focusing on category creation: Unlike many founders who start with category creation in mind, Hamming AI "accidentally" created their category by obsessively solving customer problems. Sharma notes, "We weren't looking to create a category. We were just looking to solve a problem that we feel passionate about, that we are already experts at." This customer-first approach led to organic category emergence and sustainable demand. Launch before you feel ready and build with customers: Sharma's biggest learning was launching with a "half-baked" product rather than perfecting it in isolation. "We didn't have a product that we thought was incredible. We just thought, hey, it kind of works, but let's actually build the product together with customers." This approach accelerated learning cycles and created stronger product-market fit than months of internal development would have achieved. Leverage contrarian insights from deep market proximity: While others dismissed voice agent QA as "too small," Sharma's data science background and proximity to builders gave him conviction. He analyzed the fundamentals: "Voice is a universal API for people. Voice agents are just becoming possible. They will be unreliable. Therefore, testing is very important. That's the math." Founders should develop conviction through first-principles thinking rather than consensus market opinions. Focus obsessively on customer success over marketing in emerging categories: Hamming AI remains completely inbound-driven, focusing entirely on making existing customers successful rather than traditional marketing. Sharma explains, "The voice space is so small where if you are doing a good job and if you build a product that people love, they will tell their friends about it." In nascent categories, product excellence and word-of-mouth can be more effective than broad marketing campaigns.   //   Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.  www.GlobalTalent.co   //   Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM 

Nevermined is pioneering the infrastructure for AI commerce, building payment rails specifically designed for agent-to-agent transactions. With a vision of trillions of AI agents functioning as both merchants and consumers, Don Gossen brings 20 years of AI experience to solving what he believes will be the foundational payment challenge of the next era of computing. In this episode of Category Visionaries, Don shares insights on creating an entirely new category—AI commerce—and the unique go-to-market challenges of building for a future that's rapidly becoming reality. Topics Discussed: The emergence of two distinct agent modalities: agent as proxy and agent as independent economic actor Why existing payment infrastructure cannot handle the scale and velocity of AI agent transactions Nevermined's commission-based business model focused on agent-to-agent payments The fundamental cost model differences between SaaS and AI agents Creating the "AI commerce" category and the strategic importance of early categorization Go-to-market strategy targeting verticalized AI agent builders with Series A+ funding The infrastructure investment phase versus deployment challenges in AI adoption GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Target customers who have proven business models, not just potential: Don's go-to-market strategy specifically targets AI agent companies that have raised Series A or later rounds. His reasoning: "Hopefully the VCs that are backing them have done some due diligence. And the money they're earning is actually real." Rather than chasing every potential customer, focus on those who have already validated their revenue model and can immediately benefit from your solution. Understand the fundamental cost structure of your customer's business model: Don identified that AI agents have an inverted cost model compared to traditional SaaS—most costs are operational (OpEx) rather than capital (CapEx). He explains: "The cost model is basically flipped. Most of your cost is actually on the opex... Your operating costs fluctuate based on the request." This insight shaped Nevermined's entire value proposition around cost monitoring and settlement rather than just payment processing. Create category language early, even before market adoption: Don coined "AI commerce" in 2023 when "people were like, what the hell's an AI agent?" His approach: "It always helps to categorize and provide language that's going to allow people to understand what it is that you're talking about... It's the memeification of the category." Don't wait for your market to mature—create the vocabulary that will define it. Focus on the operational reality, not the theoretical use case: While competitors focus on connecting bank accounts to AI agents for consumer purchases, Don focuses on the underlying workflow costs: "How much does the workflow cost to actually render that outcome?" Understanding the true operational mechanics of your customers' business—not just their surface-level needs—can create significant competitive differentiation. Leverage deep domain expertise to identify non-obvious problems: Don's 20 years in AI revealed that variable AI agent responses create variable operational costs—a problem most founders wouldn't recognize. He notes: "Until recently most people didn't realize that is a major issue in operating these solutions." Deep industry experience can help you spot problems that newer entrants miss entirely.   //   Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.  www.GlobalTalent.co   //   Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM 

StretchDollar is transforming how small businesses approach employee health benefits by decoupling plan administration from funding. Rather than forcing all employees onto a single group plan, the platform allows employers to provide pre-tax monthly budgets that employees can use to purchase individual health plans they select and own themselves. In this episode, I spoke with Marshall Darr, Co-Founder and CEO of StretchDollar, about building a solution that addresses the unique challenges small businesses face in providing healthcare benefits. Topics Discussed: The limitations of traditional group health plans for small businesses under 50 employees How the 2020 IRS ruling on ICHRAs (Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements) enabled new approaches StretchDollar's evolution from being their own first customer to serving diverse small businesses The company's cost-effective go-to-market strategy focused on inbound traffic and partnerships Building trust and brand credibility in a heavily regulated industry Optimizing content strategy for both traditional SEO and emerging LLM search traffic The decision to move away from paid marketing channels GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Become your own first customer to validate the solution: Marshall's team used StretchDollar internally from day one, with his co-founder in San Francisco wanting Kaiser while Marshall was in Pittsburgh where Kaiser wasn't available. This real-world constraint validated their core value proposition. Rather than compromising on a "Frankenstein sort of national but very small group plan," they gave everyone $500 monthly budgets. B2B founders should consider how their own operational needs can serve as the initial proof point for their solution. SMB markets require ruthless cost-effectiveness in go-to-market: Marshall learned from Gusto that targeting small businesses demands extremely cost-effective acquisition strategies. With much smaller annual contract values than enterprise clients, "you need to rely a lot on inbound traffic, a lot on customer-to-customer referrals." B2B founders in SMB markets must build products compelling enough that customers actively recommend them, as traditional enterprise sales models don't work economically. Industry expertise enables superior content marketing: StretchDollar's content strategy works because Marshall spent years as a health insurance broker, selling "hundreds of group policies, hundreds to thousands of individual policies." This deep domain knowledge allows them to create genuinely useful content that attracts both traditional search traffic and increasingly, LLM-generated referrals. B2B founders should leverage their industry expertise to create content that demonstrates unique insights rather than generic advice. Paid marketing can be a distraction from fundamentals: Marshall's team discovered that stopping paid marketing resulted in only "a very marginal sort of drop in signups" while freeing up "tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars." The shift forced them to focus more on content quality and organic growth. For SMB-focused B2B founders, paid channels may be "so optimized right now that you need an insane budget and really good unit economics" to compete effectively. Self-service onboarding becomes competitive advantage: Drawing from Mercury's banking experience, Marshall realized SMB customers want to "knock this out" in 20 minutes without extensive sales calls. StretchDollar built their platform to allow self-onboarding while maintaining sales support for those who prefer it. B2B founders should consider how self-service capabilities can differentiate their solution while improving unit economics. Partnership strategy should target natural referral sources: StretchDollar partnered with Oscar Health, appearing on their website as the preferred destination for sub-20 employee groups. This creates a natural referral flow from a complementary service. B2B founders should identify companies whose customers represent natural expansion opportunities and build formal partnership channels.   //   Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.  www.GlobalTalent.co   //   Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM 

Alex Theuma speaks with Colin Nederkoorn, CEO & Co-Founder of Customer.io, about the 12 year journey to (almost) $100M ARR, running a fully distributed team across 30+ countries, and how AI is reshaping the future of SaaS. Colin shares: - How Customer.io scaled to 7,800+ customers worldwide. - Why AI is no longer optional for SaaS companies, and how Customer.io has adapted. - The challenges and opportunities of building SaaS in the AI era. - Why growth, resilience, and adaptability are key for long-term success. - His personal experience with AI tools and how they use AI internally at Customer.io Guest links: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinnederkoorn/ Website - https://customer.io/       Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward: 

Mati Staniszewski is the Co-Founder and CEO of ElevenLabs, the world's leading AI voice platform. Since launching in 2022, ElevenLabs has raised over $350M, most recently at a $3.3BN valuation, making it one of Europe's fastest AI unicorns. The company counts Andreessen Horowitz, Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross, and Sequoia Capital among its backers. Today, Mati announces that the company has hit a staggering $200M ARR. ElevenLabs took 20 months to hit $100M ARR. 10 months to hit $200M ARR. Can they do $300M in 5 months… AGENDA:  [00:00] $100M in 20 Months?! ElevenLabs Untold Growth Story [12:20] Are AI Models Already Plateauing—or Just Getting Started? [14:00] Why OpenAI Can't Beat ElevenLabs  [17:30] The Talent Wars: How Do You Retain World-Class AI Researchers? [23:10] PR vs Product: Why Most Startups Botch Their Launch [36:00] Are U.S. VCs Playing a Different Game Than Europe? [44:00] The Real Cost of AI: Why ElevenLabs Built Its Own Data Centers [59:00] Voice Agents = Multi-Billion Dollar Business of the Future? [01:05:00] Buy OpenAI or Anthropic? Which Foundation Model Wins? [01:09:30] Europe: Strengths, Weaknesses and What Needs to be Done  

Today we are joined by Gorkem and Batuhan from Fal.ai, the fastest growing generative media inference provider. They recently raised a $125M Series C and crossed $100M ARR. We covered how they pivoted from dbt pipelines to diffusion models inference, what were the models that really changed the trajectory of image generation, and the future of AI videos. Enjoy! 00:00 - Introductions 04:58 - History of Major AI Models and Their Impact on Fal.ai 07:06 - Pivoting to Generative Media and Strategic Business Decisions 10:46 - Technical discussion on CUDA optimization and kernel development 12:42 - Inference Engine Architecture and Kernel Reusability 14:59 - Performance Gains and Latency Trade-offs 15:50 - Discussion of model latency importance and performance optimization 17:56 - Importance of Latency and User Engagement 18:46 - Impact of Open Source Model Releases and Competitive Advantage 19:00 - Partnerships with closed source model developers 20:06 - Collaborations with Closed-Source Model Providers 21:28 - Serving Audio Models and Infrastructure Scalability 22:29 - Serverless GPU infrastructure and technical stack 23:52 - GPU Prioritization: H100s and Blackwell Optimization 25:00 - Discussion on ASICs vs. General Purpose GPUs 26:10 - Architectural Trends: MMDiTs and Model Innovation 27:35 - Rise and Decline of Distillation and Consistency Models 28:15 - Draft Mode and Streaming in Image Generation Workflows 29:46 - Generative Video Models and the Role of Latency 30:14 - Auto-Regressive Image Models and Industry Reactions 31:35 - Discussion of OpenAI's Sora and competition in video generation 34:44 - World Models and Creative Applications in Games and Movies 35:27 - Video Models' Revenue Share and Open-Source Contributions 36:40 - Rise of Chinese Labs and Partnerships 38:03 - Top Trending Models on Hugging Face and ByteDance's Role 39:29 - Monetization Strategies for Open Models 40:48 - Usage Distribution and Model Turnover on FAL 42:11 - Revenue Share vs. Open Model Usage Optimization 42:47 - Moderation and NSFW Content on the Platform 44:03 - Advertising as a key use case for generative media 45:37 - Generative Video in Startup Marketing and Virality 46:56 - LoRA Usage and Fine-Tuning Popularity 47:17 - LoRA ecosystem and fine-tuning discussion 49:25 - Post-Training of Video Models and Future of Fine-Tuning 50:21 - ComfyUI Pipelines and Workflow Complexity 52:31 - Requests for startups and future opportunities in the space 53:33 - Data Collection and RedPajama-Style Initiatives for Media Models 53:46 - RL for Image and Video Models: Unknown Potential 55:11 - Requests for Models: Editing and Conversational Video Models 57:12 - VO3 Capabilities: Lip Sync, TTS, and Timing 58:23 - Bitter Lesson and the Future of Model Workflows 58:44 - FAL's hiring approach and team structure 59:29 - Team Structure and Scaling Applied ML and Performance Teams 1:01:41 - Developer Experience Tools and Low-Code/No-Code Integration 1:03:04 - Improving Hiring Process with Public Challenges and Benchmarks 1:04:02 - Closing Remarks and Culture at FAL

Scalestack is revolutionizing go-to-market operations through intelligent automation, helping enterprise revenue teams eliminate what CEO Elio Narciso calls the "manual work tax" - the 72% of time sales reps spend on tedious data tasks instead of engaging with customers. With $3.1 million in funding and enterprise customers including MongoDB, Redis, and Astronomer, Scalestack has built an agentic orchestration platform that transforms how large organizations manage their revenue data. In this conversation, Narciso shares how his team discovered the massive ROI hidden in back-office automation and why the future belongs to companies that can seamlessly blend human strategy with machine execution. Topics Discussed: The concept of "manual work tax" and its impact on sales productivity  Why 95% of AI investments in enterprises are failing to produce results  Scalestack's evolution from automation platform to agentic workflow orchestration  The company's enterprise-first approach and deployment strategy with large customers  How Scalestack landed MongoDB as an early customer through targeted outbound  The role of podcasting as an ABM strategy for enterprise sales  Scalestack's vision to replace traditional CRMs with intelligent systems of action GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Target the back-office before the front-office: While many AI companies rush to automate customer-facing roles like SDRs, Narciso emphasizes that the real ROI lies in back-office automation. He cites an MIT study showing that 95% of AI investments fail when focused on last-mile customer interactions, while back-office process automation delivers measurable results. B2B founders should prioritize automating the tedious work that doesn't directly touch customers but enables better customer engagement. Enterprise customers require co-creation, not just deployment: Scalestack's success with MongoDB, Redis, and other large customers came through what Narciso calls "deployment engineers" - essentially building custom solutions collaboratively. He draws inspiration from Palantir's model of developing technology alongside customers. This approach requires significant upfront investment but creates defensible technology that can be productized for the broader market. B2B founders targeting enterprise should be prepared to invest in customer success resources that can handle complex, bespoke implementations. Use customer language to refine your messaging: Narciso completely redid Scalestack's website based on language extracted from hundreds of customer calls and podcast interviews. He emphasizes that "customers always have the best words" because they've lived the pain most deeply. Rather than relying on internal assumptions about positioning, B2B founders should systematically capture and analyze how customers describe their problems and desired outcomes. Cold email still works with enterprise buyers when done strategically: Scalestack's first major customer, MongoDB, came from a cold email to their SVP of Sales Ops. The key was targeting someone (employee #8 at MongoDB) who had an entrepreneurial mindset and curiosity about learning from vendors. Narciso's insight: enterprise operators often want to learn from startups tackling similar problems, whether to buy the solution or implement it internally. B2B founders should research target prospects' backgrounds and approach those with startup experience or operational curiosity. Podcasting as ABM for enterprise sales: Narciso uses his "Revenue Engine Masters" podcast strategically as an account-based marketing tool, targeting specific people at target companies rather than focusing on broad reach. After recording nearly 20 episodes, he's seeing inbound interest and using the content to extract messaging insights. The podcast also strengthens relationships with prospects and customers who participate. B2B founders should consider podcasting not as a mass-market strategy but as a high-touch relationship-building tool for their ideal customer profile.   //   Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.  www.GlobalTalent.co   //   Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM 

Tony Scott brings an unparalleled perspective to cybersecurity leadership, having served as CIO of the federal government, VMware, Microsoft, General Motors, and Disney before taking the helm at Intrusion during a critical turnaround phase. When Scott joined Intrusion three and a half years ago, the company was in crisis—running out of money, facing SEC investigations, and dealing with shareholder lawsuits after poor leadership decisions. Today, Intrusion has stabilized its technology, raised sufficient capital, and carved out a unique position in the Applied Threat Intelligence category, focusing on real-time packet-level network analysis that stops zero-day attacks and command-and-control communications that bypass traditional security tools. Topics Discussed: Scott's transition from government service to cybersecurity investment and eventual CEO role The crisis state of Intrusion when he joined and the turnaround strategy implemented Intrusion's pivot from direct sales to a managed service provider (MSP) go-to-market strategy The challenge of creating a new category in Applied Threat Intelligence Building and rightsizing the marketing and sales teams during the turnaround The realities of running a public company versus private enterprises Intrusion's unique packet-level network analysis technology versus conversation-based monitoring GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Do your homework before the meeting: Scott's biggest frustration as a buyer was vendors who showed up unprepared, asking generic questions like "what keeps you up at night?" without understanding the organization or its priorities. He literally had a secret signal with his assistant to escape these meetings. B2B founders must research prospects thoroughly, understand their specific challenges, and craft relevant value propositions before requesting meetings. Generic discovery calls are a waste of everyone's time and destroy credibility. Fix the product before scaling sales: The previous CEO at Intrusion hired dozens of salespeople to sell a product that wasn't ready, resulting in zero sales during his tenure. Scott prioritized fixing scalability, reliability, and feature gaps before rebuilding the go-to-market engine. B2B founders often face pressure to hire sales teams early, but selling a broken product destroys market credibility and wastes resources. Product-market fit must precede sales-market fit. Find the right distribution channel for your product: Intrusion's breakthrough came when they stopped trying to sell directly to end customers and focused on managed service providers and managed service security providers. This channel strategy worked because Intrusion's solution enhances existing security stacks rather than replacing them, making it perfect for MSPs serving SMBs that can't afford enterprise-level security expertise. B2B founders should carefully analyze whether their solution is better suited for direct sales, channel partnerships, or hybrid approaches based on customer buying behavior and implementation complexity. Embrace being in a category of one: Despite pressure from analysts and customers to fit into existing categories, Intrusion discovered they occupy a unique position in Applied Threat Intelligence. While this creates messaging challenges, it also eliminates direct competition. Scott worked with Gartner and other analysts to establish that no other company does exactly what Intrusion does. B2B founders shouldn't force themselves into existing categories if their technology is truly differentiated—creating a new category can be more valuable than competing in crowded ones. Leverage legal training for crisis management: Scott's law school background taught him to analyze situations from a 360-degree perspective, understand all stakeholder positions, and develop comprehensive strategies. This skill set proved invaluable during Intrusion's turnaround and his previous crisis management roles. B2B founders facing difficult situations should adopt this approach: clearly define the problem, gather multiple perspectives, identify all stakeholders, and develop a theory of the case for moving forward.   //   Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.  www.GlobalTalent.co   //   Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM 

Fetch Package Delivery has revolutionized apartment package management through an innovative off-site warehouse model, serving over 400,000 units and approaching $70 million in ARR. In this episode, we sat down with Michael Patton, Founder & CEO of Fetch, to explore how he built a logistics-heavy business that bridges the gap between traditional property management and modern e-commerce demands. Michael's journey from corporate finance to PropTech pioneer offers unique insights into scaling physical service businesses in markets that weren't traditionally venture-backable. Topics Discussed: Fetch's origin as a solution to apartment building package management problems The company's evolution from bootstrapped Dallas startup to national platform Building MVP in logistics-heavy businesses versus traditional SaaS Early customer acquisition strategies in relationship-driven industries Navigating the PropTech market before it became mainstream Scaling operations while maintaining service quality during hypergrowth Expanding from core package delivery to adjacent services GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Master relationship-based selling in traditional industries: Michael succeeded in the apartment industry through personal relationship building rather than digital marketing funnels. He spent months visiting properties, forming relationships with regional managers, and even secured his first customer through a handwritten card campaign that resonated with a VP who loved dog rescue. B2B founders entering traditional industries should prioritize face-to-face relationship building and understand that decision-makers often value personal connections over polished presentations. Take calculated risks to capture market timing: Fetch grew from $1M to $40M ARR in just 18 months during 2019-2021, despite not being fully operationally ready for that scale. Michael explains: "The thing that we did right was take advantage of really intense market demand when it came, even though we weren't always quite ready for it." Founders should be prepared to scale aggressively when market conditions align, even if it means accumulating technical debt or operational challenges that can be addressed later. Physical service businesses require different MVP strategies: Unlike SaaS companies that can iterate with software alone, Fetch's MVP required Michael to personally deliver packages for 18 months while building operational knowledge. This hands-on approach provided invaluable insights: "It was so valuable looking back, to be able to see every side of the business and literally four or five, six hours a day, be the last mile delivery partner." Founders building physical service businesses should expect to be deeply involved in operations during early stages to understand every aspect of their value chain. Hire ahead of immediate needs during growth phases: During Fetch's hypergrowth period, Michael deliberately over-hired on skill level, bringing in leaders who were arguably overqualified for immediate needs but would be essential as the company scaled. This strategy of "trusting leaders and bringing in the right people to lead some of the most critical ops" allowed them to maintain quality during rapid expansion. Founders should consider investing in talent that can grow into roles rather than just filling current gaps. Build platform infrastructure for adjacent service expansion: Fetch's long-term strategy always focused on establishing the "rails" between warehouses and buildings, then adding services that utilize existing trips and infrastructure. Michael describes: "We've sort of done the dirty work of building up a labor intensive business and we have sort of underlying tech to make that a lot easier now." This approach of building core infrastructure first, then layering additional services, creates significant competitive advantages and higher margins over time.   //   Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.  www.GlobalTalent.co   //   Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM 

At the TechBBQ conference last week in Copenhagen, I had the opportunity to conduct an interview with Carles Reina from ElevenLabs. ElevenLabs is that AI startup for audio applications like voice cloning, text-to-speech, and music generation, which is now valued at $3.3 billion and is among the global stars of the GenAI movement.I had a pretty exciting and open conversation with Carles, not just about audio AI, but also about a possible AI bubble, about copyright, and about what AI startups will soon be facing - listen in, it's absolutely worth it!1. From First Investor to Go-to-Market LeaderWhy Carles Reina switched from investor to operator roleThe vision of AI Voice as fundamental communication infrastructure2. Competitive Moats: More than just TechnologyResearch and model quality as core USPThe Voice Marketplace: Artists earn with their voicesMulti-layered Defensibility: The "Onion Principle"3. Competition with Tech Giants: David vs. GoliathWhy OpenAI and Google don't keep Carles up at nightThe advantage of specialization over Big TechQuality vs. Distribution: Who wins?4. Growth and ProfitabilityFrom 0 to $100M ARR in 17 monthsUnit Economics and the path to profitabilityWhy AI is not a bubbleThe Future of Startup Financing2022: Foundation Models, 2023: Applications, 2024: Distribution Why Go-to-Market becomes the new investment priority Distribution strategies for different markets5. Partnerships and LicensingWhy Apple and Meta increasingly rely on partnershipsElevenLabs Music: The legal path through record label dealsTelcos as new sexy distribution partnersSpeech-to-Speech and Real-Time Conversations6. The Future of Voice AIExpanding from 70 to 500 languagesOmni-Models: Music, voice and sounds from one modelEnterprise as fastest growing segmentGlobal expansion and new officesThe vision: ElevenLabs in every moment of the day

Moment Energy is transforming the energy storage landscape by giving electric vehicle batteries a second life. With $32 million in government grants secured and a 2-gigawatt-hour facility under construction in Austin, Texas, the company is pioneering the repurposing of end-of-life EV batteries into stationary energy storage systems. In this episode of Category Visionaries, I sat down with Edward Chiang, Co-Founder and CEO of Moment Energy, to explore how his team is solving the dual challenges of EV battery waste and distributed energy storage while building a commercially viable hardware business. Topics Discussed: The $4,000 recycling cost problem facing EV owners at end-of-life How 80-95% capacity remains in "dead" EV batteries due to single cell failures Moment Energy's vision for distributed energy storage at every neighborhood block The certification maze: becoming the first North American company to achieve UL 1974 Securing $32M in government contracts from the DOE and Canadian government Commercial-industrial customer strategy targeting Fortune 500 companies The unique challenges of hardware go-to-market versus SaaS   GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Sell on economics, not sustainability: Despite the environmental benefits of battery repurposing, Chiang emphasizes selling purely on cost and performance metrics. He explained, "We never sell based on sustainability... We just sell on typical cost and power." B2B founders should resist leading with feel-good messaging and instead focus on measurable business outcomes that matter to their buyers' bottom line. Target infrastructure decision-makers, not sustainability teams: Moment Energy focuses on buyers who "manage the energy infrastructure for the entire [organization]" because "there's a lot less education that's required. They know how to speak batteries." While sustainability teams can provide useful introductions, the real decision-makers understand the technical and economic trade-offs. B2B founders should identify the specific roles that truly own their problem space rather than getting distracted by adjacent stakeholders. Regulatory barriers become competitive moats: The extensive certification process that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars in burn testing creates what Chiang calls "a massive barrier to entry for any incumbents to come in." While painful initially, these regulatory requirements can provide sustained competitive advantages. B2B founders in regulated industries should view compliance costs as investments in defensibility rather than just operational expenses. Government contracts require commercial proof points: Chiang noted that government agencies "want to make sure that you're actually commercially ready rather than just a big marketing play." They validate systems in the field and measure actual impact before awarding contracts. B2B founders pursuing government opportunities should prioritize demonstrable commercial traction over grant-writing skills, as real customer deployments become the foundation for larger contracts. Hardware requires deeper customer conviction: Unlike software pilots, Chiang explains that their systems "cannot go down because it's not a pilot" and customers need complete confidence from day one. This means hardware founders must achieve higher customer conviction thresholds before securing deals. The extended sales cycles and higher stakes require more thorough technical validation and risk mitigation than typical SaaS implementations.   //   Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.  www.GlobalTalent.co   //   Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM 

Starboard is building AI-first infrastructure to transform global trade by improving the productivity of freight forwarders—the central coordinators who connect 15-20 different parties in every international trade transaction. With 15 years of experience in the industry, including roles at Maersk, BCG, and Flexport, Sumeet Trehan saw an opportunity to modernize an industry that has invested heavily in physical infrastructure but neglected technological innovation. The company has raised $5.5 million and is approaching $1 million ARR while creating an entirely new category they call "AI-first forwarders." Topics Discussed: Building AI infrastructure to automate freight forwarding coordination and quoting processes Creating a new category in the traditional, relationship-driven logistics industry Go-to-market strategies for selling to an "old boys club" industry that operates differently from typical SaaS markets The founder's decision to personally handle the first 20-30 sales before hiring any sales staff Vision for transforming global trade by creating a comprehensive platform for small-to-mid-sized importers   GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Cold calling still works in traditional industries: Starboard generates significant top-of-funnel activity through direct cold calling, with freight forwarders actually appreciating the personal touch. Sumeet's team achieves a 10% pickup rate and converts 15-20% of answered calls to discovery meetings by being upfront about the cold call nature and immediately focusing on business outcomes. The approach works because their target market—freight forwarders—are accustomed to making and receiving cold calls as part of their daily business operations. Door-to-door prospecting remains viable for relationship-driven markets: In industries where personal relationships dominate, physical presence can be a differentiator. Starboard literally brings donuts to prospects' offices, which works because their target market values face-to-face interactions. This approach only makes sense when your industry culture supports it and when the lifetime value of customers justifies the time investment. Founders should personally execute early sales to understand the playbook: Rather than immediately hiring sales staff after raising funding, Sumeet chose to personally close the first 20-30 deals. This allowed him to deeply understand customer pain points, refine the sales process, and develop a replicable methodology before bringing on sales team members. Only after proving out the top-of-funnel motion did he hire his first SDR, and only after closing 15-20 deals did he hire a sales leader. Physical implementation presence drives early-stage product adoption: For complex B2B products still achieving product-market fit, being physically present during implementation creates stronger relationships and better feedback loops. Starboard's team travels to be on-site when clients first use the product, which helps with both adoption rates and product development insights. They maintain ongoing communication through WhatsApp and Teams channels rather than Slack, adapting to their customers' preferred communication methods. Category creation requires education over product promotion: Starboard's marketing strategy focuses entirely on educating the market about AI's potential impact on logistics rather than promoting their specific product. By speaking at events, writing blogs, and participating in podcasts about industry transformation rather than Starboard features, they position themselves as thought leaders. This approach builds trust and creates demand for the category before potential customers are ready to evaluate specific solutions. Sequencing product development based on customer feedback: The company's current quoting product serves as a wedge, with plans to expand into marketplace functionality and then full operations automation. Each expansion builds on customer relationships and data from the previous phase. This measured approach to product development ensures each step creates value while building toward the larger vision of comprehensive trade infrastructure.   //   Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.  www.GlobalTalent.co   //   Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM 

Growers Edge is revolutionizing agriculture by eliminating the biggest barrier to farmer innovation: risk aversion. With $30 million in funding raised in just 18 months under CEO Matthew Hansen's leadership, the company has evolved from a struggling crop insurance reseller into a multi-faceted agricultural technology platform. By providing downside protection for farmers trying new inputs, expanding into direct lending for equipment and land purchases, and leveraging proprietary data insights, Growers Edge has built three profitable business lines targeting a combined addressable market of over $400 billion. In this episode, Matthew shares his journey from private equity investor to hands-on operator, detailing the systematic turnaround that transformed the company from hundreds of thousands in revenue to millions, with some business lines growing at 800% annually. Topics Discussed: Growers Edge's evolution from crop insurance reseller to comprehensive agricultural risk management platform The three core business lines: input warranties, direct lending, and data services Matthew's transition from private equity investor to operational CEO The systematic approach to company turnaround and organizational restructuring Strategies for identifying and scaling what's working while eliminating what isn't Building a customer-focused organization versus a product-focused one Attracting top-tier talent during rapid growth phases GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Lead with guarantee, not data: Matthew discovered that "putting your money where your mouth is goes a lot further than charts and graphs at the farm gate." Instead of overwhelming farmers with analytics to convince them to try new inputs, Growers Edge simply guarantees the performance. This approach eliminates the primary barrier to adoption - risk aversion - and accelerates decision-making. B2B founders should consider how they can reduce perceived risk for customers rather than just providing more information to justify decisions. Organize around customers, not products: One of Matthew's first major changes was restructuring the organization around customer needs rather than product lines. He explains the critical difference: "A company that's organized around products has something and you're trying to basically force someone to buy it, whereas the company that's focused on customers knows the customer, sees the need and provides a solution." This customer-centric approach enables rapid iteration and market responsiveness that product-focused organizations struggle to achieve. Scale winners ruthlessly while exploring adjacencies: Rather than trying to fix everything, Matthew focused on "watering the winners" - identifying what was already working and doubling down with resources and talent. He then systematically explored adjacent opportunities that leveraged existing capabilities, like using warranty data to inform lending decisions. B2B founders should resist the urge to spread resources thin and instead concentrate on amplifying proven success while strategically expanding into related markets. Build acquisition as distribution strategy: Growers Edge's acquisition of Aquoso wasn't about technology or talent - it was about buying a go-to-market engine. Matthew compares it to "when Budweiser buys a craft beer company and when you plug it into that distribution network, you see sales of that craft beer skyrocket." The acquired company's existing relationships with 28 banks and farm credits provided immediate distribution for Growers Edge's data products, doubling that business since acquisition. Founders should consider acquisitions not just for capabilities, but as a way to instantly access established customer relationships and distribution channels. Talent attraction follows momentum, not compensation: Matthew was able to recruit executives who had built three unicorn fintech companies not through compensation alone, but because of "the positive direction of the business, the renewed vigor of the fundraising and the support of very credible, fantastic sponsors." Top talent gravitates toward companies with clear momentum and strong backing. B2B founders should focus on demonstrating tangible progress and securing credible investors as much for talent attraction as for capital.   //   Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.  www.GlobalTalent.co   //   Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM 

Abel Police is transforming law enforcement efficiency through AI-powered report generation technology. With $5 million in funding, the company has developed a computer vision and natural language processing platform that automatically generates police reports from body camera footage, reducing officer paperwork time by up to one-third. In this episode of Category Visionaries, we sat down with Daniel Francis, Founder and CEO of Abel Police, to explore how a former data engineer with no policing background identified a massive inefficiency in law enforcement and built technology to address it. Topics Discussed: How a personal experience with domestic violence response times led to the founding of Abel Police The discovery that police officers spend one-third of their time writing reports Abel Police's approach to integrating with existing digital evidence management systems The unique challenges of selling technology to government agencies and police departments The company's evolution from attempting full record management system integration to standalone solutions The regulatory compliance requirements specific to criminal justice information systems (CJIS) GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Immerse yourself completely in your target customer's world: Daniel spent 32 ride-alongs with police officers across different departments, not just conducting interviews but observing their daily workflows for hours. He describes himself as "chief ride along officer" and emphasizes that he had to "creepily watch them work for hours" to understand their pain points. B2B founders should go beyond traditional customer interviews and embed themselves in their customers' actual work environment to identify problems that aren't immediately obvious through conversation alone. Start with mock data when real data is inaccessible: Unable to access actual body camera footage, Daniel created fake scenarios with friends, filming mock arrests and citations to train their AI models. This creative workaround allowed them to begin product development despite regulatory barriers to accessing real police footage. B2B founders facing data access challenges should find creative ways to simulate their target environment and data types to begin building and testing their solutions. Become an insider to overcome industry skepticism: Daniel secured a position as a "records intern" at Richmond Police Department when they wouldn't initially buy his solution, giving him access to real body camera footage and deeper understanding of police workflows. This inside access became crucial for product development and credibility. B2B founders entering unfamiliar industries should consider temporary or consulting arrangements that allow them to work alongside their target customers and gain credibility within the industry. Give away pilots strategically in government markets: Contrary to Y Combinator's advice to always charge for pilots, Daniel found that offering free trials was essential for police departments due to their complex procurement processes. He explains that "if they have to pay for something, that's a hassle" in government settings, but if they're willing to share their data with you, "they're serious about it." B2B founders selling to government should consider free pilots as a necessary investment to navigate bureaucratic purchasing processes. Build standalone solutions before attempting platform integration: Abel Police initially tried to integrate with every record management system, which significantly delayed their go-to-market timeline. They found success by building a standalone version first, then pursuing integrations. Daniel notes they "would have never sold anything" if they had stuck to their original integration-first approach. B2B founders should prioritize getting a working solution in customers' hands over achieving perfect system integration from day one. Leverage adjacent opportunities from your core market position: Once established with police departments, Abel Police identified additional problems like online citizen reporting and policy/law lookup tools. Their relationship with agencies made them "very open to new solutions" since "there's way more problems than there is solutions" in policing. B2B founders should view their initial market entry as a platform for identifying and addressing related problems within the same customer base.   //   Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.  www.GlobalTalent.co   //   Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM 

Conifer is pioneering a revolutionary approach to electric powertrains by eliminating dependence on rare earth materials while maintaining superior performance. In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, we spoke with Ankit Somani, Co-Founder of Conifer, about the company's mission to make electric powertrains as simple and manufacturable as internal combustion engines. Their breakthrough technology addresses critical supply chain vulnerabilities while enabling faster, more cost-effective electrification across industries from two-wheelers to delivery vehicles and robotics. Topics Discussed: The fundamental challenges with current electric powertrain manufacturing and rare earth material dependencies Conifer's approach to creating modular, rare earth-free electric powertrains with 90% commonized components The company's manufacturing-first design philosophy that prioritizes scalability and cost reduction Strategic go-to-market approaches for hardware companies selling to technical buyers Building brand trust and long-term customer relationships in hardware markets Earned media strategies that generated significant inbound demand without paid advertising The geopolitical implications of rare earth material supply chain constraints GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Start with manufacturing constraints, not just product design: Ankit emphasized that their team approached hardware development backwards from typical startups. Instead of designing first and figuring out manufacturing later, they started by solving the hardest constraints: "Can you actually source the materials and manufacture it cheaply first and use that to then guide your design?" This manufacturing-first approach enabled them to create products that could scale economically from day one. B2B hardware founders should prioritize understanding their manufacturing and supply chain limitations before finalizing product specifications. Target technical champions who feel the pain daily: Rather than selling through traditional procurement channels, Conifer went directly to the end designers who were "perplexed with here's so many options I need to qualify." These technical users became their champions within customer organizations. As Ankit explained, "Use that to matrix in rest of the organization" rather than becoming just another commodity option in a sea of vendors. B2B founders should identify the specific technical roles that experience their problem most acutely and build champion relationships there first. Leverage geopolitical timing for category creation: Conifer's success was amplified by aligning their rare earth-free value proposition with growing geopolitical concerns about supply chain dependencies. Ankit noted: "The most important thing is what is happening in the world that you can most closely associate with where you could have a differing opinion." They positioned themselves as the alternative when the market was actively seeking solutions to rare earth dependencies. B2B founders should identify macro trends that create urgency for their solution and time their messaging accordingly. Build conviction for multi-year hardware cycles: Unlike software where you can iterate quickly based on customer feedback, hardware requires longer-term conviction. Ankit shared: "In a hardware product you have to have at least a two year view because that's the true cycle of making the product, proving the product and put it into production." Their decision to stick with rare earth-free technology, even when customers suggested alternatives, proved crucial when market conditions validated their thesis. Hardware founders must develop conviction in their core technical bets and resist the temptation to pivot based on short-term customer requests. Use physical demonstrations as your primary sales tool: Conifer's marketing strategy centers on putting working products in customers' hands rather than relying on presentations. As Ankit explained: "When you give a product in people's hands and within two minutes they realize the value of it without going through a bunch of PowerPoint." Their approach involves integrating systems into customer vehicles so prospects can "touch and feel" the performance difference. B2B hardware founders should prioritize creating tangible demonstrations that let customers experience their product's value directly.   //   Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.  www.GlobalTalent.co   //   Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM 

This week on Spaghetti on the Wall, we're joined by Kyle Leavitt, CEO & Co-Founder of CustomerHub—the plug-and-play platform that helps coaches, consultants, and creators turn their expertise into scalable income. Kyle's a pioneer in the membership site space, a key player in scaling Keap/Infusionsoft from $1M to $100M ARR, and a passionate advocate for freeing entrepreneurs from the time-for-money trap.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyleleavitt1/Website: https://www.customerhub.com

Healthcare payments consume between $650 billion and $1 trillion annually in billing and insurance-related costs—an amount comparable to the entire U.S. Defense Department budget. At the heart of this staggering inefficiency lies a fundamental problem: when patients receive care, nobody actually knows in real-time whether the insurance will pay for it. Mike Desjadon, CEO of Anomaly, spent nearly two decades in healthcare payments before building a company to solve this core issue. In this episode, we explore how Anomaly is creating "payment assurance" for healthcare—bringing the same real-time payment certainty that exists everywhere else in commerce to an industry desperately in need of it. Topics Discussed: The massive scale of healthcare billing costs and why precision is impossible at this scale How the complex coding system (ICD, CPT, revenue codes) creates a "ridiculous Rubik's Cube" of payment determination Why healthcare lacks payment assurance while every other industry has real-time payment certainty The fundamental information asymmetry between providers and insurers that drives administrative waste Anomaly's approach to using AI and machine learning to predict payment outcomes early in the care process The strategic decision to focus exclusively on providers rather than serving both sides of the market   GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Avoid "Annual Curiosity Revenue" in favor of deep customer relationships: Mike warns against chasing what he calls "ACR" - contracts driven by curiosity about new technology rather than real value. Instead of racing to accumulate surface-level customers, Anomaly focuses on 1-5 anchor customers where they forward-deploy engineers and dedicate leadership attention. As Mike explained, "I'd rather take a much smaller amount of those trusted pitches... find me 10 of the right conversations, don't find me a hundred surface level conversations." In healthcare's 14-month sales cycles, shallow relationships burn runway without building sustainable growth. Match your go-to-market strategy to industry realities, not investor expectations: Healthcare's long sales cycles and conservative nature require a fundamentally different approach than traditional SaaS growth models. Mike structured Anomaly's capital and hiring strategy around 14-month sales cycles rather than trying to compress them. "If you know that it's a 14 month sales cycle... being realistic about those timeframes and those capital structures, you just make sure your plan on burn matches your plan on strategy." This meant hiring customer success and engineering talent before traditional sales roles, aligning team composition with the actual customer adoption process. Segment ruthlessly based on transformation readiness: Not every healthcare organization is ready for transformative technology. Mike emphasizes the critical need to identify whether prospects are "looking for transformation" versus "looking to automate an isolated process." He shares that distinguishing between these segments determines the entire sales approach. Organizations seeking transformation are willing to work through implementation complexity for substantial outcomes, while those seeking automation want predictable, incremental improvements. Misreading this distinction leads to failed sales cycles and misaligned product development. Use forward-deployed engineering as a competitive advantage: Rather than traditional customer success managers, Anomaly deploys engineers directly to customers during implementation. This approach proves particularly valuable in AI/ML applications where the technology is rapidly evolving and customer needs aren't fully defined. Mike notes, "Having engineers in that has been hugely valuable for us because we're able to really quickly deliver value, very quickly deliver outsized value." This strategy enables rapid iteration, builds deeper technical trust, and often leads to expanded contracts through demonstrated capability rather than traditional sales pitches. Build category credibility through case studies, not connections: In healthcare, having impressive investors or warm introductions matters far less than demonstrating proven results with known organizations. Mike emphasizes, "What you need in healthcare is slapping six case studies down the desk... show me the six organizations that I know that you work with that are going to tell me I should work with you." This insight drives Anomaly's entire early-stage strategy—prioritizing customer success and measurable outcomes over rapid customer acquisition, building the credibility foundation needed for future sales acceleration.     //   Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.  www.GlobalTalent.co   //   Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM 

Healthcare productivity is broken. While labor represents 60% of all healthcare spending—comparable only to the hospitality industry—the overwhelming majority of chronic disease management happens outside clinical settings with virtually no professional oversight. Phamily (Jaan Health) has raised $25 million to solve this fundamental inefficiency through their AI-enabled platform, which automates care management for patients with chronic diseases between visits. In this episode of Category Visionaries, I sat down with Nabeel Kaukab, Founder & CEO of Phamily, to explore how his company is addressing the $5 trillion healthcare industry's core productivity challenge while enabling providers to reach 100 times more patients than traditional care models allow. Topics Discussed: The parallels between early internet adoption in the 1990s and today's AI revolution Why labor costs drive 60% of healthcare spending, making productivity the only solution worth pursuing The fundamental three-party dynamic in healthcare where consumers don't pay and payers don't consume How real triage happens between patients and non-medical professionals, not in emergency rooms The transition from episodic, scheduled care to proactive, automated care management Why healthy young professionals aren't the target demographic for healthcare technology The economics of running a $15-20 million revenue doctor's office like a corner business Building sustainable growth without subsidizing customers or burning excessive capital   GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Understand your customer's economic reality before building solutions: Nabeel emphasized that healthcare providers operate under extreme economic constraints where they "do God's work but oftentimes at their own expense." He learned that approaching doctors with patient-first messaging fails because providers are already saturated with out-of-pocket expenses for patient care. B2B founders entering regulated industries must understand that their customers' willingness to adopt new solutions depends entirely on economic viability, not just value creation. If your solution doesn't improve your customer's unit economics, you're wasting everyone's time. Don't assume sophisticated organizations have sophisticated operations: Despite generating $15-20 million in annual revenue, most doctor's offices operate like small family businesses. Nabeel discovered that these substantial healthcare practices are often run by office managers who serve as CFO/COO without business school training and may not have college degrees. B2B founders should audit the actual operational sophistication of their target customers rather than making assumptions based on organization size or industry reputation. Adjust your messaging, terminology, and sales process accordingly. Target the constraint, not the ideal customer: Jaan Health succeeded by focusing on the fundamental constraint in healthcare—the 1:2000 doctor-to-patient ratio that makes individualized attention impossible. Rather than trying to serve healthy, tech-savvy young professionals who can afford premium care, they built for the massive population of chronic disease patients who need consistent monitoring but can't access it. B2B founders should identify and design for the bottleneck in their industry rather than the most attractive or vocal customer segment. Build category understanding through problem-solving, not positioning: Nabeel admitted it took nearly a decade to clearly articulate their category as "chronic care management between visits." Rather than starting with category creation, they focused intensively on solving real workflow problems for providers and patients. Only after achieving substantial scale and proven outcomes did they invest in category messaging. B2B founders should prioritize deep problem-solving over early positioning and allow their category definition to emerge from market feedback. Raise capital for growth, not survival: Jaan Health achieved 50-100% annual growth and eight-figure ARR by raising minimal capital initially and proving unit economics before scaling. Nabeel stressed raising money "when you know you can get a return on it as opposed to raising capital because you want to stay alive." This approach enabled them to sell value rather than discounting services. B2B founders should establish sustainable unit economics and proven customer demand before raising significant growth capital.   //   Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.  www.GlobalTalent.co   //   Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM 

In this episode of the East Coase Elite series, we sit down with Yotam Segev, co-founder and CEO of Cyera, to explore the incredible journey of building a cybersecurity unicorn. From the early days of a "B-minus" idea, Yotam shares how a relentless focus on customer feedback, not internal opinions, became the company's compass. He reveals the difficult but essential pivot from founder-led sales to building a world-class team, the qualities he looks for in top-tier sellers, curiosity, paranoia, and hunger and the mindset that propelled Cyera to nearly $100M ARR and a $6B valuation in just four years.

Personal AI is pioneering the next generation of artificial intelligence with their memory-first platform that creates personalized AI models for individuals and organizations. Having raised over $16 million, the company has evolved from targeting consumers to focusing on enterprise customers who need highly private, precise, and personalized AI solutions. In this episode of Category Visionaries, we sat down with Suman Kanuganti, CEO and Co-Founder of Personal AI, to explore the company's journey from early AI experimentation in 2015 to building what he envisions as the future AI workforce for enterprise organizations. Topics Discussed: Personal AI's evolution from consumer-focused to enterprise B2B platform The technical architecture behind personal language models vs. large language models Privacy-first approach and competitive advantages in regulated industries Go-to-market pivot and scaling from small law firms to enterprise contracts Unit economics advantages and 10x cost reduction compared to traditional LLMs Vision for AI workforce integration in public companies within 3-5 years GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Recognize when market timing doesn't align with your vision: Suman's team was building AI solutions as early as 2015, nearly a decade before the ChatGPT moment. When ChatGPT launched in November 2022, Personal AI faced confusion from investors and customers about their differentiation. Rather than forcing their sophisticated personal AI models on consumers who wanted simpler solutions, they recognized the market mismatch and pivoted. B2B founders should be prepared to adjust their go-to-market approach when market readiness doesn't match their technical capabilities, even if their technology is superior. Find your wedge in enterprise through specific pain points: Personal AI discovered their enterprise entry point by targeting "highly sensitive use cases that LLMs are not good for" where companies would be "shit scared to put any data in the LLM." They focused on precision and privacy pain points that large language models couldn't address. B2B founders should identify specific enterprise pain points where their solution provides clear advantages over existing alternatives, rather than trying to be everything to everyone. Let customer expansion drive revenue growth: Personal AI's enterprise strategy evolved organically as existing contracts "started growing like wildfire as more people had a creative mindset to solve the problem with the platform." They discovered that their Persona concept allowed enterprises to consolidate multiple AI use cases into one platform. B2B founders should design their platforms to naturally expand within organizations and reduce vendor fragmentation, creating stickiness and increasing average contract values. Leverage architectural advantages for unit economics: By positioning their personal language models between customer use cases and large language models, Personal AI achieved "10x lower cost" per token. This architectural decision created both privacy benefits and economic advantages. B2B founders should consider how their technical architecture can create sustainable competitive advantages in both functionality and economics, not just features. Geography matters more than you think for fundraising: Suman identified his biggest fundraising mistake as not moving to San Francisco earlier, stating "back in 2022 or 2023 is when I should have moved to San Francisco, period." He learned that being part of the Silicon Valley ecosystem and conversation is critical for fundraising success. B2B founders should consider the strategic importance of physical presence in key markets, especially when raising capital, and not underestimate the value of in-person relationship building.   //   Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.  www.GlobalTalent.co   //   Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM 

Typedef is building an inference-first data engine designed for the new era of AI agents and machine-to-machine interactions. With $5.5 million in funding, the company is reimagining data infrastructure for a world where both humans and AI systems need seamless access to data processing capabilities. In this episode of Category Visionaries, I sat down with Kostas Pardalis, Co-Founder & CEO of Typedef, to explore how the company is addressing the fundamental shift from traditional business intelligence platforms to AI-native data infrastructure that treats inference as a first-class citizen alongside traditional compute resources. Topics Discussed: Typedef's vision for inference-first data infrastructure in the AI era The transition from human-only to machine-to-machine data interactions Why infrastructure companies take longer to reach revenue but build deeper moats The evolution from pre-AI data platforms to AI-native solutions Design partner strategies for infrastructure companies Go-to-market approaches that combine bottom-up (engineers) and top-down (decision makers) strategies Category creation challenges in rapidly evolving AI markets The importance of open source and education in developer-focused go-to-market GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Start go-to-market activities during the design partner phase: Kostas emphasized that go-to-market isn't something you switch on after product development. "It's okay to go out there and talk about something that it's not very well defined or it might change, but actually it doesn't matter... go to market like just like everything else, it's an interactive process." B2B founders should begin building awareness, creating content, and engaging with potential customers even while their product is still evolving. Design partners must have real pain, not just time: The biggest insight about design partnerships is treating them like real customer relationships. "A design partner is still someone who has a problem that needs to be solved... no one is just donating their time out there... There still has to be value there." Don't approach design partnerships as charity work - ensure there's genuine mutual value exchange where your solution addresses real business pain. Product-market fit requires both product AND market innovation: Kostas challenged the common engineering mindset about product-market fit: "Many times, especially engineers, think that when we say product, market fit is that we have market, which is a static thing and we just need to iterate over the product until we find the right thing that matches exactly the market. No, that's not right." B2B founders must innovate on both the product and go-to-market sides simultaneously, including defining their target vertical and building appropriate sales motions. Infrastructure sales require dual-persona strategies: When selling to developers and technical infrastructure, you need both bottom-up and top-down approaches. "Even if you go to the manager and they love what you are saying, you still have to convince the engineers to use this thing... And they have a lot of leverage and vice versa." The bottom-up motion involves open source adoption and education, while the top-down involves traditional outbound sales to decision makers. Category creation doesn't guarantee category dominance: Having witnessed category creation firsthand, Kostas shared that defining a category doesn't ensure winning it. "It doesn't necessarily mean that because you define the categories that you are going to win at the end... Vercel was not actually the company that invented the category there." Focus on solving real problems and building sustainable competitive advantages rather than just being first to market with category messaging.   //   Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.  www.GlobalTalent.co   //   Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM 

Wispr Flow has transformed voice dictation from a frustrating novelty into a seamless productivity tool that users trust implicitly. With a recent $30 million Series A led by Menlo Ventures, the company has achieved remarkable product-market fit through 90% word-of-mouth growth and users who share the product organically without prompting. In this episode, I sat down with Tanay Kothari, CEO and Co-Founder of Wispr Flow, to learn about the company's pivot from hardware to software, their approach to manufacturing viral moments, and their strategy for competing against tech giants with distribution advantages. Topics Discussed: Wispr Flow's pivot from building voice assistant hardware to focusing on voice-to-text software The company's unique approach to achieving sub-half-second latency and exceptional accuracy Building viral growth through manufactured "aha moments" and exceptional user onboarding Competing against OpenAI and Apple through speed of execution and user experience focus The challenge of building for mainstream users beyond Silicon Valley's tech-savvy population Strategic decisions around cutting non-essential growth channels to maintain focus GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Manufacture viral moments through obsessive user research: Tanay personally onboarded the first 500 users via Google Meet, watching their facial expressions, mouse movements, and emotional reactions in real-time. This intensive observation allowed him to identify and systematically reproduce moments of user delight. He explained, "Find the things that repeatedly create delight, make sure that never dies, and then find the other places where there's confusion and kind of take them out." B2B founders should invest heavily in understanding the micro-moments of user experience, as these compound into organic growth at scale. Leverage authentic product usage by your target buyers during fundraising: When Wispr Flow raised their Series A, every VC in Silicon Valley was already using the product daily. Tanay noted, "I didn't need to convince them about why the product was good. All I had to tell them about if you believe why Whisper is good today, here is where we can take the company." This eliminated the typical product demonstration phase and shifted conversations to vision and execution capability. B2B founders should prioritize getting their product into the hands of potential investors as users before ever pitching them as investors. Build anti-fragile technology that improves as the industry evolves: Rather than competing directly with AI model capabilities, Wispr Flow built infrastructure that gets better as underlying AI models improve. Tanay instructs his team: "If at some point that you feel afraid of a new model launching, you're doing something wrong." This philosophy led them to focus on latency, user experience, and integration rather than competing on raw AI performance. B2B founders in AI-adjacent spaces should identify where they can create value that compounds with industry improvements rather than being displaced by them. Cut aggressively to maintain focus during rapid growth: Despite conventional wisdom, Wispr Flow eliminated SEO efforts entirely because "no one is searching for voice dictation" and most people don't know the technology has reached usability thresholds. Tanay applies an extreme 80/20 rule: "You can cut the 80% of the things that are not giving you the results... You find a new 20% that's going to give you 80% more results and you can just keep doing that again and again." B2B founders should regularly audit their activities and ruthlessly eliminate even "best practices" that don't align with their specific growth dynamics. Design for mainstream adoption beyond early adopters: While most AI tools target Silicon Valley technologists, Tanay identified that 95% of the population represents the real market opportunity. He noted these users "end up being your most loyal users" because they have less churn and higher lifetime value than tech-savvy early adopters. B2B founders should resist the temptation to only build for sophisticated users and instead consider how their product works for less technically proficient buyers who may represent larger market segments.   //   Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.  www.GlobalTalent.co   //   Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM 

Constrafor is revolutionizing how construction companies manage their back office operations, from procurement to embedded finance. With over $400 million in funding and 75,000 companies on their platform representing 25% of US construction companies, Constrafor has processed nearly $2 billion in invoice funding. In this episode of Category Visionaries, we sat down with Anwar Ghauche, CEO and Founder of Constrafor, to learn about the company's journey from addressing subcontractor payment challenges to building an invisible automation platform for construction's back office. Topics Discussed: Constrafor's origin story and the strategic decision to target general contractors first to access subcontractors The company's evolution from construction procurement platform to comprehensive back office automation Constrafor's approach to embedded finance and the Early Pay product for subcontractors The challenge of building in construction tech during COVID-19 and early customer acquisition strategies Distribution strategies that evolved from manual outreach to leveraging customer referrals The company's vision for invisible software that eliminates manual back office work for subcontractors Why construction remains a technology laggard and how margin compression affects software adoption GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Turn industry warnings into competitive advantages: When mentors warned Anwar that subcontractors were hard to reach and general contractors were poor software buyers, he reframed this as validation. "Instead of taking it as a negative and kind of changing the idea, I took it as kind of validation that this is great. Just because nobody else was really going to try to go after the space." B2B founders should consider whether widespread industry skepticism might actually signal an underserved opportunity with less competition. Build an indirect go-to-market strategy when direct sales won't scale: Rather than pursuing expensive direct sales to thousands of small subcontractors, Constrafor sold to large general contractors at low margins to access their 300-400 subcontractors at once. This created a distribution channel that would have been impossible to build through traditional sales methods. B2B founders should identify intermediaries or platforms that can provide access to their true target customers at scale. Recognize product-market fit through pattern recognition: Anwar knew they had achieved product-market fit when they reached customer number 10-12 requesting exactly the same thing. "We didn't have to kind of study this whole thing from scratch as if we were dealing with it for the first time." B2B founders should look for the moment when customer requests become predictable and solutions become repeatable rather than focusing solely on revenue metrics. Prioritize sales team development over marketing in B2B: Constrafor crossed $1 million in annual revenue before building a marketing team, instead focusing on sales team structure and product-led lead generation. "We've tried to build out the product to generate the leads as opposed to having to rely on marketing for warming up the leads." B2B founders should consider whether their resources are better invested in sales infrastructure and product virality before traditional marketing efforts. Leverage unique data assets for thought leadership: With 25% market penetration, Constrafor began providing industry insights on insurance pricing, material costs, and project pipelines. This data-driven approach to content creation established them as a trusted voice in construction. B2B founders should identify unique data they collect through their platform and use these insights to build authority rather than creating generic educational content.   //   Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.  www.GlobalTalent.co   //   Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM 

Storyblok CEO and Co-founder Dominik Angerer joins Alex Theuma to share how a side project evolved into a global SaaS company with 270 people in 47 countries and $138M in funding. Dominik reveals the strategies behind scaling a fully remote team, expanding into the U.S., blending PLG with enterprise sales, and integrating AI to transform content management. Hear his funding philosophy, lessons in remote leadership, and what's next on Storyblok's journey toward $100M ARR and profitability. Topics covered: - Building a global remote-first SaaS - Scaling from PLG to enterprise sales - Using AI to power personalisation and automation - Funding strategy and expansion into the U.S. - Leadership lessons from a developer-turned-CEO Guest links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominikangerer/ Website: https://www.storyblok.com/       Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward: 

Matt Palmer from Replit shares how the company scaled to $100M in ARR from ~$10M in under a year. We talk about the importance of video for teaching the non-linear process of working with AI, the challenge of rewriting documentation for a broader audience using the Diátaxis framework, and how they support a diverse community of users navigating this new AI-driven development landscape.This episode is brought to you by WorkOS. If you're thinking about selling to enterprise customers, WorkOS can help you add enterprise features like Single Sign On and audit logs. Links:ReplitReplit Agent documentationDiátaxis documentation frameworkMatt's YouTubeMatt's XReplit's Youtube

Rick built Persona into a $100M+ ARR unicorn, but he never thought it would work. In fact, Rick started Persona believing it would probably fail, and that mindset might be exactly why it succeeded. In this episode, Rick reveals how a casual project with zero expectations turned into a billion-dollar business, why early-stage startups should avoid hyper-optimization, and the secrets he learned at Square about identity fraud that became his breakthrough. If you want to challenge the typical startup narrative, this one's a must-listen.Why You Should ListenHow Rick Song took Persona from $0 to $100M ARR without believing in product-market fit.Why obsessing over optimization might be killing your startup.How to think differently about fundraising—Rick raised $2.4M without even trying.The real truth about what decisions actually matter in your early days.Keywordsproduct market fit, startup advice, early-stage founders, fundraising, hyper-optimization, identity fraud, Persona, Rick Song, Square, founder mindset00:00:00 Intro00:08:07 Finding Persona's First Customer00:17:56 How to Quit a Successful Job for a Risky Startup00:26:54 Early Product Strategy00:37:40 Hiring the First Employees Without Selling the Dream00:47:54 Fundraising Without Even Trying00:56:55 Hyper-Optimization is Hurting Your Startup DecisionsSend me a message to let me know what you think!

Connectbase is transforming how service providers buy and sell connectivity in what founder Ben Edmond calls "the connected world" - a massive $1.6 trillion industry that powers our entire digital infrastructure. With $70 million in funding, Connectbase serves 427+ service providers including 82% of the global Gartner Magic Quadrant, creating the ecosystem fabric that connects data centers, towers, fiber networks, and the thousands of providers that deliver connectivity services. In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, we sat down with Ben Edmond, CEO and Founder of Connectbase, to learn about the company's journey from solving Excel spreadsheet chaos to building the digital backbone for an entire industry. Topics Discussed:  Connectbase's rapid path from MVP to $1M ARR in 14 months without initial funding The three-layer architecture of the "connected world" industry ecosystem Building "location truth" as a core positioning strategy to unify fragmented data Evolving from "friends of Ben" sales approach to scalable go-to-market systems The strategic shift from product-focused selling to brand-driven market education Critical lessons from selling to wrong customers and wasting time on bright shiny objects Creating "categories of one" versus competing in crowded red ocean markets The 17 times rule for effective communication and message penetration in complex industries GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Ship fast when you deeply understand the customer problem: Ben launched Connectbase's first product just six months after starting the company, reaching $1M ARR 14 months later without initial funding. This speed was possible because he had lived the industry pain for years at companies like MCI. "I understood the problem very well," Ben explains. B2B founders with deep domain expertise should leverage that knowledge to move quickly from problem to solution rather than over-engineering initial products or getting trapped in endless customer discovery cycles. Resist the bright shiny object customer trap at all costs: Ben's biggest mistake was selling to consultants, real estate companies, and other customers outside his core ICP who seemed interested but weren't sustainable. "Selling to the wrong customers would probably be the number one thing," he reflects. "It's pretty easy for lots of people to deliver one time value and then move on, but it's not very valuable really focusing on customers that are going to get durable long term value and you're aligned to accelerating, supporting and uniquely positioned to help." B2B founders should resist revenue from customers outside their ideal customer profile, even when cash flow is tight, and focus exclusively on customers where they can deliver repeatable, long-term value. Time brand investment strategically around behavior change requirements: Around year three, Ben realized Connectbase needed to shift from direct sales to brand building because they were "fundamentally changing behavior and behavior is hard to change." The insight: when your solution requires market education and behavior modification, brand investment becomes more valuable than incremental sales tactics. B2B founders should time this transition carefully - after achieving product-market fit with core customers but before growth stalls due to market education barriers. Apply the "17 times rule" for message penetration in complex markets: Ben developed what he calls the "17 times rule" for market education: "If I don't say the same thing 17 times, you know, very confident that the words are not going to be completely understood and actioned on. But if I do, I'm going to get my point across and be relevant in positioning." This applies to both internal teams and external market positioning. B2B founders in complex industries should systematically track how many times key positioning concepts have been reinforced across all channels and customer touchpoints. Create categories of one by focusing on unique ecosystem positioning: Instead of competing in the crowded $35 billion telecom software space, Ben positioned Connectbase as the only "ecosystem fabric with location truth" for service providers. "I like categories of one instead of categories of many," he explains. B2B founders should identify unique positioning that combines multiple capabilities or approaches in ways competitors cannot easily replicate, rather than trying to be incrementally better at existing category definitions. Build revenue-focused marketing DNA from the foundation: Ben insists on hiring marketers who view themselves as part of the revenue engine, not just lead generators. "Vanity metrics, don't pay anyone's payroll. So you know, really focus on people that have a belief that marketing is part of the revenue engine and an important critical part and driving, you know, the marketing mix to get to close one customers and upsells and long term relationships." B2B founders should establish revenue accountability for all marketing hires and avoid the trap of optimizing for engagement metrics that don't drive business outcomes. Treat fundraising as partnership selection, not capital acquisition: Ben approaches investor selection "almost like getting married" - focusing on partners who understand the industry and can provide strategic value beyond capital. "Find the partners that actually understand your space that you operate in, be choosy, and partners that are going to, you know, help you move forward. Because business is hard... you want people in the corner with a belief and a set of skills and capabilities that are going to elevate you, challenge you, and make you better." B2B founders should prioritize investor expertise and long-term support over valuations, especially when building in specialized or complex industries.   //   Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.  www.GlobalTalent.co   //   Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM 

Digit Software is transforming how manufacturers and distributors manage their operations through what they call a "system of progress" - an AI-powered alternative to traditional ERP systems. With $3.3 million in funding, Digit targets the 87% of U.S. companies with fewer than 50 employees who have been locked out of expensive legacy ERP systems. In this episode of Category Visionaries, we sat down with Dan Koukol, CEO and Co-founder of Digit, to explore how his decade of consulting experience and hands-on CEO role at a manufacturing company shaped his vision for modernizing business operations software. Topics Discussed: Why ERP systems have remained frozen in time while other software categories evolved Digit's unique "framework-first" approach versus traditional module-based systems The company's successful turnaround of Prodigy Disc as proof of concept Creating a new category called "systems of progress" instead of competing in ERP Leveraging Reddit and AI search for B2B vertical SaaS marketing Building a marketing team of two that generates significant leverage through AI tools The beachhead strategy focusing on distributors and light manufacturers GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Turn operational experience into category insight: Dan's decade of consulting for 100+ manufacturers and distributors, plus his hands-on CEO experience at Prodigy Disc, gave him unique insights that pure tech founders lack. He explains, "I can tell you if you're a manufacturer, you probably have a workbench that, you know, you have old inventory shelf and some plywood over it that you know, work on your tooling. Like we've been in the day to day, we've gotten our shoes dirty." B2B founders should deeply embed themselves in their target customers' daily operations to build authentic understanding and credibility. Create blue ocean through strategic language positioning: Rather than competing head-to-head in the crowded ERP market, Dan positioned Digit as a "system of progress" - deliberately avoiding ERP terminology with its negative connotations of being "slow, rigid, expensive." He notes, "Digit's not an ERP is kind of the framing. We are a system of progress for a system of action." B2B category creators should identify existing category baggage and create new language that reframes the conversation around their unique value proposition. Provide framework before features: Unlike traditional ERPs that "throw a bunch of modules at you and let you fend for yourself," Digit starts with a comprehensive framework showing companies exactly what they should be doing to succeed. Dan describes it as "a 10 by 10 grid like in Excel, where the hundred cells represent everything as a company you need to be doing to be great." B2B founders should lead with strategic guidance and frameworks rather than just feature sets, especially when targeting less sophisticated buyers. Leverage emerging channels for B2B vertical SaaS: Dan discovered that Reddit became one of their best lead generation engines, with communities around specific legacy systems where users complain "thread after thread." They use Reddit for both product development insights and lead generation. B2B founders should explore non-traditional channels where their target customers gather to discuss pain points, especially in vertical markets. Optimize for AI search alongside traditional SEO: Digit intentionally strategies to get mentioned across AI models like ChatGPT, Grok, and Gemini, using YC company tools to measure AI mention frequency. Dan explains they're "actively doing" this measurement on their internal scorecard. B2B founders should develop parallel strategies for traditional search and AI recommendation engines, as customer discovery patterns evolve. Build efficient teams through AI leverage: With just a two-person marketing team, Digit generates significant output using AI tools like Google's VO3 for video production and various automation tools for personalized messaging. Dan emphasizes how "revenue per employee, that metric is going way up" due to AI capabilities. B2B founders should prioritize AI-powered efficiency over headcount growth, especially in go-to-market functions.   //   Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.  www.GlobalTalent.co   //   Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM 

This special episode comes live from SaaStock USA 2025. PandaDoc President Keith Rabkin joins Go Nimbly CEO Jen Igartua to reveal the strategies that took them from $70M to $100M ARR in just 2.5 years. In the 20 minute chat, Keith shares: - How PandaDoc wins against incumbents Docusign and Salesforce. - The strategy that helped PandaDoc increase financial results, despite headcount decreasing through attrition. - One metric that eliminates sales and marketing friction. - The AI implementations that are actually driving results. Guest links: Jen Igartua - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jen-igartua/ https://gonimbly.com/ Keith Rabkin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/krabkin/ https://www.pandadoc.com/       Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward: 

If you're building before validating the market, you're not a founder — you're a hopeful builder. In this episode, Bocar Dia, Partner and GM at Forum Ventures, shares how to build a capital-efficient, scalable sales motion in B2B SaaS, from idea to product-market fit and beyond. Drawing from his early days at Hootsuite and advising 30+ founders annually, Bocar unpacks the frameworks and mindsets for growing to $100M ARR without chasing inflated valuations.Specifically, Bocar covers:(03:13) Bocar Dia shifts from engineering to sales at early-stage Hootsuite.(12:09) Validate real pain, then pinpoint key problems to shape your MVP.(20:01) Founders often raise before soul-searching — and end up misaligned.(25:10) Product-market fit is when value drives steady inbound demand.(30:17) Sales has three phases: product fit, GTM fit and scale.(36:57) Don't scale early traction. Prove one repeatable channel first.(41:57) Hire Customer Success before Sales to drive renewals and growth.(46:30) Founders who sell first know exactly what kind of leaders and reps to hire next.(51:00) AI can help sales, but manual validation is needed before scaling.(57:53) Bocar recommends data-driven, tactical sales books for founders.Resources Mentioned:Bocar Diahttps://www.linkedin.com/in/bocardia/Forum Ventures | LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/forumvc/Forum Ventures | Websitehttps://www.forumvc.com/"The Sales Acceleration Formula" by Mark Robergehttps://www.amazon.com/Sales-Acceleration-Formula-Technology-Inbound/dp/1119047072"Founding Sales" by Pete Kazanjyhttps://www.amazon.com/Founding-Sales-Go-Market-Handbook/dp/1734505117Winning by Designhttps://winningbydesign.com/resources/books/This episode is brought to you by:Leverage community-led growth to skyrocket your business. From Grassroots to Greatness by author Lloyed Lobo will help you master 13 game-changing rules from some of the most iconic brands in the world — like Apple, Atlassian, CrossFit, Harley-Davidson, HubSpot, Red Bull and many more — to attract superfans of your own that will propel you to new heights. Grab your copy today at FromGrassrootsToGreatness.comEach year the US and Canadian governments provide more than $20 billion in R&D tax credits and innovation incentives to fund businesses. But the application process is cumbersome, prone to costly audits, and receiving the money can take as long as 16 months. Boast automates this process, enabling companies to get more money faster without the paperwork and audit risk. We don't get paid until you do! Find out if you qualify today at https://Boast.AILaunch Academy is one of the top global tech hubs for international entrepreneurs and a designated organization for Canada's Startup Visa. Since 2012, Launch has worked with more than 6,000 entrepreneurs from over 100 countries, of which 300 have grown their startups to seed and Series A stage and raised over $2 billion in funding. To learn more about Launch's programs or the Canadian Startup Visa, visit https://LaunchAcademy.caContent Allies helps B2B companies build revenue-generating podcasts. We recommend them to any B2B company that is looking to launch or streamline its podcast production. Learn more at https://contentallies.com#ProductMarketFit #CustomerSuccess #VentureCapital #Product #Marketing #Innovation #StartUp #GenerativeAI #AI

On this episode of the Somewhat Frank Podcast, Frank Gruber (X and IG: @FrankGruber), John Guidos (IG: jgoodtimes83), Jen Consalvo (X: @noreaster), and Simon Kahan (IG: simonkahan) discuss the following topics:   Twitter Founder Jack Dorsey Launched Messaging App That Doesn't Need Internet. - https://www.inc.com/sam-blum/twitter-co-founder-jack-dorsey-just-launched-a-messaging-app-that-doesnt-need-the-internet/91210801    Harvard scientist believes interstellar comet could be alien craft: "We should put all possibilities on the table." - https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/harvard-scientist-comet-alien-craft-earth/    Eight months in, Swedish unicorn Lovable crosses the $100M ARR milestone. - https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/23/eight-months-in-swedish-unicorn-lovable-crosses-the-100m-arr-milestone/   Australia is expanding its current restrictions on social media use by children under 16 and the ban now includes YouTube. - https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpv0zkxx0njo    North Spore - Based in Portland, Maine, North Spore (https://northspore.com) is the premier destination for all your mushroom growing needs. As the #1 mushroom growing shop, North Spore provides everything you need to cultivate mushrooms.   Check out our most recent Startup of the Year podcast episode, where we were joined by Dr. Amy Beckley, from PROOV, who is changing the landscape of women's health. Listen here: https://soty.link/Pod140   We also upload our episodes to YouTube in video format so you can see us now. Check it out on Established YouTube, where you can subscribe to get updates when we drop a new episode at: https://soty.link/ESTYouTube    As always, thank you for listening, and feel free to reach out and let us know what you think at: somewhatfrank@est.us   

DermaSensor has developed the first FDA-cleared, AI-powered skin cancer detection device specifically designed for primary care physicians. After spending $27 million on R&D over eight years and conducting 15 clinical studies, the company received FDA clearance in January 2024. Using elastic scattering spectroscopy, the device analyzes cellular and subcellular structures in skin tissue—the same characteristics pathologists examine under microscopes—to provide objective skin cancer risk assessments in under 30 seconds. In this episode, CEO Cody Simmons shares the journey from Boston University research lab to commercial deployment across hundreds of medical practices. Topics Discussed: DermaSensor's eight-year development journey from 30-pound research devices to handheld commercial products The FDA clearance process requiring five pre-submission meetings and over 10,000 pages of documentation Strategic decision to target primary care physicians rather than dermatologists based on competitive intelligence Clinical validation showing device accuracy matches in-person dermatologist assessments Commercial launch strategy achieving coverage from major media outlets without a major PR firm Rapid adoption by hundreds of private practices within the first year post-clearance GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Learn from competitive failures before choosing your market: Cody observed companies spending "literally hundreds of millions of dollars" targeting dermatologists with similar devices, only to see them "commercially immediately fizzled out" within 2-4 years. Dermatologists, being experts, were confident in their existing processes and questioned why they needed additional tools. This competitive intelligence led DermaSensor to target primary care physicians who welcomed objective second opinions. B2B founders should study why similar solutions failed in adjacent markets and identify underserved segments where their value proposition resonates more strongly. Align your commercial strategy with regulatory requirements years in advance: Cody emphasized that you must "align your plan like your commercial plan with your study" and your FDA indication for use, determining "who's actually approved to use the device for what purpose." This planning must happen years before approval since clinical studies are designed around the intended commercial application. B2B founders in regulated industries should work backwards from their go-to-market strategy when designing regulatory pathways, ensuring clinical evidence supports their target market and use cases. FDA clearance itself can be your biggest PR moment: DermaSensor achieved coverage on ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, Forbes, Reuters, and Time Magazine's Best Inventions list primarily because "the FDA clearance itself was so big" for a first-in-class device addressing "the most common cancer." They worked with only an independent PR consultant, not a major firm. B2B founders should recognize that major regulatory milestones, especially for novel technologies, inherently generate media interest and plan their launch communications accordingly. Prioritize speed and simplicity when displacing manual processes: The device works in "less than 30 seconds" from pickup to result, addressing primary care physicians who previously had to rely on visual assessment with minimal dermatology training (only "two to four hours of training in medical school"). The combination of speed, objectivity, and ease of use made adoption attractive to non-specialists. B2B founders should design solutions that are dramatically faster and more accurate than existing manual processes, especially when targeting users who lack specialized expertise. Private practices adopt faster than health systems but both are essential: Cody noted that "private practices, because they make decisions so quickly" with "one or two doctors that run the practice" were able to rapidly adopt the technology. However, health systems provide validation and scale. The company focused on building "that whole ecosystem" where "health systems using a private practice, using it. Dermatologists are aware of it." B2B founders should sequence their go-to-market to capture quick wins from agile smaller customers while simultaneously pursuing enterprise accounts for long-term growth and market credibility.   //   Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.  www.GlobalTalent.co   //   Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM 

SaaS companies were traditionally measured on how many years it took to achieve $100M ARR - a key milestone! In today's brave new world of AI, this milestone is now measured in MONTHS. Dave "CAC" Kellogg and Ray "Growth" Rike highlight discuss this new AI growth metric in today's episode with many examples including:LovableCursorWizBoltAnthropicOpenAIDave and Ray discuss how these new hypergrowth AI-Native companies compare to some of the fastest growing traditional SaaS companies including DocuSign, Atlassian, Box, HashiCorp, Zoom and Slack.The Metrics Brothers then dive a little deeper into the details of the "months to $100M" to discuss WHEN does that clock begin to tick, at launch or at $1M ARR? They then go beyond just AI and discuss how Product-Led Growth was once viewed as a key to accelerating growth to $100M and where the reality meets the expectations.Lastly, CAC and Growth discuss one example of a fast growing AI company that could not quite sustain the early growth trajectory that was greatly helped by the hype and the hope of AI - a cautionary tale for other high flyers or just an interesting data point?Take a listen to this episode if you are involved, interested or evaluating how growth rate expectations for software companies in the new era of software!!!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Prior Labs is pioneering foundation models for structured data, bringing transformer technology from the generative AI world to tabular data that sits in databases and spreadsheets across every business. With $9 million in funding and over 1.5 million downloads of their open-source model, Prior Labs is revolutionizing how data scientists work with structured data by creating universal models that can handle multiple use cases instead of requiring custom models for each specific application. In this episode, I sat down with Sauraj Gambhir, Co-Founder of Prior Labs, to explore how they're transforming machine learning workflows from taking days to seconds and building a global community around their breakthrough technology. Topics Discussed: Prior Labs' mission to bring transformer technology to structured data and tabular datasets The transition from traditional 20-year-old machine learning methods to universal foundation models Building a horizontal product that serves data scientists across finance, healthcare, and scientific research The company's open-source strategy with 1.5 million downloads and community-driven development Social media and community-building tactics that drove adoption across LinkedIn, Twitter, and Discord Scaling from 3 to 16 team members in seven months while maintaining technical focus Fundraising strategy for AI companies and the balance between raising enough capital without over-inflating Plans for geographic expansion from Berlin to the US market GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Lead with open source for technical audiences: Prior Labs built their entire go-to-market strategy around an open-source model that anyone can download and use for free. Sauraj explained, "We've got like over one and a half million downloads and it is open source. You just need to attribute us that you're using our model." This approach allowed them to achieve massive adoption while building credibility with their technical audience. B2B founders targeting developers or technical users should consider how open source can accelerate adoption and community building before monetization. Build community ownership, not just engagement: Sauraj approaches community building like team building, saying, "If you think about your team as a founder, like when you build a team, you want them to feel like it's their company... I'm trying to take that same philosophy towards community building." He creates biweekly Discord updates where half the content showcases community contributions, leading members to actively submit their use cases and request features. B2B founders should design community programs that make users feel like co-creators rather than passive consumers. Leverage co-founder networks strategically for different audiences: Prior Labs uses each co-founder's unique network to reach different segments. Sauraj noted, "One of my co founders has been a professor of machine learning for the last 12 years. So he already had a pretty good following of let's say the data science community... when we need to generate inbound, I'm the one pushing when we need to like generate more technical applications for people to apply for jobs with us. We're going through my co founders networks." B2B founders should map their founding team's networks and assign go-to-market responsibilities based on audience alignment rather than traditional roles. Focus adoption over monetization in emerging categories: Despite having paying customers, Prior Labs keeps their API free and focuses entirely on adoption metrics. Sauraj explained, "Right now we are offering it for free because we just want like adoption is really the biggest use case at the moment... when we have like the next versions of the models, that's really when we're going to be able to flip the switch." In category creation, B2B founders should prioritize proving product-market fit and building market awareness before optimizing revenue, especially when building foundational technology. Use technical documentation as brand building: Instead of focusing on traditional marketing materials, Prior Labs invested heavily in developer-focused assets. Sauraj said, "We were really focused on getting really good docs in place, really good, like GitHub read me in place. And the brand was really kind of like building this community and being like open and honest with the community." B2B founders serving technical audiences should treat documentation, GitHub presence, and developer resources as primary brand touchpoints rather than secondary marketing materials.   //   Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.  www.GlobalTalent.co   //   Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM 

Staris AI is pioneering a new approach to application security, moving beyond traditional vulnerability scanning to create what they call "total context security." With $5.7 million in funding, the company is building an AI-powered platform that doesn't just find security issues but provides complete context about business risk and automated fixes. In this episode of Category Visionaries, I sat down with Adam Cecchetti, CEO and Co-Founder of Staris AI, to learn about his transition from bootstrap founder to venture-backed CEO and his vision for creating an immune system for applications on the internet. Topics Discussed: The evolution from bootstrap companies to venture-backed scaling How 200+ customer discovery conversations shaped Staris AI's product direction Creating the "total context security" category in a crowded application security market The impact of AI on both security threats and solutions Building founder-led sales processes before transitioning to broader marketing Long-term vision of creating an immune system for internet applications GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Conduct extensive customer discovery before building: Adam and his co-founder talked to over 200 CISOs, CTOs, and CIOs before finalizing their product direction. The key insight: "People do not need more to do. They do not need more work, they do not need more bugs. They don't need bugs cheaper or better or faster. They really need this problem to start shrinking." This extensive research revealed that the market didn't need another tool to find vulnerabilities—they needed solutions that actually reduced their security workload. Define what you don't do to clarify positioning: Adam shared a powerful insight from his previous company: "I sold more work telling people what I didn't do versus what we did do." In crowded markets like security, clearly articulating what you don't do helps prospects understand your unique value proposition. For Staris AI, being explicit about not being "an ASPM" or other specific security categories helps differentiate their total context approach. Leverage founder networks for initial traction: Rather than launching broad marketing campaigns, Adam is using his 25 years of industry relationships for initial customer acquisition. "We're going back to a lot of our people we had talked to initially when we started the company, as well as some old customers and colleagues and friends to be able to say, hey, let's do some proof of concepts." This approach allows for rapid iteration and product refinement based on trusted customer feedback. Create category names that are immediately understandable: While evaluating options like "next gen pen testing" and "AI security co-pilots," Adam chose "total context security" because it clearly communicates value. The name immediately conveys what the solution does—providing complete context at every step of the security process. In technical markets, clarity often beats cleverness in category naming. Time market expansion carefully: Despite having funding and proven traction, Adam is deliberately waiting until Q4 to ramp marketing efforts. "We've been really laser-like focused on building a great product, getting a good story for our customers, understanding what truly provides them value before we kind of went out and mass broadcasted that message." This disciplined approach ensures product-market fit before scaling go-to-market efforts.   //   Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.  www.GlobalTalent.co   //   Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM 

Dusty Robotics is pioneering construction automation with a multi-stage product that spans from planning to installation. At its core is an automated layout robot that takes digital building plans and prints them directly on construction sites, preserving digital quality throughout the entire construction process. With $69.5 million in funding, Dusty has established itself as the market leader in construction robotics. In this episode of Category Visionaries, Tessa Lau shares her journey from accidentally getting their first $5,000 invoice to creating "The Dusty Way" - a new method for construction that promises higher quality, less rework, and greater profitability. Topics Discussed: Dusty's evolution from a "drop-in replacement" positioning to creating an entirely new construction method The accidental path to their first paying customer and learning to price robotics services Strategic positioning evolution: from robot features to outcomes-based messaging Building market leadership in construction robotics through public testing and iteration Creating "The Dusty Way" as a category-defining methodology with ChatGPT's help Event-driven marketing strategy for the tactile, physical construction industry The challenge of focusing on one ideal customer profile when the technology works across multiple segments Co-creating methodology with customers rather than dictating new processes to industry experts GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Build in public, especially for hardware: Tessa's top advice for robotics founders is "Don't be in stealth. Stealth is stupid." Since hardware companies typically only get 1-2 shots on goal due to time and capital constraints, you must validate market demand before building. Dusty spent their first year doing free "print jobs" in public, gathering feedback and iterating monthly. This public approach not only validated their technology but also built market awareness and credibility. Position for comfort first, expand the vision later: When introducing new technology, Dusty initially positioned their robot as a "drop-in replacement for a guy with a chalkbox and a measuring tape." This made customers comfortable because it required no process changes and was low-risk. Only after establishing market trust did they expand to positioning themselves as creating an entirely new construction methodology. B2B founders should start with familiar positioning that reduces buyer risk, then gradually expand their vision as trust builds. Solve for outcomes, not features: Tessa emphasizes the constant battle against feature-focused messaging: "Our customers don't buy robot, they need an outcome." Instead of highlighting technical specs like "16th vintage accurate" or "10 times faster," successful messaging focuses on what customers actually care about: quality, certainty, and predictability. This shift from product features to business outcomes is critical for technology companies selling into traditional industries. Leverage AI for strategic breakthrough thinking: The "Dusty Way" concept emerged from Tessa's ChatGPT conversations about breaking out of the "robot trap" where customers viewed them as a project tool rather than a strategic platform. ChatGPT suggested framing their offering as "a trusted method for doing construction," which became the foundation for their category creation strategy. B2B founders should consider AI as a brainstorming partner for strategic challenges, not just operational tasks. Events are critical for physical product adoption: In construction, "seeing is believing" because buyers are "physical thinkers, not abstract thinkers." Dusty's event strategy centers on live robot demonstrations, often becoming "the best show on the floor" because they're so different from typical software booths. They print multi-trade layouts continuously throughout conferences, allowing attendees to see the technology in action. B2B founders with physical products should prioritize live demonstrations and tactile experiences over traditional software marketing approaches. Focus timing: Identify your first bowling pin: Dusty's biggest current challenge is focusing on one core customer segment despite having a product that works across multiple construction markets. Tessa emphasizes the discipline required to pick one "bowling pin" customer type, master that segment, then expand to adjacent segments. The key is setting specific dates for when you'll address other ICPs, making the focus decision feel temporary rather than permanent. This approach reduces the psychological difficulty of saying no to revenue opportunities. Construction is not one market: Tessa's key advice for construction tech founders is recognizing that construction consists of many distinct markets with different buyers, value propositions, and payment capabilities. Even within a single project, different stakeholders have vastly different needs and budgets. Success requires choosing one specific segment early and deeply understanding their unique pain points, decision-making process, and implementation requirements.     //   Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.  www.GlobalTalent.co   //   Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM   

Tera AI is pioneering a software-centric approach to robotics, moving away from traditional hardware-dominated solutions toward a unified operating system for robotic platforms. After raising $8 million and transitioning from insurance applications to robotics, the company is building what founder Tony Zhang envisions as "a general purpose operating system for robot platforms" powered by spatial foundation models. In this episode of Category Visionaries, Tony shares his journey from Google X to founding Tera AI, including hard-won lessons about market validation, customer discovery, and the critical importance of understanding buyer priorities. Topics Discussed: Tera AI's evolution from geospatial foundation models in insurance to robotics applications The challenges of customer discovery in regulated industries like insurance Tony's experience at Google X and the ChatGPT moment that sparked entrepreneurial action First Round's Product Market Fit program and structured customer discovery methodology The transition from hardware-centric to software-centric robotics architecture Fundraising strategies and developing instincts for investor feedback Building a team of top-tier AI researchers in a competitive talent market GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Lead with priority validation, not pain discovery: Tony learned the hard way that not every pain point can be solved on a VC timeline. His breakthrough insight was asking upfront: "Tell me if this is one of your top three priorities. If not, tell me what are those three priorities." He discovered that many insurance prospects liked their solution but had more pressing infrastructure problems unrelated to AI. B2B founders should qualify buyer priorities before presenting solutions to avoid getting trapped in lengthy sales cycles for non-critical problems. Understand regulatory constraints early in enterprise markets: Tera AI spent nearly a year in insurance before realizing that regulatory barriers made technology adoption extremely difficult, regardless of product-market fit. Tony explains: "Because of the regulations in America, it is incredibly difficult for an insurer or carrier to adopt new technology, especially technology that was as new as the stuff that we were building." Founders entering regulated industries should map compliance requirements and adoption timelines before committing significant resources. Structure customer discovery to eliminate waste: Through First Round's PMF program, Tony discovered they were doing discovery calls inefficiently, often requiring multiple meetings with the same prospects. The key insight was asking the right qualifying questions upfront rather than leading with solutions. This approach eliminated unnecessary follow-up meetings and accelerated their discovery process by 5x. Founders should develop structured discovery frameworks with clear qualifying criteria before scaling outreach efforts. Market timing requires both technology readiness and buyer urgency: Tony's "ChatGPT moment" wasn't just about technological possibility—it was about recognizing the convergence of technical capability and market readiness. He emphasizes: "It wasn't too early, it wasn't too late." The key was understanding that spatial AI could finally deliver value that buyers were ready to adopt. Founders should evaluate both technical feasibility and market timing when deciding on startup opportunities. Attract talent with novel technical challenges, not just compensation: Despite intense competition for AI talent in Silicon Valley, Tera AI successfully recruits top researchers by offering genuinely innovative work. Tony explains: "We genuinely try to innovate across the entire stack. We build our own models, we build our own datasets, we can write papers on the things we're doing." They target researchers who are "bored to death by the LLM world" and want to work on groundbreaking spatial AI problems. B2B founders should differentiate their companies through technical novelty and research opportunities, not just competitive salaries.     //   Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.  www.GlobalTalent.co   //   Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM 

Chain.io is a vertical integration platform deeply embedded in the shipping and logistics space, helping connect massive freight companies with retail brands through the millions of messages required to track shipments and navigate customs. With $18 million in funding, the company has positioned itself as critical infrastructure for an industry that became front-page news during COVID. In this episode, Brian Glick shares hard-won lessons about building in a legacy industry, the realities of enterprise sales cycles, and why he never took himself out of the sales process. Topics Discussed: Building vertical iPaaS for logistics before the category existed in supply chain How COVID accelerated understanding of data movement as a strategic problem The challenge of selling complex integration technology to legacy industries Transitioning from founder-led sales while maintaining founder involvement Using podcasting as relationship-building infrastructure for 10-year customer lifecycles Building authentic employee thought leadership without formal programs The impact of AI on traditional integration and data movement businesses GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Don't fully remove yourself from enterprise sales—strategically deploy your founder advantage: Brian learned that completely stepping back from sales was a mistake. Instead, he discovered the power of strategic founder involvement: "As a founder I am an incredible asset to my team, but that doesn't mean I have to be on every meeting." He now enters deals at the beginning to build relationships, trusts his sales team to advance opportunities, then returns at crucial moments to help close negotiations. This approach maximizes founder value while empowering the sales team. Timing pain points matters more than pain intensity: Chain.io experienced a counterintuitive sales pattern during COVID—initial uptick as customers felt pain, followed by a downturn when pain became overwhelming. Brian observed: "A little bit of pain is good for sales... when it gets too much pain, people freeze up." B2B founders should recognize that acute customer pain creates urgency, but excessive pain paralyzes decision-making. The sweet spot is when customers feel enough discomfort to act but retain capacity to evaluate new solutions. Legacy industries require relationship-based, not scale-based GTM motions: After trying to build a "standard SaaS BDR SDR style go-to-market machine," Brian realized it was wrong for both his market timing and industry culture. He pivoted back to relationship-driven sales focused on live events and consultative engagement. For enterprise logistics customers making decisions that affect 40 countries, "nothing is simple and no decision is made by one person who's going to click a buy now button." Founders in traditional industries should think more like SAP than HubSpot. Use podcasting as relationship infrastructure, not lead generation: Brian launched his podcast "almost day one" as free marketing, but discovered its real value in relationship building for long sales cycles. He doesn't track metrics or measure ROI traditionally, noting: "I know that I've gotten a CIO of a major freight company... [who] sent me a screenshot of my podcast... and I know how much that one customer pays me is more than I've ever invested in the podcast." For B2B founders with complex sales cycles, content should build relationships rather than optimize for attribution. Build category understanding through customer education, not just problem-solving: When Chain.io launched in 2017, "that category did not exist in supply chain." Brian spent years helping customers understand that data movement was a strategic, first-tier problem rather than something "you tack on the end of some other project." Category creation often requires patient market education—founders must be prepared to invest in customer understanding before expecting rapid adoption, especially in conservative industries.   //   Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.  www.GlobalTalent.co   //   Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM 

New Sun Road is an energy tech company pioneering the acceleration of renewable energy deployment through their IoT and cloud-based platform. As a public benefit corporation, they focus on underserved communities while managing over 1,500 systems across diverse applications from wildfire mitigation with PG&E to remote telecommunications towers. In this episode of Category Visionaries, we sat down with CEO Adrienne Pierce to explore how they've built a platform that serves as the "brain" for distributed energy systems and their unique approach to go-to-market in the complex energy sector. Topics Discussed: New Sun Road's evolution from energy access solutions to comprehensive renewable energy platform management The company's IoT and cloud-based approach to monitoring and controlling distributed energy resources Their diverse customer base spanning solar installers, utilities, telecommunications, and remote communities The complexity of 6-18 month sales cycles in energy infrastructure projects Strategic pivot from sector-focused to partner-enabled go-to-market approach Operating as a public benefit corporation and its impact on team alignment and business development Navigating regulatory changes and their delayed impact on project timelines Thought leadership strategy around emerging technologies like vehicle-to-grid and networked microgrids GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Partner with domain experts rather than becoming one yourself: Adrienne explained their strategic shift: "We started with kind of a sector strategy where we're like, oh, we can do electric vehicles... But what we found was that it's very hard to be experts in all of these different sectors." Instead of trying to master every vertical, they focused on being the best at what they do—energy management technology—and partnered with domain experts in each sector. B2B founders should resist the temptation to become everything to everyone and instead find strong partners who can complement their core competencies. Focus resources on highest-impact activities in resource-constrained environments: Pierce emphasized the critical importance of opportunity cost for small organizations: "For small organizations, I think the biggest cost is opportunity cost. So if I'm spending my time chasing leads and doing lead gen and that's where my resources are going, then it may be at the behest of something that's more productive." B2B founders must ruthlessly prioritize activities that drive the most value and avoid spreading thin across low-yield activities, especially in early stages when every hour counts. Build for complex, consultative sales cycles with technical buyers: With sales cycles ranging 6-18 months, New Sun Road's approach centers on deep technical engagement: "We are at the heart of what the project is doing from a control and performance perspective, you know, there are a lot of things to just make sure that we're aligned on and develop a really strong partnership." B2B founders selling to technical buyers in complex infrastructure projects should invest heavily in technical credibility and relationship-building rather than traditional sales tactics. Leverage authenticity as a differentiator in purpose-driven markets: As a public benefit corporation, Pierce noted: "It has channeled and been a differentiator for what we're doing and how we're doing it... it's created an amazing team environment." When your market values purpose alongside profit, authentic commitment to mission can become a significant competitive advantage. B2B founders should consider how genuine purpose alignment can strengthen both team cohesion and customer relationships, but only if the commitment is authentic. Anticipate regulatory lag in heavily regulated industries: Pierce shared valuable insight about regulatory timing: "One thing about regulation is that there is lag. So you can change the regulation and it takes a while for it to trickle down and to have impact... when I look at changing regulation, I'm looking at, well, how is that going to impact 2026?" B2B founders in regulated industries should build regulatory change anticipation into their product roadmap and sales strategy, understanding that today's regulatory shifts create tomorrow's market opportunities.   //   Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.  www.GlobalTalent.co   //   Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM 

ZITADEL is pioneering the next generation of identity infrastructure, providing a developer-first platform that handles everything from basic authentication to complex multi-tenant B2B scenarios. With $11.5 million in funding and a unique open-source approach, ZITADEL has positioned itself as the "GitLab for identity" - offering both self-hosted and SaaS deployment options while maintaining flexibility through comprehensive APIs. In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, I sat down with Florian Forster, CEO and Co-Founder of ZITADEL, who recently relocated from Switzerland to the Bay Area to accelerate the company's go-to-market efforts and tap into the massive US opportunity. Topics Discussed: ZITADEL's comprehensive identity platform covering authentication, authorization, and multi-tenant scenarios The company's innovative dual-licensing approach combining AGPL open source with commercial offerings Florian's strategic decision to relocate his entire family from Switzerland to the Bay Area The evolution from per-user pricing to capability-based pricing models Building a global team across three regions: Europe for engineering, US for go-to-market, and Argentina for customer success Marketing strategy focused 80/20 on developers versus buyers Cultural differences between European and American go-to-market approaches Future vision for AI risk mitigation and behavioral analytics in identity management GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Embrace "cash or code" open source strategy: Florian introduced the concept of "cash or code" - users either pay for commercial features or contribute meaningfully to the open source project. ZITADEL's shift from Apache to AGPL licensing ensures that free users contribute back to the community while commercial customers get enterprise features and SLAs. This dual-licensing approach creates sustainable economics while building a strong community foundation. Rethink pricing to align with customer value creation: ZITADEL is moving away from per-user pricing because, as Florian explains, "we are the system that makes users useful. So if we hinder our customers on creating users in the first place, it kind of defeats the whole idea." Instead, they're shifting to capability-based pricing where customers pay for specific features like compliance notifications rather than user seats. This removes friction from customer growth and better aligns pricing with actual value delivered. Focus marketing efforts on developers, not just buyers: ZITADEL discovered that an 80/20 split between developer-focused and buyer-focused marketing works best. Florian notes that "targeting the developer ultimately leads to us being in the debate when somebody procures a system like ours." Developers do the initial evaluation and recommendation, so winning them over is crucial for getting into procurement discussions with buyers. Leverage geographic arbitrage strategically: ZITADEL operates across three regions - Europe for core engineering (quality engineers at $100-250K vs $250-500K in Bay Area), US for go-to-market, and Argentina for customer success and sales engineering. This approach optimizes for both cost efficiency and timezone coverage while maintaining quality across all functions. Adapt messaging for cultural differences: Moving from Switzerland to the US taught Florian that "in US marketing, things get overinflated quite severely, but the buyer knows that and automatically deducts some of it." Europeans tend to under-market solid products, while US buyers expect and discount for marketing inflation. B2B founders must calibrate their messaging appropriately for different markets and buyer expectations.   //   Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.  www.GlobalTalent.co   //   Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM   

Agenda: 00:00 – Did Jason Just Kill Replit?  03:45 – Why Claude Lies To You and Cannot Be Trusted 06:50 – You Cannot Trust Agents. Period. 10:20 – Why Windsurf Was Dead Without Claude 12:30 – Cursor vs. Lovable: What's the Better Bet? 14:40 – Should You Still Invest in Cursor at $28B? 18:05 – Would You Bet on Anthropic at $100B or OpenAI at $300B? 24:15 – Inside OpenAI's Secret Weapon: The Calvin French-Owen Memo 27:50 – Perplexity Just Crushed ChatGPT and Claude 32:15 – Will Cursor Build Their Own Models Before Anthropic Cuts Them Off? 33:20 – Figma's IPO at $16B: Outrageous or Fair Game? 41:55 – 90% of Seed Funds Are Cooked—Is Rob Go Right? 52:15 – How Often Do You Meet a Founder Who Can Return the Fund? 1:08:00 – Which Seed Fund Would You Back Today?  

Benivo is revolutionizing how enterprises manage their global workforce through HR technology focused on Global Mobility teams. With $30 million in funding, the company has evolved from a failed Airbnb competitor into a thriving B2B platform serving major clients like Google, Microsoft, and Bayer. In this episode of Category Visionaries, we sat down with Nitzan Yudan, CEO and Founder of Benivo, to explore the company's dramatic pivot, their "sell-first, build-later" methodology, and how they've built a lean go-to-market engine that leverages AI and community selling to compete with established players. Topics Discussed: Benivo's dramatic pivot from an Airbnb competitor to enterprise HR tech The "sell-first, build-later" methodology that became company DNA How they closed Google with "the ugliest page in the history of Internet pages" Building relationships with enterprise decision-makers through weekly Saturday emails The costly mistake of trying to create a new category versus meeting buyers where they are Community selling strategies including LinkedIn Live shows and industry recognition campaigns Using AI to create efficient go-to-market operations with a team under 10 people Custom AI tools for sales coaching, RFP responses, and prospect management GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Always sell first, then build: Nitzan's core principle is "sell-first, build-later" - a methodology born from their Google deal where they sold a solution using "the ugliest page in the history of Internet pages" and delivered manually for six months before building the actual product. This approach validates real customer demand and reveals what actually needs to be built versus what founders assume should be built. Enterprise sales is about selling yourself, not your product: Success with major clients like Google, Microsoft, and Bayer came from building deep personal relationships with decision-makers. Nitzan describes knowing the names of his prospects' children and their preferences - emphasizing that enterprise buyers are investing in people and relationships, not just features. One client relationship was maintained through weekly Saturday evening emails for months before an opportunity materialized. Match your messaging to how buyers actually buy: Benivo initially tried to create a new category by positioning themselves as a "two-for-one" solution replacing multiple industry layers. This confused buyers who didn't understand how to purchase within their existing procurement processes. When they repositioned to match existing category terminology that buyers recognized, RFP invitations and sales began flowing. The lesson: don't let category creation ambitions override buyer convenience. Leverage community selling for efficient go-to-market: With only 7-8 people in their entire go-to-market team, Benivo built a powerful community strategy including a LinkedIn Live show hosted by an industry luminary, annual "Top 100" recognition campaigns, and a 200-person "Change Maker Network" that includes prospects, customers, and even lost deals. This approach builds trust and allows enterprise buyers to engage with the company culture before making career-impacting decisions. Build custom AI tools for competitive advantage: Rather than relying on expensive purpose-built sales tools, Benivo creates custom AI solutions using basic tools like Gemini and Make.com. Their system automatically transcribes sales calls, scores deals using their MEDPIQ methodology, coaches salespeople on next steps, and generates follow-up emails. They've also built AI tools that reduce RFP response time by 70-80% by training models on their best historical responses and client-specific strategy documents.   //   Sponsors: Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.  www.GlobalTalent.co   //   Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role. Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM