Category Visionaries Nitzan Yudan, CEO & Founder of Benivo: $30 Million Raised to Transform Global Workforce Mobility
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.
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.
//
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