Building Confidence, Not Just Machines: Julie Runez on Culture, Labs, and Learning Out Loud

Julie Runez leads marketing for a custom automation firm that designs and builds one-off manufacturing machinery. She came back to work after years at home with her kids, brought a journalist’s curiosity, and learned industrial marketing from the ground up during the early months of 2020. Without case studies she could publicly share and with very long, high-stakes sales cycles, Julie shifted the strategy away from chasing clicks to creating in-person proof. The result is a zero-cost lab inside their facility where vendors and manufacturers test ideas together, train teams, and de-risk projects before anyone signs. We talk culture, kindness in leadership, learning fast, and why most problems are system problems, not people problems.

Why this conversation matters

If you sell complex, capital equipment under NDA, the usual playbook won’t carry you. Julie shows how to earn trust when buyers need confidence more than content, and how to build culture around the people you want to attract.

What you’ll hear

How journalism skills, parenting, and resourcefulness translated into an effective solo marketing role.

Why kindness from the founder set the tone for culture and risk-taking.

The limits of digital in NDA-heavy environments and how in-person proof fills the gap.

Inside the lab concept and how cross-vendor collaboration builds end-to-end confidence.

Using ClickUp and simple SOPs to turn tribal knowledge into systems.

Handling the “I’m in over my head” moments by finding the skill, the person, or the room that solves it.

Topics covered

Culture as the environment you create for the people you want.

Experimenting, failing forward, and deciding what actually works for your business.

Sales cycles that run from a year to many years, and how to stay relevant in the meantime.

Bringing vendors, engineers, and customers together to test and train before purchase.

Storytelling that focuses on outcomes, not features.

Letting the next generation toss the box aside rather than just think outside it.

Quotes to pull

“When you buy a drill, you’re buying holes. Our buyers need confidence their problem will be solved.”

“In tough moments it’s usually a system problem, not a human problem.”

“The lab is our proof. People can see parts move, get training, and leave with answers.”

“Kindness from leadership makes everything else solvable.”

Guest

Julie Runez is the marketing lead for a custom automation and machine-building company serving life sciences and other regulated industries. She built an in-house lab program that lets manufacturers and vendor partners test concepts, train operators, and de-risk projects at zero cost.

Sponsor

Med Device Boston at the BCEC, September 30 to October 1. A sourcing and education expo with suppliers, workshops, and expert-led sessions for the next generation of med-tech.