#252 Category Creation | Dave is joined by Josh Lowman, Founder and Creative Director of Gold Front, a category design studio that’s worked with brands like Uber, Notion, and Qualtrics. Josh is a leading voice in strategic brand positioning and category creation. He’s spent over a decade helping high-growth B2B companies define what makes them irreplaceable in crowded markets.

Dave and Josh cover:

Why most category creation efforts fail (and what to do instead)
The four real paths to category leadership: create, transform, niche, or go solo
How B2B marketers can align product, brand, and messaging around a single strategy to stand out and scale

Whether you're launching a new product or repositioning an existing one, this episode is a masterclass in strategic clarity.

Timestamps

(00:00) - – Intro
(03:14) - – Josh’s backstory and founding Gold Front
(06:29) - – How Gold Front became a category design studio
(08:44) - – What “category creation” really means
(11:59) - – Why being irreplaceable is the real goal
(15:04) - – The four paths to category leadership
(18:49) - – Why Drift didn’t succeed in creating a true category
(22:44) - – Clay and Notion as category-of-one examples
(25:34) - – Marketing vs. actual customer perception
(30:23) - – Can Exit Five be more than the “Dave Gerhardt community”?
(33:18) - – How to scale brand DNA beyond the founder
(36:08) - – Defining Exit Five’s ethos as a company
(38:28) - – Strategy as a company-wide unifier
(41:18) - – Advice for CMOs on driving strategy with CEOs
(43:53) - – Why strategy is always the root cause
(45:23) - – Vibe marketing and the rise of right-brain thinking
(48:08) - – Josh’s mental health journey and long-term therapy
(51:38) - – LinkedIn, self-worth, and staying grounded
(54:08) - – Weightlifting, discipline, and mental clarity
(57:08) - – Daily habits that improve mindset
(01:00:23) - – What 30 days of silent meditation does to your brain
(01:05:08) - – Final thoughts on presence, self-work, and leadership

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Frank Gaffney and Dede Laugesen