Category Visionaries Justin Leigh, CEO of Workflow Labs: $3.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of E-commerce Management
In this episode of Category Visionaries, we spoke with Justin Leigh, CEO of Workflow Labs, an e-commerce management platform that's raised $3.5 million in funding. After running a successful Amazon agency for 14 years, Justin identified a critical opportunity: replacing human-driven processes with automation at scale. Workflow Labs is automating e-commerce management tasks that brands traditionally outsource to agencies or offshore teams, allowing for better economics, faster resolution times, and predictable outcomes in managing product listings across platforms like Amazon.
Topics Discussed:
- Transitioning from running a services-based agency to building a software product
- The strategy of targeting partners who aggregate brands rather than selling to brands individually
- How retail media networks are driving advertising dollars onto retailer platforms
- The importance of having clear company objectives that everyone understands
- Fundraising approaches for early-stage companies
- Making the pivot from automation-focused messaging to comprehensive solution positioning
GTM Lessons For B2B Founders:
- Partner with aggregators instead of selling one-by-one: Workflow Labs recognized that selling directly to individual brands would take too long to reach scale. Justin explained, "If we need to close 3,000 brands in two years, you're not going to do that selling them one by one." Instead, they identified partners who already worked with pools of brands—like ad agencies and supply chain providers—allowing them to sign up "tens, twenties, fifties, hundreds at a time."
- Align with emerging market trends: Justin identified that retail media networks (Amazon, Walmart, Target) are where advertising dollars are shifting. He positioned Workflow Labs to support this trend: "We said as that shift continues, we support the product. If you're going to advertise a product, you better make sure their title's right, bullets are right, that it's in stock." B2B founders should identify major industry shifts and align their solutions with those trends.
- Create market pull through RFP requirements: Workflow Labs uses a "push-pull method" by engaging directly with brands to influence their RFP requirements. Justin noted, "We work very hard to engage with brands directly and say...when you RFP for your advertising services, you better make sure your provider is providing an automated way to keep your products accurate." This creates demand that potential partners must satisfy, making partnership conversations easier.
- Pivot based on customer feedback—even when it contradicts your assumptions: Workflow Labs initially thought customers would care about labor cost reduction but discovered their messaging wasn't resonating. Justin admitted, "We thought initially so many wrong things...When you went to the market and said, 'Hey, you have a 50-person team in India and all they're doing is updating titles, we can make 80% of that labor go away,' no one cared." They pivoted to position themselves as a comprehensive solution rather than just automation.
- Establish clear, quantifiable objectives: Justin implemented the "rule of three"—focusing on just three key objectives per quarter. He shared a powerful insight about founder transparency: "If you want everybody in your company to row the boat in the same direction...be super clear around what your objectives are." This includes being upfront about exit goals: "Everyone on the team knows what happens when we get to 3,000 [customers], if we can get close to there...that's when liquidity events start to be on the table."
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