BUILDERS

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with Hersh Tapadia, CEO of Allstacks. Topics Discussed: An intersectional career between engineering and biomedicine, how Hersh found a career between disciplines Stakeholder expectations, unexpected challenges and what ‘delivering’ really means Solving the surprise issue, and why everyone wants to plan for an anticipated outcome Harmony, building teams, and why individual accomplishment isn’t enough for success Why value stream intelligence gives employees the tools to create a more satisfying, meaningful workplace experience   Favorite book:  The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Itzik Alvas, CEO & Co-Founder of Entro Security, a non-human identity management platform that has raised $24 Million in funding. Here are the most interesting points from our conversation: Military Experience Taught Perseverance: Itzik credits his time in the Israeli Defense Force, specifically in the cyber intelligence unit, for shaping his approach to perseverance. This has been crucial in overcoming challenges as an entrepreneur. Non-Human Identity Management Innovation: After multiple cybersecurity breaches in his previous roles, Itzik identified a massive gap in managing non-human identities and secrets. This personal experience directly led to the creation of Entro Security. Early Days Post-Seed Raise: The first few months after securing seed funding were highly operational—setting up offices, building the team, and finding early design partners to provide feedback on their solution. Creating a New Market Category: Entro Security is pioneering the non-human identity management space, addressing the growing issue of programmatic credentials that are often mishandled by DevOps teams, posing significant security risks. Unique, Memorable Branding: Unlike traditional cybersecurity companies, Entro’s branding is youthful, fun, and memorable, a conscious choice to stand out in an industry that often feels sterile and overly serious. Go-To-Market Approach: Entro’s sales efforts are focused on direct sales and channel partnerships, with a primary focus on the US market. Itzik emphasizes the importance of aligning go-to-market strategies with event participation based on specific goals like lead generation or brand awareness.   //   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

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Ian Kalin, CEO & Co-Founder of TurbineOne, a company revolutionizing operational intelligence that has raised $22 Million in funding. Here are the most interesting points from our conversation: Revenue Over Funding: Ian emphasized that while capital raised is important, his primary focus is on revenue growth, highlighting the importance of financial sustainability over just fundraising milestones. Strategic Seed Extension: TurbineOne strategically executed a seed extension to secure additional capital while fine-tuning their market approach before moving to a Series A, showing the importance of timing and strategy in fundraising. Importance of Accuracy: Ian stressed the importance of accuracy in financial reporting and fundraising details, reflecting the high stakes of credibility in investor relations. Focus on Market Opportunity: Ian discussed the massive market potential in operational intelligence, positioning TurbineOne to capitalize on growing needs in sectors such as defense and emergency response. Operational Challenges: The conversation touched on the operational complexities of managing advanced AI and machine learning tools, from data integration to real-time decision-making. Customer-Centric Innovation: Ian shared how TurbineOne's product development is deeply customer-centric, driven by direct feedback and the specific needs of operators in high-stakes environments.   //   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  

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Jonathan Corbin, CEO & Co-Founder of Maven AGI, a customer experience platform that's raised $28 Million in funding. Here are the most interesting points from our conversation: The Maven AGI Vision: Jonathan discusses how Maven AGI was founded to revolutionize customer experience by leveraging large language models, aiming to provide seamless and instant customer support. Lessons from HubSpot: Jonathan shares insights from his time at HubSpot, focusing on building a strong company culture and the importance of creating "wow" moments for customers to ensure ongoing product engagement. Challenges in Customer Experience: He highlights the common issues in customer experience management, particularly the fragmentation of data across various systems, leading to poor customer journeys. The Role of AI in Customer Support: Jonathan explains how Maven AGI uses AI agents to address customer inquiries with a 93% success rate, reducing the need for human intervention and enhancing customer satisfaction. Navigating Market Complexity: Maven AGI positions itself as a horizontal solution, capable of solving customer experience challenges across multiple verticals, making it a versatile tool for businesses of all sizes. Marketing Strategy Insights: Jonathan discusses Maven AGI’s evolving marketing strategy, emphasizing the importance of showcasing customer success stories to demonstrate the platform's value.   //   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  

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Mukund Karanjikar, CEO at CleanJoule, a sustainable aviation fuel producer that has raised $55 Million in funding. Here are the most interesting points from our conversation: $55 Million in Funding: CleanJoule has successfully raised $55 million, including a strategic investment from Asia, bolstering their efforts in sustainable aviation fuel development. Sustainable Aviation Focus: Mukund emphasizes the importance of sustainable aviation fuel as a critical component in reducing the carbon footprint of the aviation industry. Development and Production Capabilities: CleanJoule is not only focused on developing sustainable aviation fuels but also on producing them, positioning itself as a key player in this emerging market. Strategic Investor Relations: The late addition of a strategic investor highlights the ongoing interest and potential in the sustainable aviation sector, especially from international markets. Market Positioning: By branding themselves as both a developer and producer of sustainable aviation fuel, CleanJoule is differentiating itself from competitors who may only focus on one aspect of the supply chain. Importance of Every Dollar: Mukund underlines the significance of every dollar raised, reflecting the high stakes and capital intensity of scaling in the clean energy sector.   //   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    

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Kevin McNamara, CEO & Founder of Parallel Domain, a synthetic data generation and simulation platform that's raised over $43.9 Million in funding. Here are the most interesting points from our conversation: Parallel Domain’s Core Offering: Kevin explained that Parallel Domain provides simulation software used to develop, train, and test AI, particularly for real-world applications like autonomous vehicles, drone delivery, and security systems. From Pixar to Parallel Domain: Kevin's journey from working on animated movies at Pixar, to video games at Microsoft, and eventually to Apple's autonomous systems project provided the foundation for Parallel Domain. The Early Days and First Customer: The company’s early days were marked by ideation, prototyping, and the first significant breakthrough—a contract with Nio, a Chinese electric car company, which provided essential initial revenue and traction. Expanding Beyond Autonomous Vehicles: Although initially focused on autonomous vehicles, Parallel Domain now supports industries like agriculture, supply chain, and robotics, showcasing the broad applicability of its simulation technology. Shifting to Product-Led Growth: Kevin revealed that Parallel Domain is transitioning to a product-led growth strategy, including the introduction of a free trial tier, making their advanced simulation technology more accessible. The Vision for the Future: The long-term vision for Parallel Domain is to become the go-to platform for any developer working on vision or perception-enabled technologies, with plans to expand into broader applications like retail, manufacturing, and beyond.   //   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  

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Albert Owusu-Asare, CEO & Co-Founder at Cadana, a global payroll infrastructure platform that has raised $7 Million in funding. Here are the most interesting points from our conversation: Global Talent Marketplaces: Cadana focuses on empowering talent marketplaces like Upwork and Fiverr, HR SaaS companies, and platforms looking to add global payroll capabilities. This strategic targeting aims to address diverse needs in the global payroll landscape. Buy vs. Build Dilemma: Albert shared insights on how Cadana addresses the buy vs. build dilemma, pitching the platform as a way for companies to go to market quickly and learn before investing in building their own solutions. Founding Story: The idea for Cadana originated from Albert’s experience at Goldman Sachs and his role as a CTO at a billion-dollar company, where he faced challenges with global payroll management. Risk Management: Albert discussed his approach to risk-taking, emphasizing minimizing regret as a framework for making bold career moves, including leaving stable positions to pursue entrepreneurial ventures. Early Product Pivot: Cadana initially launched as an earned wage access product. The team used feedback from early users to pivot and develop their current global payroll solution. Market Potential: Albert views Cadana’s market not just as existing payroll solutions but as a foundational infrastructure with the potential to unlock new opportunities for global payroll, similar to how Stripe transformed payments.   //   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    

Shownotes & Key topics discussed: Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Daumantas Dvilinskas, CEO & Co-Founder of TransferGo, a money transfer platform that has raised over $125 Million in funding. Here are the most interesting points from our conversation: Long-term Focus: TransferGo's 12-year journey has been defined by a commitment to solving the complexities of cross-border payments, a challenge that Daumantas recognized as a young entrepreneur. Innovation Through Partnership: The company's success lies in building a "network of networks," partnering with local financial institutions to bypass traditional international settlement systems like SWIFT. Regulatory Hurdles: Navigating regulatory landscapes and securing necessary licenses was a significant early challenge, especially when dealing with banks that were hesitant to work with a new and unproven company. Community Trust: TransferGo's marketing strategy focuses on building trust within migrant communities, emphasizing referral-based growth and strong brand credibility. Strategic Market Entry: The company's early entry into emerging markets like Ukraine, driven by a gut feeling rather than existing data, has paid off significantly, making it the largest digital money transfer service in the region. Expansion Lessons: Daumantas reflected on the challenges of segment expansion, particularly into business clients, which required a different organizational culture and strategy than consumer-focused 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  

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Jacob Moshenko, CEO & Co-Founder of Authzed, a permission systems platform that has raised $15.9 Million in funding. Here are the most interesting points from our conversation: Strategic Timing for Launching: Authzed was founded during the early months of the pandemic, a time Jacob saw as ideal for going heads-down and building without distractions. Category Creation Challenge: The market had no established category for authorization platforms, making it necessary to educate developers and decision-makers on why they should consider a third-party solution for authorization. Early Market Validation: Authzed quickly built a prototype to validate their solution, focusing on delivering value through a scalable, secure, and delightful user experience. Enterprise-First GTM Shift: Initially unsure of their market, Authzed quickly pivoted to focus on enterprise sales after seeing significant demand from large organizations with complex authorization needs. Marketing Through Iteration: With a strong engineering background, Jacob applied a data-driven, experimental approach to marketing, testing hypotheses and iterating rapidly to find what works. Overcoming Fundraising Challenges: Fundraising during a tough economic climate required adaptability, including exploring options like extension rounds to keep the business on track. //   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

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech's most innovative B2B founders. In today's episode, we're speaking with Oscar Rundqvist, CEO & Co-Founder of eComID, a return reductions platform that's raised over $3 Million in funding. Here are the most interesting points from our conversation: Addressing a Pandemic-Driven Problem: Oscar identified a massive increase in product returns during the pandemic, which highlighted the need for proactive solutions in e-commerce. Pre-Purchase Return Reduction: eComID focuses on reducing returns before they happen, using strategies like green nudging and personalized recommendations to encourage responsible shopping behavior. Environmental and Financial Impact: Oscar emphasized that online returns are a significant environmental issue, with a staggering $800 billion in returns in the U.S. alone, creating both financial and ecological challenges for brands. Creating Incentives for Responsible Shopping: By adjusting return policies based on customer behavior, eComID motivates shoppers to minimize returns, rewarding those who make responsible purchasing decisions. Targeting High-Return Segments: eComID is prioritizing fashion e-commerce, where return rates can exceed 50%, making it a critical area for improvement and innovation. Global, Yet Locally Adapted: Although based in Sweden, eComID operates globally, adapting its approach to different markets, especially in terms of sustainability 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