Category Visionaries

Walnut Insurance is pioneering embedded insurance solutions, making it easier for platforms and businesses to offer relevant insurance products at the right moment in the customer journey. With over $7 million in funding, Walnut has partnered with major brands like Neo Financial, Tim Hortons, and Atco to create seamless insurance experiences. In this episode of Category Visionaries, I spoke with Derek Szeto, Co-Founder of Walnut Insurance, about the company's journey from its inception within RBC to becoming a leading embedded insurance enabler, working behind the scenes to power insurance solutions that appear naturally within customer experiences. Topics Discussed: The three buckets of embedded insurance: fully embedded into products, data-driven implementations, and contextual offerings How embedded insurance benefits all parties: customers get needed coverage, platforms enhance stickiness and revenue, and insurers receive better risk profiles Walnut's origin story discovering insurance as an "unrecognized subscription" in consumer spending Finding the right customer touchpoints for offering insurance products Establishing Walnut as a technology-first enabler for partners wanting to offer insurance The challenge of market education in an emerging category The shift from life insurance to property and casualty products for better conversion rates Creating one-click insurance journeys that drive strong conversion rates   GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Start by recognizing untapped market patterns: Derek identified insurance as an "unrecognized subscription" in consumer spending data—a significant expense that didn't get the attention of typical subscriptions like Netflix or Spotify. B2B founders should look for similar overlooked patterns in consumer behavior that indicate market opportunities. Focus on required rather than optional products: Walnut found significantly higher conversion when focusing on insurance products that are required in customer journeys (like tenant insurance when signing a lease) rather than optional ones. Derek explains, "Life insurance in its very end is a much harder product to embed because life insurance is always optional." B2B founders should prioritize solutions that address mandatory needs over discretionary ones. Use data signals to drive contextual offerings: The strongest conversion happens when insurance is offered at moments of high relevance. Derek shares, "Thinking about geolocation and travel insurance—an airport is a very good signal, or better yet if you can get them while they're using the Wi-Fi on the plane, that's an even better signal that they might be traveling." B2B founders should identify and leverage precise contextual signals that indicate heightened receptivity to their solution. Run fundraising like a sophisticated sales process: Derek learned that fundraising requires the same rigor as enterprise sales. "It became much more of a CRM-driven process, more pre-work. So trying to identify the most likely investors... Are they going to be interested in that category? Are they going to be interested in that geography? Are they writing checks of the size that are relevant to their fund?" B2B founders should approach fundraising with the same systematic process and qualification criteria used in sales. Industry conferences drive disproportionate results: For B2B companies in established industries like finance and insurance, conferences remain highly effective for business development. "We've had a lot of success with conferences like the Money 2020s of the world where folks are all together in one place and we can meet with a lot of different clients, whether that's net new or to meet with existing partners." B2B founders should prioritize high-concentration industry events, especially in traditional sectors.   //   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

PinPoint Analytics is revolutionizing the public works construction industry with AI-powered bid intelligence. With over $4 million in funding, PinPoint is building what co-founder Mark Zurada describes as "the Zillow for public works." In this episode of Category Visionaries, I sat down with Mark to learn how PinPoint is bringing data-driven decision making to an industry where the "lowest price bid wins" mentality has traditionally forced contractors into a risky race to the bottom. Topics Discussed: The unique challenges of public works construction bidding, where lowest price wins but pricing information is non-standardized How PinPoint collects and digitizes data from every public works project in the country over the past five years The company's journey from 2.5 years of intense R&D to launching their first generally available product PinPoint's ingenious marketing strategy that leverages real-time bid data to target prospects at exactly the right moment The critical importance of finding specialized investors who understand the niche market Why few tech founders have ventured into the construction space, and how PinPoint's technical expertise gives them an edge   GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Target the stakeholders with the highest pain point: PinPoint serves three customer segments (municipalities, engineering firms, and general contractors) but focuses primarily on GCs because they have the most financial risk and greatest need for the solution. As Mark explained, "GCs are our primary target, and they're basically the most at risk. They need this the most." When creating a new category, seek specialized investors: For companies building in niche markets, corporate venture capital from established industry players can be invaluable. Mark shared, "We really had to find a specialized VC... we ultimately landed a CVC, basically a huge construction conglomerate that felt the pain point. They're like, 'Oh my God, you guys can solve this. We've been trying to solve it forever.'" Build proprietary data moats: What attracts investors to PinPoint isn't just AI but their unique data assets. "VCs are really gravitating towards us because of the data moat that we have and the IP moat... We are an AI company solving a real-world problem with a great moat around us." Use your data to drive hyper-targeted sales outreach: PinPoint transforms the bid summaries they collect into actionable sales intelligence. "We know exactly who's bidding almost in real time... We're very focused on hitting our customers at the right time with the right message, with rich analysis on what they did, opening the doors to how our product could have helped them." Approach complex technical challenges with the right expertise: Sometimes the reason a market remains underserved is that the technical barriers are substantial. "We're really like tech guys building construction software... We know how to do data and analytics and AI extremely well... We just knew how to approach it and surmount some of those early technical problems that would have been super hard if you were coming at it from the other side."   //   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

Definity is pioneering a new approach to data pipeline observability and optimization specifically designed for the Lakehouse and Spark ecosystem. With $4.5 million in funding, this startup aims to transform how enterprises manage their data pipelines by providing real-time observability from within the pipelines themselves. In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, I spoke with Roy Daniel, CEO and Co-Founder of Definity, about the company's journey from addressing his team's own data reliability challenges to creating a solution for enterprise teams managing mission-critical data pipelines at scale.   Topics Discussed: Definity's full-stack data observability solution designed specifically for the Lakehouse and Spark ecosystem How the product works inside data pipelines to provide real-time visibility on data quality, pipeline health, and performance The founding story rooted in the team's experience with data pipeline reliability challenges The gap in the market between application performance monitoring and data quality solutions Definity's "inside-out" approach versus traditional "outside-in" data monitoring How the company approaches marketing to enterprise customers while enabling engineers to experience the product Fundraising during the challenging market conditions of late 2023   GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Build solutions for problems you've experienced firsthand: Roy and his co-founders created Definity to solve challenges they faced in their own careers. "We started by building the solution we always wanted to have," Roy explains. This authentic connection to the problem space enabled them to develop a product that resonates with users facing similar challenges. Position at the intersection of established categories: Definity identified that data engineering was about a decade behind software engineering in terms of observability tools. By taking elements from existing categories (data quality and application performance monitoring) but applying them with a completely new approach, they created a distinctive value proposition that stands out in a crowded market. Focus on high-value use cases and segments first: Rather than taking a broad approach, Definity targets "the tip of the sphere" - enterprise teams working with high-scale, mission-critical data pipelines. Roy notes, "We cater to teams that work at very high scale in terms of their data operation... feeding into ML models, feature stores, regulatory reporting, customer reporting." Deliver tangible value to cut through market noise: In a space filled with buzzwords, Definity focuses on demonstrating practical value. "To rise above it, you really need to deliver a unique approach," says Roy. The company launched a free assessment tool that helps teams evaluate the health and cost of their platforms, providing immediate value while showcasing their differentiated approach. Find investors who deeply understand your problem space: Roy emphasized that securing funding during the challenging 2023 market required connecting with investors who understood "the pain points of the customer with second and third degree and not just at the surface level." The right investors could appreciate the nuanced innovation they were bringing to market.   //   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      

Xona Space is revolutionizing global positioning technology with a new generation of GPS designed for today's devices and applications. With over $40 million in funding, Xona is developing a constellation of small satellites in low Earth orbit to provide higher precision, stronger signals, and enhanced security compared to traditional GPS systems. In this episode of Category Visionaries, I spoke with Brian Manning, CEO and Co-Founder of Xona Space, to learn how the company is addressing the limitations of current navigation technology and enabling the next wave of autonomous systems to operate safely in challenging environments. Topics Discussed: The evolution of navigation technology from celestial navigation to modern GPS How traditional GPS architecture hasn't fundamentally changed in over 50 years Xona's approach to building a complementary system with small satellites in low Earth orbit The three key challenges Xona addresses: precision, power, and protection Why autonomous vehicles and precision agriculture need more reliable positioning The company's recent Air Force contract and their focus on both commercial and government applications Their upcoming launch of the first production-class satellite in June   GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Validate real-world problems with customer immersion: Brian emphasized getting out from behind your desk to talk directly with customers in their environments. "You can't start a company behind a computer screen... Get out and talk to the customers. It is so enlightening and there's so many things that you will learn that you just never thought of." Understanding how farmers, construction workers, and others actually use positioning technology in the field revealed needs that spreadsheets and assumptions couldn't capture. Focus on specific markets when demand exceeds capacity: Rather than pursuing all potential use cases, Xona strategically narrowed their focus. "There are just so many use cases and so many potential applications that our pipeline of interest and demand is kind of so huge that we can't actually pursue all of it." By identifying core markets with early adoption potential, they've maintained a laser focus that maximizes their limited resources. Make new technology compatible with existing infrastructure: Xona deliberately designed their system to work with existing GPS receivers. "We've designed our system to be compatible with most GPS receivers, even without making any hardware changes." This approach significantly reduces adoption barriers, as customers can access improved capabilities through software updates rather than hardware replacements. Build incrementally toward a massive vision: When tackling something as ambitious as "building a new GPS," Xona broke it down into manageable steps. "We're going to do it one step at a time... You solve one problem and you solve the next. And if you solve enough of them, you're successful." This incremental approach helped them secure ongoing funding by demonstrating clear progress at each stage. Articulate the broader impact beyond luxury applications: Rather than positioning their technology as enabling premium conveniences, Xona frames their vision around democratizing access to transformative capabilities. "I'm much more interested in how you get the autonomous ambulance to go drive through the snowstorm when a human can't... How do you take the benefits of precision agriculture... and bring those benefits into developing countries?" This approach appeals to both mission-driven investors and practical customers seeking broader global impact.   //   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    

Foundersuite has established itself as the leading platform for startups raising capital, with $13 million in funding and a comprehensive suite of tools designed to streamline the fundraising process. In this episode of Category Visionaries, I sat down with Nathan Beckord, CEO of Foundersuite, to explore how his extensive background in investment banking and startup advisory evolved into building a specialized platform that's revolutionizing how founders approach fundraising. Nathan shares his journey from consultant to entrepreneur, and how Foundersuite has grown from a simple CRM into a robust platform serving startups from seed stage through Series B and beyond.   Topics Discussed: The evolution from an investment banking career to founding a startup focused on fundraising tools How Foundersuite narrowed its focus from a broad suite of founder tools to specialized fundraising solutions The strategic decision to target the seed through Series B segment as their primary market Building a sustainable marketing strategy through events, podcasting, and innovative guerrilla tactics The launch of Funding Stack, a new platform designed for VCs and fundraising consultants How AI is being integrated throughout the fundraising process to enhance efficiency and outcomes   GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Start with your unique expertise: Nathan built Foundersuite based on his decade of fundraising experience, turning his specialized knowledge into product features. He explained, "I'm a one trick pony. The only thing I've done ever since college is raise capital for startups." B2B founders should leverage their deep industry expertise when defining their product category and value proposition. Be willing to kill good products for great focus: Despite positive user feedback on several products in their initial suite, Foundersuite made the difficult decision to eliminate tools that weren't core to their primary value proposition. Nathan recalls, "It was hard to kill something that people did love... but they weren't really paying as much for that." B2B founders should continuously evaluate their product portfolio against market traction and be willing to make tough decisions for greater focus. Define your "Goldilocks" customer segment: Foundersuite identified their ideal customer segment as seed through Series B companies—not too early (pre-seed) and not too mature (Series C+). Nathan explains, "Too early, you don't have any money, you can't pay us, you're not really fundable. Too late, you have a lot of other resources to help you raise capital." B2B founders should similarly identify where their product delivers maximum value and focus acquisition efforts accordingly. Use content marketing as a learning opportunity: Foundersuite's "How I Raised It" podcast not only serves as a marketing channel but also provides valuable market intelligence. Nathan shared, "I thought I knew everything about raising capital. And here I am just drinking from a fire hose... I'm learning more than my first six months of doing a podcast than I have in the last five years of actually doing the work." B2B founders should view content marketing as both a growth channel and a customer research tool. Implement annual marketing experiments: Foundersuite commits to trying one new marketing approach each year. Nathan explains, "One of the things I try and do every year... let's try a new, different marketing experiment." For 2025, they're implementing monthly webinars. B2B founders should similarly build experimentation into their marketing roadmap while maintaining their core channels.   //   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  

Beebop AI is pioneering a new middleware layer for power grid orchestration, securing $5.5 million in funding to help utilities and energy retailers optimize energy consumption and costs. In this episode of Category Visionaries, I sat down with Jan Willem Rombouts, CEO and Founder of Beebop AI, to discuss how his background at Goldman Sachs and experience building his first energy tech company shaped his approach to solving one of the energy transition's biggest challenges: balancing power grids in an increasingly renewable-powered world. Topics Discussed: Jan Willem's journey from Goldman Sachs' trading floor during the financial crisis to energy tech entrepreneurship The painful lessons learned building Restore, which pioneered virtual power plants and was later acquired by Centrica How Beebop AI creates a middleware layer that orchestrates power consumption across customer devices like EVs, solar panels, and heat pumps Why power grid orchestration is critical to making renewable energy both reliable and affordable Beebop's strategic flywheel connecting utilities and device manufacturers The go-to-market strategies that helped Beebop gain traction with major European utilities   GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Engineer network effects into your go-to-market strategy: Beebop designed a utility-to-OEM flywheel where each new utility customer helps bring device manufacturers onto their platform, creating a powerful network effect. Jan Willem explained: "What we designed was that we would first contract these utilities... our anticipation was that they would be able to engage with these OEMs, with these manufacturers more easily, to essentially invite them to integrate with our platform." This approach turns customers into channel partners who can open doors that would be difficult for a startup to access directly. Break through complex sales cycles with land-and-expand: When selling to utilities and large corporations with notoriously long sales cycles, Beebop starts with a low-cost, high-value initial offering focused on insights and business case validation. Jan Willem noted: "Our initial proposition is very low cost and very high value... we allow them to see what the business case is... to create somewhat of a solid launching pad on which we can then expand and go to actual operationalization." This approach shortens time-to-value and creates internal champions. Focus on customer economics, not just your technology: Despite having complex technology, Beebop leads customer conversations with how their solution impacts key metrics like customer lifetime value, margin, churn, and customer acquisition costs. "Before we have explained anything about how new our software is, where it positions in the technology stack, we just show what kind of awesome products they can build... creating tens of percentages of discounts on their energy bills." Design for global scale from day one: Based on lessons from his first company, Jan Willem deliberately architected Beebop to work with market structures that are universal across regions: "What we did this time... is we chose markets that have a universal footprint and so that look essentially the same whether you're in the UK or you're in Texas or you're in Germany or you're in Sweden." This approach avoids the scaling challenges of having to constantly adapt to different regulatory environments. Bring process to event marketing: Beebop transformed their trade show approach by adopting a disciplined, metrics-driven strategy learned from Datadog's former CMO. Jan Willem shared: "The big learning for me was to be super intentional. If you go to a trade show, be super clear about exactly how many marketing qualified, how many sales qualified leads you want out of it, and then engineer a team with different roles and responsibilities." This systematic approach yields measurable ROI from events that many startups struggle to achieve.   //   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

Pegbo is revolutionizing the construction technology landscape by helping local, small, and diverse businesses accelerate their participation in the supply chain. With $1.4 million in funding, this construction tech platform is streamlining how emerging businesses win more jobs in an industry that's traditionally been slow to adopt technology. In this episode of Category Visionaries, Amar Amte shares his journey from Google to founding Pegbo, including his initial pivot from an equipment rental marketplace to a supplier diversity procurement platform, and how his outsider perspective has become a competitive advantage. Topics Discussed: Pegbo's evolution from an equipment rental marketplace to a supplier diversity procurement platform How being an industry outsider (coming from Google) provides unique advantages when building in construction tech The impact of digitization and AI on construction technology adoption and investor interest Regulatory changes affecting supplier diversity and local business participation in construction Marketing strategies centered on community-building and promoting people rather than product The company's approach to rapid growth while maintaining financial discipline How AI is revolutionizing construction tech by making previously expensive operations highly affordable   GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Let your product do the selling: Pegbo focuses on demonstrating their product rather than making promises. Amar notes, "The aha moment is product. We are letting our products sell themselves." B2B founders should prioritize building a product that speaks for itself rather than relying heavily on marketing rhetoric. Make meaningful pivots quickly: When Pegbo discovered customers were asking about minority and small businesses rather than just equipment rentals, they completely pivoted their business model. Within 15 days of pivoting, they had their first paying customer. Founders should be prepared to recognize when the market is pulling them in a different direction and be willing to make decisive changes quickly. Focus on post-event value: For community events, Pegbo concentrates not just on the event itself but what happens before, during, and after. Amar explains, "If people are not qualified with a general contractor, they just waste a lot of time... What we focus on is what happens after the event." B2B founders should design events with clear pathways to customer value beyond networking. Strategic resource allocation: Despite raising $1.4 million, Pegbo maintains strict financial discipline. Amar personally paid for his branded Cybertruck rather than using company funds, stating, "I don't want to spend my investors' money on renting toilets and kitchens." Funding should be directed primarily toward product development and customer acquisition. Embrace regulatory changes as opportunities: Rather than seeing shifting regulations around supplier diversity as threats, Pegbo views them as opportunities. Amar notes that even as some diversity criteria change, "support to local businesses, small businesses are going to stay." B2B founders should look for the consistent underlying needs that persist through regulatory changes. Start manual, then automate: Pegbo's growth strategy involves first getting orders, performing some services manually to learn, then automating those processes. This approach led to completely automated $23,000 projects without founder involvement. B2B founders should consider a "do things that don't scale" approach initially before building automation systems.     //   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

Activate OS is transforming equipment management in the construction industry with a networked approach that connects fleet owners with their equipment providers. Starting as a consulting project to solve equipment management challenges for Caterpillar, Activate OS has evolved into a comprehensive platform that facilitates real-time collaboration between construction companies and their equipment dealers and rental partners. In this episode of Category Visionaries, we spoke with Brian Giamo, CEO and Co-Founder of Activate OS, about the company's journey from a consulting business offshoot to a SaaS platform that's creating network effects and delivering measurable value to some of the largest construction projects in the country. Topics Discussed: Activate's origin story as a consulting project for Caterpillar The evolution from broad market approach to a focused go-to-market strategy How Activate connects fleet owners with equipment dealers and rental companies The three-stage go-to-market model that creates network effects The shift in VC interest toward construction tech verticals Future vision for expanding into transaction facilitation and AI-enabled services GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Get laser-focused on your entry point: Brian's team initially tried selling to equipment dealers and rental companies first, expecting them to distribute to fleet owners. After struggling, they flipped their approach to target fleet owners first, which created natural pull from the dealers. As Brian explained, "The natural way that this works is acquire the fleet owner, get them connected to provider, they mutually see value and benefit in keeping their equipment up and running." Sell outcomes, not software: Activate OS doesn't position itself as merely selling software. Brian emphasized, "We're really selling a result. We're really selling production of those assets on a job site and more effective communications to enable that." This outcome-focused approach resonates with customers who care about equipment uptime, not technology. Create strategic network effects: Activate's three-stage go-to-market model (1. acquire fleet owner, 2. connect them to providers, 3. convert providers to distribution partners) creates powerful network effects. Each new customer expands their reach to 5-10 equipment providers who then become potential distribution channels themselves. Be patient with product-market fit: It took Activate nearly six years to truly crystallize their go-to-market approach and product-market fit. Brian acknowledged, "I would say we really have sort of just arrived there in 2022 or 2023. It took a lot of years." Leverage strategic investors from your industry: Activate raised over $4M without traditional fundraising, instead bringing on strategic investors including a major Caterpillar dealer. These industry insiders provided both capital and valuable market insights, creating mutual benefits beyond just funding.   //   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

Tab Commerce is pioneering the first corporate card built specifically for restaurants, tackling the complex back-office operations of a traditionally low-margin industry. With $4 million in funding, Tab is creating a comprehensive spend management platform that addresses the unique challenges restaurant operators face. In this episode of Category Visionaries, I spoke with Ty Wilson, CEO and Co-Founder of Tab Commerce, to learn how his family restaurant background and pandemic-era insights led to building a fintech company that's transforming restaurant profitability through better spend management. Topics Discussed: Tab Commerce's evolution from supply chain solution to specialized corporate card for restaurants The complex, fragmented nature of restaurant back-office operations and purchasing How Tab is growing through strategic industry association partnerships The challenges of distribution and relationship-building in the restaurant technology space Tab's vision to become the standard commerce layer for the $1.5 trillion restaurant supply chain   GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Study success relentlessly: Ty shared he constantly goes deep on companies he admires, calling it "one of the best uses of my time." He studies everything from their podcasts to press materials, which directly inspired Tab's corporate card product after researching Ramp. B2B founders should identify "company crushes" and systematically analyze their business models, marketing strategies, and product innovations for applicable insights. Vertically-focused products win over horizontal solutions: Tab recognized that generic spend management tools don't work for restaurants' unique workflows. "Every vertical will have their own spend management platform because every vertical has their own workflows and needs and go-to-market strategies," Ty explained. B2B founders should embrace deep vertical specialization rather than building generic solutions, as vertical focus builds immediate trust with customers who want industry-specific solutions. Strategic industry associations can solve distribution challenges: Unlike conventional digital marketing tactics which failed ("LinkedIn ads... doesn't work at all"), Tab found success by partnering with restaurant industry associations. Ty relocated his office to be five minutes from the Texas Restaurant Association and co-branded a card with them. For B2B founders targeting fragmented industries, leveraging established industry groups can provide credibility, access to engaged audiences, and cost-effective distribution channels. Relationship-based sales beats transactional approaches: In an era of increasingly transactional software sales, Tab deliberately built a relationship-focused sales organization. "Software sales has become super transactional. And I think that's hurt industries like restaurants and other brick and mortar businesses because they're very relationship based," Ty noted. B2B founders should consider whether their target market responds better to high-touch, relationship-driven sales approaches rather than modern, low-touch methods. Discover "landmines" through persistent market testing: Ty revealed it took over two and a half years to gain meaningful traction, during which they encountered numerous "landmines" – seemingly intuitive product ideas that actually failed in practice. For example, they initially tried to digitize chef-supplier ordering before realizing the existing phone/text workflow was actually more efficient. B2B founders should rigorously test assumptions and be prepared to pivot from apparently obvious solutions that the market rejects.   //   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

ParkourSC is transforming supply chain management with its dynamic decision intelligence platform, raising $90 million to tackle the industry's most pressing challenges. In this episode of Category Visionaries, we sat down with Mahesh Veerina, a four-time entrepreneur with multiple successful exits, to explore how ParkourSC is creating a new category focused on unlocking trapped value in fragmented supply chain systems. From his early success taking Ramp Networks public in 1999 to his current mission revolutionizing pharmaceutical supply chains, Mahesh shares invaluable insights on building category-defining companies. Topics Discussed: Mahesh's entrepreneurial journey through three successful exits including an IPO How ParkourSC pivoted from IoT sensors to supply chain intelligence The pandemic's role in accelerating supply chain visibility as a critical business need Why life sciences and pharma presented the perfect initial market Creating the "dynamic decision intelligence" category in supply chain technology Building a platform that integrates fragmented enterprise systems with real-time data The strategy for partnering with innovative "change agents" within large companies How ParkourSC's technology reduces supply chain planner "noise" by 50-60% GTM Lessons For B2B Founders: Market conditions can validate your vision: Supply chains were "back office" until COVID put them in the spotlight. Mahesh explains, "Any channel you switch on, it's supply chain—running out of milk and bread and essentials." This external validation can accelerate market acceptance of your solution. Find the value unlock through adjacent innovation: Rather than replacing existing systems, identify where trapped value exists. Mahesh notes, "Companies spend billions of dollars building their ERP systems... We are a category coming either as adjacency or sitting on top of some of these systems to unlock value." This approach reduces friction to adoption. Target industries with regulatory pressure and high-value problems: ParkourSC chose pharma/life sciences because it's "heavily regulated" with "$35 billion worth of product lost yearly to expirations and cold chain issues." Regulatory compliance and high-dollar waste create urgent problems worth solving. Co-create with innovative customers: Mahesh advises finding "innovators" within large companies who want to be change agents. "These are the early adopters that take bets... They bring a problem, give you a sandbox to play in." One such customer partner even became ParkourSC's Chief Strategy Officer. Expand from a narrow solution to platform vision: Start with solving one specific problem exceptionally well. Mahesh shares, "We got into the logistics, cold chain logistics... but very quickly found within these organizations it's great value but very narrow problem." They expanded systematically from logistics to operations, planning, and inventory—"the mother of all there, that's where all the money is stuck."   //   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