The Dave Gerhardt Show (from Exit Five)

By Exit Five

Interviews with top marketers sharing tactical tips, strategies, and lessons learned to help you grow your business. Hosted by Dave Gerhardt, founder of Exit Five, former CMO, and author of Founder Br... more

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The Dave Gerhardt Show (from Exit Five) episodes:

March 31, 2025Inside Exit Five: How We Doubled Community Growth in Under a Year (with Matt Carnevale)
#233: Inside Exit Five | In this episode, Matt Carnevale (Head of Community at Exit Five) joins the team at Circle to break down how we’ve doubled Exit Five community membership and boosted engagement—all by treating Exit Five like a product. He shares our playbook: audience growth, engagement systems, how we use member feedback to shape what we build, and why “curate, don’t create” has been key to scaling. If you’re running (or joining) a B2B community, this is how you make it work.
Matt covers:
Why we think of community like a product, not just a channel
How Exit Five grew community membership over 100% in under a year
The systems we use to drive 40% monthly active user engagement
The power of “tripwires,” onboarding, and member matchmaking
How feedback loops shape what we build
Timestamps
(00:00) - – Intro to Matt
(03:54) - – Exit Five’s approach to community
(06:24) - – What it means to treat community like a product
(10:24) - – Why audience is the foundation of community growth
(13:24) - – How Exit Five builds and converts audience from LinkedIn
(16:24) - – Using content tripwires to drive signups
(18:24) - – Offers that work: Why we use a 7-day free trial
(21:24) - – How Exit Five got started as a paid community
(24:24) - – The product mindset: build, test, iterate
(28:38) - – Using member feedback to drive product decisions
(30:38) - – Real example: member matchmaking feature
(32:38) - – Promoting new community features like product launches
(35:38) - – How we drive 40% monthly active usage
(37:38) - – The value of member-led events and how we do them
(40:38) - – Other plays: tagging experts, matchmaking, onboarding
(43:38) - – Why self-promo was hurting our community and what changed when we cut it
(45:38) - – Final takeaways + advice for small communities
(49:38) - – Audience Q&A: re-engagement, matchmaking, content cadence
Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/
***
Brought to you by:
AirOps - The content engineering platform that helps marketers create and maintain high-quality, on-brand content that wins AI search. Go to airops.com/exitfive to start creating content that reflects your expertise, stays true to your brand, and is engineered for performance across human and AI discovery.
Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.
Convertr - The enterprise lead data management platform that sits between your lead sources and your CRM, automatically validating, enriching, and standardizing every lead before it touches your systems. Check them out at convertr.io/exitfive.
Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand generation agency that helps high-growth cybersecurity, DevOps, and enterprise software companies drive more pipeline through AI SEO, paid media, and go-to-market engineering. Visit compoundgrowthmarketing.com and tell them Dave sent you.

***
Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.
They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.
Visit hatch.fm to learn more
...more
1h 2min
March 27, 2025How Marketers Can Be Better Partners with Sales (with Jen Allen-Knuth)
#232: Sales | Dave sits down with Jen Allen-Knuth, founder of DemandJen. Jen shares her insights from her 15+ years in B2B Sales, from managing a quota to building great working relationships with marketing.
Jen and Dave cover:
Co-creating content with Marketing and Sales that drives better customer engagement and grows your pipeline
How Jen successfully built her audience using video on LinkedIn and leveraged it to start DemandJen
How companies should focus on genuine diversity efforts rather than superficial inclusivity
Timestamps
(00:00) - – Intro to Jen
(07:34) - – Why you should have a mentor and how to get one
(09:24) - – Sales experiences and becoming a Chief Evangelist
(12:55) - – Making the leap from side hustle to full-time
(17:22) - – Why your career experiences should be diverse
(22:00) - – The shallow impact of diversity panels
(26:04) - – How Jen built her personal brand
(29:25) - – Creating unscripted content that’s still clear
(32:57) - – Being authentic in marketing
(37:52) - – Don’t use templates for customer conversations
(44:14) - – Strong relationships between product marketing and sales
(45:01) - – Being customer-centric
(50:23) - – Why you need to be a good storyteller
(52:12) - – Challenges of data analysis
Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/
***
Brought to you by:
AirOps - The content engineering platform that helps marketers create and maintain high-quality, on-brand content that wins AI search. Go to airops.com/exitfive to start creating content that reflects your expertise, stays true to your brand, and is engineered for performance across human and AI discovery.
Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.
Convertr - The enterprise lead data management platform that sits between your lead sources and your CRM, automatically validating, enriching, and standardizing every lead before it touches your systems. Check them out at convertr.io/exitfive.
Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand generation agency that helps high-growth cybersecurity, DevOps, and enterprise software companies drive more pipeline through AI SEO, paid media, and go-to-market engineering. Visit compoundgrowthmarketing.com and tell them Dave sent you.

***
Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.
They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.
Visit hatch.fm to learn more
...more
55min
March 24, 2025We Audited 100+ B2B Websites – Here's What We Learned (with Talia Wolf)
#230: Messaging | In this episode, Matt sits down with Talia Wolf, founder and CEO of GetUplift, to unpack what’s really wrong with most B2B websites – and how to fix it. After reviewing 100+ member-submitted sites from the Exit Five community, Talia shares what she sees over and over again: messaging that’s too focused on the product, poor design flow, and a lack of real customer understanding.
Matt and Talia cover:
Why most B2B sites focus too much on features and not enough on buyer emotion
How to use emotional targeting and customer research to write copy that converts
The biggest design mistakes B2B marketers are making (and how to fix them)
How to get stakeholder buy-in for website changes
Why great websites start with strong product marketing
Timestamps
(00:00) - – Intro to Talia
(03:28) - – Why most B2B websites fail to convert
(05:54) - – The common thread across 100+ website reviews from Exit Five members
(08:39) - – Why focusing on features instead of emotion kills conversions
(11:27) - – What is emotional targeting (and how to actually use it)?
(14:42) - – The power of customer research in website optimization
(18:04) - – How to apply emotional triggers to your homepage copy
(21:33) - – Mistakes B2B companies make with above-the-fold content
(24:35) - – Why you should write copy before designing the site
(29:06) - – Structuring your site around buyer intent and behavior
(32:23) - – How to get internal buy-in for messaging and UX changes
(35:40) - – The difference between product marketing and “just copywriting”
(38:56) - – The role of hierarchy, visual flow, and CTA placement
(42:22) - – When to simplify and when to educate on B2B websites
(45:44) - – Final takeaways and practical steps to start improving your site
Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/
***
Brought to you by:
AirOps - The content engineering platform that helps marketers create and maintain high-quality, on-brand content that wins AI search. Go to airops.com/exitfive to start creating content that reflects your expertise, stays true to your brand, and is engineered for performance across human and AI discovery.
Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.
Convertr - The enterprise lead data management platform that sits between your lead sources and your CRM, automatically validating, enriching, and standardizing every lead before it touches your systems. Check them out at convertr.io/exitfive.
Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand generation agency that helps high-growth cybersecurity, DevOps, and enterprise software companies drive more pipeline through AI SEO, paid media, and go-to-market engineering. Visit compoundgrowthmarketing.com and tell them Dave sent you.

***
Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.
They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.
Visit hatch.fm to learn more
...more
54min
March 20, 2025Inside the Minds of Top CMOs: What’s Working, What’s Not, and How the CMO Role is Evolving in B2B Marketing
#229: Marketing Leadership | In this episode, Dave sits down with Megan Lueders (CMO at Sonatype), Ido Mart (CMO at Manychat), and Kimberly Storin (CMO at Zayo) for a live CMO panel discussion at Exit Five’s Austin marketing meetup. These marketing leaders share what’s working what’s not in B2B marketing today and how the role of the CMO is evolving.
Dave, Megan, Ido, and Kimberly cover:
What every new CMO needs to know about leading a marketing org
How to align with CEOs, CFOs, and key stakeholders to drive business impact
The biggest marketing shifts happening right now (and what’s no longer working)
How to prove marketing’s impact in the era of efficiency
Timestamps
(00:00) - – Introduction to the CMO panel
(03:36) - – The evolving role of the CMO in 2025
(07:02) - – The biggest challenges marketing leaders face today
(10:09) - – How to align marketing with CEOs, CFOs, and key stakeholders
(13:44) - – What every new CMO needs to know when stepping into the role
(17:19) - – The marketing strategies that are working right now (and what’s not)
(21:06) - – Why B2B marketing is more emotional than most people realize
(25:46) - – How to prove marketing’s impact in a data-driven, efficiency-focused era
(29:28) - – The shift from demand gen to brand-led growth
(32:53) - – The role of storytelling and positioning in B2B marketing success
(37:08) - – Building a high-performing marketing team and the skills CMOs need today
(40:48) - – Key takeaways and final advice for marketing leaders
Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/
***
Brought to you by:
AirOps - The content engineering platform that helps marketers create and maintain high-quality, on-brand content that wins AI search. Go to airops.com/exitfive to start creating content that reflects your expertise, stays true to your brand, and is engineered for performance across human and AI discovery.
Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.
Convertr - The enterprise lead data management platform that sits between your lead sources and your CRM, automatically validating, enriching, and standardizing every lead before it touches your systems. Check them out at convertr.io/exitfive.
Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand generation agency that helps high-growth cybersecurity, DevOps, and enterprise software companies drive more pipeline through AI SEO, paid media, and go-to-market engineering. Visit compoundgrowthmarketing.com and tell them Dave sent you.

***
Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.
They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.
Visit hatch.fm to learn more
...more
1h 2min
March 17, 2025LinkedIn Ads & Strategy for B2B with Anthony Blatner
#228: LinkedIn Strategy | Anthony is one of the nine LinkedIn Certified Marketing Experts in North America. He’s also the Managing Director of Speedwork, a B2B LinkedIn Marketing Agency, and hosts the LinkedIn Ads Radio Podcast.
He and Dave discuss
LinkedIn Ad Creative & Consistent Branding
Thought Leader Ads & Organic Reach
Niche Audiences & Custom Content
Nurture Campaigns
Expert LinkedIn Ads Tips
Timestamps
(00:00) - - Intro to Anthony Blatner
(08:44) - - Focusing on LinkedIn and Future Expansion
(12:09) - - Effective Social Media Advertising and Organic Content
(15:33) - - The Overlooked Importance of Creative Content in Advertising
(17:41) - - Targeting Personas with Top-of-Funnel Ads
(24:07) - - Creating Unique and Targeted Content: Pros and Cons
(25:23) - - Lead Generation Strategies for Small Budgets
(29:36) - - Effective Funnel Strategies for Small Budgets
(33:05) - - Using Paid Advertising and Lead Magnets to Grow Your Newsletter
(37:58) - - Building Long-Term Memory with Consistent Branding in Marketing
(40:19) - - The Power of Narrow Focus for Audience Growth
(43:26) - - Content Planning Based on Sales Cycle Length
(45:15) - - Connecting with Anthony Blatner on LinkedIn
Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/
***
Brought to you by:
AirOps - The content engineering platform that helps marketers create and maintain high-quality, on-brand content that wins AI search. Go to airops.com/exitfive to start creating content that reflects your expertise, stays true to your brand, and is engineered for performance across human and AI discovery.
Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.
Convertr - The enterprise lead data management platform that sits between your lead sources and your CRM, automatically validating, enriching, and standardizing every lead before it touches your systems. Check them out at convertr.io/exitfive.
Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand generation agency that helps high-growth cybersecurity, DevOps, and enterprise software companies drive more pipeline through AI SEO, paid media, and go-to-market engineering. Visit compoundgrowthmarketing.com and tell them Dave sent you.

***
Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.
They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.
Visit hatch.fm to learn more
...more
45min
March 13, 2025The B2B Event Playbook: Building Revenue-Driving Events in 2025
#227: Events | In this episode, Dave hosts a live Exit Five session with Zuddl and panelists Stephanie Christensen (Event Marketing Leader) and Kristina DeBrito (Director of Strategic Events at Iterable) to break down how B2B marketers should be thinking about events in 2025. From small VIP dinners to large customer conferences, events are making a big comeback—but without a solid strategy, they can be a massive waste of budget.
Dave, Stephanie, and Kristina cover:
The key metrics to track to prove event ROI in 2025
How to get executive and stakeholder buy-in for your event strategy
What’s working in B2B events right now (and what’s not)
How to follow up post-event to drive engagement and pipeline
Timestamps
(00:00) - – Intro to Stephanie and Kristina
(03:39) - – Why events are making a big comeback in B2B marketing
(07:06) - – The biggest mistakes marketers make when planning events
(09:54) - – How to align your event strategy with business goals
(12:39) - – The key metrics to track for proving event ROI
(15:51) - – How to get buy-in from executives and key stakeholders
(19:04) - – What’s working right now in B2B events (and what’s not)
(23:20) - – The role of micro-events, VIP dinners, and executive meetups
(27:48) - – Sponsoring vs. hosting your own event — how to decide
(32:08) - – The importance of post-event follow-up and engagement
(35:50) - – Virtual events: lessons learned and how they fit into 2025 strategies
(39:43) - – Live Q&A: Expert answers to audience event strategy questions
(45:08) - – Final takeaways on making B2B events worth the investment
Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/
***
Brought to you by:
AirOps - The content engineering platform that helps marketers create and maintain high-quality, on-brand content that wins AI search. Go to airops.com/exitfive to start creating content that reflects your expertise, stays true to your brand, and is engineered for performance across human and AI discovery.
Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.
Convertr - The enterprise lead data management platform that sits between your lead sources and your CRM, automatically validating, enriching, and standardizing every lead before it touches your systems. Check them out at convertr.io/exitfive.
Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand generation agency that helps high-growth cybersecurity, DevOps, and enterprise software companies drive more pipeline through AI SEO, paid media, and go-to-market engineering. Visit compoundgrowthmarketing.com and tell them Dave sent you.

***
Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.
They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.
Visit hatch.fm to learn more
...more
55min
March 10, 2025What’s Your One Key Message? Mastering B2B Messaging & Copywriting with Diane Wiredu, Founder of Lion Words
#226: Messaging | In this episode, Dave sits down with Diane Wiredu, messaging expert and founder of Lion Words, a consultancy that helps B2B tech and SaaS companies achieve message-market fit so they can stand out, market more effectively, and sell more. Diane breaks down why most B2B messaging falls flat, how to fix it, and why messaging is more than just copy—it’s the bridge between positioning and execution.
Dave and Diane cover:
The difference between positioning and messaging (and why both matter)
How to create a messaging strategy that actually resonates
Why most B2B messaging sucks and how to fix it
How to structure homepage messaging for maximum impact
How to get the most value from customer research for copywriting
Timestamps
(00:00) - – Intro to Diane
(03:34) - – What is message-market fit and why does it matter?
(06:48) - – The biggest messaging mistakes B2B companies make
(09:14) - – The difference between positioning and messaging (and why both matter)
(12:42) - – How to create a messaging strategy that actually resonates
(15:59) - – Signs your messaging isn’t working and how to fix it
(19:33) - – The role of customer research in B2B messaging
(23:06) - – How to structure a homepage message hierarchy that converts
(28:34) - – What makes a great value proposition vs. a generic one
(31:08) - – How to test and validate your messaging with real customers
(34:52) - – Why messaging needs to be clear, not clever
(38:23) - – Common struggles B2B teams face when implementing new messaging
(41:59) - – Final takeaways
Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/
***
Brought to you by:
AirOps - The content engineering platform that helps marketers create and maintain high-quality, on-brand content that wins AI search. Go to airops.com/exitfive to start creating content that reflects your expertise, stays true to your brand, and is engineered for performance across human and AI discovery.
Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.
Convertr - The enterprise lead data management platform that sits between your lead sources and your CRM, automatically validating, enriching, and standardizing every lead before it touches your systems. Check them out at convertr.io/exitfive.
Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand generation agency that helps high-growth cybersecurity, DevOps, and enterprise software companies drive more pipeline through AI SEO, paid media, and go-to-market engineering. Visit compoundgrowthmarketing.com and tell them Dave sent you.

***
Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.
They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.
Visit hatch.fm to learn more
...more
50min
March 06, 2025Content, Community, and Building a 200,000+ B2B Audience with Dave
#225: Q&A with Dave | In this episode, Dave joins Ross Hudgens on Content and Conversation: Organic Growth Insights from Siege Media to break down content strategy, brand building, and why organic marketing is the foundation of great B2B marketing. Dave shares his journey from marketing leader to building Exit Five and explains why community-driven content is the key to sustainable growth.
Dave and Ross cover:
How organic content and SEO fit into a modern B2B marketing strategy
The power of LinkedIn, podcasts, and community for long-term brand growth
How to turn content into a flywheel that drives awareness, engagement, and revenue
Timestamps
(00:00) - – Intro to Dave
(07:06) - – Why organic content is the foundation of a great marketing strategy
(09:34) - – The role of SEO in B2B marketing
(12:49) - – How brands can balance paid marketing with organic content
(16:01) - – The power of LinkedIn and why marketers should prioritize personal branding
(19:33) - – Why podcasts are an underrated channel for brand-building
(23:14) - – How to build an audience and turn content into a long-term flywheel
(29:10) - – The connection between community and content marketing
(32:49) - – How Exit Five grew into a marketing community
(36:43) - – The biggest mistakes B2B companies make with content marketing
(41:00) - – How to measure content success beyond just traffic and rankings
(44:48) - – Advice for marketers looking to build influence in their industry
(48:05) - – Final thoughts
Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/
***
Brought to you by:
AirOps - The content engineering platform that helps marketers create and maintain high-quality, on-brand content that wins AI search. Go to airops.com/exitfive to start creating content that reflects your expertise, stays true to your brand, and is engineered for performance across human and AI discovery.
Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.
Convertr - The enterprise lead data management platform that sits between your lead sources and your CRM, automatically validating, enriching, and standardizing every lead before it touches your systems. Check them out at convertr.io/exitfive.
Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand generation agency that helps high-growth cybersecurity, DevOps, and enterprise software companies drive more pipeline through AI SEO, paid media, and go-to-market engineering. Visit compoundgrowthmarketing.com and tell them Dave sent you.

***
Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.
They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.
Visit hatch.fm to learn more
...more
50min
March 03, 2025How to Fix Your SEO Strategy
#224: Website Teardown | In this episode, Danielle (Head of Content at Exit Five) hosts a panel with top SEO and content marketing experts: Rita Cidre, Head of Academy at Semrush; Ross Simmonds, CEO at Foundation & Distribution.ai; and Tom Whatley, CEO of Grizzle.
Together, they break down real B2B websites, exposing the biggest SEO mistakes and sharing data-driven strategies for improving rankings, content, and conversion rates.
Danielle, Rita, Ross, and Tom cover:
The most common SEO mistakes B2B marketers are making right now
Why ranking for the wrong keywords is hurting your pipeline
How to optimize content for scanners, search intent, and conversions
Timestamps
(00:00) - – Introduction to Rita, Ross, and Tom
(03:55) - – Why SEO has changed and what marketers are getting wrong in 2024
(06:56) - – The impact of AI on SEO and why standing out is harder than ever
(08:38) - – Case study: How Pipedrive increased signups by 33% with bottom-of-funnel SEO
(11:04) - – The difference between top-of-funnel and bottom-of-funnel content strategies
(13:31) - – Why glossary pages aren’t enough and what to do instead
(16:07) - – The biggest homepage SEO mistakes (live website teardown)
(20:50) - – How to structure product and category pages for better rankings
(23:44) - – The problem with keyword stuffing vs. real search intent optimization
(28:43) - – Why internal linking and URL structure matter for SEO success
(33:19) - – How backlinks, brand authority, and digital PR impact rankings
(37:13) - – The role of content quality, readability, and formatting for scanners
(40:38) - – Common mistakes in blog strategy and how to fix them
(45:08) - – Why getting to the point faster improves rankings and engagement
(47:44) - – Final SEO takeaways recommendations
Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/
***
Brought to you by:
AirOps - The content engineering platform that helps marketers create and maintain high-quality, on-brand content that wins AI search. Go to airops.com/exitfive to start creating content that reflects your expertise, stays true to your brand, and is engineered for performance across human and AI discovery.
Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive.
Convertr - The enterprise lead data management platform that sits between your lead sources and your CRM, automatically validating, enriching, and standardizing every lead before it touches your systems. Check them out at convertr.io/exitfive.
Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand generation agency that helps high-growth cybersecurity, DevOps, and enterprise software companies drive more pipeline through AI SEO, paid media, and go-to-market engineering. Visit compoundgrowthmarketing.com and tell them Dave sent you.

***
Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.
They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.
Visit hatch.fm to learn more
...more
58min
February 27, 2025Category Creation and Market Leadership with the CMO of 1Password, Melton Littlepage
In this episode, Dave sits down with Melton Littlepage, CMO at 1Password, to discuss how he’s transforming a well-known consumer brand into a B2B category leader in cybersecurity. With decades of experience in SaaS marketing, Melton shares insights on category creation, demand generation, and the intersection of brand and product marketing—and why being the leader in your space matters more than perfect attribution.
Dave and Melton cover:
Why category leadership is critical and how to position your company as #1
How enterprise marketing, brand-building, and demand gen work together to drive growth
How 1Password is expanding beyond password management to create a new category
Timestamps
(00:00) - – Intro to Melton
(06:15) - – The evolution of marketing from demand gen to category creation
(09:24) - – The balance between data-driven marketing and brand-building
(10:58) - – Why attribution alone won’t make your company “hot”
(11:31) - – The importance of category leadership and market perception
(13:43) - – How 1Password is shifting from password management to Extended Access Management (XAM)
(16:07) - – How COVID changed the cybersecurity landscape
(18:20) - – Why legacy security tools aren’t enough for modern businesses
(20:50) - – The role of category creation in defining 1Password’s future
(22:05) - – Naming and positioning a new category (Extended Access Management)
(23:44) - – The risks and rewards of category creation vs. competing in an existing space
(25:48) - – Why CISOs are hesitant to be early adopters—and how to shift buyer perception
(28:43) - – The strategy behind creating demand for a new category
(30:40) - – Lightning strike moments and big brand plays for category awareness
(33:19) - – Structuring a marketing team to support both enterprise and self-service growth
(37:13) - – Balancing B2B and consumer marketing
(40:38) - – Why 1Password invested in sports sponsorships
(43:35) - – The power of emotional marketing and brand trust in enterprise sales
(46:22) - – Thought leadership and analyst relations in shaping a category
(47:44) - – Final takeaways
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