BUILDERS

By Front Lines MediaBusiness Entrepreneurship

BUILDERS episodes

July 31, 2025Adam Cecchetti, CEO & Co-Founder of Staris AI: $5.7 Million Raised to Build Total Context Security for Application Protection
Staris AI is pioneering a new approach to application security, moving beyond traditional vulnerability scanning to create what they call "total context security." With $5.7 million in funding, the company is building an AI-powered platform that doesn't just find security issues but provides complete context about business risk and automated fixes. In this episode of Category Visionaries, I sat down with Adam Cecchetti, CEO and Co-Founder of Staris AI, to learn about his transition from bootstrap founder to venture-backed CEO and his vision for creating an immune system for applications on the internet.
Topics Discussed:
The evolution from bootstrap companies to venture-backed scaling
How 200+ customer discovery conversations shaped Staris AI's product direction
Creating the "total context security" category in a crowded application security market
The impact of AI on both security threats and solutions
Building founder-led sales processes before transitioning to broader marketing
Long-term vision of creating an immune system for internet applications
GTM Lessons For B2B Founders:
Conduct extensive customer discovery before building: Adam and his co-founder talked to over 200 CISOs, CTOs, and CIOs before finalizing their product direction. The key insight: "People do not need more to do. They do not need more work, they do not need more bugs. They don't need bugs cheaper or better or faster. They really need this problem to start shrinking." This extensive research revealed that the market didn't need another tool to find vulnerabilities—they needed solutions that actually reduced their security workload.
Define what you don't do to clarify positioning: Adam shared a powerful insight from his previous company: "I sold more work telling people what I didn't do versus what we did do." In crowded markets like security, clearly articulating what you don't do helps prospects understand your unique value proposition. For Staris AI, being explicit about not being "an ASPM" or other specific security categories helps differentiate their total context approach.
Leverage founder networks for initial traction: Rather than launching broad marketing campaigns, Adam is using his 25 years of industry relationships for initial customer acquisition. "We're going back to a lot of our people we had talked to initially when we started the company, as well as some old customers and colleagues and friends to be able to say, hey, let's do some proof of concepts." This approach allows for rapid iteration and product refinement based on trusted customer feedback.
Create category names that are immediately understandable: While evaluating options like "next gen pen testing" and "AI security co-pilots," Adam chose "total context security" because it clearly communicates value. The name immediately conveys what the solution does—providing complete context at every step of the security process. In technical markets, clarity often beats cleverness in category naming.
Time market expansion carefully: Despite having funding and proven traction, Adam is deliberately waiting until Q4 to ramp marketing efforts. "We've been really laser-like focused on building a great product, getting a good story for our customers, understanding what truly provides them value before we kind of went out and mass broadcasted that message." This disciplined approach ensures product-market fit before scaling go-to-market efforts.

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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

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Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire
Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role.
Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM
15 min
July 31, 2025Sauraj Gambhir, Co-Founder of Prior Labs: $9 Million Raised to Build Foundation Models for Structured Data
Prior Labs is pioneering foundation models for structured data, bringing transformer technology from the generative AI world to tabular data that sits in databases and spreadsheets across every business. With $9 million in funding and over 1.5 million downloads of their open-source model, Prior Labs is revolutionizing how data scientists work with structured data by creating universal models that can handle multiple use cases instead of requiring custom models for each specific application. In this episode, I sat down with Sauraj Gambhir, Co-Founder of Prior Labs, to explore how they're transforming machine learning workflows from taking days to seconds and building a global community around their breakthrough technology.
Topics Discussed:
Prior Labs' mission to bring transformer technology to structured data and tabular datasets
The transition from traditional 20-year-old machine learning methods to universal foundation models
Building a horizontal product that serves data scientists across finance, healthcare, and scientific research
The company's open-source strategy with 1.5 million downloads and community-driven development
Social media and community-building tactics that drove adoption across LinkedIn, Twitter, and Discord
Scaling from 3 to 16 team members in seven months while maintaining technical focus
Fundraising strategy for AI companies and the balance between raising enough capital without over-inflating
Plans for geographic expansion from Berlin to the US market
GTM Lessons For B2B Founders:
Lead with open source for technical audiences: Prior Labs built their entire go-to-market strategy around an open-source model that anyone can download and use for free. Sauraj explained, "We've got like over one and a half million downloads and it is open source. You just need to attribute us that you're using our model." This approach allowed them to achieve massive adoption while building credibility with their technical audience. B2B founders targeting developers or technical users should consider how open source can accelerate adoption and community building before monetization.
Build community ownership, not just engagement: Sauraj approaches community building like team building, saying, "If you think about your team as a founder, like when you build a team, you want them to feel like it's their company... I'm trying to take that same philosophy towards community building." He creates biweekly Discord updates where half the content showcases community contributions, leading members to actively submit their use cases and request features. B2B founders should design community programs that make users feel like co-creators rather than passive consumers.
Leverage co-founder networks strategically for different audiences: Prior Labs uses each co-founder's unique network to reach different segments. Sauraj noted, "One of my co founders has been a professor of machine learning for the last 12 years. So he already had a pretty good following of let's say the data science community... when we need to generate inbound, I'm the one pushing when we need to like generate more technical applications for people to apply for jobs with us. We're going through my co founders networks." B2B founders should map their founding team's networks and assign go-to-market responsibilities based on audience alignment rather than traditional roles.
Focus adoption over monetization in emerging categories: Despite having paying customers, Prior Labs keeps their API free and focuses entirely on adoption metrics. Sauraj explained, "Right now we are offering it for free because we just want like adoption is really the biggest use case at the moment... when we have like the next versions of the models, that's really when we're going to be able to flip the switch." In category creation, B2B founders should prioritize proving product-market fit and building market awareness before optimizing revenue, especially when building foundational technology.
Use technical documentation as brand building: Instead of focusing on traditional marketing materials, Prior Labs invested heavily in developer-focused assets. Sauraj said, "We were really focused on getting really good docs in place, really good, like GitHub read me in place. And the brand was really kind of like building this community and being like open and honest with the community." B2B founders serving technical audiences should treat documentation, GitHub presence, and developer resources as primary brand touchpoints rather than secondary marketing materials.

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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

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Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire
Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role.
Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM
17 min
July 30, 2025Brian Glick, CEO of Chain.io: $18 Million Raised to Transform Logistics Data Integration
Chain.io is a vertical integration platform deeply embedded in the shipping and logistics space, helping connect massive freight companies with retail brands through the millions of messages required to track shipments and navigate customs. With $18 million in funding, the company has positioned itself as critical infrastructure for an industry that became front-page news during COVID. In this episode, Brian Glick shares hard-won lessons about building in a legacy industry, the realities of enterprise sales cycles, and why he never took himself out of the sales process.
Topics Discussed:
Building vertical iPaaS for logistics before the category existed in supply chain
How COVID accelerated understanding of data movement as a strategic problem
The challenge of selling complex integration technology to legacy industries
Transitioning from founder-led sales while maintaining founder involvement
Using podcasting as relationship-building infrastructure for 10-year customer lifecycles
Building authentic employee thought leadership without formal programs
The impact of AI on traditional integration and data movement businesses
GTM Lessons For B2B Founders:
Don't fully remove yourself from enterprise sales—strategically deploy your founder advantage: Brian learned that completely stepping back from sales was a mistake. Instead, he discovered the power of strategic founder involvement: "As a founder I am an incredible asset to my team, but that doesn't mean I have to be on every meeting." He now enters deals at the beginning to build relationships, trusts his sales team to advance opportunities, then returns at crucial moments to help close negotiations. This approach maximizes founder value while empowering the sales team.
Timing pain points matters more than pain intensity: Chain.io experienced a counterintuitive sales pattern during COVID—initial uptick as customers felt pain, followed by a downturn when pain became overwhelming. Brian observed: "A little bit of pain is good for sales... when it gets too much pain, people freeze up." B2B founders should recognize that acute customer pain creates urgency, but excessive pain paralyzes decision-making. The sweet spot is when customers feel enough discomfort to act but retain capacity to evaluate new solutions.
Legacy industries require relationship-based, not scale-based GTM motions: After trying to build a "standard SaaS BDR SDR style go-to-market machine," Brian realized it was wrong for both his market timing and industry culture. He pivoted back to relationship-driven sales focused on live events and consultative engagement. For enterprise logistics customers making decisions that affect 40 countries, "nothing is simple and no decision is made by one person who's going to click a buy now button." Founders in traditional industries should think more like SAP than HubSpot.
Use podcasting as relationship infrastructure, not lead generation: Brian launched his podcast "almost day one" as free marketing, but discovered its real value in relationship building for long sales cycles. He doesn't track metrics or measure ROI traditionally, noting: "I know that I've gotten a CIO of a major freight company... [who] sent me a screenshot of my podcast... and I know how much that one customer pays me is more than I've ever invested in the podcast." For B2B founders with complex sales cycles, content should build relationships rather than optimize for attribution.
Build category understanding through customer education, not just problem-solving: When Chain.io launched in 2017, "that category did not exist in supply chain." Brian spent years helping customers understand that data movement was a strategic, first-tier problem rather than something "you tack on the end of some other project." Category creation often requires patient market education—founders must be prepared to invest in customer understanding before expecting rapid adoption, especially in conservative industries.

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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

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Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire
Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role.
Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM
30 min
July 29, 2025Adrienne Pierce, CEO of New Sun Road: $6 Million Raised to Accelerate Renewable Energy Deployment
New Sun Road is an energy tech company pioneering the acceleration of renewable energy deployment through their IoT and cloud-based platform. As a public benefit corporation, they focus on underserved communities while managing over 1,500 systems across diverse applications from wildfire mitigation with PG&E to remote telecommunications towers. In this episode of Category Visionaries, we sat down with CEO Adrienne Pierce to explore how they've built a platform that serves as the "brain" for distributed energy systems and their unique approach to go-to-market in the complex energy sector.
Topics Discussed:
New Sun Road's evolution from energy access solutions to comprehensive renewable energy platform management
The company's IoT and cloud-based approach to monitoring and controlling distributed energy resources
Their diverse customer base spanning solar installers, utilities, telecommunications, and remote communities
The complexity of 6-18 month sales cycles in energy infrastructure projects
Strategic pivot from sector-focused to partner-enabled go-to-market approach
Operating as a public benefit corporation and its impact on team alignment and business development
Navigating regulatory changes and their delayed impact on project timelines
Thought leadership strategy around emerging technologies like vehicle-to-grid and networked microgrids
GTM Lessons For B2B Founders:
Partner with domain experts rather than becoming one yourself: Adrienne explained their strategic shift: "We started with kind of a sector strategy where we're like, oh, we can do electric vehicles... But what we found was that it's very hard to be experts in all of these different sectors." Instead of trying to master every vertical, they focused on being the best at what they do—energy management technology—and partnered with domain experts in each sector. B2B founders should resist the temptation to become everything to everyone and instead find strong partners who can complement their core competencies.
Focus resources on highest-impact activities in resource-constrained environments: Pierce emphasized the critical importance of opportunity cost for small organizations: "For small organizations, I think the biggest cost is opportunity cost. So if I'm spending my time chasing leads and doing lead gen and that's where my resources are going, then it may be at the behest of something that's more productive." B2B founders must ruthlessly prioritize activities that drive the most value and avoid spreading thin across low-yield activities, especially in early stages when every hour counts.
Build for complex, consultative sales cycles with technical buyers: With sales cycles ranging 6-18 months, New Sun Road's approach centers on deep technical engagement: "We are at the heart of what the project is doing from a control and performance perspective, you know, there are a lot of things to just make sure that we're aligned on and develop a really strong partnership." B2B founders selling to technical buyers in complex infrastructure projects should invest heavily in technical credibility and relationship-building rather than traditional sales tactics.
Leverage authenticity as a differentiator in purpose-driven markets: As a public benefit corporation, Pierce noted: "It has channeled and been a differentiator for what we're doing and how we're doing it... it's created an amazing team environment." When your market values purpose alongside profit, authentic commitment to mission can become a significant competitive advantage. B2B founders should consider how genuine purpose alignment can strengthen both team cohesion and customer relationships, but only if the commitment is authentic.
Anticipate regulatory lag in heavily regulated industries: Pierce shared valuable insight about regulatory timing: "One thing about regulation is that there is lag. So you can change the regulation and it takes a while for it to trickle down and to have impact... when I look at changing regulation, I'm looking at, well, how is that going to impact 2026?" B2B founders in regulated industries should build regulatory change anticipation into their product roadmap and sales strategy, understanding that today's regulatory shifts create tomorrow's market opportunities.

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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

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Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire
Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role.
Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM
15 min
July 29, 2025Florian Forster, CEO & Co-Founder of ZITADEL: $11.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Developer-First Identity Infrastructure
ZITADEL is pioneering the next generation of identity infrastructure, providing a developer-first platform that handles everything from basic authentication to complex multi-tenant B2B scenarios. With $11.5 million in funding and a unique open-source approach, ZITADEL has positioned itself as the "GitLab for identity" - offering both self-hosted and SaaS deployment options while maintaining flexibility through comprehensive APIs. In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, I sat down with Florian Forster, CEO and Co-Founder of ZITADEL, who recently relocated from Switzerland to the Bay Area to accelerate the company's go-to-market efforts and tap into the massive US opportunity.
Topics Discussed:
ZITADEL's comprehensive identity platform covering authentication, authorization, and multi-tenant scenarios
The company's innovative dual-licensing approach combining AGPL open source with commercial offerings
Florian's strategic decision to relocate his entire family from Switzerland to the Bay Area
The evolution from per-user pricing to capability-based pricing models
Building a global team across three regions: Europe for engineering, US for go-to-market, and Argentina for customer success
Marketing strategy focused 80/20 on developers versus buyers
Cultural differences between European and American go-to-market approaches
Future vision for AI risk mitigation and behavioral analytics in identity management
GTM Lessons For B2B Founders:
Embrace "cash or code" open source strategy: Florian introduced the concept of "cash or code" - users either pay for commercial features or contribute meaningfully to the open source project. ZITADEL's shift from Apache to AGPL licensing ensures that free users contribute back to the community while commercial customers get enterprise features and SLAs. This dual-licensing approach creates sustainable economics while building a strong community foundation.
Rethink pricing to align with customer value creation: ZITADEL is moving away from per-user pricing because, as Florian explains, "we are the system that makes users useful. So if we hinder our customers on creating users in the first place, it kind of defeats the whole idea." Instead, they're shifting to capability-based pricing where customers pay for specific features like compliance notifications rather than user seats. This removes friction from customer growth and better aligns pricing with actual value delivered.
Focus marketing efforts on developers, not just buyers: ZITADEL discovered that an 80/20 split between developer-focused and buyer-focused marketing works best. Florian notes that "targeting the developer ultimately leads to us being in the debate when somebody procures a system like ours." Developers do the initial evaluation and recommendation, so winning them over is crucial for getting into procurement discussions with buyers.
Leverage geographic arbitrage strategically: ZITADEL operates across three regions - Europe for core engineering (quality engineers at $100-250K vs $250-500K in Bay Area), US for go-to-market, and Argentina for customer success and sales engineering. This approach optimizes for both cost efficiency and timezone coverage while maintaining quality across all functions.
Adapt messaging for cultural differences: Moving from Switzerland to the US taught Florian that "in US marketing, things get overinflated quite severely, but the buyer knows that and automatically deducts some of it." Europeans tend to under-market solid products, while US buyers expect and discount for marketing inflation. B2B founders must calibrate their messaging appropriately for different markets and buyer expectations.

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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

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Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire
Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role.
Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM
22 min
July 23, 2025Nitzan Yudan, CEO & Founder of Benivo: $30 Million Raised to Transform Global Workforce Mobility
Benivo is revolutionizing how enterprises manage their global workforce through HR technology focused on Global Mobility teams. With $30 million in funding, the company has evolved from a failed Airbnb competitor into a thriving B2B platform serving major clients like Google, Microsoft, and Bayer. In this episode of Category Visionaries, we sat down with Nitzan Yudan, CEO and Founder of Benivo, to explore the company's dramatic pivot, their "sell-first, build-later" methodology, and how they've built a lean go-to-market engine that leverages AI and community selling to compete with established players.
Topics Discussed:
Benivo's dramatic pivot from an Airbnb competitor to enterprise HR tech
The "sell-first, build-later" methodology that became company DNA
How they closed Google with "the ugliest page in the history of Internet pages"
Building relationships with enterprise decision-makers through weekly Saturday emails
The costly mistake of trying to create a new category versus meeting buyers where they are
Community selling strategies including LinkedIn Live shows and industry recognition campaigns
Using AI to create efficient go-to-market operations with a team under 10 people
Custom AI tools for sales coaching, RFP responses, and prospect management
GTM Lessons For B2B Founders:
Always sell first, then build: Nitzan's core principle is "sell-first, build-later" - a methodology born from their Google deal where they sold a solution using "the ugliest page in the history of Internet pages" and delivered manually for six months before building the actual product. This approach validates real customer demand and reveals what actually needs to be built versus what founders assume should be built.
Enterprise sales is about selling yourself, not your product: Success with major clients like Google, Microsoft, and Bayer came from building deep personal relationships with decision-makers. Nitzan describes knowing the names of his prospects' children and their preferences - emphasizing that enterprise buyers are investing in people and relationships, not just features. One client relationship was maintained through weekly Saturday evening emails for months before an opportunity materialized.
Match your messaging to how buyers actually buy: Benivo initially tried to create a new category by positioning themselves as a "two-for-one" solution replacing multiple industry layers. This confused buyers who didn't understand how to purchase within their existing procurement processes. When they repositioned to match existing category terminology that buyers recognized, RFP invitations and sales began flowing. The lesson: don't let category creation ambitions override buyer convenience.
Leverage community selling for efficient go-to-market: With only 7-8 people in their entire go-to-market team, Benivo built a powerful community strategy including a LinkedIn Live show hosted by an industry luminary, annual "Top 100" recognition campaigns, and a 200-person "Change Maker Network" that includes prospects, customers, and even lost deals. This approach builds trust and allows enterprise buyers to engage with the company culture before making career-impacting decisions.
Build custom AI tools for competitive advantage: Rather than relying on expensive purpose-built sales tools, Benivo creates custom AI solutions using basic tools like Gemini and Make.com. Their system automatically transcribes sales calls, scores deals using their MEDPIQ methodology, coaches salespeople on next steps, and generates follow-up emails. They've also built AI tools that reduce RFP response time by 70-80% by training models on their best historical responses and client-specific strategy documents.

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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

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Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire
Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role.
Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM
28 min
July 23, 2025Nilo Rahmani, CEO & Co-Founder of Thoras AI: $6.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of AI-Powered Infrastructure Optimization
Thoras AI is pioneering a new category in infrastructure optimization, transforming how engineering teams manage workload efficiency through predictive scaling. Co-founded by twin sisters Nilo and her sibling who worked as reliability engineers for a decade, Thoras AI addresses the reactive nature of traditional infrastructure management. In this episode of Category Visionaries, we sat down with Nilo Rahmani, CEO and Co-Founder of Thoras AI, to learn about their journey from frustrated on-call engineers to building an AI-powered platform that helps reliability teams optimize performance while maintaining application integrity.
Topics Discussed:
The unique dynamic of co-founding a company with your twin sister
Thoras AI's approach to predictive scaling as a wedge into broader infrastructure automation
The company's differentiation from pure finops/cost optimization tools by prioritizing reliability
Building a premium brand identity that stands out in the crowded AI infrastructure space
The evolution from customer discovery to product-market fit through organic outreach
Creating a new category at the intersection of AI and infrastructure optimization
GTM Lessons For B2B Founders:
Stop coding and start talking to customers first: Nilo's biggest breakthrough came when a Bay Area advisor told her to "stop coding and start talking." Instead of building an MVP in isolation, they spent months conducting customer discovery across the country. This approach revealed genuine pain points and validated demand before writing a single line of code. B2B founders should resist the engineer's instinct to build first and instead invest heavily in understanding customer problems through direct conversation.
Validate demand through organic outreach, not friends and family: Thoras AI deliberately avoided selling to their network, choosing instead to validate their solution with complete strangers. Every customer has come through pure organic outreach, providing genuine validation that people truly need the solution rather than doing founders a favor. This approach builds confidence that the product solves real problems and creates a stronger foundation for scaling.
Focus on reliability first, cost savings second: While many competitors position themselves as cost optimization tools, Thoras AI differentiated by prioritizing application reliability and integrity. As Nilo explains, "For the reliability engineer, any attention on us because of an outage is bad attention." This positioning resonates with their target buyers who view uptime as more critical than cost savings, creating a sustainable competitive advantage.
Use premium branding to elevate your industry: Thoras AI intentionally created a consumer-grade brand aesthetic to stand out in the sea of generic B2B tools. Their approach makes reliability professionals "feel like they're elevating not only their role, but their entire team" by using a brand that understands their pain points without marketing fluff. B2B founders should consider how premium branding can differentiate their solution and make customers proud to use it.
Build category definition around customer problems, not technology: Rather than leading with AI capabilities, Thoras AI positions itself around the specific problems reliability engineers face - automation, efficiency, and reducing manual fine-tuning. They're creating a category for "optimization and efficiency" rather than forcing their solution into existing categories like finops or observability. Founders should let customer problems define their category rather than starting with technology capabilities.

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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

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Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire
Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role.
Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM
17 min
July 22, 2025Chris Brunner, CEO of Authvia: $30 Million Raised to Build the Future of Conversational Commerce
Authvia is pioneering conversational commerce, building the infrastructure that enables businesses to accept payments through text messages, WhatsApp, and other messaging platforms. With $30 million in funding raised, the company has connected over 250 payment processors and gateways with 300+ messaging networks globally, creating a seamless payment experience that Chris Brunner believes will become bigger than traditional e-commerce. In this episode, Chris shares his journey from identifying SMS as the most ubiquitous communication channel to building a platform that processes payments with just a four-digit code, all while navigating the complex world of channel partnerships and enterprise sales.

Topics Discussed:
The evolution from app fatigue to messaging-first commerce solutions
Building infrastructure that connects 250+ payment processors with 300+ messaging networks
The challenge of creating a new payment category without established buyers or budgets
Why channel partnerships take years to mature but ultimately provide massive scale
The technical innovation behind tokenized payments over messaging platforms
How regulatory compliance and paper elimination drive enterprise adoption

GTM Lessons For B2B Founders:
Sometimes being early means waiting for the market to catch up: Chris spent years building Authvia before the market was ready, describing how "channels sit" for years before they eventually activate. He emphasizes that conviction in your vision is crucial when you're ahead of market demand. B2B founders building transformative solutions should prepare for extended timelines and focus on building deep partnerships that will pay off when the market matures.
Focus on the financial buyer when there's no established category: Without a clear buyer or budget line item, Chris found success by targeting CFOs and finance teams who could immediately see the cash flow impact of faster payments. He noted, "When you get into the office of the CFO, that group cares... I can get what was going to be paid in 30 days, paid in two hours." B2B founders should identify who benefits most financially from their solution and lead with those metrics.
Build infrastructure that makes partners look good: Rather than trying to sell standalone solutions, Chris focused on creating technology that could be white-labeled by major payment and messaging companies. He explained, "Getting them to sell your stuff that looks and feels like your stuff is next to impossible. Getting them to sell their stuff that looks and feels like them is the home run." B2B founders should consider how their technology can enhance partners' existing offerings rather than compete with them.
Channel partnerships require massive upfront investment: Chris candidly shared that the first five years of channel partnerships showed little return, saying "channels sit, right? And channels do nothing until they eventually do." However, this strategy ultimately provided access to enterprise customers that would have been impossible to reach directly. B2B founders pursuing channel strategies should prepare for long development cycles and ensure they have sufficient runway.
Target the intersection of multiple pain points: Authvia succeeds by solving messaging, payments, and compliance challenges simultaneously. Chris described how customers quickly identify 17 different use cases once they understand the platform. B2B founders should look for solutions that address multiple related problems rather than point solutions, as this creates stronger value propositions and higher switching costs.

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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

//

Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire
Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role.
Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM
26 min
July 17, 2025Chris Tolles, CEO & Co-Founder of Yard Stick: $18 Million Raised to Build the Future of Soil Carbon Management
Yard Stick is pioneering the measurement of soil carbon, addressing one of the most invisible yet critical components of climate solutions. With $18 million in funding, the company has developed spectral measurement technology that quantifies soil carbon stocks at field level—unlocking the potential of agricultural systems that store many times more carbon than all plant and animal biomass combined. In this episode, we sat down with Chris Tolles, CEO and Co-Founder of Yard Stick, to explore how they're commercializing breakthrough soil science, navigating a skeptical market, and building trust in the emerging voluntary carbon market.
Topics Discussed:
The critical role of soil carbon in climate solutions versus traditional forest carbon storage
Yard Stick's origin story during COVID-19 and meeting co-founders in a Slack group
How the Department of Energy's Smart Farm program catalyzed soil carbon measurement technology
The connection between agricultural feedstocks, biofuels, and carbon intensity measurements
Building credibility in a scientifically skeptical field through academic publishing
Marketing strategy centered on trust-building rather than traditional tech company approaches
The challenge of creating a new market category for soil carbon measurement services
GTM Lessons For B2B Founders:
Lead with scientific credibility when entering skeptical markets: Chris made the deliberate decision to publish in Geoderma, the world's top soil science journal, despite the pain and slowness of academic publishing. He explains, "Because we're operating in an industry with so much suspicion around measurement and we're trying to make a claim that we're replacing an alternative existing mature measurement technology, I just didn't see a world in which I could sleep at night without the rigor that scientific publishing represents." B2B founders entering fields with established scientific communities should prioritize credibility over speed, especially when challenging existing measurement standards.
Be radically transparent about limitations to build trust: Rather than overselling capabilities, Yard Stick proactively discloses their technology's current limitations. Chris notes, "I think we are way above average, candid about the opportunity and the limitations of our technology with our customers... just like put your liabilities on the table. Then when a customer does say yes, despite those risks, you're all on the same page about what to expect." This approach is particularly powerful in technical fields where customers have sophisticated evaluation capabilities.
Participate authentically in existing industry establishments: Instead of positioning as disruptors, Yard Stick actively participates in traditional soil science conferences and communities. Chris emphasizes, "We go to the Soil Science Society of America's annual meeting, we present there, we have real scientists present there. Being able to hang on their terms is important." B2B founders should consider how to earn credibility within existing professional communities rather than trying to bypass them entirely.
Focus on enabling customer success rather than fighting competitors: Chris takes a "big tent" approach to the climate solutions space, refusing to position against other carbon removal technologies. He explains, "I see a lot of people in the soil ecosystem fight for their teeny little sliver of airtime by talking down to engineered solutions... I think that's a waste of time because we need all of these solutions to be successful in order for the whole ecosystem to grow." This collaborative positioning helps expand the overall market opportunity.
Build your go-to-market strategy around regulatory tailwinds: Yard Stick's timing aligned perfectly with Department of Energy initiatives to reduce carbon intensity in agricultural feedstocks. Chris explains how they capitalized on the DOE's Smart Farm program, which recognized the need for field-level emissions measurement. B2B founders should identify regulatory or policy drivers that create urgency for their solutions and align their market entry accordingly.

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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

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Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire
Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role.
Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM
21 min
July 16, 2025Moody Soliman, CEO & Co-founder of Ryp Labs: $11 Million Raised to Eliminate Food Waste Through Natural Sticker Technology
Ryp Labs is tackling one of the world's most pressing problems: food waste. Every minute, enough food is wasted globally to feed over 1 million people for a day. If food waste were a country, it would be the third-largest producer of greenhouse gases behind the US and China. In this episode of Category Visionaries, we sat down with Moody Soliman, CEO and Co-founder of Ryp Labs, to learn how his ag-tech startup raised $11 million to develop a revolutionary sticker technology that extends produce shelf life using natural plant compounds.

Topics Discussed:
Ryp Labs' five-year R&D journey to develop natural food preservation technology
The pivot from targeting US/European markets to focusing on Central and South America
How the company leveraged trade shows and competitions for organic marketing
The decision to target distributors and packing houses over direct-to-consumer sales
Scaling challenges and the critical "ship it" moment that validated their technology
Future expansion plans into meat, seafood, dairy, and other food categories
GTM Lessons For B2B Founders:
Follow market pull, not your assumptions: Ryp Labs initially targeted US and European markets, assuming these large, developed markets would be most receptive. However, they found no traction because established players had been "doing the same thing for 50 years" and were resistant to change. When they pivoted to Central and South America, they discovered customers who were highly motivated to export internationally and faced significant cold chain breaks. Moody explained, "We ended up completely shifting our go to market strategy to focus on those areas... they are highly motivated to ship their fruit internationally and to export it to the US or to Europe, because that's where they can get much higher prices." B2B founders should test multiple markets and follow where customers are genuinely desperate for solutions, not where they think the biggest opportunity exists.
Use trade shows and competitions as unfair advantages: Ryp Labs leveraged their "fun and easy to comprehend" technology to win numerous competitions and secure organic media coverage. Moody noted, "We have almost unfair competitive advantage that it's such a fun technology and such an easy technology to comprehend. So we won a lot of those competitions and awards and that gives us free advertisement." For deep-tech startups with limited marketing budgets, industry competitions and trade shows can provide disproportionate exposure and credibility. B2B founders should identify events where their technology's unique aspects can create memorable impressions.
Break the engineer's pencil at the right moment: Despite his team's protests that the product wasn't ready, Moody made the critical decision to ship to a major retailer in 2021. "All right guys, we've taken it as far as we can right now. We just got to put it out there and put it in a customer's hand... we'll learn if it doesn't work." This decision provided the validation and momentum needed to continue development. B2B founders in deep-tech must balance perfectionism with market feedback - sometimes shipping an imperfect product to the right customer is more valuable than months of additional development.
Target the most centralized part of the supply chain: Ryp Labs initially considered selling directly to consumers but recognized the variability in handling would create inconsistent results and blame on their technology. Instead, they focused on distributors and packing houses where "all 1 million pack of strawberries is going from the farm into 2 degrees C" with predictable transportation conditions. This centralized approach allows them to "sell a million stickers to a distributor as opposed to going to 100,000 customers and selling them 10 stickers each." B2B founders should identify the most controlled and centralized points in their target industry's value chain.
Design for regulatory constraints from day one: Coming from the medical device industry, Moody applied a crucial lesson: "You don't develop a technology and then go back and look at the regulatory process... You have to look at that on the front end, really understand what the requirements are going to be from a safety standpoint, and then develop the product to meet those requirements." This approach enabled Ryp Labs to achieve OMRI listing for organic produce and use only food-grade compounds already recognized as safe by the FDA. B2B founders should map regulatory requirements early and design their technology to meet these constraints rather than retrofitting compliance later.

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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

//

Don't Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire
Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role.
Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM
24 min

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