Funded, Now What?!

How do you scale a SaaS company, raise millions, and turn hundreds of customers into a stronger growth engine?

In Episode 61 of Funded, Now What?!, Andrew Lee Miller sits down with Mark Orttung, CEO of Projectworks, to discuss scaling a B2B SaaS company, expanding internationally, and building a more effective customer acquisition strategy.

Projectworks helps consulting, architecture, and engineering firms manage their businesses in one platform, from proposals and project planning to timesheets, expenses, invoicing, and financial forecasting. With around 750–800 customers across multiple markets, Mark shares what he has learned from leading companies, growing a consulting firm from around 200 to 1,100 employees, and stepping into the CEO role at a growing software company.

In this episode, we dive into:

Resource Planning and Profitable Growth
Mark shares data from Projectworks customers showing how firms that plan resources at least two months ahead grow faster, generate more revenue per employee, and achieve higher utilisation.

 Raising Millions and Investing in Product
Why Projectworks raised approximately NZ$25 million, how the funding is helping the team develop more product capabilities in parallel, and how AI is changing software development.

 Expanding From New Zealand Into Global Markets
Mark explains the company’s international footprint across the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, and what it takes to manage a distributed team across time zones.

 B2B SaaS Marketing and Customer Acquisition
We discuss content marketing, podcasts, LinkedIn, SEO, generative engine optimisation (GEO), paid social, and how Projectworks moves prospects from content engagement to demos and trials.

 Why Customer Proof Matters
Andrew shares practical advice on using customer stories, case studies, testimonial videos, and targeted LinkedIn advertising to help prospects understand the real value of a product.

 LinkedIn Outreach That Creates Conversations
Learn why personalised outreach, targeting companies experiencing growth, and leading with value can outperform generic sales messages.

 AI, Product Development, and What Comes Next
Mark discusses expanding product development with AI and the challenge of helping sales, implementation, and customer teams keep up as the platform evolves.

If you’re building a B2B SaaS company, scaling a consulting firm, raising capital, or trying to turn marketing activity into qualified sales opportunities, this episode offers practical insights on growing more profitably.

Mark Orttung is the CEO of Projectworks, a platform that helps consulting, architecture, and engineering firms manage projects, people, and finances. Before joining Projectworks, Mark led Nexient, growing the consulting business from roughly 200 to 1,100 employees before its sale to NTT DATA. His experience also includes leadership at BILL.

🌐 Website: https://projectworks.com
🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-orttung/

Funded, Now What?! is the world's leading podcast for startup founders and growth leaders.

Hosted by Andrew Lee Miller (@AndrewStartups), the show explores how fast-growing startups raise capital, scale their businesses, and build marketing strategies that drive growth.

🌐 Book a Growth Audit: https://www.growthexpertz.com
▶️ Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@growthexpertz
🔗 Connect with Andrew: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewstartups/
📘 Startup Growth Book: https://cutt.ly/Ftb3156K
📩 Contact: [email protected]

00:00 Introduction to Mark Orttung and ProjectWorks

02:16 Understanding Resource Planning and Its Benefits

03:49 Data Insights on Planning and Growth Metrics

05:02 Leadership Transition and Company Culture

09:29 Managing a Global Remote Team

11:29 Strategic Use of Fundraising and Capital Allocation

15:30 Customer Acquisition and Marketing Strategies

21:36 Effective Use of LinkedIn and Content Marketing

27:06 Outbound Sales and Automation Tactics

32:11 Creating Value with Targeted Ads and Content

35:39 Customer Success Stories and Social Proof

37:49 Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways from Mark

#B2BSaaS #SaaSGrowth #StartupMarketing #CustomerAcquisition #LinkedInMarketing #ProjectManagementSoftware #FundedNowWhat

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What happens when robotics meets life science?

Charlie Duncheon, Founder & CEO of CellTrio, has built a company using robotic automation to help pharmaceutical and life science companies automate cell culturing and biobanking.

CellTrio has raised $18 million and is expanding internationally after building strong demand in the US without a traditional sales team. In this episode, Charlie shares how he acquired and commercialised robotics technology from Korea, why CellTrio is expanding into Asia and Europe, and what it takes to scale a highly specialised B2B technology company.

Andrew Lee Miller also breaks down the marketing strategy CellTrio can use to build a consistent pipeline, strengthen its authority in the life sciences market, and become easier for both customers and AI search tools to discover.

In this episode, we dive into:

Building CellTrio: How Charlie turned robotics technology developed in Korea into a US-focused life science automation company.

Automating Cell Culture: How CellTrio's RoboCell system automates the production of human, animal, and plant cells while reducing human error and contamination.

Automated Biobanking: How robots safely store and retrieve biological samples from cryogenic freezers operating at around -195°C.

Raising $18 Million: Why CellTrio raised capital after establishing strong US demand and how the company is using the funding to expand internationally.

Going Global: How CellTrio is expanding through CellTrio Asia, European orders, new sales hires, and increased manufacturing capacity.

Marketing to a Highly Focused B2B Market: Why companies with a small number of highly valuable customers still need consistent marketing, content, PR, and social media.

Building a Marketing Playbook: Andrew explains why CellTrio should test what works in one market and turn those lessons into a repeatable playbook for international expansion.

PR, Case Studies & Testimonials: How customer results, industry publications, joint press releases, and testimonials can build credibility in a specialised industry.

AI & the "Second Brain": How founders can use AI to analyse company knowledge, customer conversations, competitors, and industry news to uncover new opportunities.

Why Human Expertise Still Matters: Andrew explains why companies using AI need subject matter experts with knowledge that goes beyond what AI can find publicly.

Creating Consistent Pipeline: Why good marketing should help smooth out the "feast or famine" cycle that many B2B companies experience.

If you're interested in robotics, AI, life sciences, drug discovery, B2B growth, or startup marketing, this episode is packed with practical insights.

Charlie Duncheon is the Founder & CEO of CellTrio, a robotic automation company focused on cell culturing and biobanking for the life sciences and drug discovery markets.

Charlie is a serial entrepreneur with multiple exits in the robotics industry and has spent decades building businesses around automation and emerging technology.

🔗 Connect with Charlie: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlie-duncheon-3ba327/
 🌐 CellTrio: https://celltrio.com

Funded, Now What?! is the world's leading podcast for startup founders and growth leaders.

Hosted by Andrew Lee Miller (@AndrewStartups), the show analyzes how startups grow after raising capital and provides the tactical marketing playbook founders can use to turn funding into growth.

📅 Book a Growth Audit: https://www.growthexpertz.com
 ▶️ Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@growthexpertz
 🔗 Connect With Andrew: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewstartups
 📖 Read The Startup Growth Book: https://cutt.ly/Ftb3156K
 📩 Want to work with us? [email protected]

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What happens when AI makes scams faster, cheaper, and almost impossible to recognize?

Neo, Co-founder of Scam.ai, has raised $3.2 million to build technology designed to detect deepfakes and protect companies from the next generation of AI-powered fraud. As scammers use AI to create realistic faces, voices, emails, and video calls, Scam.ai is developing tools that can detect deepfakes directly on a user's device.

In this episode, Andrew and Neo dive into:

The AI Fraud Problem: How AI is allowing individual scammers to automate attacks that previously required entire call centres, making fraud more personalized and scalable.

Deepfakes & Real-Time Protection: How Scam.ai's Halo product works on-device to detect potential deepfakes during video calls without sending sensitive video data to the cloud.

The $25M Deepfake Scam: Why the famous case of an employee being tricked into transferring $25 million shows how serious AI-powered fraud has become for enterprises.

Staying Ahead of Scammers: How Scam.ai uses an agentic system to monitor new deepfake and image-generation techniques, collect new data, and continuously retrain its detection technology.

B2B Before B2C: Why Scam.ai is initially focused on businesses and how enterprise customers could eventually become a distribution channel for consumer protection products.

Turning B2B Into B2C: Andrew explains how companies could offer Scam.ai as an employee benefit, allowing workers to protect their personal devices and families while creating a new B2C growth channel.

Founder-Led Sales: How Scam.ai is currently using warm introductions, investors, Berkeley SkyDeck, and targeted outbound to generate early enterprise conversations.

Scaling Marketing With AI: Andrew breaks down how early-stage founders can use AI to automate parts of marketing while still relying on senior marketing expertise for strategy.

LinkedIn, Paid Ads & Retargeting: Why enterprise startups should use LinkedIn outreach, tightly targeted advertising, Google Search, and retargeting as ongoing "ground cover" for their sales pipeline.

The GEO & AI Search Playbook: Andrew explains why startups need to start building visibility in ChatGPT and other AI search platforms now, before the market becomes more competitive.

Building Authority Before the Market Explodes: Why Scam.ai should establish itself as a leading voice around scam protection, deepfakes, and AI fraud before consumer demand fully catches up.

Neo Tiangratanakul
 Founder of Scam.ai

Neo is the founder of Scam.ai, an AI security company focused on helping businesses and individuals detect deepfakes and protect against the next generation of AI-powered fraud.

 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/scamai/home/
 X: https://x.com/ScamAI_Official

Funded, Now What?! is the world's leading podcast for startup founders and growth leaders.

Hosted by Andrew Lee Miller (@AndrewStartups), the show analyzes how the world's fastest-growing startups raise millions and provides the tactical marketing playbook to help them spend it wisely.

📅 Book a Growth Audit: https://www.growthexpertz.com
▶️ Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@growthexpertz
Connect With Andrew: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewstartups/
Read The Startup Growth Book: https://cutt.ly/Ftb3156K
Want to work with us? [email protected]

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What if construction waste wasn't waste at all?

In Episode 58 of Funded, Now What?!, Andrew Lee Miller sits down with Todd Thomas, Founder & CEO of Woodchuck, to discuss how AI is helping transform construction and manufacturing waste into valuable materials, renewable energy, and measurable sustainability.

Woodchuck combines AI-powered computer vision, smart dumpsters, proprietary data, and real-world waste operations to separate materials before they reach the landfill. The company has worked with major organizations including Amazon and Ford, with one Ford project saving $1.6 million while diverting 10,000 tons of wood.

The conversation explores how Woodchuck was built around a real corporate problem, why the company chose to develop its own AI infrastructure, and how its combination of software, hardware, operations, and proprietary data creates a powerful competitive moat.

Andrew also breaks down the marketing strategy behind turning Woodchuck's customer results into PR, thought leadership, LinkedIn visibility, SEO, GEO, and enterprise demand.

What You'll Learn

• How AI can transform construction waste diversion • Why Woodchuck uses smart dumpsters and computer vision • How waste can become a source of renewable energy • How Woodchuck helped save Ford $1.6M on a major project • Why starting with a customer problem can be better than starting with a technology • How to build a proprietary AI and data moat • Why hardware and operations can become competitive advantages • How to scale a startup without sacrificing execution • Why sustainability can become a revenue and marketing strategy • How founders can use LinkedIn, PR, conferences, SEO, and GEO to build authority

Featured Guest

Todd Thomas Founder & CEO, Woodchuck

🌐 Woodchuck.ai 🔗 Todd Thomas on LinkedIn

About the Show

Funded, Now What?! is the world's leading podcast for startup founders and growth leaders.

Hosted by Andrew Lee Miller, the show explores how venture-backed startups scale after raising capital and the marketing strategies they need to turn funding into growth.

📅 Book a Growth Audit: GrowthExpertz ▶️ Subscribe on YouTube: GrowthExpertz YouTube Connect With Andrew: Andrew Lee Miller on LinkedIn Read The Startup Growth Book: The Startup Growth Book Want to work with us? [email protected]

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What if you could financially prepare for fertility treatment before you actually needed it?

In Episode 57 of Funded, Now What?!, Andrew Lee Miller sits down with Laura McDonald and Dr. Christy Lane, Co-Founders of Flora Fertility, to discuss how they're building a new category in fertility insurance.

After raising $5M, Flora is tackling the massive gap between the rising cost of fertility treatment and the limited insurance coverage available to most people.

The conversation explores how Flora is building a D2C and B2B2C business, creating a consumer-friendly insurance brand, raising capital, and using PR and thought leadership to establish credibility in a new category.

Andrew also shares his latest growth playbook covering GEO, PR, LinkedIn outreach, email prospecting, and AI-driven customer acquisition.

What You'll Learn

• Why fertility treatment has become a major financial burden for young adults

• How Flora is creating a new approach to affordable fertility insurance

• Why Flora is building both D2C and B2B2C growth channels

• Lessons from raising $5M and creating a new insurance category

• How bold branding can help a startup stand out in a traditional industry

• Why PR and thought leadership are critical for category creation

• How founders can reach HR decision-makers through LinkedIn and email outreach

• Why GEO and AI search are becoming critical channels for startup growth

Featured Guests

Laura McDonald & Dr. Christy Lane Co-Founders, Flora Fertility

🌐 https://www.heyflora.com/

🔗 Laura: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurajaynemcdonald

🔗 Christy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christyclane

About the Show

Funded, Now What?! is the world's leading podcast for startup founders and growth leaders.

Hosted by Andrew Lee Miller, the show explores how venture-backed startups scale after raising capital.

📅 Book a Growth Audit: https://www.growthexpertz.com

▶️ Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@growthexpertz

Connect With Andrew: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewstartups/

Read The Startup Growth Book: https://cutt.ly/Ftb3156K

Want to work with us? [email protected]

00:00 Introduction to Flora Fertility and Its Mission

02:57 Understanding the Fertility Crisis

06:09 Cultural Shifts in Family Planning

09:01 The Unique B2B2C Business Model

12:00 Marketing Strategies for a New Insurance Product

17:13 Navigating the D2C Landscape

21:29 The Importance of PR in Business Growth

25:05 Leveraging Expertise for Effective Marketing

29:12 Understanding the B2B Sales Approach

34:55 Strategies for Effective Outreach and Engagement

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What if every marketing agency could hire an AI-powered digital workforce?

What You'll Learn:

In Episode 56 of Funded, Now What?!, Andrew Lee Miller sits down with Jason Hu, Founder & CEO of Nexad, to discuss how AI-native workflows are changing the future of marketing.

Instead of replacing agencies, Nexad helps marketing teams automate repetitive execution while allowing humans to focus on strategy, creativity, and client relationships. Jason also explains why Nexad built its own internal marketing agency to improve its product through real-world experience.

The conversation explores startup fundraising, AI adoption, marketing automation, founder-led growth, conferences, GEO, SEO, PR, and Andrew's latest startup marketing playbook.

• Why AI should augment marketers instead of replacing them

• How Nexad built an internal marketing agency to accelerate product development

• Why human insight remains the biggest competitive advantage in marketing

• Startup lessons for building products around customer workflows

• How founders can dominate emerging categories using PR, GEO, and thought leadership

• Why conferences, LinkedIn, and AI search remain powerful growth channels

Featured Guest

Jason Hu

Founder & CEO, Nexad

🌐 https://nex.ad/

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/qitian-hu/

About the Show

Funded, Now What?! is the world's leading podcast for startup founders and growth leaders.

Hosted by Andrew Lee Miller, the show explores how venture-backed startups scale after raising capital.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What if construction projects could be completed faster, cost less, and deliver better buildings?

In Episode 55 of Funded, Now What?!, Andrew Lee Miller sits down with Aurimas Sabulis, Founder & CEO of Dextall, to discuss how prefabrication, AI, and advanced manufacturing are transforming one of the world's oldest industries.

The conversation explores how Dextall is helping developers reduce costs, shorten construction timelines, and rethink traditional building methods. Andrew also shares his latest playbook on founder-led LinkedIn, AI search (GEO), PR, and identifying the buying signals that shorten enterprise sales cycles.

Featured Guest

Aurimas Sabulis Founder & CEO, Dextall

🌐 https://www.dextall.com/

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/aurimas-sabulis

About the Show

Funded, Now What?! is the world's leading podcast for startup founders and growth leaders.

Hosted by Andrew Lee Miller, the show analyzes how venture-backed startups scale after raising capital while providing founders with practical marketing and growth strategies they can implement immediately.

What You'll LearnFeatured GuestAbout the Show

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What if your next online order arrived by drone in just a few minutes?

In Episode 54 of Funded, Now What?!, Andrew Lee Miller sits down with Beth Flippo, Founder & CEO of Dexa, to discuss how the company is transforming last-mile delivery through autonomous drone technology.

After raising $18M, securing FAA approvals, and partnering with major retailers, Beth shares what it takes to build a deep-tech startup in one of the world's most regulated industries. The conversation also explores fundraising, enterprise sales, startup leadership, PR, GEO, and Andrew's latest marketing playbook for founders.

Featured Guest:

Beth FlippoFounder & CEO, Dexa

🌐 https://flydexa.com/

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/beth-flippo-102b9822/

About the Show:

Funded, Now What?! is the world's leading podcast for startup founders and growth leaders.

Hosted by Andrew Lee Miller (@AndrewStartups), the show analyzes how the world's fastest-growing startups raise millions and provides the tactical marketing playbook to help them spend it wisely.

📅 Book a Growth Audit:https://www.growthexpertz.com

▶️ Subscribe on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@growthexpertz

Connect With Andrew:https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewstartups/

Read The Startup Growth Book:https://cutt.ly/Ftb3156K

Want to work with us?[email protected]

What You'll LearnFeatured GuestAbout the Show

00:00 Introduction to Dexa and Beth Flippo

02:09 Beth's Journey from NYC to Ohio

06:09 The Importance of Early Clients and Fundraising

09:00 Navigating the Challenges of Fundraising

14:31 Marketing Strategies for a Tech Startup

21:24 Customer Reception and Pilot Programs

34:41 Regulatory Challenges and Future Goals

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What if building a house felt more like using Google Maps than navigating a maze?

In Episode 53 of Funded, Now What?!, Andrew Lee Miller sits down with Marko Hozjan, Founder & CEO of LynxCraft, to discuss how AI is transforming one of the world's oldest industries.

After raising $1M, Marko shares how LynxCraft helps homeowners understand what they can build, estimate costs, choose the right professionals, and avoid expensive construction mistakes using an AI copilot.

The conversation also explores startup fundraising, AI adoption, construction technology, serial entrepreneurship, and Andrew's latest playbook for GEO, SEO, and AI-driven customer acquisition.

What You'll Learn

Why most construction projects go over budget

How AI can eliminate costly first-time home-building mistakes

LynxCraft's business model and customer journey

Lessons from building multiple startups

Why founders should invest in GEO and AI search today

How podcasts, SEO, and PR build long-term startup growth

Featured Guest

Marko HozjanFounder & CEO, LynxCraft

🌐 https://lynx-craft.com/

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/marko-hozjan/

About the Show

Funded, Now What?! is the world's leading podcast for startup founders and growth leaders. Hosted by Andrew Lee Miller, the show explores how venture-backed startups scale after raising capital.
00:00 Introduction to Lynxcraft and Its Mission 

02:43 The Pain Points of Home Building

05:58 The Role of AI in Home Building

08:46 Target Audience and Customer Insights

11:55 The Project Management Revolution

14:52 Fundraising Journey and Challenges

17:54 Marketing Strategies and Growth Hacks

23:56 The Urgency of AI Marketing

29:54 Effective PR Strategies for Startups

32:03 The Role of AI in Outreach and Marketing

39:26 Entrepreneurship: A Battle of Resilience

45:51 The Influence of Upbringing on Entrepreneurial Success

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What if engineering teams had the same level of performance visibility as sales teams?

In Episode 52 of Funded, Now What?!, Andrew Lee Miller sits down with Jirka Bachel, Founder & CEO of Navigara, to discuss how engineering leaders can finally measure AI ROI, developer productivity, and engineering performance using code-level analytics.

After raising $2.5M and growing Navigara to $1M ARR, Jirka shares how the company is helping organizations understand whether their AI investments are actually delivering results. The conversation also explores category creation, engineering leadership, startup fundraising, and Andrew's latest playbook for GEO and AI-driven customer acquisition.

What You'll Learn:

● Why engineering has historically lacked measurable KPIs

● How Navigara measures AI ROI through code analysis

● The creation of Engineering Throughput Value (ETV)

● Lessons from raising $2.5M and building a new software category

● Why AI search and GEO are becoming critical growth channels

● How founders can build authority in emerging markets

Featured Guest

Jirka Bachel Founder & CEO, Navigara

🌐 https://www.navigara.com

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/jirka-bachel

About the Show

Funded, Now What?! is the world's leading podcast for startup founders and growth leaders. Hosted by Andrew Lee Miller, the show explores how venture-backed startups scale after raising capital.

00:00 Introduction to Navigara and AI Investments

01:52 The Journey of Fundraising and Company Origins

04:39 Understanding the Need for Performance Metrics in Engineering

07:47 The Concept of ETV as a North Star Metric

10:42 Target Customers and Market Dynamics

13:35 Employee Engagement and Performance Recognition

16:24 Top-Down Approach in B2B Sales

19:23 Inbound Marketing Strategies and Content Creation

26:43 Building Links and SEO Strategies

27:51 Content Creation for AI and ROI Tracking

29:56 The Role of AI in Business Decision-Making

31:46 The Importance of Being Found in AI Searches

33:34 Pricing Strategies and Customer Engagement

35:46 Targeting Small vs. Large Companies

37:58 The Future of AI in Sales and Marketing

40:19 Innovative Approaches to Lead Generation

42:11 Networking and Building Relationships in Tech

48:04 Outbound Strategies for Generating Meetings

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