5 Go-to-Market Lessons from Enable’s Category Creation Journey

5 Go-to-Market Lessons from Enable’s Category Creation Journey

When your target customers don’t even know your category exists, traditional GTM playbooks go out the window. In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, Enable CEO Andrew Butt shared how they built a thriving B2B platform by creating an entirely new software category. Here are the key GTM lessons from their journey of transforming rebate management from spreadsheet chaos to strategic advantage.

1. Make Category Education Your Core GTM Strategy When Enable started, even the world’s largest companies weren’t aware that dedicated rebate management software existed. As Andrew explains, “We are creating a lot of content. Best practice guidance on how to manage rebates, how to do better through effective rebate management.” This education-first approach wasn’t just marketing – it was fundamental to creating market demand.
2. Focus on Clear, Measurable ROI In today’s market, especially for new categories, demonstrating concrete value is crucial. Enable developed a systematic approach: “We have a process called business value assessment, where we get inputs from a prospect which they agree to. So it’s their inputs, and then we play back to them how we can give them a payback in maybe three or four months.” This focus on quantifiable results has been crucial in converting prospects who weren’t actively seeking a solution.
3. Build Community Around Practitioners Enable recognized that rebate managers were an underserved population. “These guys often might find it hard to explain to their colleagues and friends what they actually do…they are underserved and just not kind of celebrated at all. And these guys really are moving the needle,” Andrew notes. By creating a community that elevates these practitioners, Enable isn’t just selling software – they’re creating a movement.
4. Make Adoption Mainstream Many category creators focus exclusively on early adopters, but Enable took a different approach. “We’re creating something which is mainstream. You don’t have to be like a visionary or like a really early adopter,” Andrew emphasizes. This focus on accessibility has been key to their rapid growth, helping them expand from 80 to 450 people in just two and a half years.
5. Leverage Network Effects for Category Expansion Enable’s GTM strategy evolved naturally through network effects. As Andrew explains, “We started focusing entirely on distributors and then it was actually through network effect that we got into the manufacturers.” This organic expansion has helped them grow to over 10,000 companies on their platform, with 150% year-over-year growth.

For founders considering category creation, Enable’s journey offers valuable insights. Rather than trying to fit into existing categories or focusing solely on product features, they’ve succeeded by educating the market, building community, and making their solution accessible to mainstream buyers.

The Silicon Valley ecosystem has been crucial to executing this strategy. “Being here has helped…in terms of talent, some of the people we’ve brought on board, very skilled operators that have achieved hypergrowth before, and we wouldn’t have kind of bumped into them just in anywhere,” Andrew reflects.

Looking ahead, Enable aims to become “the standard for any B2B incentive,” similar to how DocuSign owns e-signatures. Their experience shows that successful category creation isn’t just about having innovative technology – it’s about making that innovation accessible, valuable, and central to how businesses operate.

These lessons extend beyond rebate management. For any founder creating a new category, the key is to focus on education, demonstrate clear ROI, build community, and make adoption accessible. By following these principles, Enable has turned an overlooked business function into a strategic imperative, creating a new standard for how B2B companies manage their incentive programs.