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

Software products don’t usually start with spreadsheets. But when spreadsheets are generating $20,000 in consulting fees per project, you might be onto something. In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, Pequity co-founder Warren Lebovics shared how those spreadsheet projects evolved into a company that’s redefining compensation software and creating an entirely new category.

1. Use Consulting to Validate Your Market Before building Pequity, co-founder Caitlin Canop tested the market through consulting. “They called her and said, hey, can you do what you did for me at cruise, or can you repeat what you did at google and come in? We’ll pay you $20,000 for a couple of weeks of work,” Warren explains. This consulting work provided deep market insights and validation before a single line of code was written. After about 20 projects, the pattern was clear: companies needed a better compensation management solution.
2. Bring B2C Design Principles to B2B Software One of Pequity’s key differentiators is their focus on user experience. “B to C feels amazing. You cannot launch a B to C product that doesn’t just feel incredible and have all these delight factors, but for a very long time with B to B, you can launch something that kind of feels like crap and it was okay,” Warren notes. This philosophy has shaped their entire product development approach, bringing consumer-grade design to enterprise software.
3. Don’t Fear Competitive Markets Rather than avoiding crowded markets, Pequity sees competition as validation. As Warren puts it, “If you’re not in a highly competitive market, I think it’s worth reassessing if the market’s big enough and if you’re actually going to be able to make a dent.” The key is finding your unique angle – in Pequity’s case, it’s the combination of powerful functionality with exceptional user experience.
4. Focus on Product Excellence Over Sales In a market filled with aggressive sales tactics, Pequity takes a different approach. “We don’t oversell. We really do want to just provide an amazing experience,” Warren explains. This strategy has proved successful, with customers who initially choose cheaper alternatives often returning to Pequity after experiencing the limitations of less sophisticated solutions. Even in the challenging tech environment of 2022, this approach helped them double their revenue.
5. Solve Problems at the System Level Pequity isn’t just building software; they’re addressing systemic issues in tech compensation. “Compensation is directly going to contribute to obviously pay equity and gender gaps and race gaps and just general pay gaps. And where it’s mostly going to happen, actually, is in your 500 to 5000 person companies,” Warren shares. This bigger-picture thinking helps position the product as more than just a tool – it’s a solution to a fundamental industry challenge.

The compensation tech category represents more than just a new software vertical – it’s an example of how deep domain expertise, combined with thoughtful product design and a mission-driven approach, can create space for category leadership. Pequity’s journey shows that even in crowded markets, there’s room for products that solve complex problems exceptionally well.

For B2B founders, the lessons are clear: validate through consulting if possible, prioritize user experience even in enterprise software, embrace competition as validation, focus on product excellence over aggressive sales, and solve problems at a systemic level. These principles helped Pequity create and lead a new category in the competitive HR tech landscape, proving that there’s always room for products that solve real problems in innovative ways.

The success of their approach is evident in their growth trajectory and customer loyalty. By focusing on these fundamentals rather than following traditional enterprise software playbooks, Pequity has managed to stand out in a crowded market and build a sustainable competitive advantage.