Gem Security’s Design Partner Strategy: How They Converted Early Believers into Paying Customers
Most startups wait until they have a minimum viable product before approaching customers. In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, Gem Security’s founder Arie Zilberstein revealed why they did the opposite – and how this unconventional approach helped them build a stronger product and more loyal customer base.
Starting with Sales, Not Product
“Initially when we opened the company, one thing that we had in mind is that we sell the product from the first moment that we have the company, even before we have the product, because we want to understand that we’re selling something that is viable now,” Arie explains.
This approach wasn’t without skeptics. “When we started the company, we had a lot of advisors, friends, security practitioner that we consulted with, and some were pretty excited about what you’re doing. Some were skeptical that this is a space,” Arie recalls. But the team’s deep experience in cybersecurity gave them confidence in their vision.
The First 90 Days
The early days focused on three critical elements. As Arie describes, “It was amazing. For many reasons, because it was a lot of build. It was building the team, it was building the product, it was drawing on a whiteboard, the architecture and some of the first use cases we’re going to tackle.”
Their priorities were clear:
- Building the right team
- Refining their problem statement and solution
- Starting customer interactions
Converting Early Believers
The key to their design partner strategy was finding companies that believed not just in the product vision, but in the team’s ability to execute. “We got to work with a few amazing companies that believed in us, believed in team, believed in the proposition, and we spent a few months building the product together with them,” Arie shares.
Instead of treating these early adopters as beta testers, Gem Security made them true partners in the development process. The collaboration culminated in a crucial moment of truth: “We got back to them and said, did we deliver on the promise, on the proposition, on everything they said?”
Building Trust Through Expertise
The foundation of their success wasn’t just technical capability – it was trust built through deep industry experience. “Having a practitioner experience is something that is crucial. Being and serving some time as a practitioner… is so crucial to get good perspective, realistic perspective of how the world looks like,” Arie emphasizes.
This expertise helped them identify and solve real problems. As Arie notes, “Whenever we came to respond to something bad happens in the cloud bridge, we saw that the situation was just harder. Organization didn’t have enough visibility to, they didn’t have means to detect, and they couldn’t respond in time to that incident.”
From Design Partners to Paying Customers
The transition from design partner to paying customer wasn’t automatic – it required delivering on promises and proving value. But their collaborative approach meant that by the time the product was ready, these companies were already invested in its success.
Looking ahead, Gem Security is focused on scaling this success. “The next challenge for us is getting that success at scale,” Arie explains, highlighting their plans to expand while maintaining the deep customer relationships that defined their early growth.
For B2B founders, Gem Security’s design partner strategy offers several key lessons:
- Start selling before your product is ready to validate market need
- Turn early adopters into true development partners
- Build relationships based on deep domain expertise
- Focus on delivering on your promises
- Use early success stories to fuel growth
The strategy worked because it wasn’t just about getting early customers – it was about building a community of advocates who would help shape the product and champion its success.