Ready to launch your own podcast? Book a strategy call.
Frontlines.io | Where B2B Founders Talk GTM.
Strategic Communications Advisory For Visionary Founders
Conversation
Highlights
Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech’s most innovative B2B founders. In today’s episode, we’re speaking with Marc Bernstein, CEO & Founder of Balto, a contact center solutions provider that’s raised $52 Million in funding.
Most interesting points from our conversation:
- Inspiration Behind Balto: Marc’s own struggles with applying coaching advice in sales calls led to the creation of Balto, aiming to bridge the gap between learning and doing in high-pressure customer interactions.
- Unique Influences: Beyond typical entrepreneurial heroes like Elon Musk and Steve Jobs, Marc finds inspiration in the diverse talents and unfinished projects of Leonardo da Vinci, highlighting the strength found in a broad spectrum of interests and the occasional focus shift.
- Navigating Through Tough Times: The global shift in the tech landscape in 2022 forced Balto to make significant operational changes, including reducing their workforce. This period, while challenging, taught the team valuable lessons in efficiency and focus.
- The Lean Startup Approach: Balto’s early strategy was heavily influenced by Eric Ries’ The Lean Startup, leading to rapid product development and direct feedback collection from potential customers through a series of 82 demos, culminating in their first sale.
- Understanding the Market: Marc’s dive into market research and the realization that contact centers experienced acute pain from inefficient communication and coaching processes shaped Balto’s target market and product development strategy.
- Vision for the Future: Looking ahead, Marc envisions a world where AI’s capabilities extend beyond task automation to enhance human abilities, ensuring that people remain a critical component of the workforce in an AI-dominated future.
Actionable
Takeaways
Embrace a Broad Spectrum of Interests:
Marc's admiration for Leonardo da Vinci underlines the importance of nurturing diverse interests, even those seemingly unrelated to your core business. This breadth of knowledge can inspire innovative solutions to complex problems, a lesson for B2B founders to explore interests beyond their niche for unexpected inspiration.
Adopt a Lean Startup Mentality:
Balto's initial strategy, influenced by Eric Ries' The Lean Startup, underscores the value of rapidly prototyping and seeking direct market feedback. B2B tech founders should prioritize creating a minimum viable product and use real customer interactions to refine their offerings.
Prepare for the Unpredictable:
The tectonic shifts in the tech landscape experienced by Balto in 2022 highlight the necessity of agility and resilience. Founders must be prepared to adapt their operations swiftly in response to external pressures, including reevaluating burn rates and operational efficiencies.
Cultivate Personal Connections in Fundraising:
Marc's fundraising experiences reveal that investors are seeking genuine connections rather than just another pitch. Founders should focus on building relationships with potential investors by asking insightful questions and showing genuine interest in their perspectives.
Leverage AI to Augment Human Abilities:
Looking forward, Marc's vision for Balto includes using AI not just for automation but to enhance human capabilities, suggesting a future where technology and humanity coexist beneficially. B2B founders should consider how their products can not only solve existing problems but also empower users to achieve more than they could independently.
Recommended Founder
Interviews
Luke Hansen
CEO and Founder of CompanyCam
Luke Hansen, CEO and Founder of CompanyCam: $38 Million Raised to Build the Future of Visual Communication for Contractors
Cory Schmidt
Head of Marketing of Heyflow
Mastering Organic Growth: Insights from Heyflow’s Head of Marketing
Adrien Menard
CEO and Co-Founder of Botify
Adrien Menard, CEO and Co-Founder of Botify: $82 Million Raised to Build the Future of SEO
Jonas Rinde
CEO of Nomono
Jonas Rinde, CEO of Nomono: $15 million Raised to Power the Future of Podcasting
Andrew Forman
Founder of Givz
Andrew Forman, CEO of Givz: $3 Million Raised to Make Donating, Not Discounts, eCommerce Brands Ultimate Growth Lever
Pulkit Agrawal
CEO & Co-Founder of Chameleon
Pulkit Agrawal, CEO & Co-Founder of Chameleon: $15 Million Raised to Build the Product Adoption Category
Thomas Millay
CEO of DemandJump
Thomas Millay, CEO at DemandJump: Over $25 Million Raised to Power the Future of Content Strategy
Tine Karlsen
Co-Founder & CEO of Vev
Tine Karlsen, CEO and Co-Founder of Vev: $7 Million Raised to Power the Future of No-Code Visual Design
Ariana Faustini
Head of Golioth
Ariana Faustini, Head of Global Marketing at Golioth: Embracing Authenticity in Developer Marketing
Creating the Marketing Automation Category with Mark Organ
CEO of Eloqua
Creating the Marketing Automation Category with Mark Organ
Taylor Lint
CEO and Founder of Swantide
Taylor Lint, CEO and Founder of Swantide: $7 Million Raised to Revolutionize How Companies Design and Build Their GTM Infrastructure
Spencer Dusebout
CEO & Founder of Aidium
Spencer Dusebout, CEO & Founder of Aidium: $19 Million Raised to Build the Future of Mortgage CRM
Tom Lee
Co-Founder of LOVO AI
Tom Lee, Co-Founder of LOVO AI: $7 Million Raised to Build the Future of AI Voiceovers
Chris Golec
CEO and Co-Founder of Channel99
Chris Golec, CEO and Co-Founder of Channel99: $5 Million Raised to Power the Future of B2B Marketing
Parry Bedi
Co-Founder and CEO of Tingono
Parry Bedi, CEO of Tingono: $7 Million Raised to Help Companies Boost Net Revenue Retention
CEO and Co-Founder of Sendoso
Creating the Sending Management Category with Sendoso’s Kris Rudeegraap
Vinay Jain
Founder of MadMen AI
Vinay Jain, Founder of MadMen AI: $4.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of AI-Powered Marketing Platforms
Lars Grønnegaard Hansen
CEO and Co-Founder of Dreamdata
Lars Grønnegaard Hansen, CEO & Co-Founder of Dreamdata: $12 Million Raised to Build the Future of B2B Revenue Attribution
Daniel Erickson
Founder and CEO of Viable
Daniel Erickson, CEO of Viable: $9 Million Raised to Build the Future of Customer Feedback Analysis
Stephen Karaolis
Marketing Director of Cleary
Stephen Karaolis, Marketing Director at Cleary: Mastering Speed to Market – The Key to Dynamic Content Strategy
Leena Joshi
CEO of CloseFactor
Leena Joshi, CEO of CloseFactor: $15+ Million Raised to Automate Repetitive Sales Processes
Ishveen Jolly
CEO and Co-Founder of OpenSponsorship
Ishveen Jolly, CEO and Co-Founder of OpenSponsorship: Over $5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Sports Influencer Marketing
Rajat Mishra
Founder & CEO of Prezent
Rajat Mishra, Founder & CEO at Prezent: Over $24 Million Raised to Build the Presentation Productivity Platform Category
Katy Carrigan
CEO of Goody
Katy Carrigan, CEO of Goody: $32 Million Raised to Build the Future of Corporate Gifting
Rob Sadow
CEO & Co-Founder of Scoop
Rob Sadow, CEO & Co-Founder of Scoop: $8 Million Raised to Build the Future of Hybrid Team Coordination
Omed Habib
VP of Sapient AI
Omed Habib, VP of Marketing at Sapient AI: A Technical Founder’s Guide to B2B SaaS Marketing
Dan Malgran
VP of Marketing of Steno
Dan Malgran, VP of Marketing at Steno: Elevating Legal Tech with Revenue-Driven Marketing Strategies
Pierce Ujjainwalla
CEO of Knak
Pierce Ujjainwalla, CEO of Knak: $25 Million Raised to Empower Enterprise Marketers with Codeless Email and Landing Page Creation
Ori Entis
CEO and Co-Founder of Staircase AI
Ori Entis, CEO and Co-Founder of Staircase AI: $5 Million Raised to Power the Future of Customer Revenue Growth
Creating the Go to Market Category with ZoomInfo’s Bryan Law
CMO of ZoomInfo
Creating the Go to Market Category with ZoomInfo’s Bryan Law
Robert Thelen
CEO & Founder of Rownd
Robert Thelen, CEO & Founder of Rownd: $3.3 Million Raised to Build the Future of App Onboarding
Sam Fonoimoana
Founder & CEO of Datajoin
Sam Fonoimoana, Founder & CEO of Datajoin: $3.5 Million Raised to Help Brands Leverage Customer Behavioral Insights
Michael Bamberger
CEO and Founder of Tetra Insights
Michael Bamberger, CEO and Founder of Tetra Insights: $7 Million Raised to Power the Future of Qualitative Research
Zack Rosenberg
CEO and Founder of Qortex
Zack Rosenberg, CEO & Founder of Qortex: $11 Million Raised to Build the Future of Video Analytics
Jared Siegal
CEO and Founder of Aditude
Jared Siegal, CEO and Founder of Aditude: $15 Million Raised to Build the Future of Publisher Monetization
Tyler Strand
Co-Founder and CTO of Air
Tyler Strand, Co-Founder and CTO at Air: $38 Million raised to Build the Creative Operations Category
Alex Reynolds
Alex Reynolds, CEO & Co-Founder of Vendelux: $20 Million Raised to Build the Future of Event Intelligence
Chris Strahl
CEO of Knapsack
Chris Strahl, CEO of Knapsack: $7 Million Raised to Build the Future of Design Systems
Sangram Vajre
Co Founder and CEO of GTM Partners
Behind the Category: Creating the Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Category with Sangram Vajre
Sam Mallikarjunan
Co-Founder & CEO of OneScreen
Sam Mallikarjunan, Co-Founder & CEO of OneScreen: $10 Million Raised to Power the Future of Offline Advertising
Jonathan Legge
Co-Founder and CEO of &Open
Jonathan Legge, Co-Founder and CEO at &Open: Over $35 Million Raised to Create the Future of Corporate Gifting
Hikari Senju
CEO and Founder of Omneky
Hikari Senju, CEO and Founder of Omneky: $10 Million Raised to Empower Brands With AI-Powered Ads To Maximize Performance
Dan Rua
CEO of Admiral
Dan Rua, CEO of Admiral: $28 Million Raised to Build the Future of Visitor Relationship Management
Ashish Nagar
Founder & CEO of Level AI
Ashish Nagar, CEO of Level AI: $35 Million Raised to Power Contact Centers of the Future
John Jahnke
CEO and Co-Founder of Tackle.io
John Jahnke, CEO and Co-Founder of Tackle.io: $148 Million Raised to Build the Future of Cloud Go-to-Market
Patrick Woods
CEO and Co-Founder of Orbit
Patrick Woods, CEO and Co-Founder of Orbit: Over $22 Million Raised to Power the Future of Communities
Andy Mowat
CEO and Co-Founder of Gated
Andy Mowat, CEO and Co-Founder of Gated: Over $3 Million Raised to Build Noise Cancelling Headphones for Email