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
From Private Equity to Product Innovation: How Tetra Insights is Revolutionizing Customer Research
When Michael Bamberger spent his early career at a private equity firm analyzing distressed media companies, he discovered something counterintuitive about data: sometimes the most valuable insights don’t come from spreadsheets and analytics dashboards. They come from conversations.
“When we are giving people word of mouth of real people in the form of quotes or video clips or audio clips directly from the horse’s mouth, that is what influences decision makers and strategic thinkers,” Michael shared in a recent episode of Category Visionaries. “We could have a dozen pages of charts and graphs and fancy prose about findings, and they would pale in comparison to the ten minute video clip of five people saying what frustrated them.”
This realization came after years of focusing on quantitative analysis. Working in private equity, Michael would dive deep into CRM data, product histories, and revenue metrics of distressed companies. But he quickly discovered that when dealing with struggling businesses, quantitative data often served as what he calls a “coroner’s report” – explaining why something failed rather than illuminating the path forward.
The pivot point came when Michael started simply picking up the phone. He began calling customers directly, asking why they chose to work with companies or why they stopped. These conversations proved transformative, leading him down a path that would eventually result in founding Tetra Insights.
But the journey wasn’t direct. First, Michael co-founded Alpha UX (now Feedback Loop), where his team tried to scale the process of conducting and analyzing customer interviews. They ran into a significant technical barrier: “We actually tried to scale doing that kind of work more readily. So doing lots of interviews, cutting them up into video clips by theme, by finding, by segment, et cetera. And unfortunately, weren’t able to scale that. The technology just didn’t exist.”
This challenge, combined with observing how research and insight work was evolving within organizations, led to two key realizations that would shape Tetra’s direction. First, qualitative insights in the form of audio and video clips were the most influential form of data Michael had seen in his career, but the technology to utilize this data effectively didn’t exist. Second, organizations increasingly wanted to conduct this research themselves rather than outsource it.
Tetra’s go-to-market strategy evolved from these insights. Rather than positioning themselves as a research agency, they built a platform that enables organizations to transform their qualitative data into actionable insights. The approach has resonated particularly well with enterprise clients, where Tetra has seen remarkable growth.
“Since 2020, our revenue has more than doubled each year, and we’re on pace to continue that and surpass that this year,” Michael shared. Even more impressively, enterprise customers who have been with Tetra for over two years show an average growth rate of more than three times year over year in terms of active users and data volume.
What makes this growth particularly noteworthy is that it’s happening during a challenging period for tech companies. Michael attributes this success to a focused approach on expertise-driven content marketing: “Sharing our expertise and our opinions has been hugely valuable. We have unique and often counterintuitive perspectives on the world that we serve, and we’re not afraid to share them.”
This strategy has proven especially effective in enterprise sales, with Michael noting that they’ve “signed large six figure contracts from people who just watched a couple of webinars. That’s their only interaction with our brand.”
Looking ahead, Michael envisions Tetra becoming the standard platform for companies that prioritize user experience and rely on customer insights. “We are the best solution for companies that take this work really seriously and rely on these insights,” he explained. “In the next five years, we should be the de facto standard, deployed broadly across these types of companies.”
For founders navigating their own go-to-market journeys, Michael’s experience offers valuable lessons about the power of challenging conventional wisdom, finding unique insights through direct customer interaction, and building trust through expertise-driven content. Sometimes the most valuable data isn’t in the spreadsheets – it’s in the stories customers tell.
Actionable
Takeaways
Follow the Trail of Influential Data:
Throughout his career, Michael repeatedly found that qualitative insights in the form of customer quotes, video clips, and audio snippets were the most powerful drivers of decision-making, even when presented alongside reams of quantitative data. By identifying the data sources that have the greatest impact on key stakeholders, founders can focus their efforts on collecting and leveraging that information to shape strategy.
Develop Relationships Through Genuine Customer Discovery:
To land its first paying customers, Tetra started with a broad survey to understand pain points and opportunities, then engaged respondents through interviews and beta testing. By investing in deep customer discovery and working closely with early adopters to solve their problems, the company built strong relationships that organically led to paid contracts. Founders should prioritize genuine engagement with potential customers to validate their assumptions and create champions for their solution.
Quantify Your Impact on Efficiency and Headcount:
When selling to enterprises, Tetra focuses on demonstrating how its platform automates workflows, enables existing teams to accomplish more, and reduces the need for future hires. By quantifying the efficiency gains and opportunity costs of choosing their solution over additional headcount, the company makes a compelling ROI case. Founders should seek to translate their value proposition into tangible metrics around productivity and resource allocation.
Attract the Right Audience by Sharing Unique Perspectives:
Rather than simply aligning with prevailing industry narratives, Tetra has found success by sharing its own distinct, sometimes contrarian viewpoints through content like webinars. By leaning into their expertise and trusting their opinions, the company has drawn in enterprise buyers who are seeking fresh insights. Founders should be bold in articulating their unique perspectives and using thought leadership to capture the attention of their target customers.
Overinvest in Senior Engineering Talent Early:
Looking back, Michael wishes he had prioritized hiring a few highly skilled senior engineers in the early days of Tetra, even at a premium price, rather than optimizing for affordability. While it can be tempting to build a scrappy team of junior developers, the impact of experienced technical leaders who can mentor others and tackle complex challenges is immense. Founders should consider frontloading their engineering hiring with senior talent to accelerate product development and set a strong foundation.
Recommended Founder
Interviews
Dan Malgran
VP of Marketing of Steno
Dan Malgran, VP of Marketing at Steno: Elevating Legal Tech with Revenue-Driven Marketing Strategies
Dan Rua
CEO of Admiral
Dan Rua, CEO of Admiral: $28 Million Raised to Build the Future of Visitor Relationship Management
Alex Reynolds
Alex Reynolds, CEO & Co-Founder of Vendelux: $20 Million Raised to Build the Future of Event Intelligence
Sam Fonoimoana
Founder & CEO of Datajoin
Sam Fonoimoana, Founder & CEO of Datajoin: $3.5 Million Raised to Help Brands Leverage Customer Behavioral Insights
Pulkit Agrawal
CEO & Co-Founder of Chameleon
Pulkit Agrawal, CEO & Co-Founder of Chameleon: $15 Million Raised to Build the Product Adoption Category
Tom Lee
Co-Founder of LOVO AI
Tom Lee, Co-Founder of LOVO AI: $7 Million Raised to Build the Future of AI Voiceovers
Zack Rosenberg
CEO and Founder of Qortex
Zack Rosenberg, CEO & Founder of Qortex: $11 Million Raised to Build the Future of Video Analytics
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
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
Daniel Erickson
Founder and CEO of Viable
Daniel Erickson, CEO of Viable: $9 Million Raised to Build the Future of Customer Feedback Analysis
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
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
Robert Thelen
CEO & Founder of Rownd
Robert Thelen, CEO & Founder of Rownd: $3.3 Million Raised to Build the Future of App Onboarding
Omed Habib
VP of Sapient AI
Omed Habib, VP of Marketing at Sapient AI: A Technical Founder’s Guide to B2B SaaS Marketing
Jared Siegal
CEO and Founder of Aditude
Jared Siegal, CEO and Founder of Aditude: $15 Million Raised to Build the Future of Publisher Monetization
Ava Barnes
VP of Brand & Community of Alvys
From Psychology to 5X Growth: Inside Alvys’ Marketing Playbook
Ariana Faustini
Head of Golioth
Ariana Faustini, Head of Global Marketing at Golioth: Embracing Authenticity in Developer Marketing
Chris Golec
CEO and Founder of Channel99
Chris Golec, CEO and Founder of Channel99: $5 Million Raised to Power the Future of B2B Marketing
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
Katy Carrigan
CEO of Goody
Katy Carrigan, CEO of Goody: $32 Million Raised to Build the Future of Corporate Gifting
Marc Bernstein
CEO and Founder of Balto
Marc Bernstein, CEO and Founder of Balto: $52 Million Raised to Power the Future of Contact Centers
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
Creating the Marketing Automation Category with Mark Organ
CEO of Eloqua
Creating the Marketing Automation Category with Mark Organ
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
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
Pierce Ujjainwalla
CEO of Knak
Pierce Ujjainwalla, CEO of Knak: $25 Million Raised to Empower Enterprise Marketers with Codeless Email and Landing Page Creation
Sam Mallikarjunan
Co-Founder & CEO of OneScreen
Sam Mallikarjunan, Co-Founder & CEO of OneScreen: $10 Million Raised to Power the Future of Offline Advertising
Rajat Mishra
Founder & CEO of Prezent
Rajat Mishra, Founder & CEO at Prezent: Over $24 Million Raised to Build the Presentation Productivity Platform Category
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
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
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
Ashish Nagar
Founder & CEO of Level AI
Ashish Nagar, CEO of Level AI: $35 Million Raised to Power Contact Centers of the Future
Thomas Millay
CEO of DemandJump
Thomas Millay, CEO at DemandJump: Over $25 Million Raised to Power the Future of Content Strategy
Chris Strahl
CEO of Knapsack
Chris Strahl, CEO of Knapsack: $7 Million Raised to Build the Future of Design Systems
Stephen Karaolis
Marketing Director of Cleary
Stephen Karaolis, Marketing Director at Cleary: Mastering Speed to Market – The Key to Dynamic Content Strategy
Jonas Rinde
CEO of Nomono
Jonas Rinde, CEO of Nomono: $15 million Raised to Power the Future of Podcasting
Cory Schmidt
Head of Marketing of Heyflow
Mastering Organic Growth: Insights from Heyflow’s Head of Marketing
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
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
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
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
CEO and Co-Founder of Sendoso
Creating the Sending Management Category with Sendoso’s Kris Rudeegraap
Spencer Dusebout
CEO & Founder of Aidium
Spencer Dusebout, CEO & Founder of Aidium: $19 Million Raised to Build the Future of Mortgage CRM
Sangram Vajre
Co Founder and CEO of GTM Partners
Behind the Category: Creating the Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Category with Sangram Vajre
Parry Bedi
Co-Founder and CEO of Tingono
Parry Bedi, CEO of Tingono: $7 Million Raised to Help Companies Boost Net Revenue Retention
Leena Joshi
CEO of CloseFactor
Leena Joshi, CEO of CloseFactor: $15+ Million Raised to Automate Repetitive Sales Processes
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
Andrew Forman
Founder of Givz
Andrew Forman, CEO of Givz: $3 Million Raised to Make Donating, Not Discounts, eCommerce Brands Ultimate Growth Lever