SubBase’s Four-Channel GTM Strategy for Fragmented Markets

In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, Eric Helitzer, CEO and Founder of SubBase, a construction materials management platform that’s raised $5 million, described his go-to-market reality in a way that should resonate with any founder selling into fragmented industries: “Our go to market strategy is in many different funnels.”

Not one winning channel. Not a primary channel with supporting tactics. Many different funnels, each requiring its own approach, its own metrics, its own operational rhythm.

This isn’t a choice—it’s a necessity when you’re selling into construction. And the lesson applies far beyond construction to any market that resists standardization: manufacturing, healthcare, logistics, agriculture. Industries where no single channel dominates because the market itself refuses to consolidate.

Why Single-Channel Strategies Fail in Fragmented Markets

The standard SaaS playbook assumes channel clarity. Product-led growth for developer tools. Outbound for enterprise. Inbound for mid-market. You pick your motion, optimize it, scale it.

But that playbook assumes your market aggregates in predictable ways. That your ICP hangs out in the same places, responds to the same messaging, and buys through similar processes.

Construction doesn’t work like that. Eric explains the fundamental reality: “Every project in construction is unique. Every process in construction could be tailored to a specific company because the projects are so unique.”

When every customer operates differently, they also buy differently. Some discover vendors through referrals. Others through active research. Some attend industry events. Others never leave their office. Your GTM strategy can’t assume a single path to purchase because no such path exists.

The Four Channels That Work for SubBase

Eric breaks down SubBase’s approach into four distinct motions, each serving a different discovery mechanism in the market.

Channel One: Word-of-Mouth and Network Referrals

“We have really gained traction with word of mouth and our in network referrals,” Eric says. “So we have a great user base who is now talking about sub base. We have a great two sides of the network on both the sub and the vendor side that are starting to talk about what we’re doing.”

This channel works in construction because trust matters more than features. When a subcontractor recommends software to another subcontractor, they’re vouching for it with their reputation. That carries weight no marketing campaign can match.

The two-sided network amplifies this. Subcontractors tell their vendors about SubBase. Vendors tell their other subcontractor customers. Each side of the network becomes a referral engine for the other.

But word-of-mouth doesn’t scale linearly, and you can’t control timing. That’s why it’s one channel among four, not the only channel.

Channel Two: Outbound Sales

“We have obviously an outbound motion that have stood up that has been working because we are also speaking the language of the contractors that we’re getting in front of,” Eric explains.

The key phrase: “speaking the language.” Outbound fails in construction when it sounds like SaaS sales. Generic value props, feature lists, demo requests—these don’t land with contractors who’ve been running profitable businesses for decades without your software.

SubBase’s outbound works because Eric spent 15 years in construction management. His team understands job site workflows, material procurement pain points, and subcontractor economics. The outbound isn’t selling software—it’s discussing operational challenges with people who speak the same operational language.

This only works after you’ve defined your ICP clearly. “We really set that up post really defining that ICP, which took us, I would say, a little bit of time to figure out. We knew who would buy the software, but we didn’t really know the pain until we realized the size of the companies that we needed to go after.”

Channel Three: Educational Marketing

“We started marketing, we started getting our name out there,” Eric says. “We realized that most people had the problem but didn’t know where to find the solution.”

This is the classic awareness gap in new categories. Subcontractors know material procurement is painful. They don’t know software exists to solve it. Educational marketing bridges that gap.

“People in construction don’t just want to be sold software. They want to be educated. They want to understand why this piece of software that didn’t exist a couple years ago is going to beneficial now.”

The thought leadership component matters here. “I come from the industry. I love speaking about what we’re doing. So let’s call it that thought leadership approach has been very helpful and it’s really about getting ourselves out to educate the masses that have a problem in construction material procurement.”

When Eric talks about material procurement challenges, he’s not a vendor selling software—he’s an industry peer sharing knowledge. That credibility opens doors marketing alone can’t.

Channel Four: Events

“In construction, getting in front of people is a very relationship heavy industry. Doing events and making the events tailored to education is another part of our go to market that we started to hit on that has seen a lot of, I would say, early success for us.”

Events work in construction because relationships work in construction. You can’t Zoom your way into a construction deal the way you might in other industries. Face-to-face interaction builds the trust necessary for adoption.

The education angle matters here too. SubBase doesn’t sponsor events just to collect leads. They tailor events to education, positioning themselves as teachers rather than vendors. This approach fits the relationship-heavy culture better than aggressive sales tactics.

The Orchestration Challenge

Running four channels simultaneously sounds exhausting. How do you avoid spreading yourself too thin? Eric’s honest about the timeline: “I still think it’s a little too early to be able to pinpoint that.”

This is the reality of multi-channel GTM in fragmented markets—you don’t immediately know which channels will win. You can’t A/B test your way to clarity when each channel operates on different timelines and metrics.

Word-of-mouth compounds over months and years. Outbound produces immediate pipeline but requires consistent effort. Educational marketing builds brand awareness that converts later. Events create relationships that mature slowly.

The temptation is to pick one channel and go all-in. But that only works when your market consolidates around a single buying pattern. In fragmented markets, picking one channel means abandoning entire segments of your ICP.

How Each Channel Requires Different Approaches

Eric notes that his four channels operate differently: “Each one of them requires a different, I guess, approach.”

Word-of-mouth requires product excellence and customer success that creates advocates. You can’t buy referrals—you earn them through delivery.

Outbound requires domain expertise and operational credibility. Generic sales tactics fail. You need sellers who can speak contractor language and understand job site realities.

Educational marketing requires thought leadership and content that actually teaches. Not content marketing that masquerades as education—real insights from real industry experience.

Events require relationship-building skills and patience. You’re playing the long game, building trust over months of repeated interactions.

Each channel demands different skills, different resources, different success metrics. That’s why most companies avoid this approach—it’s operationally complex. But in fragmented markets, operational complexity is the price of market coverage.

The Underlying Principle: Match Your GTM to Market Reality

The lesson from SubBase isn’t “run four channels.” It’s “match your GTM structure to how your market actually works.”

If your market consolidates around a single buying pattern, optimize for that. But if your market fragments across multiple discovery mechanisms, buying processes, and decision criteria, you need multiple channels.

Eric’s approach works because it reflects construction’s reality. The industry doesn’t standardize. Projects are unique. Processes vary by company. Buying patterns differ by segment.

Trying to force construction into a single-channel GTM would mean leaving massive segments of the market uncovered. Word-of-mouth can’t reach companies outside your current network. Outbound can’t build the trust events create. Education can’t close deals the way direct outreach does.

What This Means for Your GTM

If you’re building in a fragmented market—whether construction, manufacturing, healthcare, or logistics—here’s what SubBase’s approach teaches:

Resist the urge to simplify your GTM prematurely. Yes, multi-channel is operationally harder. But if your market fragments, your GTM must fragment too.

Each channel needs its own approach, not a copy-paste of tactics that work elsewhere. Outbound in construction looks nothing like outbound in SaaS. Events in construction serve different purposes than events in tech.

You won’t immediately know which channels win. Eric’s still figuring it out. That’s okay. In fragmented markets, channel clarity comes slowly because conversion cycles are long and customer segments behave differently.

Domain expertise becomes essential. SubBase’s outbound works because Eric speaks contractor language. Their educational content resonates because it comes from real experience. You can’t fake industry knowledge when you’re running multi-channel GTM—each channel exposes whether you actually understand the market.

The Reality of Fragmented Market GTM

Eric’s conclusion about marketing applies to his entire multi-channel approach: “Ultimately marketing for us is something that is necessary. It’s definitely necessary for us.”

Not optional. Not a nice-to-have. Necessary—because in fragmented markets, no single channel reaches everyone who needs your solution.

The four-channel approach isn’t elegant. It’s not the clean, scalable playbook VCs want to see. But it’s what works when you’re selling into industries that resist standardization.

And for founders building in similarly fragmented markets, that’s the real lesson: your GTM strategy should be as complex as your market demands—no simpler, no more complicated.