The Kumo Space Growth Strategy: Converting Online Events into Enterprise Sales

Sometimes the best startup ideas come from solving your own problems. In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, Brett Martin shared how refusing to compromise on the quality of investor networking events led to building Kumo Space, now used by NASA, Harvard, and other major enterprises.

Finding the Problem Worth Solving

When the pandemic hit, Brett was running monthly networking events for angel investors through Charge Ventures. Like everyone else, he faced pressure to move these events online. But he saw a fundamental flaw in existing solutions.

“I don’t really want to do a Zoom presentation for 50 of my friends every month,” Brett explained. “The point is to create an environment where people can network with each other and kind of seamlessly move from conversation to conversation.”

From Concept to Prototype

Rather than settling for existing solutions, Brett reached out to Yang Mao, a longtime collaborator with gaming experience. The initial response was surprisingly quick: “Two weeks later, he came back with the working prototype,” Brett shared. “Even from that first very rough prototype, we could see that there was something about being able to see everyone at the same time, but then having different audio channels and being able to move from conversation to conversation.”

Identifying the Bigger Opportunity

What started as a solution for investor networking events revealed a much larger opportunity. The team realized they weren’t just solving an events problem – they were addressing fundamental challenges of remote collaboration.

“Whether you’re a small company and you’re working remotely or you’re a gigantic multinational with headquarters all over the world, your team is in multiple offices on multiple floors at the same time,” Brett noted. “And so we’re trying to build a better place for that to happen.”

The Product Evolution

The transition from events platform to enterprise solution required rethinking how virtual spaces could serve daily work needs. “Kumo space is a piece of software that much like slack you will turn on at the beginning of your day,” Brett explained. “You’ll see your whole team, trickle into your virtual office around 09:10 a.m.”

This evolution focused on making informal communication as natural as possible: “You can tap people on the shoulder, get an instant answer to their question. You can know who’s available and who’s not.”

The Viral Growth Engine

Rather than relying on traditional enterprise sales, Kumo Space built virality into their product. “It’s inherently viral. We’re turning video into content that people are sharing and people see someone else’s toast. They’re like, wow, that’s amazing,” Brett shared.

This organic growth mechanism proved particularly effective in enterprise environments. As Brett noted, “If you’re really excited about your product and everyone else around you feels that… that’s how you get those early customers. It’s just like being so excited about what you’re selling that they feel like, okay, this is something I got to be a part of.”

Building for Scale

Despite rapid growth, the team maintained discipline in their expansion. “We didn’t get over our skis and hire a trillion people and light a bunch of money on fire. We deliberate about the team,” Brett explained. This measured approach helped them build a sustainable enterprise-ready platform rather than just a quick solution to pandemic-era problems.

The Future Vision

What started as a solution for investor networking has evolved into a vision for the future of work. “We are trying to create a more human world where you continue to be a person in the metaverse and distinct and have your humanity,” Brett shared.

For founders, Kumo Space’s journey offers valuable lessons about product evolution. Sometimes the path to enterprise success starts with solving a simple problem exceptionally well, then recognizing how that solution maps to larger organizational challenges. The key is maintaining focus on the core value proposition – in Kumo Space’s case, human connection – while scaling the solution to meet enterprise needs.