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Instead of blindly following customer requests, learn to interpret the underlying needs. As Bobby explains, "It's not just blindly listening to whatever your customers say. It's reading between the lines and understanding what's going to drive value for them." This approach helps you solve problems customers may not even realize they have.
Resist the temptation to rely solely on traditional marketing channels like email. "Marketing can't just solve all your problems. You have to use your platform as a way to market," Bobby advises. The most effective B2B marketing leverages the product experience itself to demonstrate value and drive adoption.
When working with partners who will represent your product, prioritize "seeing is believing" education. Bobby's approach centers on visual learning: "Make sure your partners are able to speak to the product by themselves without us in the room." Equip partners with demos, customer testimonials, and tangible evidence they can use independently.
What works for one partner may fail with another. Bobby learned that "if partners are used to talking through their app, an email is going to come off as spam." Study how your partners communicate with their customers and align your marketing approach accordingly.
The most innovative B2B marketing ideas often come from consumer brands. Bobby draws inspiration from Trader Joe's and Celsius—companies that transform commodities into cult followings through exceptional experiences rather than traditional advertising. "I love word of mouth, deep customer experience," he notes, seeking ways to apply these principles to B2B insurance.
Bobby uses ChatGPT not to produce finished content but to quickly test hypotheses: "I use it to arrive at answers quickly... as a thought partner rather than a content generator." This approach helps him "spit out the bad pancake" early and refine his thinking faster.
In a Series A environment, you won't have all the answers. Bobby recommends optimizing for speed and learning: "Try to optimize your speed to trying something, then fail and get the lessons quickly." Don't get trapped in analysis paralysis—determine what's "good enough" to test and iterate from there.
In this episode of Marketing Front Lines, we speak with Bobby Vo, Head of Growth at Authentic. Authentic is transforming commercial insurance through embedded solutions for vertical SaaS platforms, franchisors, and affinity groups. Bobby shares his journey building a growth strategy from scratch at a Series A insurtech startup, redefining partner enablement in a traditionally commoditized industry, and creating product-led experiences that drive word-of-mouth adoption despite the challenges of marketing insurance products.
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