How Vaulttree Generates Inbound Demand for Complex Enterprise Technology

How Vaulttree Generates Inbound Demand for Complex Enterprise Technology

Enterprise security software sells through outbound motions. Field sales. Account-based marketing. Six-figure deals closed through relationships. Everyone knows this.

Except Vaulttree didn’t get the memo.

In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, Ryan Lasmaili, Co-Founder and CEO of Vaulttree, shared something that challenges conventional wisdom: “Most of our traction is inbound, which is amazing to see.”

This isn’t a simple tool. Vaulttree sells fully homomorphic encryption technology—a solution to a problem most CISOs believe is impossible. Yet prospects find them, not the other way around.

The Conventional Wisdom Vaulttree Defies

The SaaS playbook is clear: complex products need complex sales motions. SDRs generate meetings. AEs run demos. SEs handle validation.

When prospects don’t know your solution exists—and wouldn’t believe it’s possible even if they heard about it—waiting for them to find you seems naive.

But Vaulttree discovered something counterintuitive. The very characteristics that seem to demand outbound selling can actually fuel inbound interest.

Why Inbound Works for the Impossible

The key insight: breakthrough technology has a unique advantage. Once prospects understand what you’ve made possible, curiosity does the heavy lifting.

“Every organization that we are talking to, at the beginning, the conversation could be like, oh, we have no use case, or we don’t know, or this doesn’t work, right? But it’s mainly because they don’t understand really that their data and everyone’s data is vulnerable,” Ryan explained.

Initial skepticism is high. But once prospects grasp the breakthrough, interest accelerates. “After literally two minutes, it’s like, oh wow, okay, you do this, okay, we can do that, we didn’t even know.”

The challenge isn’t creating demand—CISOs desperately want better data security. The challenge is making prospects aware that what they assumed was impossible is now real.

You’re not trying to convince prospects your solution is better than alternatives. You’re trying to make them aware that the category now exists.

The Problem-First Content Strategy

Vaulttree’s inbound motion starts with relentless focus on the problem, not the solution.

Prospects search for “data breach prevention,” “encryption at scale,” “GDPR compliance.” They’re not searching for “homomorphic encryption.” They’re searching for answers to problems they face daily.

Most technical companies create content about their technology—how it works, why it’s innovative. This serves no purpose in demand generation because prospects aren’t looking for it.

Vaulttree educates the market about the fundamental problem: “Every single day we have a new data breach, we have data being leaked. Problems are not solved around data literally lying around in plain text and being vulnerable on a continuous basis.”

This resonates because every CISO lives this reality. Content exploring why current approaches fail attracts attention in ways that content explaining your breakthrough doesn’t.

Education as Demand Generation

Education about the problem naturally leads to discovery of the solution.

When Vaulttree explains why traditional encryption fails—why you have to decrypt data to use it, creating vulnerability—they’re teaching. But prospects who understand this problem now ask: “Is there a solution?”

That question drives inbound interest.

Ryan describes the market: “I think it’s definitely still sort of a sector that is covered by peculiar. Like, imagine a room full of nerds, right, writing algorithms all day long that are really funky and you have to translate that into a language that everyone else is going to understand.”

Companies that win in emerging categories translate complex breakthroughs into understandable problems. Not “we’ve solved fully homomorphic encryption” but “your data can now stay encrypted even while being processed.”

The Conversion Advantage

Vaulttree’s inbound motion creates compounding advantages through conversion rates.

“Basically every conversation usually we have with an organization ends up in us moving this along to either a pilot, a POC and a customer,” Ryan explained.

Prospects who find you inbound arrive pre-qualified. They’ve done research. They understand they have a problem. They believe a solution should exist.

When a prospect reaches out inbound, Vaulttree doesn’t need to establish the problem. They just need to prove their technology works.

Outbound interrupts someone who may not realize they have the problem. Sales cycles are longer, success rates lower.

Making Technical Breakthroughs Discoverable

For founders building complex technology, how do you make your breakthrough discoverable?

Map the problem landscape. What are prospects actually searching for? Your content strategy should address these, not your technology.

Create content that makes the impossible seem possible. Don’t explain how your technology works. Explain why problems that seem unsolvable actually have solutions.

Make peace with partial explanations. Vaulttree doesn’t need prospects to fully understand homomorphic encryption. They just need prospects to think “this sounds like it could solve my problem.”

Optimize for the right keywords. Not “your solution name” but “the problem you solve.”

Invest in proof points. Case studies and clear demonstrations reduce friction in the inbound journey.

The Believability Challenge

The biggest barrier isn’t discoverability—it’s believability.

Prospects might find your content and think “this sounds too good to be true.” If skepticism prevents them from reaching out, your inbound motion fails.

Vaulttree addresses this through transparency and proof. They demonstrate the technology working. They acknowledge the skepticism and invite prospects to verify for themselves.

If you can’t prove your technology works in a brief conversation, inbound remains difficult. But if you can—as Vaulttree does with their two-minute demo—the inbound motion becomes sustainable.

When Inbound Works for Complex Products

Not every complex product can drive inbound demand. Certain conditions make it possible.

Your breakthrough must solve an obvious problem. Vaulttree’s prospects deal with data breaches constantly.

The problem must be actively searched. If prospects aren’t looking for solutions, inbound won’t work.

You must demonstrate proof quickly. If conviction requires months of evaluation, prospects won’t take the leap.

Your category must be emerging, not mature. In emerging categories, prospects search for whether solutions exist at all.

The Broader Principle

Vaulttree’s strategy reveals a principle: make the impossible discoverable by teaching about the problem, not the solution.

Traditional demand generation assumes prospects know solutions exist and are comparing options. Breakthrough technology demand generation assumes prospects don’t know solutions exist and need to discover the category before discovering you.

Content isn’t about differentiating your approach—it’s about establishing that an approach now exists. Demos aren’t about showcasing features—they’re about proving the impossible is real.

For founders building category-defining technology, don’t default to outbound because your product is complex. Consider whether the breakthrough itself, properly communicated, can fuel inbound interest.

If you’ve solved the impossible, curiosity about how might be all the demand generation you need.