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Highlights

 

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech’s most innovative B2B founders. In today’s episode, we’re speaking with Kaycee Lai, CEO and founder of Promethium, a data fabric platform that has raised $34.5 million in funding.

  • Kaycee shares his multifaceted background in analytics, from his early days as an analyst at the Federal Reserve to his experience building, selling, and marketing data products.
  • Promethium’s mission is to democratize access to data and level the playing field for companies of all sizes by providing an easy-to-use, affordable platform that delivers the power of enterprise-grade analytics.
  • Kaycee explains the concept of a data fabric and how it enables a unified, flexible view of data across disparate sources, in contrast to the rigid and brittle architectures of traditional data engineering.
  • Promethium is helping to define the emerging category of data fabric platforms, which Gartner predicts will be deployed by 80% of chief data and analytics officers by 2025.
  • Kaycee emphasizes the importance of transparency and education in Promethium’s marketing approach, focusing on delivering genuine value and empowering customers to solve real business problems.
  • Promethium’s long-term vision is to integrate generative AI into its platform, automating analytics workflows and transforming how data is consumed and leveraged across the enterprise.

Actionable
Takeaways

Sell to Your Investors Like You Would to Your Customers:

Kaycee advises founders to approach fundraising with the same consultative mindset they bring to sales. By identifying investors whose thesis aligns with your company's mission and tailoring your pitch accordingly, you can increase your chances of success. Just as you wouldn't sell to a customer who doesn't want to be sold to, focus on quality over quantity in your investor conversations.

Build for Today, But Market for Tomorrow:

An investor once told Kaycee that what you build and sell in the early days of your startup may not be the same as how you position and market your vision. While you need to focus on solving a specific problem for a specific persona to gain traction, don't lose sight of your ultimate goals. Be prepared to adapt your product based on customer feedback, but keep your marketing aligned with your long-term aspirations.

Educate Your Market to Rise Above the Noise:

In a crowded and noisy market, Promethium differentiates itself by taking an educational approach to marketing. By providing honest and transparent content that helps customers understand the broader context of analytics and data engineering, the company builds trust and credibility. Founders should consider how they can deliver genuine value to their audience beyond simply promoting their product.

Leverage the Power of Live Demonstrations:

Kaycee attributes much of Promethium's success to its ability to showcase the platform's capabilities in real-time, without relying on pre-prepared data or canned demos. By giving customers a transparent view of what the product can actually do, the company instills confidence and sets itself apart from competitors who may overpromise and underdeliver. Founders should strive to create "wow" moments that speak louder than any marketing collateral.

Position Your Product as a Foundation for Emerging Technologies:

As Promethium looks to the future, Kaycee sees the integration of generative AI as a key driver of the platform's value proposition. By building a robust data analytics foundation today, the company is well-positioned to leverage advances in AI to automate workflows and transform how data is consumed. Founders should consider how their products can serve as a springboard for emerging technologies that will reshape their industries.

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