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Actionable
Takeaways

Focus on the Core Problem:

When creating a category, ensure your solution directly addresses the most critical pain points, and be willing to pivot if your initial product doesn’t fully solve the problem.

Leverage Industry Changes:

Keep an eye on regulatory shifts and other external factors that can create opportunities for new products or categories, as these often present a first-mover advantage.

Educate the Market:

Building a new category requires educating both customers and partners about the new status quo, which can be just as crucial as the product itself.

Build Partnerships, Not Competitors:

Collaborate with existing players in the industry to enhance your category’s credibility and reach, rather than viewing them solely as competition.

Involve the Entire Team in Category Design:

Ensure every team member understands and contributes to the category creation strategy, fostering alignment and maximizing impact across the organization.

Conversation
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 Martin Langelo Lien, CEO & Co-Founder of Volt, a messaging ops infrastructure platform that has raised over $6 Million in funding.

Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:

  • Identifying the Problem: Volt was born out of Martin’s personal experience running an SMS marketing company, where he encountered the inefficiencies of managing messaging infrastructure, inspiring him to build Volt.
  • Capitalizing on Industry Shifts: The introduction of 10DLC regulations in the SMS space created a compliance burden, providing the perfect opportunity for Volt to offer a streamlined solution to an industry-wide problem.
  • Pivoting the Product: Initially focused on analytics, Volt quickly realized that solving the core problem was more valuable than just identifying it, leading to a shift towards a more robust infrastructure solution.
  • First-Mover Advantage: Being the first to address the unique challenges of SMS compliance gave Volt a significant edge, with early adopters eager to solve a problem that few others were addressing.
  • Category Creation as a Strategy: Martin emphasizes that Volt is more focused on creating a new category—messaging ops—than just building a company, ensuring a long-term, defensible market position.
  • Zero-Dollar Marketing Strategy: Volt has achieved significant growth without spending on marketing, relying instead on targeted outreach through LinkedIn and leveraging the pain points of potential customers.