Listen Here

| |

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 Patrick Woods, CEO and co-founder of Orbit, a community growth platform that has raised over $22 million in funding.

  • Patrick’s blend of experience in marketing, brand strategy, and customer success leadership shaped his community-focused approach to business.
  • Before founding Orbit, Patrick launched a services-for-equity program at an ad agency, coupling top creative talent with startups, laying the foundation for his eventual move into the startup world.
  • Orbit is designed to help companies understand the “humans in their orbit,” bridging the gap between interpersonal relationships and business needs.
  • The platform enables businesses to unify the customer journey across diverse touchpoints, offering insights into individual interactions with the brand.
  • Orbit introduces efficient data management and actionable tools, like building a Champions program with just a few clicks, integrating seamlessly with sales and marketing CRMs for comprehensive insights.
  • Patrick observes a shift towards bottom-up adoption in software, with community playing a critical role in this go-to-market approach.
  • He advocates for a nuanced understanding of community beyond large forums, highlighting the importance of strategic, small-group interactions that benefit both companies and participants.
  • Misconceptions about community-led growth include the notion that it requires a large team or budget, whereas Patrick emphasizes starting with the desire to build better relationships with people connected to your company.
  • Orbit’s success is evident in its support of thousands of companies managing around 48 million community members, demonstrating a significant impact on brand awareness, user engagement, and revenue growth.
  • Looking ahead, Patrick envisions a future where companies engage more humanely with their customers, reducing reliance on outdated, impersonal marketing tactics in favor of fostering genuine community connections.

Actionable
Takeaways

Start Small with Community Initiatives:

You don't need a large team or budget to begin leveraging community for your business. Patrick's journey underscores the power of starting with small, focused efforts to engage your audience. Consider hosting targeted events or discussions that bring together people with common interests or challenges. This can be a low-barrier entry point to community-led growth.

Leverage Your Unique Background:

Patrick's diverse experience in marketing, brand strategy, and customer success leadership shaped his approach to building Orbit. Use your unique background and skills to identify unmet needs in your industry that could be addressed through community-building or innovative services.

Adopt a Human-Centric Approach to Technology:

Orbit's success in unifying the customer journey across multiple touchpoints highlights the importance of understanding your community members as individuals, not just users or leads. Implement tools and processes that allow you to personalize interactions and understand the nuances of your community's engagement with your brand.

Utilize Data to Inform Community Strategy:

The ability to track and measure engagement across various platforms is crucial. Use data analytics to understand where and how your community interacts with your brand. This information can guide strategic decisions, from product development to marketing campaigns, ensuring they're aligned with your community's interests and needs.

Embrace Flexibility in Your Business Model:

Patrick's experience at an ad agency, pivoting to a services-for-equity model, demonstrates the value of adaptability. Be open to evolving your business model to meet emerging market demands or leverage new opportunities, especially those that can benefit from or contribute to your community's growth.

Recommended Founder
Interviews

Jonathan Legge

Co-Founder and CEO of &Open

Jonathan Legge, Co-Founder and CEO at &Open: Over $35 Million Raised to Create the Future of Corporate Gifting

Omed Habib

VP of Sapient AI

Omed Habib, VP of Marketing at Sapient AI: A Technical Founder’s Guide to B2B SaaS Marketing

Adrien Menard

CEO and Co-Founder of Botify

Adrien Menard, CEO and Co-Founder of Botify: $82 Million Raised to Build the Future of SEO

Sangram Vajre

Co Founder and CEO of GTM Partners

Behind the Category: Creating the Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Category with Sangram Vajre

Hikari Senju

CEO and Founder of Omneky

Hikari Senju, CEO and Founder of Omneky: $10 Million Raised to Empower Brands With AI-Powered Ads To Maximize Performance

Pulkit Agrawal

CEO & Co-Founder of Chameleon

Pulkit Agrawal, CEO & Co-Founder of Chameleon: $15 Million Raised to Build the Product Adoption Category

John Jahnke

CEO and Co-Founder of Tackle.io

John Jahnke, CEO and Co-Founder of Tackle.io: $148 Million Raised to Build the Future of Cloud Go-to-Market

Jonas Rinde

CEO of Nomono

Jonas Rinde, CEO of Nomono: $15 million Raised to Power the Future of Podcasting

Rob Sadow

CEO & Co-Founder of Scoop

Rob Sadow, CEO & Co-Founder of Scoop: $8 Million Raised to Build the Future of Hybrid Team Coordination

Robert Thelen

CEO & Founder of Rownd

Robert Thelen, CEO & Founder of Rownd: $3.3 Million Raised to Build the Future of App Onboarding

Chris Strahl

CEO of Knapsack

Chris Strahl, CEO of Knapsack: $7 Million Raised to Build the Future of Design Systems

Michael Bamberger

CEO and Founder of Tetra Insights

Michael Bamberger, CEO and Founder of Tetra Insights: $7 Million Raised to Power the Future of Qualitative Research

Zack Rosenberg

CEO and Founder of Qortex

Zack Rosenberg, CEO & Founder of Qortex: $11 Million Raised to Build the Future of Video Analytics

Pierce Ujjainwalla

CEO of Knak

Pierce Ujjainwalla, CEO of Knak: $25 Million Raised to Empower Enterprise Marketers with Codeless Email and Landing Page Creation

Tom Lee

Co-Founder of LOVO AI

Tom Lee, Co-Founder of LOVO AI: $7 Million Raised to Build the Future of AI Voiceovers

Thomas Millay

CEO of DemandJump

Thomas Millay, CEO at DemandJump: Over $25 Million Raised to Power the Future of Content Strategy

Leena Joshi

CEO of CloseFactor

Leena Joshi, CEO of CloseFactor: $15+ Million Raised to Automate Repetitive Sales Processes

Creating the Go to Market Category with ZoomInfo’s Bryan Law

CMO of ZoomInfo

Creating the Go to Market Category with ZoomInfo’s Bryan Law

Dan Malgran

VP of Marketing of Steno

Dan Malgran, VP of Marketing at Steno: Elevating Legal Tech with Revenue-Driven Marketing Strategies

Marc Bernstein

CEO and Founder of Balto

Marc Bernstein, CEO and Founder of Balto: $52 Million Raised to Power the Future of Contact Centers

Tyler Strand

Co-Founder and CTO of Air

Tyler Strand, Co-Founder and CTO at Air: $38 Million raised to Build the Creative Operations Category

Cory Schmidt

Head of Marketing of Heyflow

Mastering Organic Growth: Insights from Heyflow’s Head of Marketing

Stephen Karaolis

Marketing Director of Cleary

Stephen Karaolis, Marketing Director at Cleary: Mastering Speed to Market – The Key to Dynamic Content Strategy

Ariana Faustini

Head of Golioth

Ariana Faustini, Head of Global Marketing at Golioth: Embracing Authenticity in Developer Marketing

Parry Bedi

Co-Founder and CEO of Tingono

Parry Bedi, CEO of Tingono: $7 Million Raised to Help Companies Boost Net Revenue Retention

Ishveen Jolly

CEO and Co-Founder of OpenSponsorship

Ishveen Jolly, CEO and Co-Founder of OpenSponsorship: Over $5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Sports Influencer Marketing

Luke Hansen

CEO and Founder of CompanyCam

Luke Hansen, CEO and Founder of CompanyCam: $38 Million Raised to Build the Future of Visual Communication for Contractors

Ashish Nagar

Founder & CEO of Level AI

Ashish Nagar, CEO of Level AI: $35 Million Raised to Power Contact Centers of the Future

CEO and Co-Founder of Sendoso

Creating the Sending Management Category with Sendoso’s Kris Rudeegraap

Creating the Marketing Automation Category with Mark Organ

CEO of Eloqua

Creating the Marketing Automation Category with Mark Organ

Andrew Forman

Founder of Givz

Andrew Forman, CEO of Givz: $3 Million Raised to Make Donating, Not Discounts, eCommerce Brands Ultimate Growth Lever

Chris Golec

CEO and Co-Founder of Channel99

Chris Golec, CEO and Co-Founder of Channel99: $5 Million Raised to Power the Future of B2B Marketing

Katy Carrigan

CEO of Goody

Katy Carrigan, CEO of Goody: $32 Million Raised to Build the Future of Corporate Gifting

Rajat Mishra

Founder & CEO of Prezent

Rajat Mishra, Founder & CEO at Prezent: Over $24 Million Raised to Build the Presentation Productivity Platform Category

Sam Mallikarjunan

Co-Founder & CEO of OneScreen

Sam Mallikarjunan, Co-Founder & CEO of OneScreen: $10 Million Raised to Power the Future of Offline Advertising

Taylor Lint

CEO and Founder of Swantide

Taylor Lint, CEO and Founder of Swantide: $7 Million Raised to Revolutionize How Companies Design and Build Their GTM Infrastructure

Andy Mowat

CEO and Co-Founder of Gated

Andy Mowat, CEO and Co-Founder of Gated: Over $3 Million Raised to Build Noise Cancelling Headphones for Email

Jared Siegal

CEO and Founder of Aditude

Jared Siegal, CEO and Founder of Aditude: $15 Million Raised to Build the Future of Publisher Monetization

Spencer Dusebout

CEO & Founder of Aidium

Spencer Dusebout, CEO & Founder of Aidium: $19 Million Raised to Build the Future of Mortgage CRM

Sam Fonoimoana

Founder & CEO of Datajoin

Sam Fonoimoana, Founder & CEO of Datajoin: $3.5 Million Raised to Help Brands Leverage Customer Behavioral Insights

Daniel Erickson

Founder and CEO of Viable

Daniel Erickson, CEO of Viable: $9 Million Raised to Build the Future of Customer Feedback Analysis

Alex Reynolds

Alex Reynolds, CEO & Co-Founder of Vendelux: $20 Million Raised to Build the Future of Event Intelligence

Ori Entis

CEO and Co-Founder of Staircase AI

Ori Entis, CEO and Co-Founder of Staircase AI: $5 Million Raised to Power the Future of Customer Revenue Growth

Tine Karlsen

Co-Founder & CEO of Vev

Tine Karlsen, CEO and Co-Founder of Vev: $7 Million Raised to Power the Future of No-Code Visual Design

Lars Grønnegaard Hansen

CEO and Co-Founder of Dreamdata

Lars Grønnegaard Hansen, CEO & Co-Founder of Dreamdata: $12 Million Raised to Build the Future of B2B Revenue Attribution