We only take on 4 clients per month. Join our April cohort. 2 spots left.
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 Tine Karlsen, CEO and co-founder of Vev, an all-in-one design platform that has raised $7 million in funding. Join us as we uncover the journey of Vev, from its origins in Norway’s advanced tech ecosystem to its current position at the forefront of web design innovation.
- The Genesis of Vev: Tine shared how her study in creativity, business development, and innovation in Norway led her to meet her like-minded co-founders and ultimately to the creation of Vev. The platform was conceived out of a need to simplify the web production process, making it accessible and efficient.
- Norway’s Tech Landscape: Norway, known for its early adoption of technology and innovation, provided a fertile ground for the birth of Vev. Tine emphasized how the country’s technical prowess and openness to innovation made it an ideal starting point for their web design platform.
- Challenging the Status Quo: Vev aims to transform the traditional web design workflow, enabling designers to create visually stunning front-ends without deep coding knowledge. This approach not only democratizes web design but also significantly reduces the time to market for digital content.
- Significant Traction and Adoption: Tine highlighted Vev’s success in significantly reducing production time for digital content, from weeks to mere minutes, showcasing the platform’s efficiency and impact on the media industry.
- Overcoming Obstacles: Positioning and communication emerged as major challenges for Vev, as it introduces a new paradigm in web design. Tine discussed the importance of clear, jargon-free communication in explaining Vev’s value proposition to potential users.
- The Future of Vev: Looking ahead, Tine envisions Vev as the go-to front-end builder for any CMS, capturing a vast market opportunity by making web design more accessible and efficient for companies of all sizes.
Actionable
Takeaways
Identify and Address Workflow Inefficiencies:
Tine’s journey with Vev underscores the importance of looking for inefficiencies in existing workflows and designing solutions that simplify and accelerate these processes. For B2B founders, this means actively seeking out areas within your industry where current solutions fall short, especially in terms of productivity and ease of use, and developing your product to directly address these gaps.
Focus on User-Centric Design and Flexibility:
Vev's success in significantly reducing the time to produce digital content highlights the value of creating tools that are not only powerful but also accessible to a broad range of users. Founders should prioritize building platforms that cater to professional needs while remaining user-friendly, ensuring that they do not require specialized knowledge to leverage fully.
Strategic Positioning is Key to Market Understanding:
Overcoming the challenge of positioning Vev in a crowded market taught Tine the importance of clear and direct communication about what the product does and its unique value proposition. Tech founders should ensure their product's positioning is straightforward, making it easy for potential users to understand how it fits into their existing ecosystems and solves a specific problem.
Utilize the Strengths of Your Ecosystem for Innovation:
Drawing from the Norwegian tech ecosystem's readiness to adopt new technologies, Tine leveraged this characteristic to test and grow Vev. Founders should consider how their own ecosystems' unique traits can provide a competitive advantage, whether it's early adoption, a specific talent pool, or industry expertise.
Adapt to Fill the Gaps Left by Existing Solutions:
Vev was designed to complement traditional CMS platforms by providing a more efficient way to handle front-end design. This approach of not just creating another tool but offering something that works within the established infrastructure can be a powerful strategy for B2B tech founders. Look for opportunities where your solution can fill a gap rather than replace existing systems, facilitating smoother integration and quicker adoption.
Recommended Founder
Interviews
Tom Lee
Co-Founder of LOVO AI
Tom Lee, Co-Founder of LOVO AI: $7 Million Raised to Build the Future of AI Voiceovers
Pierce Ujjainwalla
CEO of Knak
Pierce Ujjainwalla, CEO of Knak: $25 Million Raised to Empower Enterprise Marketers with Codeless Email and Landing Page Creation
Chris Strahl
CEO of Knapsack
Chris Strahl, CEO of Knapsack: $7 Million Raised to Build the Future of Design Systems
Jonas Rinde
CEO of Nomono
Jonas Rinde, CEO of Nomono: $15 million Raised to Power the Future of Podcasting
Creating the Marketing Automation Category with Mark Organ
CEO of Eloqua
Creating the Marketing Automation Category with Mark Organ
Marc Bernstein
CEO and Founder of Balto
Marc Bernstein, CEO and Founder of Balto: $52 Million Raised to Power the Future of Contact Centers
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
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
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
Thomas Millay
CEO of DemandJump
Thomas Millay, CEO at DemandJump: Over $25 Million Raised to Power the Future of Content Strategy
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
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
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
CEO and Co-Founder of Sendoso
Creating the Sending Management Category with Sendoso’s Kris Rudeegraap
Sangram Vajre
Co Founder and CEO of GTM Partners
Behind the Category: Creating the Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Category with Sangram Vajre
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
Daniel Erickson
Founder and CEO of Viable
Daniel Erickson, CEO of Viable: $9 Million Raised to Build the Future of Customer Feedback Analysis
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
Sam Fonoimoana
Founder & CEO of Datajoin
Sam Fonoimoana, Founder & CEO of Datajoin: $3.5 Million Raised to Help Brands Leverage Customer Behavioral Insights
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
Ashish Nagar
Founder & CEO of Level AI
Ashish Nagar, CEO of Level AI: $35 Million Raised to Power Contact Centers of the Future
Sam Mallikarjunan
Co-Founder & CEO of OneScreen
Sam Mallikarjunan, Co-Founder & CEO of OneScreen: $10 Million Raised to Power the Future of Offline Advertising
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
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
Patrick Woods
CEO and Co-Founder of Orbit
Patrick Woods, CEO and Co-Founder of Orbit: Over $22 Million Raised to Power the Future of Communities
Jared Siegal
CEO and Founder of Aditude
Jared Siegal, CEO and Founder of Aditude: $15 Million Raised to Build the Future of Publisher Monetization
Alex Reynolds
Alex Reynolds, CEO & Co-Founder of Vendelux: $20 Million Raised to Build the Future of Event Intelligence
Leena Joshi
Co-founder and CEO of CloseFactor
Leena Joshi, CEO of CloseFactor: $15+ Million Raised to Automate Repetitive Sales Processes