Category Visionaries

Zak Lefevre, CEO of ChargeLab: $20 Million Raised to Build the Operating System for EV Chargers

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from the tech’s most innovative B2B founders. In today’s episode, we’re speaking with Zak Lefevre, CEO and founder of ChargeLab, an EV charging startup that has raised over 20 million in funding. Dive into Zak’s journey from his early days in construction to spearheading innovation in the EV charging space, transforming the way we power our vehicles.
 
Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:
EV Charging Evolution: Zak outlines the transition from 2016 to 2022, highlighting significant growth in EV infrastructure but emphasizes the market is still emerging with much room for expansion.
Charging Technology Advancements: Discussing the advancements in EV charging, Zak notes improvements but mentions the technological limitations and the need for infrastructure expansion to accommodate growing EV adoption.
ChargeLab’s Role: ChargeLab develops software to manage EV chargers, positioning itself as the “Android of EV charging” by providing a versatile software layer compatible with multiple hardware manufacturers.
Target Customer Segments: Zak identifies their primary customers as entities building large networks of EV chargers, including fleets, convenience stores, and property managers, underscoring the software’s adaptability to various business needs.
Investor Enthusiasm: Highlighting the reasons behind investors’ excitement, Zak points to the booming EV market as a prime opportunity for growth, underscoring the importance of being in the right market at the right time.
Future of EV Charging: Zak envisions a more frictionless charging experience for both EV drivers and site owners, with advancements aimed at simplifying the installation, management, and use of EV chargers.
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Sponsors:
Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership.
www.FrontLines.io
The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe. 
www.GlobalTalent.co

Danny Lopez CEO of Glasswall: $60+ Million Raised to Make the Content Disarm and Reconstruction (CDR) Category Mainstream

In today’s episode, we speak with Danny Lopez, CEO and founder of Glasswall — a Content Disarm and Reconstruction (CDR) platform that’s raised more than $60 million in funding. 
Topics discussed:
Danny’s journey — from diplomat to CEO of Glasswall. 
What Glasswall does and the problem they solve for customers. 
The State of CDR today, how the category has evolved over the past couple of years, and why it’s more important than ever.   
How Danny engages with analyst firms like Gartner and how those conversations are leading the category from adolescence to mainstream. 
What’s in store for the future of CDR. 

Kirill Klokov, CEO of Truv: $28 Million Raised to Build the Payroll API Category

In today’s episode, we speak with Kirill Klokov, CEO and founder of Truv — an income and employment verification platform that’s raised over $28 million in funding since launching in 2020. 
Topics discussed:
Kirill’s journey before founding Truv. 
How Truv works and the problem they solve for customers.
How much traction Truv has gained since launching in 2020.  
Understanding how customers today solve the problem of income and employment verification today, why the current solutions fall short, and why a new category is needed to truly this problem. 
How the Payroll API category will replace the legacy income and employment solutions.
The trends that will define the future of the payroll API category and make it more important than ever before. 
What's in store for the future of Truv.

Brad LaPorte: How Gartner Works & The Role Analysts Play in Shaping New Market Categories

In today’s episode, we’re doing something a little different from our usual founder interviews and we’re speaking with Brad LaPorte — a former Gartner and current go-to-market advisor for cybersecurity startups. In the interview, Brad gives us a behind-the-scenes look into how Gartner works and helps us understand the role analysts place in shaping market categories.
Topics discussed:
High-level overview of what Gartner is and how it works (Both from a vendor and buyer perspective).
What the perfect analyst relations program looks like for an early-stage VC-backed startup.
What founders should do if they feel they don’t fit into existing market categories.  
What happens behind the scenes when Gartner creates a new category 
The most common mistakes founders make when it comes to analyst relations 
3 pieces of advice for startups looking to engage analysts as they take their idea to market

James Hawkins, CEO of PostHog: $21 Million Raised to Build the Future of Product Analytics

In today's episode of Category Visionaries, we speak with James Hawkins,  Co-Founder and CEO of PostHog, about what makes startups so exciting, and how to make a successful business in the digital era. By leveraging a strong commitment to PNG and flexible approach to development through their open source product operating platform, PostHog integrated the needs of their customers with a stellar business proposal, driving opportunities to innovate and grow together as a community.
 
Topics Discussed:
How finance became startups - how James fell into the world of start-up enterprises from a career in investment banking
Why not everyone is happy about the digital transition, and why some companies prefer to keep their data offline
Why 'slow and steady' is still relevant for stable growth in the market, even today
PLG as a core business strategy, and why a transition to big enterprise might require a revised sales strategy
The power of feedback in building a customer profile before going overboard with staff spending.
 
Favorite book: 
No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention

Zaedo Musa, CEO of Superb: $14M Raised to Build the Guest Experience Management Category For Restaurants

In today’s episode, we speak with Zaedo Musa, CEO and founder of Superb — a guest experience management platform that's raised over €13 million in funding. 
Topics we cover: 
Understanding the restaurant technology landscape which is mostly dominated by marketplaces or discovery platforms that drive traffic but have forgotten about the back office of the restaurant.
Why Suberb is focused on independent restaurants and how much traction the company has gained since launching in 2017
How Suberb’s end to end platform works and the value it brings to restaurants and guests.
Why Suberb decided to launch its own category — Guest Experience Management (GXM) and how the company overcame doubters and obstacles along the way.
What the future of guest experiences look like and the role Superb will play in shaping this future

Tom Trowbridge, Co-Founder of Fluence Labs: $9 Million Raised to Build the Future of Decentralized P2P Computing

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 Tom Trowbridge, Co-Founder of Fluence Labs, a Web3 native computing platform that has raised $9 Million in funding.
Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:
Addressing Monopolistic Behavior: Fluence Labs aims to counter the monopolistic nature of cloud providers by creating a decentralized, peer-to-peer computing platform that reduces reliance on centralized infrastructure.
Solving Central Points of Failure: By distributing computation across multiple nodes globally, Fluence enhances resilience and reduces the risk of service disruptions due to single points of failure.
Combating Government Influence: The platform is designed to reduce government control and surveillance over digital infrastructure by decentralizing data and compute operations.
Advanced Peer-to-Peer Compute: Fluence offers a peer-to-peer compute network where operations can be performed at multiple locations, improving efficiency and reducing costs.
Economic Layer Development: The upcoming economic layer will enable compensation for hosts running computations and for developers creating software, fostering a thriving ecosystem.
Composability with Aqua Language: Fluence's Aqua language simplifies building peer-to-peer applications, allowing developers to assemble applications from pre-existing modules, similar to the Defi ecosystem.
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Sponsors:
Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership.
www.FrontLines.io
 
The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe.
www.GlobalTalent.co