Scaling Up -- Playing the Platform Power Game
In this session, Carl will spend 45 minutes deep-diving into the keys to a successful platform strategy, followed by a 15-minute Q+A/AMA. He will discuss why a platform approach maximizes the scale-up and valuation of B2B SaaS businesses, offering actionable insights and real-world examples.
A few discrete topics that Carl will cover include:
- Why platforms help sell and retain clients
- How platforms create category power and sustainable leadership
- The impact of platform evolution on product and GTM strategies
- Fiscal impacts of moving to a platform model
- Three keys to successfully migrating to or optimizing a platform strategy
- Examples of “platform heroes” and their transformational successes
The goal will be to leave the session with practical takeaways for leveraging platform strategies to drive sustainable growth and scale.
Carl is a seasoned B2B marketing and product executive with over 30 years of experience driving growth and creating $15B+ in enterprise value across private and publicly traded software companies. Most recently, he served as CMO at Optimizely, a leader in digital experience optimization solutions, acquired by Insight/Episerver in 2020 after raising $200M+ from investors like A16z, Index Ventures, and Goldman Sachs. Carl has held CMO and CPO roles at Birst, Evolv (acquired by Cornerstone OnDemand), Vitria (Nasdaq IPO), Monitise/Clairmail (LSE), and Dun & Bradstreet, as well as key marketing leadership positions at Oracle. Today, Carl advises nearly a dozen software scale-ups, including Opkey, Stylitics, Cognism, Vyond, Rallyware, and more.
Measuring Value and its Impact on Customer Engagement
Best Practices for Prospect Conversion & Engagement
