Category Thinkers

Pablo Gonzalez, John Rougeux, Mike Damphousse
  • 4.7 (15)
  • MARKETING
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
Category Thinkers

Where the category design curious go to become category design capable… Category Thinkers is a podcast dedicated to exploring and demystifying the world of category design. Our mission is to help you identify, understand, and apply category design principles to your own ventures, no matter the industry or stage of your business journey. We believe that embracing category design strategies can unlock the potential of any business or individual, and we aim to debunk the notion that its application is limited to specific situations.

  1. MAR 19

    Voyage in Carving Out a Learning and Skill Development Category w/ Hywel Carver

    In this podcast episode, Hywel Carver, CEO of Skiller Whale, shares his company's category design journey after attending a workshop by Category Design Advisors, sponsored by Concept Ventures. He discusses the challenges they faced in defining their offering and how the workshop, along with the book "Play Bigger," helped them create a new category called "Live Team Coaching." The process involved the entire senior leadership team and emphasized the importance of alignment and internal collabo...

    57 min

  2. MAR 12

    Designing a Category In an Old School Industry w/ Frederik Hendriksen

    Commercial real estate isn’t usually a place that is associated with technological innovation, neither is the HVAC industry, but that makes it ripe for category design. Meet Frederik Hendriksen, the founder of Rensair. Explore their groundbreaking smart ventilation system, seamlessly integrating hardware and software to optimize energy efficiency and indoor air quality in commercial buildings. Triggered by the massive shift in context during Covid, Rensair has pushed to transform their catego...

    48 min

  3. FEB 27

    How to Right-Size the Problem You’re Solving w/ Lauren Pufpaf

    In this episode, John Rougeux interviews Lauren Pufpaf, the President, COO, and co-founder of Feed Media Group. Lauren’s company was founded on the insight that apps need the right music experience to fully engage users. But as the company grew, they learned that they weren’t going after a big enough problem. Listen in to learn how Lauren and her team used category design to shift their thinking.This episode is sponsored by:Category Design AdvisorsBeTheStage.liveFlag & Frontier

    45 min

  4. FEB 20

    Keeping Your Point Of View Unique In A Wave Of Competition w/ Brian Schiff

    A.I. has created a massive shift in context, and with that comes massive opportunities for category designers, but it also means a flood of competitors into the same space.Brian Schiff had capitalized on this shift, focusing on leveraging A.I. to take customer support from a cost center to a profit center, and is now using category design to avoid commoditization as the lookalikes show up in his space.This conversation is moderated by the founders of Category Thinkers, John Rougeux and Mike "...

    55 min

  5. FEB 13

    Al Ramadan of Play Bigger – Category Design Beyond Tech Startups – Changing the World

    Al Ramadan is the CEO of Play Bigger, LLC and one of the co-authors of “Play Bigger,” and a dedicated board member of Save The Waves Coalition. In this replay of our live AMA event, we’ll dive deep into the art of category design. Discover how shifts in context—ranging from environmental changes to global events like pandemics, wars, or financial crises—can spark innovative solutions and new categories. We’ll unpack how category designers are fortunate to have a skill that extends beyond star...

    1h 4m

  6. FEB 6

    How Category Design Reveals Buyer Problems w/ Rebecca Kirstein Resch

    In this episode, we interview Rebecca Kirstein Resch, the founder and CEO at inqli. Rebecca’s company is dedicated to helping workplace teams tap into the power of ‘tacit knowledge.’ She’s been using category design as a framework for uncovering new problems and now has a clear story about why a new type of solution called ‘social knowledge sharing’ needs to exist. Listen in to hear the insights Rebecca has unlocked through her founder’s journey and how she’s thinking about the future. T...

    52 min

  7. JAN 30

    Why Vertical SaaS is Fertile Ground for Category Design w/ Nick Tippmann

    In this episode, Nick Tippmann, former CMO of medtech company Greenlight Guru, joins Pablo, Damp, and John to break down his journey as a marketer turned investor. Nick shares why vertical SaaS companies should think like category designers and how he evaluates the category potential of early-stage startups. We discuss:How Greenlight Guru tipped from tool to platform to category, Why he believes vertical SaaS is fertile ground for category designers, How he evaluates the categ...

    47 min

  8. JAN 23

    How a Gartner Analyst Looks at Categories

    In this episode, we’re joined by Dan Gottlieb, a Senior Director Analyst at Gartner. Dan shares his take on how analysts like him define categories and when to establish a new one. He also unpacks how startups can stand out in crowded categories by defining their “critical capabilities” and shares how and when startups should educate analysts like him about their solutions. This episode was hosted by John Rougeux and Mike "Damp" Damphousse, and sponsored by:Category Design AdvisorsBeTheS...

    51 min
See All (40)

Trailer

4.7
out of 5
15 Ratings

About

Where the category design curious go to become category design capable… Category Thinkers is a podcast dedicated to exploring and demystifying the world of category design. Our mission is to help you identify, understand, and apply category design principles to your own ventures, no matter the industry or stage of your business journey. We believe that embracing category design strategies can unlock the potential of any business or individual, and we aim to debunk the notion that its application is limited to specific situations.

Information

  • Creator
    Pablo Gonzalez, John Rougeux, Mike Damphousse
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2024
  • Episodes
    40
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2024 Category Thinkers
  • Show Website
    Category Thinkers

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes, and get the latest updates.
Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada