Either broad (all-in-one) or narrow (best-in-class)
The DefinitionA category is how customers describe their problem and where they've allocated budget—not how you wish they'd describe it.
Visual Collab. vs. ATS
When to Build vs. When to Abandon a New Category
✓ Miro: Visual Collaboration
No existing budget. Disruptive product that didn't exist. People called it different things. Vision: become something every company needs.
✗ Greenhouse: Recruiting Optimization
Budget already existed. ATS category was hated but entrenched. Customers called it ATS no matter what. Abandoned the new category play.
"At the end of the day, the budget that customers had and the way customers talked about what we did, no matter what we called it, was applicant tracking. We abandoned that process."
Miro lesson: When market is shifting, vision can pull customers toward new category
Greenhouse lesson: Can't fight entrenched budget allocation and customer language
The real insight: Instead of creating new category, we elevated the whole ATS category
Building a New Category
The Full Investment Required
Analyst validation: Get on G2, Gartner, Software Advice as official category
Thought leadership: Why this category? Unique value props? What pain points?
Heavy content: Educate the market that this category exists and why to budget for it
The scope question: Is the current category too small for where we want to go?
Timing: Market inflection points (COVID shift to remote work, social enterprise wave, etc.)
Miro's approach
Online whiteboard was too small. Visual collaboration wasn't a budget category yet, but the product potential was massive. Built the vision, and the market followed.
The middle path
You don't have to choose all or nothing. Sell as performance management (budget exists) while slowly building "employee progression" as the future category.
Rebranding
When & How to Rebrand
Do it early, once you have product-market fit but before you scale
Before you invest too much in an old brand
Before too many customers are deeply attached
Keep essence of old brand if it's loved (Miro kept the yellow Post-it from RealtimeBoard)
Rebrand when the name no longer serves the vision
The RealtimeBoard storyName was so literal and small it couldn't support the product's actual potential. The founders were open because the business was ready to scale—sooner the better.
Contrarian Moves
Category & Brand Myths
✗Every startup should create a new categoryINSTEAD →✓ Only when market inflections demand it. It's tied to tech waves and shifts, not to individual company ambition.
✗No competition = successINSTEAD →✓ You don't have a category until there's competition. Multiple players validate it exists.
✗Rebranding is too risky for customersINSTEAD →✓ Rebranding is riskier when you wait. Do it early before you build attachment to the old name.
✗You must pick: new category OR existing budgetINSTEAD →✓ You can do both. Sell into existing category while building the future one long-tail.