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FV 21: Raising VC, First-time Founding, Enterprise Software & Nimble GTM | Emir Atli ‪@HockeyStackB2B‬

In Episode 21 of our podcast, we get to hear the story of Emir Atli, the co-founder and CRO of HockeyStack. Emir talks about his entrepreneurial journey and the interesting evolution of his revenue analytics platform.

Will and Emir chat about his path from the early days in Turkey to building HockeyStack, which actually started as a social media app before becoming an alternative to Google Analytics. He shares his firsthand experience with building superior technology, attracting top talent  and managing different challenges that arise with venture capital fundraising.

Conversation flows toward HockeyStack’s transformation into a B2B “revenue intel” platform, which offers sales information and ABM products. Emir also shares his experience with a diversified marketing strategy across LinkedIn, Google and events.

HockeyStack has the ambitious goal of going public in 2030 and become the operating system for B2B revenue teams.

TAKEAWAYS:

  • HockeyStack started as a social media app but pivoted to become a Google Analytics alternative, offering better insights into product and website data.
  • Building a better technology and hiring the best talent are key factors in the success of a startup.
  • Raising venture capital requires traction and a compelling story, and it’s important to have a strong support network.
  • Dealing with pressure as a C-level executive involves having people to lean on, such as an executive coach and therapist, and knowing that you can start over if needed.
  • HockeyStack is not just an attribution tool, but a command center for revenue teams, offering sales intelligence and ABM products in addition to attribution. HockeyStack aims to be the centralized command center for B2B revenue teams
  • Their marketing strategy includes LinkedIn, Google, events, influencer partnerships, and SEO
  • HockeyStack has entered the enterprise segment and prioritizes building relationships with enterprise customers
  • The goal is for HockeyStack to go public in 2030 and become the operating system for B2B revenue teams

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Introduction

01:31 Early Ventures and Lessons Learned

03:45 The Birth of HockeyStack

05:16 Scaling and Market Strategy

10:51 Challenges and Personal Growth

20:06 The Future of HockeyStack

27:36 The Role of Signals in Marketing

31:47 Making Data Actionable

35:18 Diversifying Marketing Strategies

38:44 Enterprise Sales Strategy

48:05 Future Vision for HockeyStack

51:54 Conclusion and Hiring Announcements

How to Spend Less and Achieve More on LinkedIn 

In today’s competitive world of LinkedIn advertising, simply showing up isn’t enough, you need to stand out and make every dollar work harder. Winning an auction once is great, but true success lies in building campaigns that deliver ongoing value and drive ROI consistently

The secret? A sharp mix of standout content, strategic bidding, and relentless performance optimization.

1. Master the Auction Dynamics

Want to outsmart your competitors and create campaigns with real staying power? Let’s dig in.

What LinkedIn’s second-price auction really means is you only pay slightly more than the next highest bid, and If you think that your bid alone will win the day – it won’t. LinkedIn’s auction also reflects on engagement and relevance, so content that resonates with your target audience is just as important as the bid amount.

Action Steps:

  • Bid Smart, Not High: Resist the urge to overbid. Instead, focus on strategic, efficient bidding that stretches your budget.
  • Prioritize Relevance: Craft ads that speak directly to your audience’s needs and interests to boost engagement and improve your auction standing.

2. Make Your Content More Engaging

LinkedIn’s Quality Score honours ads that perform well. Measuring factors are click-through rates (CTR) and engagement levels. If the ad has higher engagement it’s not just positioned better in auction –  it also costs less.

So, investing in captivating content isn’t just clever; it’s crucial for driving down costs and staying competitive.

Action Steps:

  • Make Eye-Catching Content: Craft high-quality, noticeable creatives that scroll stop and boost your relevancy score.
  • Drive Interaction: Push actions like likes, shares, and comments to keep engagement levels high.
  • Track and Optimize: Daily check CTR and engagement metrics to keep refining and improving your ads.

3. Adjust Your Bidding Strategy for Maximum Impact

Mastering your bidding strategy is all about finding that sweet spot between quick wins and sustained engagement. While LinkedIn’s automated bidding can help you reach your objectives, exploring manual bidding gives you the power to fine-tune costs and control your spending.

Action Steps:

  • Think About the Defaults: Often, LinkedIn’s suggested bids can push you to spend higher. Instead, start with the minimum usable bid to keep costs in check.
  • Conform to Performance: Monitor your ads performance and adjust your bids as needed to stay competitive.
  • Assess Short and Long-Term Goals: Form a game plan that delivers immediate results without sacrificing long-term engagement.

4. Perfect Your Targeting for Maximum Impact

Dialing in on a precise audience boosts your ad relevance and engagement, helping you stand out in the auction. By narrowing your focus, your content hits closer to home, sparking more meaningful interactions and better results.

Action Steps:

  • Know Your Audience Really Well: Use LinkedIn’s targeting tools to focus on the users who matter most.
  • Be Direct in Your Approach: Create messages that resonate with the specific interests and challenges of your target group.
  • Remove the Unnecessary Noise: Exclude audiences unlikely to engage to save budget and keep your metrics strong.

5. Regularly Analyse and Adapt for Success

If you want to stay ahead in LinkedIn’s ad auction you need to continually monitor and adapt your approach. Frequently plunging into your performance data helps you see trends, seize new opportunities, and double down on what’s working.

Action Steps:

  • Stop What’s Not Working: Cut off underperforming ads to stop wasting budget on low returns.
  • Make Real-Time Adjustments: Use live data to adjust your bids and strategies on the fly.
  • Test Several Times: Run A/B tests to uncover what truly resonates with your audience and keep refining your campaigns.

Accomplish Lasting Success on LinkedIn

By putting these strategies into action, you’re positioning your campaigns for long-term impact. If you remain focused on strategic planning, high-quality content, and data-driven optimization, your ads will reach the right audience with real efficiency.

It’s not just about winning today’s auction; it’s about building a foundation that consistently drives value and ROI. Be the agile, adaptable advertiser, and you’ll unlock LinkedIn’s potential for maximum return on your marketing investment.

Ready to Upgrade Your LinkedIn Advertising?

With these actionable strategies, you’re equipped to outsmart the competition while keeping costs in check. Applying these insights will help you maximize your marketing investment and create campaigns with lasting impact in LinkedIn’s competitive ad landscape. Now’s the time to upgrade your LinkedIn advertising and watch your ROI soar!

The Ultimate LinkedIn Targeting Deep Dive: Real Strategies, Real Results

We’ve spent countless hours experimenting with LinkedIn’s advertising platform, and let’s be honest – it’s a goldmine for B2B marketers when you know how to use it right. We will share everything we’ve learned about making LinkedIn’s unique targeting capabilities work for your business.

Why We’re Excited About LinkedIn Targeting

Here’s what we’ve discovered: while everyone else is chasing shadows on Facebook or fighting for keywords on Google, we’ve got something special with LinkedIn. Think about it – we’re working with data that professionals actively maintain and verify themselves. When did you last update your Facebook profile with your new job title? But LinkedIn? That’s probably the first place you went.

The Targeting Strategies We Swear By

Why We Always Start with Industries

Let’s cut to the chase – we’ve found that starting with industry targeting gives us the strongest foundation. Here’s why we love it:

  • Professionals tend to stick to their lanes, even when job-hopping
  • Industry pain points stay remarkably consistent
  • We can speak their language and address specific challenges

How We Play the Company Size Game

Here’s something we’ve learned the hard way: company size tells us way more than just budget potential. It’s a window into how decisions get made. Let’s break down our approach:

For the small guys (1-50 employees):

  • We go straight to the top – founders and C-suite
  • Quick decisions, direct conversations
  • Personal pain points matter most

With the middleweights (51-500):

  • We target department heads who feel the pain
  • They’ve got budget authority but need consensus
  • ROI conversations resonate here

For the big players (500+):

  • We spread our net wider
  • We target both practitioners and their bosses
  • We focus on team-level wins and company-wide impact

Our Role-Based Targeting Matrix

Let’s ditch the job title obsession. We’ve developed a better way to think about this. Here’s how we structure our targeting:

Decision Makers We Love:

  • Senior management + Finance (they get the budget talks)
  • C-level + Operations (they understand the big picture)
  • Directors + Technology (they know what works)

Influencers We Can’t Ignore:

  • Mid-level managers who champion change
  • Project managers who needed solutions yesterday
  • Team leads who face daily challenges

The Advanced Stuff We’ve Figured Out

We’ve found gold in LinkedIn’s interest and traits filters. Here’s what we look for:

  • Active group participants in our space
  • Folks engaging with thought leadership
  • Professional certification seekers
  • Career milestone achievers

Why We’re All In on Retargeting

Think of retargeting as our trusty multiplier. When we combine it with LinkedIn’s powerful filters, that’s when the real magic happens. Here’s how we build our targeting layers:

Foundation Layer:

  • Industry and company size targeting (our compass)
  • Role-specific targeting (our bullseye)
  • Professional interests (our qualifier)

Engagement Layer:

  • Previous site visitors (they’ve shown interest)
  • Blog and content readers (they’re doing their research)
  • People who’ve watched our videos (they’re invested)
  • Past lead form starters (they’re considering us)

We’ve found this two-layer approach does something powerful – it combines intent with precision. We’re not just reaching the right people; we’re reaching them when they’re already thinking about solutions like ours. It’s like picking up a conversation right where we left off, instead of starting from scratch every time.

The Traps We’ve Learned to Avoid

Let’s talk about what not to do. We’ve made these mistakes so you don’t have to:

  • Growth Rate Filters – We stopped using these because employee count changes often mean restructuring, not success. We prefer industry trends and company news for growth indicators.
  • Revenue Brackets –  The data is often stale. We stick to company size – it’s more reliable and tells us just as much.
  • Age Targeting – LinkedIn guesses ages based on education dates. We focus on experience level instead – much more relevant for B2B anyway.

How We Make It All Work

Our Testing Approach We start broad and narrow down:

  • Core industry and size filters first
  • Layer in roles
  • Add behavioral signals
  • Top it off with retargeting

Our Iteration Process

  • Small tests to validate our hunches
  • Watch those engagement metrics like the Hawks
  • Adjust based on real data
  • Scale what works, drop what doesn’t

Where We See This Going

We’re keeping our eyes on some exciting developments in LinkedIn targeting:

  • Skills endorsement targeting 
  • Better content engagement tracking
  • More sophisticated career trajectory indicators
  • Industry certification targeting

Looking Ahead

The future of LinkedIn targeting is bright. We see new possibilities with skills endorsements, better engagement tracking, and more sophisticated targeting options. But remember – success isn’t about using every filter available. It’s about finding the right combination that connects you with decision-makers who are ready to act.

Have questions about your LinkedIn targeting strategy? Let’s continue the conversation – we’d love to hear about your experiences and share more of our insider tips.

Supercharge Your Go-To-Market (GTM) Plan With These Proven Targeting Strategies

On LinkedIn, you can connect with the audience that matters the most to your brand. Your GTM approach can deliver maximum impact when you refine your targeting strategy, that way you can ensure that your LinkedIn Ads resonate with the right audience. 

How to do that? Follow these next 5 steps:

1. Get To Know Your Audience Well

The key to a refined targeting strategy is understanding your audience. Who are they? What are their wants and needs? If you want to run successful LinkedIn Ads you need to dig in and understand your audience’s demographics, job titles, industries, and their professional ups and downs. When you adapt your content to their needs it becomes more engaging which leads to better results. 

2. Learn More About LinkedIn’s Targeting Tools

LinkedIn’s suite of targeting tools is a golden goose for narrowing your audience. Filters include location, company size, seniority, industry, and even interests. You can focus your GTM strategy on the prospects who are more likely to convert, that way you can eliminate wasted spend on the irrelevant audience. 

3. Test, Learn, Then Do It Again

If you want to refine your audience in the best way possible, you need to test. Start small, run a couple of campaigns with different targeting parameters and analyse the results. That way you can find out what is working and what’s not. Use these insights to modify your strategy. The iteration is the key. 

4. Keep Focus on Your Objectives

What do you want to achieve with your business? Do you want to increase brand awareness, generate leads or drive more sales? Each of these goals calls for a unique targeting plan. The important thing is to stay focused on your goals. 

5. Use Advanced Features and Target Smarter

Using Insights Tag and Matched Audiences will take your LinkedIn Ads to the next level. You can do this by targeting website visitors and making custom lists, which will help your ads be more effective and get you closer to the right audience. 

To Conclude

When you use LinkedIn’s tools the proper way, you can understand your audience better and purify your approach through testing and learning. That way you can get a LinkedIn Ads strategy that brings you real results such as better engagements, real conversions and in the end –  significant results.

Your LinkedIn Targeting Strategy Needs an Upgrade

Is your LinkedIn ad spend looking more like a charity donation than a business investment? Let me guess, you’re probably just clicking through those basic targeting options, hoping something sticks. That’s exactly why your campaigns are burning cash…

Listen, LinkedIn’s targeting capabilities are insanely strong, but most advertisers are merely scratching the surface. Let me show you how to stop bleeding money and start using LinkedIn’s advanced targeting features like a professional.

Layered Targeting

Here’s where most people mess up: they pick a job title, maybe an industry, and call it a day. That’s like trying to hit a bullseye while wearing a blindfold. Smart targeting means combining multiple filters to create your perfect audience.

Want to target decision-makers in tech companies? Don’t just target “IT Director” – layer that with company size, industry specialization, and engagement metrics. The magic happens when these filters work together to narrow down your audience to the people who actually matter to you.

Get Technical with Your Approach

LinkedIn’s website demographics feature is criminally underutilized. By installing the LinkedIn Insight Tag on your website, you can see exactly what kinds of professionals are already visiting your site. This isn’t just data, but golden intel for your targeting strategy.

Take that data and create lookalike audiences based on your best performing visitor segments. Now you’re not just guessing who might be interested, you’re targeting people who match the profile of those already engaging with your brand.

The Power of Matched Audiences

Speaking of website visitors – LinkedIn’s matched audiences feature is like having a second chance with everyone who’s shown interest. Retargeting these warm leads with tailored content isn’t just smart but essential. These people already know who you are, so your ad spend goes much further.

But here’s the real pro tip: Use LinkedIn’s account targeting. Upload a list of your dream clients and target specific companies directly. Combine this with job function targeting, and suddenly you’re reaching exactly who you need at the companies you want.

Event-Based Targeting Works

Did your company just host a webinar? Get a bunch of downloads on your latest whitepaper? Use these engagement signals. Create custom audiences based on event attendance or content downloads. These people have already shown interest in your expertise – they’re prime candidates for your next campaign.

Advanced Tips Straight from the Pros

  • If you want to get real technical with it, listen to this: when you combine multiple targeting options, LinkedIn uses “AND” statements between categories and “OR” statements within them. Translation? If you target “Marketing Manager” OR “Digital Marketing Manager” AND companies with 50-200 employees AND the software industry, you’re creating a hyper-specific audience that’s actually worth your ad spend.
  • LinkedIn’s Matched Audiences feature has a 300-account minimum for company targeting, but most people don’t realize you can get around this by using domain targeting instead. Upload your company list with domains rather than names, and suddenly you’ve got a much more flexible targeting option.
  • Layer engagement retargeting with your other targeting parameters. Create an audience of people who’ve watched at least 75% of your video content, then combine that with job seniority and company size filters. You’re not just targeting the right titles anymore – you’re targeting the right people who’ve already shown deep interest in your content.

In short:

Stop treating LinkedIn targeting like it’s a simple “set it and forget it” tool. The platform offers sophisticated targeting options that, when used correctly, can transform your campaigns from money pits into lead-generating machines.

Remember: Smart targeting beats big budgets every time. Now get out there and start targeting like you mean it.

Customer Interviews: What Are They and How Can They

If you want to understand your customers and lead an effective marketing strategy, you need to conduct customer interviews. These types of interviews offer a great opportunity for businesses to go deep into their audience’s needs and pain points offering them to create marketing strategies that truly resonate. 

Let’s investigate why customer interviews are an essential part of your marketing strategy and how they can boost your efforts. 

1. Understanding Deep Audience Insights

Through one-on-one interviews with your customers you can find out the following:

  • What is the motivation behind their purchasing decision
  • What are the challenges they face in their everyday life or work
  • What benefits they value the most in the service or product that you offer

These insights are better than usual methods like surveys. By hearing what your audience has to say, you can create a message that speaks directly to them. 

2. Honing Campaign Targeting For Maximum Impact

On networks like LinkedIn, precise targeting is really important. The insights that you get from your customers will help you refine targeting strategies, ensuring that your ads reach the ideal audience. Using customer interviews you can provide the right data regarding demographics, job titles, industries etc. This way you can reach higher CTR (click-through rate) and better ROI (return on the investment).

3. Increasing Product Development

Customer feedback is a great opportunity for you to improve your offerings by listening to what your customers like, dislike or wish they had. 

When your product is adapted to your audience’s needs it becomes easier to market. Customers who see that you implemented their feedback are likely to advocate for your brand in the future. 

4. Making Authentic Content 

You can create content that feels like it was made specifically for your audience by using the language and aspirations shared during the interviews with your customers. You can make every headline, image, or CTA address every pain point that your customer mentions. This way, you can boost engagement rates and turn passive viewers into active participants. 

5. Growing Your Business 

The goal of every marketing strategy is to expand your business. Customer interviews can help you get there faster. When you listen to your audience you gain their trust and become a responsive partner in their success. 

Assimilate Customer Interviews into Your Marketing Strategy

Make customer interviews an important part of your marketing process, if you are not using them already. Make thoughtful questions that lead directly to actionable insights. When using these insights properly you can improve your products and make deep connections with your audience. 

Purifying Your Targeting to Achieve Better Product Market Fit on LinkedIn

If you want to achieve optimal Product-Market Fit (PMF) you need to ensure that your product meets market demands and resonates with your target audience. LinkedIn offers various opportunities for precision targeting and helping you enhance your PMF. 

Here are several ways how you can leverage LinkedIn’s features to reach powerful PMF.

1. Understand Your Audience

You need to know your audience inside out. Learn what their pain points, needs, and preferences are. Segmenting your audience is available through LinkedIn’s demographics and interest-based targeting. That way you can divide your audience with precision, and ensure that you are reaching those who will benefit from your product. 

2. Customise Your Messaging

The next step is to make personalised messages that resonate with each part. The key to aligning your product with market needs is to help your audience see how your offer can help their unique demands.

3. Make Engaging Video Content

Video ads work well on networks like LinkedIn, boosting high engagement rates. By using videos you have the opportunity to show your brand’s unique value proposition and create a narrative that shows your audience how your product or service is deeply needed. 

4. Engage With Your Audience and Retarget

When you engage with your audience you create the opportunity to build a relationship and a stronger foundation for the future. Use LinkedIn’s retargeting tools to stay on your leads’ radar, nurture them with a clear funnel, and guide them step by step toward becoming customers.

5. Make Feedback Loops

Use LinkedIn campaign engagement metrics to fine-tune your audience targeting and product offerings. This ongoing process helps your product stay aligned with market needs and consistently improves your product-market fit.

6. Track and Adapt

Measure engagement rates, conversion rates, and lead quality to provide actionable insights that will help you better adapt what your brand has to offer to your customers’ needs. 

7. Optimise Regularly

Maintaining PMF is a continuing process. Use LinkedIn’s campaign feedback and adapt your targeting and marketing strategies. By using every needed insight you can improve your alignment with the market. 

By honing your targeting, crafting personalised messages, and continuously optimizing on LinkedIn, your business can strengthen its Product-Market Fit. This connection won’t just make your customers happier—it’ll fuel lasting growth and help you thrive in even the toughest markets.

FV 20: How to Make B2B Outbound Work in 2024 | John Karsant

In this episode, our host Will Martin sits down with John Karsant, the founder and CEO of LevelUp Leads, about all things outbound sales.

They discuss the challenges of outbound sales for SMBs, how important it is to define your ideal customer profile (ICP), and some common mistakes companies make in their outbound efforts. 

They also talk about the tech stack and data tools used in outbound sales, as well as the importance of good copywriting and strategy in cold outreach.

John Karsant goes on about the effectiveness of different outbound channels, with a focus on cold calling and email. He emphasizes the importance of instant feedback and the ability to make adjustments quickly when using cold calling. 

He goes on about the value of conferences and events in generating leads, shares his strategies on how to approach different industries and points out just how important it is to have case studies and a proven track record of success.

John discusses the importance of hiring skilled SDRs and providing them with better training and compensation. Finally, he mentions the need for constant improvement and adaptation in the outbound industry.

TAKEAWAYS:

  • Outbound sales is tough for SMBs—common mistakes can derail efforts without a clear strategy.
  • Figure out your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) to target the right job titles and pain points effectively.
  • Simplify your tech stack to avoid overlapping tools and focus on solving specific problems.
  • Cold outreach needs to be sharp: keep it short, relevant, and focused on pain points.
  • Sequence length matters—four touchpoints often hit the engagement sweet spot.
  • Cold calling provides instant feedback and helps you refine your approach quickly.
  • Conferences and events drive leads if leveraged strategically.
  • Case studies build trust by showcasing proven results.
  • Skilled SDRs are key—train and compensate them well if you want better outcomes.
  • Continuous improvement is essential in the ever-changing outbound sales game.

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Introduction and Background

00:43 Common Mistakes in Outbound for SMBs

03:38 How to Nail Down Your ICP (Ideal Customer Profile)

05:16 List Building Process and Data Quality

06:50 Do you Need to Outsource Outbound to Make it Work?

11:55 Outbound Tech Stack and Tools

18:13 Do’s and Don’ts in Cold Email Copywriting

25:13 Email is Down, Cold Calling is Up

27:46 New Outbound Strategies: What’s Working

39:32 Client Success Story: TDK

42:10 Offers that Win with Outbound

46:22 Future of Outbound Marketing

49:37 Conclusion and Final Thoughts