The challenge

When dbt Labs approached us in early 2022, they faced a distinctive challenge. Despite an engaged community of power users and a reputation as an innovator among innovators, they needed more visibility within the enterprise market. 

The company needed to break out of the start-up category and position themselves alongside the industry heavyweights. We knew that it was going to take something special to overcome the white noise of tech startup stories that seemed to come and go daily. 

That turned out to be dbt Labs CEO and founder: Tristan Handy.

The solution

Unlike so many other flash-in-the-pan tech founders, Tristan had more than a big idea. He had an industry-shifting technology with an engaged community of users — and a reputation for insightful takes through his blog posts, newsletters, and social media presence. We needed to turn up the volume and amplify his message to the right enterprise audiences, without sacrificing the authentic voice for which he was known and respected.

Beginning with an exclusive Forbes story surrounding the company’s Series D funding round, we developed a targeted earned media approach that built on the impressive industry profile he had already created. We positioned him as a different kind of startup CEO, with a unique founding story and sharp point of view on the tech industry.

The impact

With fresh takes on industry topics like the future of AI, “founder mode,” and the death of the Modern Data Stack, we’ve secured Tristan and dbt Labs features and thought leadership pieces across top-tier publications — including Forbes, Fortune, Fast Company, Business Insider, TechCrunch and VentureBeat.

dbt Labs was catapulted into the industry spotlight and shifted from a community tool to an enterprise essential. Business Insider described dbt Labs as “the startup that’s quietly become a big-data juggernaut,” and Forbes recognized the company as “a crucial component of the cloud data workflow.“

With a sustained media strategy, we helped dbt Labs translate this momentum into tangible long-term recognition, earning spots on the Cloud 100 list, The Information’s inaugural Enterprise Tech Power List, and Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500.