Every product team knows the mantra: talk to your users. But in reality, most companies are still juggling spreadsheets and cobbling together tools in order to facilitate basic conversations with their customers and aggregate their feedback. For product teams, it can feel like an impossible trade-off between speed and insight.
Rally was founded to solve this dilemma.
We first met co-founders Oren and Alec when they joined the 2022 Stage 2 Capital Catalyst program. What stood out? It wasn’t just their early customer wins, but also how they built the business. Even with such a strong foundation, they still faced a big challenge: scaling efficiently in a market where buyers were still figuring out how to value user research.
The Power of an Experienced Network
Rally used what they learned in the Catalyst program and, by 2024 they had made a lot of headway, when Drew Mavrikos joined as Head of Sales. He immediately recognized the company's operational discipline. "You could tell this was a Stage 2 company," notes Drew. "Everything was really well documented, tracked, and measured. So even though we were really small at the time, there was a strong foundation which I was able to hit the ground running with."
Recognizing Rally's potential, we tapped the Stage 2 network of LPs to match the functional leaders with targeted expertise. For Rally's sales function, we paired Drew with Brent Holloway, a seasoned SaaS advisor and Stage 2 LP, who not only helped strengthen their foundation but also collaborated with them to build out the science of scaling methodologies.
Building a Data-Driven Growth Engine
To launch the next phase of growth, Rally focused on one key measurement of success: unit economics. Together with Drew, they dug into Rally's sales data across key dimensions, including number of employees, industry, and technographic signals, to uncover patterns that would reshape their strategy and help them target the right companies to achieve favorable unit economics.
"When I arrived, we had a broad definition of our ICP," says Drew. "Working with Brent, we rolled up our sleeves and conducted a detailed analysis of our closed-won and closed-lost data to identify where we were most efficient."
"This wasn’t just a high-level analysis. We built a comprehensive data model that allowed Rally to slice efficiency by employee size, industry, techno-graphics, and more," explains Holloway. "We could spot specific signals like whether a prospect was a Salesforce shop, which turned out to be a strong positive indicator for Rally. This approach helped the team to identify patterns that weren't immediately obvious through traditional analysis."
The analysis uncovered several key insights that have shaped Rally's go-to-market strategy:
- Companies under 500 employees typically weren't a good fit
- Certain technographic signals, like being a Salesforce shop, were strong positive indicators
- Multi-product B2B companies with continuous feature releases showed higher success rates
"We needed to be smart about who we target," Drew says. "With a small BDR team and no head of marketing at the time, efficiency was crucial. Brent's analysis helped us zero in on accounts with the highest likelihood of conversion."
The results of this focused approach quickly materialized. "We've seen their ASP steadily increasing, with recent deals averaging nearly triple what they were a year ago," notes Brent. "By identifying the leading indicators of success, Rally has been able to target prospects more likely to convert at higher values, significantly improving sales efficiency."
Looking for more detail? Hear it firsthand—Drew, Brent, and Mandy break it all down in this short clip.
Quantifying Value for Enterprise Buyers
Now, as Rally moves upmarket, we recognize another common challenge facing early-stage companies: quantifying their value proposition for enterprise buyers.
"Rally was competing against homegrown solutions — a common hurdle for B2B SaaS companies. We've been working closely with their user experience team to better showcase the value of Rally versus internal alternatives," Brent shares. "This has been particularly important as they move upmarket, where enterprises often have existing, if clunky, systems in place."
"We sat down with six or seven customers to understand their justification process," Drew says. "This helped us identify key value drivers like accelerated time-to-market, reduced churn, and expansion revenue opportunities."
One big trend we spotted? AI initiatives. Enterprise clients are using Rally to build panels of AI users, helping them release products faster and meet aggressive revenue targets for new launches. The team developed an ROI calculator that showed both hard dollar savings (reduced need for additional FTEs) and soft benefits (time savings, faster product releases).
Looking Ahead: Efficient Scale in 2025 and Beyond
You know what really gets me excited about Rally? They've stayed laser-focused on efficient growth when it matters most. They’re staying focused on the right customers while adapting their value prop—especially around AI and strategic research.
This focus on efficiency isn't accidental—it's strategic. "Every growth-stage company grapples with the balance between growth and efficiency," explains Brent. "The knee-jerk reaction can be to throw bodies at growth problems, but we're working together to find that sweet spot—adding resources strategically based on data rather than hope."
"We're trying to be really disciplined about who we target," Drew emphasizes. "It's about smart growth, not just growth at any cost." This approach has led to significant improvements in their average deal size and sales efficiency.
Key Takeaways for Founders
What can you learn from Rally’s experience?
- Data-Driven Decision Making: Use data early. Nail your ICP and GTM strategy with real insights (not gut feeling.)
- Focus on Efficiency: Spend wisely. Find your most efficient customer segments and go all-in.
- Value Quantification: Put in the time to understand and document your value proposition through customer interviews and real-world examples.
- Leverage Your Network: Lean on the right people. Great partners don’t just give advice—they hand you the frameworks and insights that drive real results.
- Direct Functional Expertise: Connect department heads directly with relevant experts rather than filtering all advice through the CEO.