When Braze—then known as Appboy—was founded back in 2011, a lot of things were different. Smartphones were just becoming mainstream. Mobile marketing as we know it today was still in its infancy. And Bill Magnuson, one of Appboy's cofounders, was serving as its very first CTO.

At that time, the technology category of "customer engagement platforms" didn't yet exist, but Bill and his cofounders felt strongly that there was a need for a technology that could help brands to better understand and serve their customers across mobile and beyond. That idea was at the core of their business, the north star that the company as a whole was working toward. Fast forward a little over the decade, and the Braze founding team's vision has made it possible for Braze to become a leader in the growing customer engagement category, reaching $100 million in ARR in eight years, then doubling that to $200 million less than 18 months later, before making its debut as a public company at the end of 2021.

Making all that happen and helping to forge your own category takes a lot of doing. At this year's SaaStr Annual, Bill—now the CEO of Braze—walked attendees through that process and shared his conviction that growing at the right speed was critical to the success of Braze...and could be just as important for startups in today's challenging landscape. Check out his full presentation below:

Interested in learning more about Braze? Check out our Product Page for a look at what makes Braze the leader in the customer engagement space.

Want to dig deeper into customer engagement? Learn about all of the key trends in this key part of the marketing landscape in our annual Customer Engagement Review.