The founders were building a new UI for their own internal software. It was their external marketing firm, not them, who recognized the tool could be packaged and sold as a standalone modernization product, which became their flagship offering.
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Cues' initial product was a specialized AI design agent. However, they observed that users were more frequently uploading files to use it as a knowledge base. Recognizing this emergent behavior, they pivoted to a more horizontal product, which was key to their rapid growth and product-market fit.
Instead of treating consulting and product as separate, CNX uses feedback from services projects to inform new features. A requested customization is often built directly into the core Valence product, benefiting all customers and creating a tight feedback loop.
During a transformation from services to product, identify and commercialize the reusable tools that services teams have already built to support clients. Instead of starting from scratch, productizing these existing "mini-products" aligns them with the broader product strategy, saves development time, and leverages proven solutions.
Instead of building a consumer brand from scratch, a technologically innovative but unknown company can license its core tech to an established player. This go-to-market strategy leverages the partner's brand equity and distribution to reach customers faster and validate the technology without massive marketing spend.
In 2006, while evaluating UI technologies, the founder discovered the ext.js framework. Within five minutes, he had a "eureka moment," becoming convinced it was the future of all web applications. He made a high-conviction bet to go all-in on the nascent technology, which became the foundation of their flagship product.
The "build it and they will come" mindset is a trap. Founders should treat marketing and brand-building not as a later-stage activity to be "turned on," but as a core muscle to be developed in parallel with the product from day one.
The origin of CNX wasn't a meticulously planned venture. The two co-founders were colleagues who, frustrated with their boss, impulsively quit their jobs together. The company was born out of that moment with no plan and no money, forcing them to be resourceful from day one.
For years, CNX turned down acquisition offers from firms that only wanted to "milk the existing customer base of maintenance" and halt development. They ultimately sold to Izzy Software because it presented an exciting vision for growing the product, not just harvesting it.
CNX discovered that its target users—backend RPG programmers—struggled with or were uninterested in modern UI/UX design. This realization led them to build a low-code tool to provide guardrails and ensure consistent, modern front-ends without requiring front-end expertise.
In a product-led world, the B2B concept of 'founder-led sales' evolves into 'founder-led marketing.' Founders must deeply own the brand's narrative. This means personally onboarding key influencers and being the first to learn how to tell the story broadly, ensuring the message is right before scaling the function.
