Attracting B2B tech investors with Liam McLaughlin, Managing Partner, Europe at Clarity

Attracting B2B tech investors with Liam McLaughlin, Managing Partner, Europe at Clarity

For high‑growth B2B tech brands, the next funding round or IPO is no longer just a financial milestone – it is a communications stress test. Investors are bringing AI‑driven tools, sharper scrutiny and higher expectations into every decision. The companies that win are those that can match strong numbers with a compelling, consistent story. In this episode of the FINITE Podcast, Jodi Norris sits down with Liam McLaughlin [https://www.linkedin.com/in/liam-mclaughlin-5106572/], Managing Partner at Clarity Europe, to unpack how CMOs and marketing leaders can actively prepare for their next raise or listing through comms and marketing. They explore where tech investment is flowing today, why AI is fueling a renewed funding boom, and what it really takes to move from “interesting startup” to “serious international player” in the eyes of investors. Liam breaks investor attraction down into three pillars: authenticity, narrative and AI visibility. He shares practical examples from an EV charging infrastructure client on the road to IPO, and a fintech brand using AI visibility programmes to show up consistently across search, executives, media and analysts – and, crucially, inside LLMs. Liam has almost 20 years of integrated communications experience, working with global technology brands including Oracle, NetApp and EMC, as well as consumer names such as Canva, Clearscore and eBay. As Managing Partner of Clarity Europe, he has led communications strategies for brands navigating major funding rounds and public offerings across the UK and Europe. Inside you’ll find… * How to build an authentic, investor‑ready brand story that goes beyond “AI‑washing” * A practical framework for aligning spokespeople, channels and proof points over a multi‑year funding journey * Why AI visibility is now a core stakeholder in investor relations – and how to measure and optimise it

#186 - Positioning for Category Leadership and True Differentiation, with Matt Hodkinson, Co-Founder and CEO at Tylt

Many B2B technology brands are falling into the same trap: slapping the "AI-powered" label onto their solutions and hoping it acts as a differentiator. But when everyone claims the same capability, it becomes a baseline expectation rather than a competitive advantage. If your marketing feels like a constant uphill battle, the problem might not be your channels or tactics - it could be your foundational positioning. In this episode of the Finite Podcast, Jodi Norris sits down with Matt Hodkinson to explore why positioning is the single most critical lever for sustainable commercial growth. They unpack the dangers of generic category labels, why simply caring more or having years of experience isn't enough to stand out, and how to build a commercial promise that deeply resonates with enterprise buyers. Matt explains why poor positioning is like a bad diet - no amount of marketing heavy lifting can outwork it. Matt Hodkinson [https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthodkinson/] is the Co-Founder and CEO at Tylt [https://tylt.consulting/], a specialist consultancy that helps technology firms and consultancies achieve category leadership. With a background in technology consulting and over a decade running a successful inbound marketing agency, Matt brings a unique, dual perspective to the structural challenges of go-to-market strategy. He now focuses entirely on helping businesses hone their differentiation and messaging to escape the sea of sameness.  Inside you’ll find… * Why treating AI as a differentiator is a critical mistake in today's homogeneous tech market. * The difference between surface-level messaging and deep, structural category leadership. * How to balance the need for search discoverability with the necessity of a polarising, standout brand identity.

#185 - Is SaaS Really Dead? AI Agents, Vibe Coding and Repositioning with Antony Cousins, VP Marketing at Meltwater

After a trillion‑dollar sell‑off in software stocks and the so‑called “SaaSpocalypse”, it is not just founders who are nervous - CMOs and marketing leaders are questioning the future of their products and positioning. In this episode of the FINITE Podcast we sit down with Antony Cousins [https://www.linkedin.com/in/antony-cousins/], VP Product at Meltwater, to interrogate the death‑of‑SaaS narrative head‑on. They unpack how investor decks, agentic AI and vibe‑coded tools like Claude Cowork have fuelled the story that AI will replace subscriptions.  Ant brings a rare perspective, combining a career in Ministry of Defence tech roles with frontline communications work in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Arab Spring, leadership in AI startups and now product leadership at Meltwater. He has spent the last decade at the intersection of AI, media intelligence and reputation. If you are a B2B marketing leader wondering how AI will affect your revenue, this conversation will help you separate existential risk from lazy narrative – and design for growth, not just survival. Inside you’ll find… * Why “SaaS is dead” is an oversimplified narrative – and where AI agents and vibe‑coded tools genuinely threaten software. * How data moats, long‑term memory and UX become the defensible edge in an AI‑native SaaS ecosystem. * What CMOs and agencies should change now: commercial models, junior hiring and how they collaborate with software providers.

#184 - Disruptive Technology, Adaptation and Hyper‑Growth with Caitlin Allen, SVP of Market and Chair at Simbe Robotics

B2B technology is shifting at an unprecedented pace. As traditional sectors grapple with supply chain pressures, shifting workforces, and the demand for personalisation, new frontiers like hardware-as-a-service and physical AI are moving from peripheral concepts to essential infrastructure. For marketers, the challenge is clear: how do you build a category and drive adoption for a disruptive technology that fundamentally changes how the world works? In this episode of the FINITE Podcast, Jodi Norris sits down with Caitlin Allen [https://www.linkedin.com/in/caitlinrallen/] to unpack the mechanics of category creation and how marketers can spot market signals, tipping points, and growth opportunities within emerging tech. They explore the nuances of marketing robotics, how to structure a team to create FOMO (fear of missing out) while helping buyers overcome their fear of messing up, and the structural forces reshaping B2B go-to-market motions. Caitlin Allen is a seasoned marketing leader who has spent two decades building markets for transformative technologies before they are part of a P&L. She has helped scale category-defining companies across venture capital, deep tech, and consumer platforms—including serving on the executive teams that led Lyft through its IPO and Happy Returns to its acquisition by PayPal, as well as advising ambitious startups as a Partner at Andreessen Horowitz. She is currently the SVP of Market and Chair at Simbe, where she is pioneering Physical AI and bringing "Store Intelligence" to the $28T physical retail economy. Caitlin shares her refined methodology for taking complex, multi-threaded sales cycles to market. She discusses how she conquered narrative homogeny in the robotics space, the five questions every buyer needs to answer during a paradigm shift, and how she integrates an intricate network of AI agents into her team’s daily operations - from persona-specific bots and Reddit monitors to leadership coaching agents. If you want to understand how to position disruptive technology and orchestrate a category-defining marketing strategy, this conversation is a must-listen.

#183 - The 2026 CMO: AI, Smaller Teams and the New Rules of Marketing Leadership with Kat Wendelstadt, CMO at Electric Twin

The traditional CMO career path is disappearing. Senior marketers are now expected to be strategists and builders - able to vibe code landing pages, wire up automations, understand agents, and ship prototypes alongside leading teams and shaping narrative. So what does a successful marketing leader actually look like in 2026? In this episode of the Finite Podcast, Jodi Norris sits down with Kat Wendelstadt to unpack how AI, economic pressure, and changing expectations are reshaping marketing leadership.  They explore why director and CMO roles are getting rarer, why salaries in some areas are dropping, and how AI is simultaneously shrinking team sizes and raising the bar for individual marketers. Kat Wendelstadt [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kat-wendelstadt-gtm?originalSubdomain=uk] is a seasoned go-to-market leader and startup advisor with a track record of scaling companies from early stage to billion-dollar valuations. A former GTM lead at Microsoft and three-time CMO, she has co-founded and advised ventures backed by investors including Sam Altman, Bill Gates, and the venture firm Founders Fund. She now leads marketing at Electric Twin [https://www.electrictwin.com/], where she focuses on bringing its AI-driven synthetic audience technology to market.   Kat shares how she’s rebuilt her own skill set to stay ahead — from going deep on one AI platform, to building plugins and automations herself, to rethinking how and when to hire humans versus agents. She talks candidly about cognitive load, burnout risk, and why “having options” should be the north star of every marketer’s career. If you want to stay employable (and in demand) as a modern marketing leader, this conversation is a must-listen.