Motiv: Launching a B2B App for Small Businesses During COVID-19

How a privacy-first product and a partner-led launch hit first-year subscription goals in six months

At a glance
Company: Eturi (makers of OurPact and Motiv)
My role: Director of Marketing. I owned positioning, segmentation and go-to-market.
Audience: Small business owners managing newly remote teams
Channels: Partnerships, beta program, PR, app store and search, LinkedIn, sales collateral

The Challenge
When COVID-19 sent teams home overnight, small business owners suddenly had to manage people they couldn't see. The tools on the market were built for enterprises. They were complex, expensive and often required software on company computers. For a 10- or 50-person business, they were simply out of reach.

Eturi's engineering team saw the gap and built an MVP of Motiv in a matter of weeks: a simple dashboard for remote leaders that required nothing to be installed on employees' computers. The product was ready fast. The question was how to reach a fragmented, time-starved audience with no brand awareness and a new category to explain.

The Strategy
Small business owners don't trust ads from companies they've never heard of. They trust other business owners and the organizations that already serve them. So rather than lead with paid media, I built the launch around credibility first and used paid channels to amplify it.

What I Did
Recruited Premier Partners. I enlisted small business owners in San Diego and Los Angeles as beta testers. They got early access, helped shape the feature roadmap and became the testimonials behind our website, ads and collateral.

Partnered with the SBA. I secured partnerships with Small Business Administration offices in San Diego, Los Angeles, Dallas, Seattle and other key markets. That gave us email list access, sponsorship of their virtual conferences and placement in their ongoing email and social communications. We reached our exact audience through a source they already trusted.

Equipped sales for a remote world. I created interactive brochures built for sharing over email and Zoom, since in-person selling was off the table.

Drove downloads where decisions happen. I developed App Store and Google Play messaging, search and ads, plus LinkedIn campaigns targeted to specific small business categories.

Built launch momentum with PR. I issued press releases for the launch and for each major upgrade, so the product kept earning attention after day one.

The Results
Reached first-year subscription goals within six months, on budget
80% active usage at the six-month mark
90% of users upgraded to a paid plan
45% of users chose the highest upgrade tier

Why It Matters
Motiv shows how I approach every launch. The same programs built the brand and drove revenue at once. The beta partners gave us product feedback and our best marketing content. The SBA partnerships delivered awareness and qualified downloads. And the retention and upgrade numbers show we attracted the right customers, not just the most customers.