Landing Enterprise Buyers with a Technical Advisory Board

Grafbase is a next-generation GraphQL Federation platform built for enterprise organizations to manage APIs at scale. Their customers span highly regulated industries like finance and banking, where speed, security, and adoption are critical.

Grafbase was preparing to launch a new product designed for AI-forward enterprises, but needed to validate its positioning, feature set, and roadmap directly with decision-makers. The challenge: how to get into the room with top CISOs and enterprise security leaders quickly—buyers who are notoriously difficult to access and who demand trust before engaging.

QC Growth deployed a Technical Advisory Board (TAB) strategy to bridge product development with enterprise buyer validation. The TAB model creates a two-way channel where target buyers advise on product direction, while startups build trust and establish relationships that can convert into pipeline.

For Grafbase, this looked like:

• TAB Design & Execution: Identified and recruited leading CISOs and security experts on the forefront of AI.
• Meeting Acceleration: Within 30 days, Grafbase secured 20+ meetings with top CISOs, establishing direct feedback loops and relationships.
• Product Validation: Leveraged TAB insights to refine the roadmap and ensure the new offering aligned with enterprise buyer needs.
• Pipeline Creation: Turned advisory conversations into early sales opportunities while building long-term trust.

The TAB strategy delivered measurable results for Grafbase’s new product launch:

• 20+ CISO meetings secured in the first 30 days.
• $2M+ in qualified pipeline built around the new product offering.
• A clear product roadmap informed by direct buyer feedback.
• Stronger positioning as a trusted partner for AI-forward enterprises in highly regulated industries.

Grafbase now has both the pipeline and the product confidence to scale their newest offering, ensuring they continue building solutions their users love—validated by the very buyers they aim to serve.