Innosphere Ventures

Transforming scientist-founders into investor-ready CEOs with fundable business models and regulatory strategies. 

▶ Commercial GTM advisor to startup founders who are distilling complex science into solutions addressing broadscale health needs and underserved conditions. Focus on breakthrough products in AI / ML, Digital Health, Diagnostics, BioPharma, MedTech and HealthTech.

Life Sciences Pioneer Council

Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade

Bioscience Subcommittee. Assess research initiatives and startups for Early-Stage Capital and Retention Grants to commercialize innovations in regulated industries: Advanced Manufacturing, Energy, Bioscience and Infrastructure Engineering.

Advanced Industries Advisor

Techstars

Mentor for world’s most active pre-seed investor (~$128B portfolio market cap), coaching AI, SaaS and marketplace founders to become strategic operators and leaders who turn challenges into growth.

▶ Guide revenue, marketing & GTM motions on the path to PMF, de-risking for VC / PE investment.  
▶ Craft novel positioning and sequencing of TAM, ICPs and channels to maximize growth. 
▶ Health, Food, Sports & Hospitality, Retail & Media, Workforce & Education, Finance, Cybersecurity.
▶ Top 1% mentor and Give First Award recipient.

All-Star Mentor, Growth and GTM Advisor

Stratespheric

Boutique fractional CGO / CMO / CRO consultancy partnering with enterprise innovation leaders and market maker AI / SaaS ventures to navigate pivotal growth moments — from launches and rebrands to revenue plateaus and expansion stages.

▶ Engineer B2B / B2B2C GTM engines through differentiated positioning, trust-building thought leadership, and full-funnel PLG / sales-led growth loops that ignite demand and traction. 
▶ Unblock and accelerate sales via deep market and ops analysis, aligning strategy, teams, KPIs, pricing, training and enablement playbooks for scale. 
▶ Guide founders and executive teams on revenue architecture, leadership alignment and commercial readiness — ensuring GTM investments translate into sustainable growth systems.

Select Client Results:
▶ 2x Revenue Growth: Led strategic rebrand and vertical expansion into Finance, incl. thought leadership campaign that drove +5x follower growth, +6x engagement and targeted lead gen in <90 days, enabling sales team to double revenue.
▶ AI-Optimized Content Engine: Designed and deployed human-in-the-loop automation system delivering personalized content for ICPs and enterprise buying committees across customer journey.

Engagement Formats: Growth Architecture Sprints • GTM & Category Creation Strategy • Retained Advisory  → Learn more at https://stratespheric.com

Founder & Chief Growth Officer

Digiphy

AI-powered omnichannel platform for retail brands, connecting physical products to contextual information online at key points in the customer journey. A FastCo 2022 “World Changing Idea”.

Advisory Board Member

Defy Ventures

501(c)(3) mission: halve recidivism & transform lives by enabling entrepreneurial opportunities.

Startup Mentor

LeagueOS

All-in-one gamer OS for esports and drone competition, helping 2/3 of collegiate and high school leagues recruit talent and run tournaments, from signups to streaming.

Growth Advisor

MailOnline

Led global revenue operations and programmatic SaaS P&L for digital commercial team.

▶ Architected global growth & product marketing plan by geo (NA, UK/EMEA, APAC): Enabled more precise brand engagement with platform’s mobile, video & desktop users, exceeding quota every quarter. Realized 35% increase in digital revenue in 1 year.
▶ Optimized data-driven MOps / RevOps foundation: Conducted full-stack audit to secure tech stack and mitigate data and revenue leakage. 
▶ Structured team for scalable growth: Re-org’ed into matrix w/ shared KPIs and integrated CS into sales pods to support enterprise accounts, cutting COGS 7%.
▶ Engineered enterprise expansion and +43% YoY in programmatic sales: Championed API-first, PLG strategy that expanded product interoperability with client ecosystems, unlocking enterprise revenue with key tech partners (e.g., Google, Facebook, AppNexus) and clients (e.g., P&G, Merck).
▶ Launched unified KPI dashboard: Consolidated sales/cash flow reporting and analytics from 7 teams into single source of truth to steer business and corp dev investment strategies.

Global GM

Scripps Networks Interactive

Built GTM engines for new platforms, products and communities at #1 Lifestyle Media network.

▶ Launched commercial strategies to scale new categories ($0 to $10M ARR): Delivered 3x ARR for a real estate platform and 10x growth for a B2B data monetization platform. Partnered cross-functionally with product, pricing, creative, IT, CS, finance and legal, consistently exceeding quota.
▶ Accelerated enterprise pipeline: Structured complex, high-value marketing partnerships with enterprise procurement teams, integrating flagship events, new content / data products to boost ROI.
▶ Forged 100+ data licensing and tech partnerships that powered new audience products, data insights and decision-support content.
▶ Championed industry innovation as a co-founding member of the IAB Programmatic Council, co-authoring influential white papers and promoting tech thought leadership to drive sales.

VP Business Development & Interactive Sales (HGTV, Food Network, Travel Channel)

Trulia

#3 leadership hire and brand evangelist spearheading industry BD and marketing as the company scaled from 10 to 75 people. 

▶ Built first market development strategy to drive adoption of new property platform and freemium subscription business, enabling home experts to promote their expertise to consumers.
▶ Launched content licensing and regional sales backed by thought leadership events, keynotes, white papers and testimonials, securing 90% of target influencer accounts. 
▶ Drove B2B acquisition, paid/earned media and ambassador program, generating 3MM leads.
▶ Recruited key hires and industry advisory board.

VP B2B Development

Strategic growth operator | startup advisor | biz ops + revenue acceleration from GTM to scaleup

Fractional & Interim CGO | Turning pivotal growth moments—launches, scaleups, rebrands and ops resets—into positioning wins and step-change outcomes. From pre-revenue to 9 figures I architect GTM models that translate vision into structure, execution and repeatable success.

As a revenue leader, I design frameworks and engines that translate market signals into operational precision at speed. My focus spans AI, SaaS and enterprise innovation units, where emerging technologies meet complex, evolving markets.

I’ve learned scale takes more than new tactics. It requires reading headwinds and tailwinds early, spotting root-cause blockers, sequencing execution to manage risk, and prioritizing work that truly moves the needle.

Central to my approach is identifying force multipliers: the processes, workflows and people dynamics that unlock performance, fuel 10x growth and spark first-in-kind innovations that become industry standard. I partner with clients and teams to turn complex infrastructure into systematic, compounding revenue—leading operational resets that align product, tech and ops to elevate plateaus into new scale.

Often the biggest growth opportunities appear at inflection points, where value must be reframed amid competitive pressure or shifting customer expectations. That’s where I thrive: crystallizing what matters, aligning teams for the next growth wave, and activating hidden levers that accelerate conversion and momentum.

Focus Areas
• Commercialization & Category Creation - building market trust through data-driven thought leadership
• Engineer GTM Systems - ICPs, pricing, partner prioritization (esp. regulated industry strategies)
• Optimize Growth Ops - align teams, KPIs and workflows to clear blockers and enable scale
• Generate Market Pull - convert market signals into adoption, advocacy and ARR

Proof Points
• Scaled startups and corporate ventures ($0 to 9 figures) through repeatable GTM systems 
• Keynotes at AdWeek, iMedia (US & UK) on digital and data transformation
• Mentor & advisor - Techstars, Innosphere Ventures, Colorado OEDIT
• Cross-industry - Media / Advertising, Cybersecurity, Finance, Real Estate, Hospitality, Food, Health

Core Strengths
Growth & GTM Strategy | Revenue Roadmapping | P&L Leadership | Enterprise & PLG Sales | RevOps & Marketing Ops | Partnerships & Channel Growth  | Systems & Team Orchestration

Engagement
Partnering with founders and executive teams through structured advisory and growth-architecture engagements that drive alignment and measurable outcomes. → https://stratespheric.com

Everyone’s chasing the next go-to-market playbook.
Fewer are looking at their go-to-market systems.
But what if the best GTM lessons came from medicine, not business? 💡

The difference between GTM momentum and stagnation often comes down to one thing: how you diagnose the system itself. And medicine offers a surprisingly relevant parallel.

🩺 The U.S. healthcare system is far from perfect—still wrestling with legacy structures and profit pressures. Yet there’s something we business operators across industries could learn from clinicians who’ve shifted from symptom relief to root-cause discovery.

Clinicians have become increasingly vocal about the limits of treating pain without addressing its source. The same principle applies to GTM strategy.

Throughout 2025, this “pain-relief” approach to GTM has only become more visible, especially as AI adoption accelerates. Comparing my own observations with those of other GTM operators and strategists (from GrowthX to Lenny’s Newsletter to Building Momentum), a clear pattern emerges:

👉 We’re chasing symptoms, not systems.
That’s the problem—when we analyze pain points instead of the full system, we miss root causes beneath them. 

▶ Symptom: Pipeline softness → Double down on Google Ads or hire a seller from a hot logo 
▶ Root cause: Misaligned ICP, outdated positioning, limited brand awareness, or hiring someone who’s never sold at your business stage

▶ Symptom: Declining engagement → Buy another tool 
▶ Root cause: Message–market disconnect, friction in handoffs, mispriced offer, or no wedge product to ignite early advocacy

▶ Symptom: Slowed momentum → Swap tactics or teams 
▶ Root cause: Skipped ops audit, no sprint-level tracking to learn what truly moves the needle, insufficient discovery before scaling, or out-of-order GTM sequencing

🧬 Healthcare still has progress to make, but what it did get right is this move toward systems-based precision medicine, integrating feedback loops and data-driven insights instead of episodic treatment.

Similarly, growth maturity comes from treating GTM as a science—a living system you test, measure and evolve.

📈 Playbooks become dynamic artifacts that capture iteration and insight, enabling a holistic view of the systems in play and more precise diagnosis of where the commercial engine needs calibration. And that work starts before you grow.

Businesses that scale sustainably treat GTM like high-precision clinical practice:

🔍 Diagnose before prescribing
🧩 Map dependencies before deploying
⚙️ Treat the whole system, not the symptom or pain point

Yes, playbooks and software still matter—but only when embedded in a living, learning, agile system.

In health and in business, lasting progress begins when we stop chasing pain and start studying patterns and triggers across our systems to uncover—and fix—root causes.

#GoToMarket #GTMStrategy #SystemsThinking #GrowthStrategy #BusinessStrategy

Kelly Roark

Growth & Revenue Architect | Fractional / Interim CGO | Scaling AI / SaaS Ventures & Enterprise Innovation Units From Key Inflection Points to 9 Figures

Talk about 'category creation' and watch the debate start instantly. Here’s why ⬇️

True category creation rarely means inventing something entirely new.

It’s about reframing your positioning—how people see a problem, and how your product fits into that new frame.

⚠️ Used in the wrong situation, your growth can stall. 
🚀 Used strategically, it can be a powerful way to build market leadership and longevity.

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗜𝘁 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀

1️⃣ 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁, 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀
If your product is additive, a new category helps you reach audiences who don’t identify with existing solutions. Reframing the problem makes your product relatable to a fresh segment — and once you win them, demand can ripple into adjacent audiences.

2️⃣ 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁, 𝗻𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀
If you’re ahead of your time, category creation bridges today’s reality and tomorrow’s possibility. You’re normalizing the unfamiliar — giving people a framework to understand what’s next.

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗜𝘁 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀

Take 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗲’𝘀 𝗔𝗜 𝗣𝗶𝗻, the much-hyped “post-smartphone” wearable. Innovative and ambitious, it aimed to define a new category of ambient AI computing, but couldn’t connect future vision to present behavior. The tech wasn’t ready, the story wasn’t grounded, and audiences couldn’t see themselves in it. A $700+ product, now discontinued within a year.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲

Category creation isn’t a viral moment — it’s a long-term education campaign. You’re teaching people to think differently, and that takes repetition, patience and clarity.

The mistake? Launching a mass movement too soon.

🎯 The smarter play: focus on a niche with unmet needs, speak directly to them, and let early adopters become your advocates. That’s how network effects start.

Market dominance and premium valuation are possible — but only if you’re willing to play the long game with precision and persistence.

💬 Bottom line: Category creation is positioning, not product magic. Use it strategically — or risk spending years educating a market that never materializes.

#CategoryCreation #PositioningStrategy #GoToMarket #GrowthMarketing #BusinessStrategy

☕ Return of the “third place” — 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄

For years, the local coffee shop has been a centerpiece of casual connection. 

In 2024, total U.S. coffee shops surpassed 𝟰𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬 — 𝗮 𝟳% 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 from pre-pandemic levels (𝘉𝘪𝘨𝘴 𝘊𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘦, 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴).

But it wasn’t always that way.  There was a time when coffee came one way: drip black, or with creamer.  Then Starbucks sparked a revolution around 𝗰𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆, rapid-scaling to >17K stores in the U.S.

Now their growth is coming full circle, with a recent announcement to phase out many of its mobile-order pickup-only stores (𝘍𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘊𝘰, 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴).  CEO Brian Niccol admitted the format had become “transactional” — lacking “the warmth and human connection that defines our brand.” 

The company aims to return to its roots as a place of gathering and conversation, a move that reflects broader social shifts that have emerged since the pandemic.👇

1️⃣ 𝗔𝗺𝗯𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁
Many who transitioned to home work discovered how quiet (or chaotic) our homes could be. Have you ever said: "It's too quiet — I can't think"?

Research shows that moderate background noise (~50–70 dB) — like the ambient hum of people, baristas and cups clinking at a café — can boost creativity, focus, abstract thinking and productivity. It's no surprise then that soundscape apps like Coffitivity and Insight Timer stream coffee shop vibes.

2️⃣ 𝗖𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁-𝘂𝗽𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗿 
With more people working remotely or hybrid, the coffee shop is the new water cooler — fueling conversation, collaboration and the cultural glue that remote work eroded. 

3️⃣ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼-𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 
Demand for co-working remains strong, but many remote workers are gravitating more to coffee shops for proximity, variety and savings.  Some cafés are even leaning in — offering day-passes, memberships, power outlets, wifi and more comfortable seating.

☕ So as the world’s largest coffee brand doubles down on “stay-and-savor” patrons and explores how customers connect and foster community, what does our “third place” look like in a sustained hybrid world?

As a self-described indie coffee shop connoisseur who loves them for the great coffee and "third place" community vibe, I'm also asking myself: 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗯𝘂𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘂𝗿-𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿? 

#HybridWork #FutureOfWork #CoffeeCulture #ThirdPlace #WorkplaceTrends #Starbucks

A white coffee cup in focus at a cozy café, with warm lighting and wooden tables — representing connection and community.

👑 We’re living through a 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗼𝘅 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲-𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 in real time. 

🏢 Companies are centralizing fast —fueled by AI and automation that’s enabling exponential scale, data and capital concentrations like we’ve never seen before. 

At the same time, 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴. People are going fractional and entrepreneurial, building portfolios of work instead of climbing single ladders. 🪜

That tension is rewriting the 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 📄 in an economy that is part empire, part ecosystem. 

 In this dual system, so many of us are witnessing how the old top-down “company loyalty” contract no longer holds. Loyalty now exists in more of a constellation structure:

▶ 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 — built on trust that can move from one engagement to the next.
▶ 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 — rooted in transparency and mutual growth, not tenure.
▶ 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗱 — distributed across people, communities and shared missions.

👉 We’re loyal to impact, to reputation, to the ecosystems that help us do our best work.
🔗We’re loyal to the infrastructure that empowers us — the networks that enable growth, visibility and purpose, where we can create value fastest, not necessarily where they’re employed longest.

 💡For leaders, that changes everything.

The next loyalty advantage won’t come from retention policies or perks. 
It will come from 𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗿𝗯𝗶𝘁 🌍 — creating gravitational trust and spaces powerful enough that people want to return. 

Because in this age of empires, 𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗹𝘁𝘆 𝗻𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱.
It scales by connection. 🤝

#FutureOfWork #OrganizationalDesign #Entrepreneurship #EcosystemEconomy #BusinessLeadership

🚫 Stop selling to buyers. 🔁 Start recruiting believers.

When you’re introducing something new, most founders and product marketers zero in on the ICP and the buying committee.

 But that’s only half the opportunity.

Every offering lives inside an ecosystem of influence — where competitors, partners, early adopters, laggards, analysts, advisors, and even investors whisper in the buyer’s ear. Each of them shapes the narrative that either accelerates or stalls your deal flow.

⚠️ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲?  Positioning your story 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺.

We’ve all been there — staying laser-focused on the ICP and product.

 But the more strategic play is to 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿 in the system. That means showing:

▶ 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 how they’ll gain credibility and influence by being first.
▶ 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 how they can plug into your orbit to win bigger deals or better differentiate.
▶ 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝘁𝘀 & 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘀 how you’re solving an unserved problem their clients keep surfacing — and how they can help others see it first.
▶ 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 how your existence expands the market, not just splits it.
▶ 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 how you’re de-risking the space for them.

The goal isn’t to make everyone an advocate — it’s to ensure no one becomes a blocker.

 When more players understand your value, you create a 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥.

 They start reinforcing your message inside their own circles — often unintentionally.

That’s when selling gets easier.
 Buyers start hearing your story before you ever reach them.
 Deals move faster. Trust builds earlier.
 And what began as a “new product” becomes a 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺.

That’s the real power of ecosystem positioning — you’re not just creating demand, you’re building alignment.

#CategoryCreation #GoToMarket #EcosystemBuilding #StartupGrowth #SalesStrategies

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