Five Years In: A Conversation with the Co-Founders of Energize Marketing

Co-founders David Steifman and Michael Greenhut reflect on the five-year journey of building Energize Marketing, from its early vision to what has remained constant as B2B marketing rapidly evolved.

While marketing tools, automation, and channels have changed dramatically, Energize Marketing’s core belief has remained the same: strong content, trusted audiences, and real buyer engagement drive growth. To mark the company’s fifth anniversary, Steifman and Greenhut share what’s changed, what hasn’t, and how the company has grown alongside its customers.

Q: What originally motivated you to start Energize Marketing?

D: While leading well-known B2B media brands, we saw a clear gap in the market. Even with large audiences, many programs struggled to scale lead generation while maintaining audience quality. More importantly, we wanted to work more closely with customers, understand their goals, and help drive real outcomes.

That insight led to the launch of Energize Marketing as a full-funnel demand generation provider and digital media network. By bringing together trusted audiences, strong content, and deeper customer partnerships, we built a model that better serves how B2B marketers operate today.

M: When I look back at the broader digital transformation movement and the rising expectations placed on today’s marketers, launching Energize Marketing could not have come at a better time. Marketing teams were being asked to deliver pipeline, prove impact, and operate with a higher level of accountability than ever before.

Our early customers recognized that shift immediately. They saw the opportunity to approach demand generation differently, with a stronger focus on quality and execution. Many of those same customers are still with us today, just operating at a much larger scale, which says a lot about the foundation we built early on.

Q: When you look back at year one, what stands out most to you now?

M: What stands out most is the timing. We launched Energize Marketing during the pandemic, at a moment when the entire B2B marketing playbook was being rewritten. Field marketers suddenly had budgets that were no longer tied to face-to-face events and were actively looking for ways to reallocate spend into demand generation and digital experiences.

We were nimble and able to respond quickly. Launching the TechEvents brand allowed us to help customers stay connected to their audiences through online events at a time when engagement mattered more than ever. That early focus on flexibility and execution set the tone for how we’ve continued to operate.

D: From my perspective, even in those early days, we were very focused on account-based marketing and helping B2B marketers scale content syndication and full-funnel programs globally. Customers weren’t just looking for vendors, they were looking for partners who understood how to reach the right accounts with the right message, regardless of region.

That mindset helped us build long-term relationships early on. Over time, we’ve continued to deepen our audiences, strengthen our technology stack, and modernize our approach to keep pace with how buyers and marketing teams operate today. The foundation we set in year one has continued to guide how we grow and evolve.

Q: The B2B marketing landscape has changed rapidly over the past five years. What shifts had the biggest impact on how you operate today?

D: One of the biggest shifts has been the rise of accountability as a core operating requirement for marketing. Over the past five years, demand generation has moved decisively from activity-based reporting to revenue-based accountability. Marketing teams are no longer measured by how much they do, but by what actually converts into qualified pipeline.

That shift has influenced how we design programs from the start. We think more deliberately about attribution models, qualification frameworks, and how engagement data connects to downstream outcomes. It’s not about chasing every signal or overcomplicating measurement. It’s about clarity, making sure marketers and sales teams can trust what the data is telling them and act on it with confidence. That mindset has become central to how we operate.

M: From an operational standpoint, the biggest change has been the expectation that demand generation functions as a system, not a collection of tactics. Most organizations now have access to intent data, automation, and analytics. The challenge is no longer adoption, it’s activation.

That reality has changed how we work with clients. We spend more time aligning on definitions, handoffs, and execution models so programs hold up once they’re live. The pipeline mandate has raised the bar for consistency. Programs need to be repeatable, measurable, and scalable across regions and buying groups. That shift has pushed us to operate with greater discipline, helping clients turn insight into action rather than just reporting on activity.

Q: Despite all of that change, what has stayed consistent in Energize Marketing’s approach?

D: What’s stayed consistent is how deeply we understand the realities B2B marketers face. Buying journeys are complex, audiences are harder to reach, and expectations for impact keep rising. From the beginning, our focus has been on helping marketers bridge that gap, connecting real buyers to enterprise organizations through trusted audiences and thoughtful activation.

We’ve always believed in account-based thinking, quality over volume, and meeting buyers where they are in their journey. While the tools, channels, and technology have evolved, that philosophy hasn’t changed. What has evolved is how we execute against it, continually expanding our audiences, strengthening our data and technology, and modernizing our solutions so we stay relevant not just today, but well beyond the next five years.

M: From a client perspective, what’s remained consistent is how we show up as a partner. We’ve always believed that working with Energize Marketing should feel like being part of your team, approachable, collaborative, and grounded in experience. Our senior team stays close to the work, and that hands-on involvement makes a real difference.

We bring deep account-based expertise and a practical understanding of how demand generation actually operates inside organizations. That means listening closely, adapting to each client’s reality, and building programs that can scale without losing quality. No matter how much the market changes, our commitment to partnership, execution, and helping clients succeed in a measurable way has stayed the same.

Q: How have customer expectations evolved, and how has Energize Marketing adapted to meet them?

M: Customer expectations have become far more outcome-driven. A few years ago, many teams were still focused on activity, leads, or channel performance in isolation. Today, customers expect demand generation programs to clearly connect to qualified pipeline and to hold up under executive scrutiny.

What’s changed most is the expectation for operational maturity. Clients want programs that are repeatable, scalable, and aligned across marketing and sales, not one-off campaigns that look good on paper but break down in execution. We’ve adapted by focusing just as much on process, handoff, and activation as we do on audience and content. That means helping clients move from adoption to execution, turning signals, intent, and engagement into something sales teams can actually use.

D: I’d add that customers are also expecting more credibility and relevance at every stage of the buyer journey. Buyers are more informed, more selective, and often part of larger buying groups, which means generic outreach no longer works. Marketing teams are being asked to deliver experiences that respect buyer time, reflect real insight, and support decision making, not just awareness.

We’ve adapted by doubling down on our audience solution, research-led content, and programs that balance speed with substance. That includes helping customers design full-funnel strategies where content, engagement, and measurement work together as a system. The expectation today isn’t just to generate demand, but to generate confidence, internally with sales teams and externally with buyers.

Q: Is there a moment or milestone over the past five years that you are especially proud of?

M: One of the moments I’m most proud of is seeing TechChannels become a true go-to destination for B2B professionals worldwide. Building a global audience takes time, consistency, and a real commitment to quality.

What’s been especially rewarding is pairing that growth with the ongoing, positive feedback we receive from customers—seeing our work directly help them achieve ambitious demand goals and hearing that we’re viewed as a true partner, not just a vendor.

Watching our editorial, research, and content teams build an authority led ecosystem that both practitioners rely on and customers trust to drive real outcomes reinforces a core belief for us: reliable content, quality audiences, and strong partnerships are still at the heart of effective demand generation.

D: For me, it’s seeing our solutions recognized by both customers and the industry. Being named Most Effective Lead Generation and Content Syndication Vendor twice, and Best Webinar Partner by the Cybersecurity Marketing Society is meaningful, not just because of the recognition, but because it reflects the outcomes our clients are achieving.

Those awards validate the approach we’ve taken to full-funnel demand generation across TechResources, our lead generation brand, and TechTalks, our webinar platform. It’s reassuring to see that what we’ve built over the past five years is working, and exciting to think about how much more is still ahead.

Q: As you look ahead to the next phase of Energize Marketing, what excites you most, and what insights from the 2026 State of Demand Generation Report stand out to you right now?

D: The data now clearly reflects what we’ve believed since day one. We found that 52% of marketers rank driving qualified pipeline as their top priority, and more than 90% include pipeline, account based marketing (ABM), or lead quality among their top goals.

That shift signals a more mature market. The focus has moved away from volume for volume’s sake toward outcomes sales teams actually trust. Buyers are more informed, buying groups are more complex, and marketing is being held accountable in new ways. That reality aligns directly with how we approach demand generation, with an emphasis on trusted content, real buyer intent, and programs designed to support the full funnel.

M: The trends emerging in the market are increasingly supported by clear data signals. At B2B Marketing Live London 2025, conversations with marketers from across EMEA consistently pointed to the same priorities: pipeline, quality, and activation. Those discussions closely mirrored what our research is showing and helped frame where demand generation is headed next.

40% of organizations now prioritize scaling account based marketing, making it the second highest strategic focus after pipeline creation. That perspective was echoed on the show floor, where senior marketers spoke less about ABM as a concept and more about building repeatable, operational processes around it.

This underscores the growing importance of execution and discipline. The right data, trusted audiences, and consistent activation across channels matter more than ever. As Energize Marketing enters its next chapter, the focus remains on helping clients operationalize ABM and demand generation in ways that work day to day and deliver measurable impact.

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To dive deeper into the insights highlighted in this conversation, read the full 2026 State of Demand Generation Report, based on research from marketing and revenue leaders across the industry.

Read the full report: https://www.energize-marketing.com/globalstateofdemandgen2026insights