---
title: "Episode 8: Mickey Alon and James McDermott | B2B Category Creators Podcast"
url: https://metadata.io/resources/podcasts/b2b-category-creators/episode-8-mickey-alon-and-james-mcdermott
description: "Mickey Alon (CTO, Gainsight PX) and James McDermott (CEO, Lytics) discuss category disruption vs creation, company longevity, and investor relations on the B2B Category Creators podcast."
source: metadata.io
---

Gil Allouche talks category creation with two B2B pioneers who changed the game when it comes to the Customer Data Platform (CDP) category, and product-led growth approach. Panelists for this episode include:

- James McDermott, CEO of Lytics and creator of the CDP category
- Mickey Alon, CTO of Gainsight PX and influential in the Product-Led Growth movement

## Or watch the video

**You’ll walk away from this episode with an understanding of:**

- the pros and cons of category disruption vs category creation
- why most companies don’t survive to the ten-year mark
- how to avoid common early mistakes when finding an investor

**BONUS!**

James tells Gil about a time during fundraising when his rental car got towed and he had to run clear across downtown SF to make his next pitch. It was the worst impression he had ever made on a potential investor, but he was still able to convince them to believe enough to invest!