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Turning Microsoft 365 Chaos into Growth: How Orchestry Scaled Fast by Centering on Buyer Needs

When Microsoft Teams adoption exploded from 35 million to 115 million daily users in just 10 months, many organizations rushed in without a clear plan. The result? Confusion, duplicated workspaces, governance headaches — and countless frustrated IT teams.

Erica Hakonson, co-founder and CMO of Orchestry, saw the problem early. Along with her co-founders, she built a platform designed to simplify the Microsoft 365 experience, drive adoption, and keep governance visible and collaborative.

The way Orchestry went from idea to revenue-positive in six months offers a roadmap for SaaS founders looking to scale in competitive markets by putting buyer intelligence and positioning at the center of their go-to-market strategy.

Lesson 1: Start with Buyer Research, Not a Feature Wishlist

Orchestry didn’t begin as a product — it began as a research project.

  • The team interviewed Fortune 500 companies and enterprise IT leaders.

  • They uncovered recurring pain points: “What do I use when?”, governance complexity, costly customization, and lack of transparency for end users.

  • Instead of guessing at solutions, they validated the problem across industries and company sizes before writing a single line of code.

Buyer intelligence takeaway: Deep problem discovery ensures your MVP solves the right problems — and gives your marketing a clear, credible message from day one.

Lesson 2: Let MVP Scope Be Guided by Buyer Urgency

When COVID-19 sent millions of workers home, Microsoft Teams adoption skyrocketed. Orchestry’s founders realized they had a narrow window to launch.

They cut non-essential features and focused on three buyer-critical capabilities:

  1. Pre-built workspace templates to cut customization costs.

  2. Transparent governance so users and IT could collaborate.

  3. Streamlined provisioning to reduce IT bottlenecks.

Product strategy takeaway: A launch-ready product that solves today’s pain beats a “perfect” product that arrives after the market window closes.

Lesson 3: Position Beyond the Immediate Use Case

Many competitors focused solely on Teams governance. Orchestry positioned itself differently:

  • Microsoft 365-wide enablement, not just Teams.

  • Integration with SharePoint (a backbone of Teams) that others ignored.

  • A roadmap that extended beyond setup into full lifecycle management — from creation to archiving.

Positioning takeaway: Frame your solution to encompass the buyer’s entire workflow, not just one stage. This widens your market and increases retention potential.

Lesson 4: Build Brand Awareness Before You Launch

Orchestry launched its brand new domain with zero authority — a challenge for any startup. Erica’s marketing playbook:

  • Built a blog under co-founder Michael Pisarek’s domain months before launch.

  • Published high-value educational content on Microsoft Teams and SharePoint governance.

  • Redirected that entire content library to Orchestry.com on launch day, instantly driving targeted traffic.

Marketing takeaway: You can manufacture “day one” visibility by building audience and SEO equity before your product is live.

Lesson 5: Use Education as a Demand Engine

In its first year, Orchestry ran 50+ virtual events — often co-hosted with Microsoft MVPs and partners. Topics ranged from niche compliance features to end-user etiquette in Teams.

This approach:

  • Drove trust by providing actionable, practical advice.

  • Generated a targeted contact list of 1,500+ in under a year.

  • Positioned Orchestry as a thought leader, not just a vendor.

Sales enablement takeaway: Education-first marketing nurtures buyers before they’re ready to buy — and equips your sales team with content that opens doors.

Lesson 6: Turn Partners into Amplifiers

Rather than rely solely on direct sales, Orchestry quickly onboarded 30 reseller partners.

  • Partners brought existing credibility in their verticals.

  • Orchestry equipped them with sales tools, training, and co-marketing support.

Channel strategy takeaway: In complex B2B SaaS, the right partner network can accelerate reach far faster than direct outreach alone.

Lesson 7: Keep Messaging Flexible as the Product Evolves

With every release, Orchestry revisits its messaging.

  • Compliance features brought in heavily regulated industries.

  • Lifecycle management positioned them as essential for long-term governance, not just deployment.

Retention takeaway: Updating your positioning to match new capabilities keeps you relevant to both current customers and new segments.

The SaaS Growth Playbook from Orchestry

  1. Validate problems with research before building.

  2. Prioritize features that solve urgent buyer pain.

  3. Position for the full buyer workflow, not just the entry point.

  4. Build brand authority before you launch.

  5. Use education to drive inbound demand and sales enablement.

  6. Leverage partners to amplify reach.

  7. Evolve messaging with each release to expand your market.

Why this matters for SaaS & tech founders: Orchestry’s rapid growth wasn’t just about timing — it was about understanding the buyer deeply, positioning beyond the immediate need, and using content and partnerships to scale awareness fast. It’s a model that works whether you’re in productivity software, HR tech, fintech, or any niche where complexity slows adoption.