Grow a People-Focused Business: Gaby Israel Grinberg

Gaby Israel Grinberg, Co-Founder and Chief Experience Officer at Proofpoint, is out to radically change the standard for how marketing agencies work with clients and employees – doing business in a human-focused way.  

Proofpoint is a fully remote, distributed and flexible B2B revenue marketing agency with clients in manufacturing, med tech, health tech, and professional services. Founded by Gaby and her husband Mike, the agency is in growth-mode and cultivating its people-first approach – across employee management, marketing output, and client relationships.  

"We want to be a beacon for how marketing agencies can operate and how employees can have both work-life balance and professional fulfillment at an agency.”

On track to scale her business to eight figures, Gaby is always looking for tools and processes that drive growth while maintaining a human touch. She insists this effort is core to creating brand value and long-term successful client relationships: 

“The brands, the companies, the agencies that are going to win in the end are the ones that remember to keep that personalized touch.”

One of the challenges of being a small business, Gaby notes, is the “barrage of unsolicited pitches for products and services.” 

She continues, “There are a lot of not-so-well-intentioned individuals and businesses that think they can pull a fast one on you to make a buck.  These messages are often delivered as a blanketed approach, very tone-deaf and very self-centered.” 

“You can hit unsubscribe or delete or whatever, but it's still time away from your day. It’s still a drain of your mental energy.”

As a thoughtful marketer who respects the effort of salespeople, Gaby had a policy of sending a response to every cold email outreach she received. Although her considerate effort created some valuable connections, it also stole precious hours away from her growing business. 

On Monday, January 3rd, 2022, Gaby found herself facing an overwhelming tide of New Year’s sales solicitations.  You know the kind (“II hope this finds you well…”)  

The barrage was, in Gaby’s words: “an inundation of cold emails that hit an absolutely insane level.” 

In those first weeks of the new year, with a growing business to focus on, Gaby turned to Gated for help. 

“It was instantly a game-changer because it immediately and automatically started filtering out the kinds of messages I don't find valuable, I don’t want to pay attention to, and I don’t have any intention of taking action on.”

Now Gaby only sees messages from sellers who value her time.  And yes, each one earns a response in return!  She smiles as she says, “Now with Gated, I can shed myself of the guilt of not responding to people in my inbox.”

Overall, the solution set a precedent for how Gaby and her team could be both communicative and efficient in the fast-paced world of B2B demand generation.  

"The inbox had become a free-for-all, but it really needs to be a more sacred place. People and businesses should earn the right to be there."

Tthe rewards of Gated don't stop with increased productivity. "(Gated) is so intimately and intricately tied with giving back. It really aligns with the ethos and the values that we have at Proofpoint."

Within the first week of using Gated, Gaby received a donation for her chosen cause, the March of Dimes. Having had their daughter prematurely, Gaby and Mike are active advocates for preemies and their families.  

Gaby appreciates how Gated also provides value for well-meaning, eager-to-learn salespeople: 

“I think Gated fundamentally solves a lot of problems we have when it comes to communicating with our intended audience.”

Looking back, Gaby regrets waiting so long to get Gated.  She hesitated because she thought it might be “one more tool I have to set up. One more thing I have to do."  

In the end, she was pleasantly surprised by the lack of friction involved in setting-up Gated: "Figuring things out was pretty intuitive for me… It was easy and seamless. And the resources on the [Gated] website were surprisingly helpful. So often, the Help section can be more confusing than it needs to be, and Gated does a great job spelling things out."

In a culture of increasing automation and scalability, Gated is a solution that elevates human connection. Gaby has found it to be a critical tool as she builds a marketing agency that’s growing fast and – most importantly – with heart.

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Published March 2022

Updated December 2022