Lessons from Raw Startup for YouTube Success

Is your company’s YouTube channel collecting dust? You're not alone. 

While many B2B marketers struggle for views, Heini Zachariassen, founder of the world’s largest wine app Vivino, grew his own startup-focused YouTube channel past 100,000 subscribers. 

On the Attributed Podcast, Heini argued that succeeding on YouTube requires a completely different, focused approach. 

Keep reading for his advice on making the platform work for your business, or listen to the entire conversation here.

Discovering YouTube's real power

Long before his own channel took off, Heini noticed a stark difference in impact between traditional media wins and appearances on established YouTube channels.

I noticed a couple of times we were on a big YouTube channel, it was incredible the amount of downloads we got... I just saw that this medium YouTube is incredibly strong. 

Compared to the fleeting bump from a print feature, YouTube delivered tangible results on a different scale. 

Heini accredits this to the platform’s sheer size and accessibility. It’s where the people are, and the friction to act, like downloading an app mentioned in a video, is remarkably low.

Stop treating YouTube like a content landfill

The most common pitfall for businesses, particularly in B2B, is treating YouTube as an afterthought or a repository for content created primarily for other purposes.

Heini explains that if you want to win on YouTube, you have to build for YouTube. Repurposing content might tick a box, but it won't fuel growth. 

This is because the platform and the audience can tell. 

There's going to be another person right next to you and she's only building for YouTube, and the algorithm can see that... you're out already.

Dominate your YouTube niche

So, if native content is king, how do you possibly compete with all the stuff on YouTube? 

Heini champions a strategy of radical niching. Don't try to be everything to everyone. Instead, narrow your focus relentlessly until you find a space you can unequivocally own.

You have to niche your way deeply down until you hit something.

Find your specific topic within your B2B domain, create the definitive content for that micro-audience, and then consider expanding. You have to build loyalty with a core group first.

The algorithm is just the audience

Marketers often obsess over gaming the YouTube algorithm. 

Heini, echoing sentiments from giants like Mr. Beast, suggests a simpler, more profound perspective: stop thinking about the algorithm and start thinking about the audience.

You shouldn't talk about it as an algorithm, you should talk about it as an audience.

Focus on delivering genuine value and quality to your specific niche audience, and the platform’s discovery mechanisms are more likely to work in your favor. 

Consistency is non-negotiable

Building an audience and mastering the craft takes time and effort. Heini identifies the single biggest reason most aspiring YouTubers fail: they simply stop.

He dismisses the typical corporate marketing approach of funding a handful of videos "to see how it goes" as fundamentally misunderstanding the platform. 

Success is about sustained commitment and over time, consistency itself becomes a competitive advantage as others inevitably drop off.

Why you might need multiple channels

For B2B companies producing diverse content like product demos, thought leadership interviews, case studies, and company culture pieces, the question arises: should it all live on one channel? Heini says no. 

Even adjacent content like podcasts can harm the main channel's performance.

Your audience came for a specific theme... but they also came for a format.

Mixing formats confuses the audience and dilutes the channel's focus in the eyes of the platform. Maintaining separate, clearly defined channels for distinct content types is critical for targeted growth.

Conclusion

Unlike the ephemerality of social feeds, well-crafted YouTube content, especially on evergreen topics, can deliver value for years. This offers a potential ROI far exceeding platforms demanding constant, high-frequency posting.

For B2B marketers, YouTube, when approached strategically, represents an opportunity to build a lasting asset. But as Heini’s journey demonstrates, it demands more than just budget. 

It requires a commitment to the audience, a willingness to specialize ruthlessly, and perhaps most importantly, the sheer tenacity to keep hitting record, keep refining, and keep going.

About the speaker 

Heini Zachariassen is an entrepreneur best known as the founder of Vivino, the world's most downloaded wine app and largest wine marketplace, boasting over 70 million users globally. Leveraging his experience building successful companies, he now hosts the popular YouTube channel Raw Startup, where he shares practical advice on entrepreneurship and tech with over 100,000 subscribers.