Kevin Dargatz

Introducing Gusto Solo · Day-one announcement

GTM & LaunchesResearch & VoiceMessaging
Big-budget customer testimonial film production
Led narrative, storytelling, and production of the customer profiles that anchored the launch.
Watch the launch film →

Additional projects 10

Launches & campaigns 3

August 18, 2025 — the PR anchor for downstream coverage.

Gusto Solo pricing tier — Pay Myself plan

Launched the new tier end-to-end across tooling, finance, and the full GTM funnel.

GTM & LaunchesPricing

Mastering S-Corp election for solopreneurs · Webinar

Co-led with GM Scott Stonehocker and CPA Luke Frey, turning S-Corp election into a demand driver for Solo.

GTM & LaunchesResearch & VoiceMessaging

Earned media 3

Forbes · Day-one earned coverage

Earned coverage from Elaine Pofeldt, a leading voice on solopreneurship.

Josh Reeves on theCUBE × NYSE Wired

CEO interview at NYSE — deep-linked to the Gusto Solo segment.

Gusto on LinkedIn · NYSE post

Social amplification of the CEO's NYSE Wired appearance.

Indirect channel research · qual + quant analysis

Research 4

Van Westendorp pricing study and accountant interviews that surfaced segmentation and willingness-to-pay bands.

Research & VoicePricing

2025 New Business Formation (economist-led)

Solopreneurs profitable in year one at higher rates than employer businesses.

Solopreneurship Viability (economist-led)

Five-year viability analysis vs. comparable full-time roles.

The $72B Solopreneur Economy (economist-led)

Market sizing — the third report shaping the launch narrative.

Gusto Solo · Launch results Lead growth → revenue growth

+32%→ +18% revenue

32% lead growth in the solopreneur target segment, contributing to 18% revenue growth for the segment. The launch playbook converted top-of-funnel into pipeline at a rate ahead of company-wide growth benchmarks.

Puzzle

RoleHead of Product Marketing

Tenure2023 — 2024

LocationSan Francisco

StageSeries A

Rebuilt the pricing page from comprehensive to hyper-simplified.

GTM & LaunchesMessaging
Puzzle vs. QuickBooks
Head-to-head comparison narrative that gives buyers a clear reason to switch from QuickBooks.
Open the page →

Additional projects 5

Positioning & pricing 2

Pricing — simplified

GTM & LaunchesPricingMessaging

Puzzle for Accountants

Destination page for the accountant-led GTM motion.

The new Puzzle Dashboard · launch announcement

Launches & demand 3

Redesigned home view — financial pulse of a startup at a glance.

★ Featured demo · accounting at startup speed

Music-driven product demo — the kind you actually watch through.

Webinar — Automation, AI & accounting

Co-presented with a partner accounting firm as demand-side proof in market.

Puzzle · Conversion lift Paid conversion

+17%paid conversion

Identified high-intent customer behaviors correlated with 17% higher paid conversion, then tailored web and lifecycle messaging to drive an 8% increase in monthly revenue.

Fountain

RolePrincipal PMM

Tenure2020 — 2023

LocationSan Francisco

StageSeries B → C

Series B raise · TechCrunch coverage

MessagingResearch & Voice
Persona-driven messaging · By Role
Distilled the multi-stakeholder enterprise narrative into role-specific messaging for HR, finance, ops, and IT — the centerpiece of the GTM motion at Fountain.
Open the By Role page →

Additional projects 6

Earned media & PR 3

Led PMM through the $85M Series B — shaping Fountain's frontline-workforce narrative for press.

Series C raise · TechCrunch coverage

Expanded PMM through the $100M Series C — hired and led a small PMM team into global enterprise expansion.

Developed PR for the Instant Hire launch — a new recruiting paradigm for frontline workers.

Instant Hire launch · PR

Per-seat → per-hire · value-price alignment

Brand, pricing & voice 3

Repositioned pricing from per-seat to per-hire — aligning what Fountain charged with the value customers actually realized.

PricingMessagingGTM & Launches

The Series-C rebrand · fountain.com

Repositioned Fountain from "applicant tracking" to a frontline-workforce platform — new identity, homepage, and narrative.

LEAP HR Manufacturing 2021 · industry insights

Authored industry insights from LEAP HR Manufacturing — Fountain's POV on frontline workforce trends.

Fountain · Pricing & packaging Win rate · target deals > $30K

+22%win rate · 1st quarter post-launch

Repositioned pricing and packaging from seat-based to per-hire plans — aligning what we charged with the value customers realized. Win rate on target deals over $30K rose 22% in the first three months.

Zendesk

RoleProduct Marketing Manager

Tenure2018 — 2020

LocationSan Francisco

StageNYSE: ZEN

Zendesk Sell launch · CNBC coverage

MessagingGTM & LaunchesResearch & Voice
The Zendesk Way · six-point messaging framework
Developed the messaging framework adopted by Sales and CS globally — picked up by partners and competitors to map their own positioning.
Read how it was used →

Additional projects 5

Narrative pivots 3

Expanded enterprise sales messaging into sales CRM after the Base acquisition.

Chat → Messaging · Sunshine Conversations launch

Drove competitive positioning as Zendesk evolved from simple chat to enterprise-grade messaging.

Product → Platform · Omnichannel Suite launch

Refined the up-market narrative — from CX product to integrated CX platform — anchoring the Suite launch.

Zendesk vs. Salesforce · competitive differentiation

Competitive & voice 2

Built competitive differentiation against the incumbent as Zendesk marched up-market into the enterprise.

MessagingGTM & Launches

Relate 2018 keynote · competitive market dynamics

Spoke at Zendesk's annual flagship — competitive market dynamics across both years. Official conference recap video.

Zendesk · Competitive enablement AEs trained biweekly

320 AEs⅔ of the global AE workforce

Ran biweekly competitive intelligence training reaching 320 account executives — two-thirds of Zendesk's AE org globally. Trained teams on ROI and TCO calculators, contributing to an 11% lift on targeted win rates.

IBM

RoleManagement Consultant → Sr.

Tenure2012 — 2015

LocationAustin, TX · Kuala Lumpur

StageNYSE: IBM

HSBC anti-money laundering remediation

Research & Voice
IBM BPM · 3D rendering of process management
Prototype that pushed Business Process Manager into 3D, making multi-actor workflows comprehensible at a glance.
Watch the prototype →

Additional projects 2

International KYC remediation following HSBC's $1.9B AML settlement (original 2012 press release).