Welcome to episode 14 of Beyond the Billboard, hosted by Greg Wise and Charlie Riley. In this episode, Greg and Charlie are joined by Elaine Zelby, who describes her background as “extremely random and non-linear,” sharing insights from her journey through engineering, enterprise software, Slack, venture capital, and now co-founding Tofu. Elaine opens up about why titles are “dumb,” how brand means “planting a stake in the ground,” and what it really takes for marketers to define their identity in a crowded landscape. The conversation explores how marketing roles have shifted, why performance marketing alone no longer works, and what brand means in a time when “everyone is coping with change.” Elaine’s hands-on stories cover narrowing your target audience, building a platform versus a point solution, and the importance of integrated campaigns, omnichannel experiences, and company-wide consistency. This episode is filled with real-world examples, from DocuSign’s beginnings in commercial real estate to HubSpot’s jeans-and-t-shirt energy, plus tactical advice on sales incentives and brand alignment that you can hear directly from the transcript.

👤 Guest Bio

Elaine Zelby is the co-founder and CRO of Tofu. Previously, she worked in enterprise software, led enterprise marketing at Slack, and spent five years as a partner at Signal Fire, a venture capital firm focused on artificial intelligence and software. Elaine shares that she once listed her LinkedIn title as “Chief Spear Fisher Woman” because, as she says, “titles are dumb,” and describes her approach as non-linear and defined by “no North Star.” Connect with Elaine on LinkedIn.

📌 What We Cover

• Why “brand is intentional” and the importance of defining what you want to be known for
• The pitfalls of skipping the “who” and how to narrow your ICP over time
• Real stories: Tofu’s journey, DocuSign’s path from commercial real estate to horizontal software
• How brand shows up in consistent employee experience and customer touchpoints
• Why not every company should focus on brand marketing—and which personas care most
• Incentives and comp structures that actually align sales, marketing, and SDR teams with the buyer
• The role of integrated campaigns, omnichannel tactics, and out-of-home in brand building
• How negative buyer experiences become “negative deposits” in your brand bank
• Concrete airport out-of-home ideas for targeting high-frequency travelers and company events

🔗 Resources Mentioned

• Tofu HQ
• Elaine Zelby on LinkedIn
• Scrappy ABM
• Mention of companies and platforms: DocuSign, Slack, HubSpot, Salesforce, Signal Fire, McKesson, Fannie Mae, Colliers, Gong, McKinsey, Deloitte, Accenture, Wipro, Aptio, OpenAI

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