A Boston-based startup building ransomware-proof backup storage (Ootbi). We were the sole external team for design and web development for 2+ years — from first landing pages to investor materials. The company was acquired by Veeam ($15B+ valuation), and the quality of our design and web presence played a direct role in positioning before the deal.
Startup with no design team, scattered marketing materials, no unified brand system. Founders spent time coordinating freelancers instead of building the product.
Complete design system, 50+ marketing site pages, investor-ready materials. Company acquired by Veeam — the global leader in data protection.
Object First — a Boston startup with an ambitious product Ootbi (ransomware-proof backup storage appliance) at the intersection of cybersecurity and data protection. No internal design team and no plans for one — founders wanted to focus on product and sales. But they needed complete enterprise-level design and web infrastructure: marketing site, product pages, competitor comparison tables (Rubrik, Cohesity, Commvault), investor pitch decks, partner one-pagers for channel sales, case study templates — everything a startup needs to go to market. Freelancers couldn't deliver: inconsistent style, slow iterations, no product immersion. They needed one team that would become 'their own'.
Built and maintained a design system from scratch: 200+ components, typography, color palette, icons, patterns. Every new asset was created within the system — consistency from a LinkedIn banner to a 40-page investor deck. Regular revisions for brand and product updates.
Built the marketing site from scratch on HubSpot CMS: custom modules, blog templates, gated content pages for lead generation, ROI calculator, interactive comparison tables. Integration with HubSpot CRM for lead capture and scoring. A/B tests on landing pages, Core Web Vitals optimization to green zone. Regular updates for every product release — from beta to GA.
Worked as a dedicated team with full immersion: daily standups, access to product roadmap, participation in planning sessions. Fast iterations — from brief to ready-to-publish in 2–5 days. During launch events and trade shows, scaled to 160+ hours. Became a full extension of the Object First team.
Object First was acquired by Veeam — the global leader in backup and data protection. The quality of marketing materials, design and web presence played a direct role: investor decks we created were used in negotiations; the site we built became the company's face for due diligence. This isn't just design — it's a contribution to the EXIT.