Cradle is one of Europe's most innovative deep-tech companies operating at the intersection of software, AI, and biology. Backed by IVP and Index Ventures, Cradle revolutionizes protein design and engineering, enabling computational scientists and experimental biologists to accelerate the development of novel proteins with unprecedented efficiency.
Based in Amsterdam and Zurich, Cradle has positioned itself as a transformative force in the BioPharma industry by offering sophisticated AI tools that dramatically reduce the time and resources needed for protein engineering—a critical process in drug development and therapeutic innovation.
Cradle presented a fascinating challenge: a company with world-class technical expertise and a groundbreaking AI platform, but without structured marketing systems to match their engineering excellence.
As Cradle secured Series B funding and expanded their sales team threefold, they needed marketing approaches that would not only generate attention within their highly specialized target accounts but also do justice to the sharp requirements in precise language and targeting. The company was entering a critical growth phase, and their marketing capabilities needed to scale alongside their technical and sales operations.
The challenge was clear: How do you build marketing systems for a deep-tech company that values precision, data, and efficiency above all? Traditional marketing approaches often fail in these environments—perceived as too fluffy, unmeasurable, or disconnected from the technical reality of the product.
From establishing strategic foundations to implementing systematic thought leadership, we developed frameworks that respected the scientific rigour demanded by Cradle's target market while delivering measurable commercial outcomes.
For a company operating at the frontier of AI and biology, establishing thought leadership wasn't optional—it was essential. Yet Cradle's approach to thought leadership had been sporadic, lacking the systematic process needed to generate consistent engagement with scientific decision-makers.
We implemented our "LEAP" framework (Listen, Extract, Articulate, Promote) to transform Cradle's thought leadership from occasional posts to a high-performance engine. The centerpiece of this approach was amplifying CEO Stef's sharp opinions on the AI and BioTech market across LinkedIn.
"We needed a process that would respect the time constraints of a busy CEO while capturing the depth of his insights," noted our content lead. "Our framework gave us just enough structure to extract valuable perspectives without becoming a burden on his schedule, while ensuring the content maintained the technical precision that scientific audiences expect."
The results were remarkable. Within just a few weeks, Cradle's thought leadership content generated significant organic engagement and substantial reach across the platform. Stef's LinkedIn following experienced strong growth, adding thousands of new followers. Individual posts consistently achieved high engagement rates, with the most successful content reaching hundreds of thousands of professionals.
What made this approach particularly effective was its respect for the scientific rigour expected by Cradle's target market. The content wasn't simplified to the point of inaccuracy—it maintained technical precision while becoming more accessible to decision-makers across the BioPharma ecosystem.
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Cradle believes that groundbreaking technology can have transformative impact on the world—but only if it reaches the right scientists and researchers. This requires thoughtfully expanding their community of engaged professionals without resorting to intrusive tactics.
With a clear strategic foundation and growing thought leadership presence, we developed a community-building approach that would support Cradle's expanding sales team while respecting the scientific community's preferences for valuable, relevant content.
We implemented a LinkedIn strategy focused exclusively on the top Pharma companies in the EU and US, designed to include relevant scientists and decision-makers in Cradle's growing community. Rather than traditional advertising, we amplified Cradle's high-value thought leadership content to ensure it reached the broadest possible audience of relevant professionals.
Through iterative campaign rounds, we refined our approach from broad C-level targeting to granular job title segmentation, significantly improving targeting efficiency and reducing costs while ensuring the content reached those most likely to find it valuable.
"The key was treating this as community expansion rather than traditional advertising," explained our paid media specialist. "We were amplifying genuinely valuable content to scientists who would find it relevant, using precise targeting to ensure we weren't wasting anyone's time with irrelevant messaging."
We complemented these community-building efforts with organic thought leadership, creating a powerful combination that generated significant visibility within target accounts. When high-quality prospects engaged with Cradle's content, we implemented a process for flagging these interactions for sales follow-up, creating a seamless connection between marketing activities and sales opportunities—which led to over 60+ high-potential interactions flagged with the team.
The approach generated over 1,000,000+ paid LinkedIn impressions while maintaining the scientific rigour expected by Cradle's target market, providing clear metrics and tangible outcomes without compromising on relevance or value.
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For a company dealing with complex technical concepts, content marketing presented both an opportunity and a challenge. Cradle needed to communicate sophisticated ideas to scientific audiences without sacrificing technical accuracy or resorting to vague generalizations.
We formalized and streamlined the content creation process by establishing regular editorial meetings, implementing a clear DACI (Driver, Approver, Contributor, Informer) approval framework, and improving efficiency by clearly distinguishing roles between subject matter experts and technical writers.
A particular focus was developing a systematic approach to webinars. We executed a successful webinar with Adaptyv, leveraging a combination of organic promotion through technical write-ups converted into high-engagement formats and community-focused amplification targeting relevant professionals using LinkedIn.
"The webinar strategy needed to balance technical depth with commercial appeal," noted our content strategist. "By repurposing existing technical materials into more accessible formats, we could reach broader audiences within the scientific community without compromising on accuracy or creating additional burden for Cradle's technical team."
The webinar generated over 350+ signups with 30%+ from ICP accounts, primarily driven by organic engagement from the CEO's posts and thoughtful community amplification.
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Selling to enterprise pharma isn't about generating quick wins and email addresses—rather it's about the intricate synchronization of Sales and Marketing, and supporting long, complex, and high-stake sales processes.
Marketing ultimately needed to deliver trust and a feeling of knowing Cradle to the target market, which The Growth Syndicate delivered through a targeted mix of organic and paid marketing activities with a clear target audience focus. The 9-month collaboration showed the team at Cradle what aspects of B2B Marketing resonate with their team and the target market, and the team is now set up to scale the marketing department alongside their sales team.
