The Encord x N47 partnership

Forward by Ulrik Stig Hansen, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Encord

When N47 led our Series B in early 2024, Encord was at an inflection point. We had a product our customers loved, strong retention, and real momentum, but we were just beginning to seriously scale our go-to-market motion. We needed a partner who could roll up their sleeves, not just write a check.

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N47 did exactly that. They started by building a genuine understanding of our ICP: studying our customers, our strengths, and where the biggest opportunities lay. From there, they helped facilitate introductions through targeted outbound, hosted dinners and events that put us in front of the right buyers, and stayed engaged throughout long enterprise sales cycles. That work directly translated into new revenue.

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Beyond pipeline, N47 made valuable introductions on the talent side. We ended up hiring GTM leaders through their network, which meaningfully accelerated how we built out the team. The combination of commercial support and talent access is rare from an investor, and it made a real difference during a critical scaling phase for Encord.

The N47 x Encord Partnership

The initial challenge

In early 2024, Encord’s product was exceptional. Customer feedback was overwhelmingly positive. The technology worked.

And the company's growth trajectory depended on a key question: which industries would scale their business from promising to category-defining?

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This wasn't a product problem. Eric and Ulrik had built something genuinely differentiated. Their existing customers loved it, and retention metrics proved it.

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This was a market intelligence problem. And that’s where the N47 team was able to offer their GTM expertise.

N47's strategic GTM approach

The N47 GTM team executed a thesis-driven, sector-focused strategy that operated as a parallel sales function.

1. Hypothesis development & Vertical selection

The N47 team identified untapped ICPs where Encord's technology could deliver exceptional value. N47’s key early hypothesis was that companies in aerospace and geospatial intelligence managing massive volumes of satellite imagery would be ideal candidates for Encord's annotation and labeling capabilities.

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The Encord team is passionate about getting in the weeds and studying new markets before expanding into them, an approach we deeply admire at N47. Once the aerospace and geospatial intelligence market was selected, the team got to work understanding everything they could and mastered the market, an approach that they continue to replicate across verticals.

2. Targeted outreach leading to $1.5M ACV

N47 executed a comprehensive multi-channel engagement program for Encord through:

47 targeted customer introductions to decision-makers in aerospace, robotics, and digital imaging sectors
Hosting 7 events across two continents (Europe and the United States), exposing Encord to 150+ potential buyers

This global execution balanced resources across both continents, with results evenly distributed between the US and European markets.

From these introductions, Encord closed 5 new customers (including industry leaders Skydio and Rhombus), 3 in the US and 2 in Europe, adding $1.5M in ACV.

3. Deep customer engagement support

The N47’s GTM team’s involvement went far beyond introductions:

Over 30 detailed post-sales call debriefs analyzing what worked, what didn't, and helping the sales team build a successful sales motion
Hosting and securing speaking opportunities at industry events to build sector credibility in the UK and the US
Sustained relationship management with complex enterprise prospects throughout 6+ month sales cycles

4. The breakthrough

A standout example of our partnership was N47's orchestration of Encord's relationship with one of the world's leading geospatial intelligence companies:

N47 arranged for Ulrik to deliver a keynote presentation at the USGIF (United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation) conference in Colorado
Ulrik co-presented with the target company’s Head of AI, establishing technical credibility and creating a direct working relationship
N47 facilitated multiple touchpoints throughout the formal evaluation
After six months, this leading geospatial intelligence company became an Encord customer, opening an entirely new vertical for the company

Conclusion

Great partnerships unlock markets that founders can't access alone.

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Encord had exceptional technology and world-class founders. What they needed was support in building a framework for identifying high-value verticals, validating fit, and building credibility in industries where they had no track record.

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Eric and Ulrik came to us with a fantastic product, high energy, and a willingness to learn. We brought market access, strategic coaching, and relentless focus on execution.

Together, we proved what's possible when founders and investors align on what actually drives outcomes:

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Learn more about N47’s investment and partnership approach here.

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