The cover of Forbes in September 2019, features in The Wall Street Journal, customer stories in The New York Times – these are a few of the mile markers in enterprise software and automation technology giant UiPath’s meteoric journey. Here’s more about the company’s roots, its goals, and how it got where it is today.
UiPath builds software robots so people don’t have to be robots. With UiPath’s platform, employees can create automations to tackle the time-intensive, routine work we all dread (think filling out expense reports or data entry). With all of this busy work managed by a robot, now employees can focus more on meaningful, creative, and interesting aspects of their jobs. UiPath’s vision is to provide one robot for every person to unleash human potential, business productivity, and a new era of innovation.
UiPath was founded in Romania in 2005 by Microsoft alum Daniel Dines. By 2017 the company had moved its headquarters to NYC and employed more than 500 people globally. Since then, UiPath has grown at rocketship speed, achieving impressive business milestones along the way – the most recent being its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange in April as the third largest software IPO in history.
UiPath and V2 have enjoyed an incredible partnership over the past few years. We have worked hand-in-hand with Chief Communications Officer Toni Iafrate to help build the global, iconic tech brand it is today. Read on to hear from Toni on what it took to build UiPath’s brand:
You played an instrumental role building UiPath’s brand over the past several years. What sticks out to you as key turning points in creating that iconic brand?
Over the past few years of our partnership with V2, we set very aggressive goals to support the company’s journey to become an iconic tech brand – and we met them. When I reflect back on key milestones, what sticks out most are the strong relationships we built with media over the years that resulted in major coverage opportunities like the cover of Forbes in Sept. 2019, videos on Fast Company, and other broadcast opportunities such as CNN or CNBC. This level of exposure put us on a global stage and positioned us as a company to watch. I also think about the awards we won – CNBC Disruptor 50, Deloitte Fast 500 and FT’s Fastest Growing Companies – that put UiPath in the spotlight and positioned us among other major tech icons. Lastly, the way we linked our product and executive thought leadership to major business, social, and global issues showcased the critical role our company plays in the world. V2 was an important partner in this initiative helping us bring stories like how UiPath’s tech addressed challenges for Mater Hospital during COVID-19 to The Wall Street Journal.
What lessons would you share with other PR professionals as their companies embark on building iconic tech brands? What does it take?
First and foremost, building an iconic tech brand starts with a company vision to change the world and a mission to build technology to make that vision happen. We set our sights high and worked toward those goals every day. It also requires:
- Access to and enthusiastic buy-in from customers, investors, and analysts to offer third-party validation
- Transparency and boldness around sharing financial and corporate data to highlight adoption and leadership
- A robust arsenal of storytelling fodder, be it for corporate/culture and executive profiles, tech- and vertical-focused thought leadership, or product and partnership news
- Investing the time and financial resources needed to create a powerhouse marketing and PR program that would get attention
How did V2 help with UiPath’s brand building?
The strategic approach, media skills, tenacity, and passion that V2 brings every day to our PR program has been absolutely instrumental in building our brand. The team moves fast while consistently offering thoughtful and strategic counsel. They’re very immersed in our business, and deeply understand the messages, business strategy, and dynamics of the market—and it’s these smarts that enable them to advise us on sound PR strategies.
On a more granular level, media relations is V2’s bread and butter. Their ability to establish and nurture media relationships for the long-term has been paramount to our success.
We work together as one team, which is critical.
How do you ensure a successful partnership with your PR agency?
It’s crucial that any partnership is built on a foundation of mutual trust. This plays out in instances of the agency providing honest feedback if a campaign is missing key components, for example.
I also believe it’s critical that the agency builds relationships with C-level executives and works independently with those executives to extend the reach of an internal team, which V2 has seamlessly done.
Why, in your opinion, have UiPath and V2 been such great partners over the years?
We are a marriage of similar work ethic and business cultures. We’re both spirited, tenacious, and real in the sense of pinpointing goals, what it will take to achieve them, and setting expectations accordingly. We’re one big team: we succeed and fail together with a constant drive to innovate and improve our work. We have laughed together, been challenged together, and most importantly, have celebrated together.
What makes you excited about UiPath’s future?
UiPath is truly changing the way business is done. I’m looking forward to continuing to educate the masses about how UiPath can unleash human, business, and industry potential through automation.
It’s an incredibly exciting time to work at UiPath on the heels of our April IPO. Bringing the company public from a communications perspective was thrilling and V2 played a huge role in our PR strategy and execution. We’re only at the dawn of what we believe will become the automation era. We have a bold mission to bring one robot to every person and consumerizing the technology will require thoughtful and impactful communication about the opportunity automation presents and how we get there. Together, UiPath and V2 continue to showcase the promise of automation.
Read more in our case study here.