In this month’s Trailblazer Spotlight, we sat down with Caroline Orr, Co-owner of Program, Future Space’s Business Partner for Brand & Marketing, about the future of all things marketing for tech founders.
When you meet Caroline Orr, the first thing you notice is her clarity of thought. Caroline has spent her career helping ambitious tech founders find their voice — not by making more noise, but by helping them understand who they are, what they stand for, and how to tell a story people believe in.
Program works with high-growth, impact-driven companies across the UK and internationally. Their remit is simple but profound: humanise innovation. In sectors where the product often comes first — particularly science-led, engineering-led, and research-driven startups — Program helps founders articulate the value behind the technology, the problem it solves, and the real-world impact it enables.
Caroline joined us on the Future Space podcast to explore the evolving world of marketing for tech startups — and how AI, new founder expectations, and shifting agency models are reshaping the industry.
Supporting founders who start with the product — not the brand
Many technical founders build extraordinary solutions long before they build a coherent brand.
“They’re so focused on the product and the innovation — that’s their passion,” Caroline explains. “But often they’ve never had to think about brand or marketing. It doesn’t come naturally. So they keep doing the things they enjoy and avoid the things they don’t.”
Program’s role is to give structure to that gap.
That starts with two things:
- Brand strategy — clarifying the value proposition, positioning, audiences and messaging.
- Brand expression — ensuring every story, asset and interaction reinforces that clarity.
It’s not just about making things look good. It’s about helping founders make smarter decisions, attract investors, and build the teams they need. Caroline sees brand, funding, and talent as the three pillars startups think about most — and the three where good marketing can make a meaningful difference.
How agencies are changing — and why founders now expect more
The world Caroline describes is not the agency landscape of ten years ago.
Founders today have unprecedented access to DIY tools, low-cost design platforms, and AI-assisted content creation. Some can produce perfectly adequate marketing themselves — at least early on.
Caroline doesn’t see this as a threat.
In fact, she sees it as a catalyst.
“Yes, people are doing more themselves. And AI is absolutely accelerating that. But the value of an agency today is experience — the years of strategic knowledge founders simply can’t download.”
Rather than resisting the shift, Program has evolved with it. They increasingly provide:
- Fractional CMO-style support
- Strategic consultancy
- Coaching for in-house teams
- Guidance on how to use AI tools well, ethically and creatively
This blended model — part partner, part educator — is becoming the new norm.
AI: disruptor, partner and creative accelerant
Few forces are reshaping marketing faster than AI, and Program is leaning into the change.
“We still absolutely believe in human creativity,” Caroline says, “but we can’t ignore how powerful AI is becoming. And we shouldn’t.”
Instead of seeing AI as a replacement, Program positions it as an extra pair of hands — freeing humans from repetitive tasks so they can focus on creativity, insight, and relationships.
This year, the team launched their first AI for Marketing course — developed under the banner of Tech South West.
It sold out instantly.
The course helps founders and teams who have experimented with AI but aren’t using it confidently or strategically. It covers:
- Building custom GPTs that act like your brand, your customer, or your investor
- Using AI for market testing and investor preparation
- Understanding ethics, bias, policy and responsible use
- Moving beyond simple social posts to genuinely powerful workflows
“You don’t know what you don’t know,” Caroline says. “But once someone shows you, it’s game-changing.”
What makes an ideal founder–agency partnership?
When asked who Program works best with, Caroline didn’t talk about budget, growth stage or sector.
She talked about mindset.
“Trust is everything. The best relationships are the ones where founders trust us as the experts in brand and marketing — and we trust them as the experts in their business.”
Great partnerships share three things:
- Openness — a willingness to listen and explore ideas
- Time — understanding that brand requires thinking, not just output
- Belief in brand — seeing it as part of the growth engine, not as decoration
“Brand isn’t a ‘nice to have’. It’s part of the jigsaw of building a successful company.”
Caroline’s one big takeaway for founders?
“Revisit your brand strategy. Make sure your value proposition is clear. Make sure you know your positioning — and that your team knows it too.”
Without this foundation, she argues, even the most brilliant product or the most compelling marketing activity won’t deliver its full value.
“If you don’t know your value proposition, how can you make strong strategic decisions?”
A new chapter at Future Space
Caroline and the Program team are now embedded as Future Space’s Brand & Marketing Business Partner — supporting our community of founders with strategic clarity, practical tools, and a fresh, human approach to storytelling.
In a world where technology is accelerating, markets are tightening, and founders are asked to do more with less, Caroline brings something rare: a calm, strategic compass in a noisy landscape.
We’re thrilled to welcome Program to the Future Space community — and excited for the stories we’ll tell together.
Learn more about Program, what they do and what they offer, at program.agency.
