Why every WindBorne employee is part of the marketing team

WindBorne Systems builds a network of autonomous weather balloons that stay aloft for 12 to 15 days and collect 30 to 50 times more data than traditional weather balloons, which are latex balloons that go up and pop after 90 minutes. The company sells weather data to the government and has partnerships with the Gates Foundation. WindBorne is the only in-situ weather data provider for the global forecasting system, meaning that when you check your phone for the weather, you are getting data from their balloon network.In a recent episode, we sat down with ⁠Ellie Yoon⁠, Head of Communications at ⁠WindBorne Systems⁠, to learn how a one-person comms team is building brand awareness, earning media coverage, and turning an entire company into a marketing function without a conventional marketing budget.Topics Discussed:How Ellie structures marketing when the product is weather data sold to governments and the company does not run conventional adsWhy she set a goal to get WindBorne balloons placed in science museums across the countryHow WindBorne earned a spot on TIME's Best Inventions of 2025 through relationship-building, not a PR campaignWhy she sent a company-wide message declaring that every employee is part of the marketing teamThe "Let's talk about the weather" hats and how they became a network of walking billboardsHow WindBorne's Met Gala-themed event at SF Climate Week built community without a big marketing budgetThe dinner table framework: how Ellie thinks about reaching three different audiences with three completely different reasons to care about better weather forecastingThe goal of putting 10,000 balloons in the air and what a 30-day weather forecast could mean for everyday decisionsWhy WindBorne's R&D balloon "The Elder" stayed up for 345 days and set the world record for longest stratospheric balloon flightGTM & Technology Adoption Lessons:When your product is invisible, make your hardware tangible: WindBorne sells data, but the balloons are physical and visible. Ellie recognized that "the moat is the very thing that brought me from New York to San Francisco, which is we have tangible hardware." Getting people to see a balloon go up in person changes how they understand the technology. Turn your employees into a distributed ambassador network: With limited budget and no billboard, Ellie created a hat that says "Let's talk about the weather" and built it into a credentialing system. Employees who speak at conferences or attend events get the hat. Build toward channels where your buyer is already present: When asked to drive inbound, Ellie chose science museums. The reasoning was specific. She needed name recognition before LinkedIn ads could work. Parents taking kids to SF Bay Area science museums are statistically likely to work in tech. Maintain media relationships, not just lists: The TIME Best Inventions 2025 recognition came from a reporter who had previously interviewed CEO John. Ellie keeps her media list updated weekly, tracks the last time she spoke with each reporter, and preps journalists for how fast John speaks. Declare accountability before assuming it exists: Ellie sent an internal message telling every WindBorne employee they were part of the marketing team. She said it changed people's behavior. The announcement created accountability for how employees pitch the company and represent it externally. Budget constraints as a forcing function: The limited marketing budget pushed Ellie toward approaches that turned out to be more durable than paid channels. The scarcity kept her oriented toward earned media, community events, and in-person presence. // Sponsors: Front Lines -- Silicon Valley's leading Podcast Production Studio. We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. Mention you are a listener and get a 10% discount. www.FrontLines.io/Podcast-as-a-Service