Why are companies like Zoom, Calendly, and Slack so successful?

According to Blake Bartlett, partner at OpenView Venture Capital, it comes down to three little letters: PLG or Product-led Growth.

Blake coined the term “product-led growth” in 2016 and continues to be a thought leader in this community. In today's episode, Blake, shares his insights about PLG and discusses leading investments in companies like Highspot, Calendly, Expensify, Postscript, and more. He also talks about the ini tial discovery of PLG and how it has changed how companies structure themselves in this increasingly digital world.

Press play to hear Blake’s thoughts on…

Discovering PLG for the First Time

“What's at the core DNA of these companies? They lead with product as it pertains to growth, so that sounds like a good name for it: product-led growth. We put it out there in mid 2016 and started talking about it a lot, really until we were blue in the face for a number of years. In 2019, a lot of other folks started to join the conversation and it became apparent that it wasn't just us that saw this shift happening in the market.”

Salespeople being the Sherpas of the PLG Experience

“Instead of sitting on the opposite side of the table from the customer trying to convince you to buy, you've already bought, you're already using it. You just wanna buy more. And so we actually have the same shared goal, which is you using more of my product. And so how can I be on the same side of the table as you as a sales rep? And act more like a Sherpa.”

Determining Product Market Fit in a PLG Environment

“Even if there's no monetization, you can still be highly confident in product market fit because of the number of users you're acquiring, the rate at which they're activating, the rate at which they're continuing to use the product, the rate at which they're inviting new users, whether that's in their organization, on their team, or external folks they're collaborating with to the product, the rate at which they're swiping the credit card and converting. And so looking at it through this more freemium-oriented customer journey at the early phases of a company, I think that's where the special sauce is for determining product market fit in a PLG environment.”