Lessons from the Journey to Building a Product Customers Want with Max Greenwald of Warmly
Oct 27, 2023
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In this episode of The Deep End, Max Greenwald, co-founder of Warmly, shares the mistakes and lessons learned on the journey towards building a product that customers love. Topics discussed include communicating changes to investors and teammates, avoiding the sunk cost fallacy, working with initial design partners, and more.
The importance of user validation and prioritizing provable ROI when building a successful business through pivots and iterations.
The need for alignment between founders and investors in terms of long-term vision and the importance of open conversations and presenting facts when communicating changes in direction.
Deep dives
Finding the Right Idea
Max Greenwalt, co-founder of Warmly, shares his journey of exploring multiple ideas before landing on the one that works. From starting with a 'Tinder for co-founders' concept to several other iterations, they finally found Warmly, a platform that helps businesses generate warm leads and boost sales.
The Battle with Ego and User Validation
Max reflects on the battle with ego as a founder and emphasizes the importance of user validation. He realized that what he thought was cool might not necessarily translate into a successful business. Through pivots and iterations, they learned to listen to user feedback, prioritize provable ROI, and build something that customers are willing to pay for.
The Challenges of Pivoting and Navigating Investor Expectations
Max discusses the challenges of pivoting and managing investor expectations. He highlights the need for alignment between founders and investors on the long-term vision. While investors might initially have concerns about major changes, it's crucial to have open conversations, present facts, and lay out the pros and cons of different paths. Max also advises founders to be comfortable with big swings, iterate rapidly, and pursue what they believe in.
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Joining me in the deep end is Max Greenwald — co-founder of Warmly a startup that helps businesses turn warm leads into sales. The company recently announced their series A.
I’ve known Max for years and watched the Warmly journey unfold — Max even met his co-founder Alan through ODF.
Warmly’s path has not been a straight line. This conversation with Max is candid. He shares the mistakes and lessons learned on the journey towards building a product that customers love.
This might be one of the most useful episodes we’ve recorded on the deep end in terms of giving actionable guidance for founders.
In this episode, we discuss how to communicate changes in direction to investors and teammates, how to avoid the sunk cost fallacy, how to work with initial design partners, and much more.
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