Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

Relentless curiosity, radical accountability, and HubSpot’s winning growth formula | Christopher Miller (VP of Product, Growth and AI)

Aug 10, 2023

01:31:23

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Christopher Miller, VP of Product for Growth and AI at HubSpot, discusses winning teams, customer obsession, breaking into product management, and building HubSpot's PLG motion. He shares his background, the challenges and successes of a growth product manager, and what makes HubSpot special. He also talks about solving for customer success, HubSpot's growth loop, book recommendations, and discovering golf during the pandemic.

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Quick takeaways

HubSpot's initial growth team took ownership of problems beyond their assigned scope and achieved significant growth by redesigning a neglected pricing page.

Customer obsession is a driving force for HubSpot's success, as they prioritize solving customer problems and avoid being held hostage by a small subset of customers.

HubSpot's culture code promotes values such as humility, empathy, transparency, and customer-centricity, creating alignment, attracting like-minded candidates, and fostering a sense of safety within the organization.

HubSpot's transition to a product-led growth (PLG) business was driven by the desire for efficiency, scalability, and meeting modern software buyers' expectations, leading to success with freemium and self-service models.

Deep dives

Aggressive Approach and Radical Accountability

The initial growth team at HubSpot had an aggressive mentality and approach, taking ownership of problems and finding opportunities beyond their assigned scope. They took on a neglected pricing page and redesigned it, focusing on discoverability, desirability, and usability. This step function change in the funnel generated positive results and showcased the team's hunger for solving problems and driving growth.

Importance of Self-awareness and References in the Interview Process

00:33

Common Mistakes and Misconceptions in Product-Led Growth

03:18

The importance of resilience and thinking big in product-led growth

00:30

Embracing Vulnerability and Humility: Finding Mentors and Sponsors

00:47

Introduction

4min

The Intersection of Growth and AI at HubSpot

2min

The Challenges and Successes of a Growth Product Manager at HubSpot

28min

What Makes HubSpot Special

11min

Solving for Customer Success, Sponsor Spotlight, and HubSpot Culture

4min

Early Success and Growth Approach

20min

HubSpot's Growth Loop and Customer Experience

10min

Book Recommendations and Favorite Movies/TV Shows

7min

Discovering Golf and Garmin Watch Features

6min

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—

Christopher Miller serves as the VP of Product for Growth and AI at HubSpot. Having spent the past seven years at HubSpot, Chris has been at the center of one of the biggest B2B growth stories in history—leading HubSpot’s early growth strategy, their shift to PLG, and now their investment in AI. Beyond his role at HubSpot, he lends his expertise to founders advising them on PLG and their growth strategy broadly. In today’s podcast, we discuss:

• The principles of winning teams, careers, and companies

• What customer obsession looks like in practice

• How sneaking into a party led to a career opportunity

• Advice for breaking into product management

• How to find mentors

• The top four skills for growth roles

• Lessons from building HubSpot’s famous PLG motion

—

Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/relentless-curiosity-radical-accountability-and-hubspots-winning-growth-formula-christopher-mil/#transcript

—

Where to find Chris Miller:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherwilliammiller/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/millsyjoeyoung/

—

Where to find Lenny:

• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

—

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Chris’s background

(04:15) Chris’s role at HubSpot leading Growth and AI teams

(09:17) The story of how Chris crashed a party and pitched his idea around pricing and packaging

(12:25) Relentless curiosity and other important traits to have as a PM

(16:52) How Chris broke into product management and advice for others wanting to do the same

(22:12) Helpful tips for learning the craft of product management

(26:30) Why you should talk to customers, former customers, and potential customers

(29:34) Mentors vs. sponsors, and advice for finding people who will help you grow

(34:02) What makes HubSpot unique

(36:07) Customer obsession in action

(40:23) How staying in the mid-market space has benefited HubSpot

(42:10) HubSpot’s culture code

(45:10) Fun rituals at HubSpot

(47:36) Key elements that contributed to HubSpot’s early growth

(55:00) Fallacies of product-led companies and how HubSpot embraced PLG

(1:00:48) Advice for companies wanting to become more product-led

(1:04:35) Common mistakes to avoid when trying to start a PLG motion

(1:07:53) How HubSpot structures growth loops

(1:10:50) The importance of aggressive experimentation within new channels

(1:16:11) How Covid accelerated growth at HubSpot

(1:17:59) Lightning round

—

Referenced:

• Kyle Poyar on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/

• Mariah Muscato on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariahmuscato/

• Ken Norton on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/how-to-unlock-your-product-leadership-skills-ken-norton-ex-google/

• Fareed Mosavat on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/videos/how-to-build-trust-and-grow-as-a-product-leader-fareed-mosavat-reforge-slack-instacart-pixar/

• Jules Walter on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/leveraging-mentors-to-uplevel-your-career-jules-walter-youtube-slack/

• The Culture Code at HubSpot: https://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/34234/the-hubspot-culture-code-creating-a-company-we-love.aspx

• Brian Balfour on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bbalfour/

• Dharmesh on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dharmesh

• ChatSpot: https://chatspot.ai/

• Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are: https://www.amazon.com/Everybody-Lies-Internet-About-Really/dp/0062390856

• Chop Wood Carry Water: How to Fall in Love with the Process of Becoming Great: https://www.amazon.com/Chop-Wood-Carry-Water-Becoming/dp/153698440X

• The Score Takes Care of Itself: My Philosophy of Leadership: https://www.amazon.com/Score-Takes-Care-Itself-Philosophy/dp/1591843472/

• I’m a Virgo on Amazon Prime: https://www.amazon.com/Im-A-Virgo-Season-1/dp/B0B8PXXV2M

• Barry on HBO: https://www.hbo.com/barry

• Succession on HBO: https://www.hbo.com/succession

• Building a great product management organization: https://stripe.com/it-es/guides/atlas/building-a-great-pm-org

• Garmin watch: https://www.amazon.com/Garmin-010-02174-01-Vivoactive-Smartwatch-Refurbished/dp/B0BPCNKBW1

• Fernet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernet

—

Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.

—

Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.

Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

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Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

Relentless curiosity, radical accountability, and HubSpot’s winning growth formula | Christopher Miller (VP of Product, Growth and AI)

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Aggressive Approach and Radical Accountability

Customer-Centric Approach

Transparent and Aligned Culture

Early Embrace of Product-Led Growth

Transitioning to a Product-Led Growth Business

Becoming Product-Led: Steps and Insights

HubSpot's Macro Flywheel and Growth Approaches

Importance of Self-awareness and References in the Interview Process

Common Mistakes and Misconceptions in Product-Led Growth

The importance of resilience and thinking big in product-led growth

Embracing Vulnerability and Humility: Finding Mentors and Sponsors

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Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

Relentless curiosity, radical accountability, and HubSpot’s winning growth formula | Christopher Miller (VP of Product, Growth and AI)

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Aggressive Approach and Radical Accountability

Customer-Centric Approach

Transparent and Aligned Culture

Early Embrace of Product-Led Growth

Transitioning to a Product-Led Growth Business

Becoming Product-Led: Steps and Insights

HubSpot's Macro Flywheel and Growth Approaches

Importance of Self-awareness and References in the Interview Process

Common Mistakes and Misconceptions in Product-Led Growth

The importance of resilience and thinking big in product-led growth

Embracing Vulnerability and Humility: Finding Mentors and Sponsors

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