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

Christopher Miller, VP of Product for Growth and AI at HubSpot, shares his journey through one of B2B's biggest growth stories. He discusses the shift to product-led growth, emphasizing customer obsession and radical accountability. Chris highlights key skills for success in product management and the importance of mentorship. He also reflects on how personal connections can open doors, using a party anecdote as an example. Listeners gain insights into HubSpot's innovative growth strategies, AI integration, and the evolving company culture.

01:31:23

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Episode guests

Christopher Miller

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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.

What to Look for in Growth Product Managers

01:43

Common Mistakes and Misconceptions in Product-Led Growth

03:18

Importance of Self Awareness in the Interview Process

01:24

Building Bridges With People Who Don't Owe Me Anything

01:27

Intro

4min

Navigating Growth and AI in Product Leadership

2min

Navigating Product Management Challenges

28min

Customer-Centric Success at HubSpot

10min

Reevaluating Company Culture and the Importance of Connection

4min

Transforming Growth: HubSpot's Journey to Product-Led Strategy

20min

HubSpot's Growth Strategies and Personal Insights

20min

Cocktails and Connections: A Light-Hearted Discussion

2min

Advising Startups and Exciting Career Opportunities

2min

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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

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

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Where to find Chris Miller:

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