Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

Picking sharp problems, increasing virality, and unique product frameworks | Oji Udezue (Typeform, Twitter, Calendly, Atlassian)

Sep 14, 2023

Oji Udezue, Chief Product Officer at Typeform, brings a wealth of experience from Twitter, Calendly, and Atlassian. He discusses his effective frameworks, like 'Where to Fish to Land a Unicorn,' to identify high-potential markets. Oji emphasizes the importance of pinpointing the 'sharpest' problems for product success. He also shares tactics for optimizing onboarding to boost user retention and innovative strategies for increasing product virality. Plus, he introduces the concept of 'forest time' for clearer strategic thinking.

01:16:15

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Episode guests

Oji Udezue

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Quick takeaways

Building a great product that solves a sharp problem is crucial for increasing virality.

Virality is achieved through high-quality word-of-mouth, fanatical customer support, viral tactics, and a top-notch product.

Forest time, dedicating specific blocks of time for reflection and strategic thinking, leads to more effective decision-making and problem-solving.

Deep dives

The Importance of Solving Sharp Problems

To increase virality, it is crucial to build a great product that solves a sharp problem. Synthetic virality tactics may fail if the product does not live up to expectations. Examples like Hotmail and Slack demonstrate the power of solving sharp problems, where customers are amazed by the product's value and spread the word naturally. Building a remarkable product that significantly improves the current workflow or experience is the foundation for virality.

The Importance of Noticeable Productivity Leaps and the Zone of Benefit

02:16

Measuring the Sharpness of a Problem By The Whites of The Eyes

01:18

Finding Big B2B SaaS Ideas: A Framework with Workflow Analysis

04:03

The Importance of Elevation in Product Creation

01:40

Intro

4min

Navigating B2B SaaS Success

17min

Navigating Product Management Frameworks

16min

The Importance of Onboarding and Innovative Product Solutions

5min

Mastering Onboarding and Virality

19min

Insights on Talent and Culture at Bridgewater

9min

Optimizing the Workspace: Windows vs. Mac

2min

Curiosity and Culinary Connections

4min

Brought to you by Jira Product Discovery—Atlassian’s new prioritization and roadmapping tool built for product teams

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Oji Udezue is Chief Product Officer at Typeform and has held leadership roles at Twitter (Head of Product for Creation and Conversation), Calendly (CPO), and Atlassian (Head of Product for communication tools). He is well-known for bringing a product-led-growth (PLG) mindset to the companies he joins. Additionally, Oji mentors startups, is a Managing Partner at the Kernel Fund, and writes online about product management. In this episode, we discuss:

• Oji’s “Where to Fish to Land a Unicorn” and “Zone of Benefit” frameworks

• Why you need to find the “sharpest” problem

• How to operationalize continuous customer discovery

• Tips on optimizing onboarding flows

• Freemium vs. gated offerings in PLG

• Tactical strategies for making your product more viral

• The concept of “forest time” and how it can provide clarity in your work

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Find full transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/picking-sharp-problems-increasing

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Where to find Oji Udezue:

• Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/ojiudezue