Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

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

Sep 14, 2023

01:16:15

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Oji Udezue, Chief Product Officer at Typeform, shares frameworks for finding B2B SaaS ideas, optimizing onboarding flows, and making products more viral. He emphasizes the importance of solving sharp problems, operationalizing customer discovery, and focusing on core customers. The power of network effects in social networks and strategies for increasing user engagement are also discussed.

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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.

Solving Sharp Problems in Startups

01:18

The Zone of Benefit and Creating Noticeable Value in Product Management

01:25

Segmenting Workflow Solutions for Predictive Power

01:20

Being married to another product leader

01:10

Introduction

3min

Frameworks for Product and Growth: Finding Big B2B SAS Ideas

5min

Frequency and Success of Companies

12min

Frameworks and Mental Models

16min

The Power of Onboarding and Effective Tactics

5min

Successful Onboarding Strategies and Activation Milestones

3min

The Power and Significance of Network Effects in Social Networks

25min

Optimizing Workspace and Favorite Product

6min

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