ProductLed Podcast

For today’s guest, a culture of experimentation is the key to agility. Jon Noronha is the VP of Product at Optimizely and he believes that to move faster, they need to experiment more. At Optimizely, Jon leads a team of product managers to determine new ways for companies to conduct experiments across apps, websites, and every level of the stack. In this episode, he talked about all the essentials of product experimentation—from the metrics to focus on down to building a culture of experimentation—he covered it all. Show Notes [00:43] How he became the VP of Product at Optimizely [05:29] How they go about building a culture of experimentation [07:33] Metrics teams should take into if they want to experiment [10:37] How to figure out what metrics to focus on first [12:10] Best practices around prioritising experiments [14:42] How to run experiments when the traffic is not sufficient [17:09] How to structure product experiments in a more scientific way [20:46] His thoughts on the first principles of experimentation [23:27] One of the most important things when it comes to democratising experimentation [27:06] Where people can go to find out more about him About Jon Noronha Jon Noronha is the VP of Product at Optimizely, the world’s leading experimentation platform. Optimizely is designed to enable businesses to deliver continuous personalisation and experimentation across mobile apps, websites, and connected devices. Prior to joining Optimizely, Jon was the PM of Image Search at Microsoft. Jon has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from Harvard University. Links MicrosoftBingNetflixAmazonSlack Profile OptimizelyJon Noronha on LinkedInJon Noronha on TwitterJon Noronha on Medium

Hailed as the first conversational marketing platorm, Drift is also considered the new way businesses buy from businesses. In today’s show, Drift’s head of product lead, growth, and lifecycle shared how the platform built a product that acquires users. Matt Bilotti owns Drift’s entire self-service business unit and is responsible for retention and sales figures on a monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis. In this episode, Matt talked about the importance of market alignment, the metrics the product team focuses on, and his thoughts on product channel fit, among others. Show Notes [00:30] How things are in his end [01:24] What Drift is [02:16] Why market alignment is important [04:32] How product co-owns the website with marketing and how it works [07:32] How their team dynamics work [09:15] On the metrics the product team focuses on [13:18] How they’ve evolved into a more unified team [15:38] What their quarterly planning looks like [17:40] His thoughts on product channel fit [23:00] His take on building APIs that people can build on top of [24:39] The impact of having an end goal in their sign up process [27:14] The purpose of the last two tasks [28:46] Piece of advice he’d like to leave the listeners with [31:06] How people can get in touch with him About Matt Bilotti Matt Bilotti is employee number 9 at Drift and he helped make the product a reality. From product manager, he’s now the head of product lead, growth, and lifecycle of the company. Drift is the first conversational marketing platform that emphasized the value of human connection and interaction. The brand is trusted by over 50,000+ businesses to create pipeline and drive revenue. Some of Drift’s valued clients include Smartling, Keap, ConnectWise, Aventri, and Marketo.  Links DriftDropboxAirtableLinkedInSpotifyDuolingoEvernoteTikTokShopifySalesforceBrian Balfour WebsitePareto Principle (80/20 Rule)How I Built This Podcast with Guy Raz Profile Matt Bilotti WebsiteMatt Bilotti on LinkedInMatt Bilotti on TwitterMatt Bilotti's Drift ProfileGrowth with Matt Bilotti Podcast

While making the transition to product-led growth can be very beneficial, it can also be tough. In today’s show, we talked to May Habib, Qordoba’s co-founder and CEO and found out what their experience has been like. Qordoba manages over 2 billion words every day for customers including Sephora, Conde Nast, GitHub, and the NBA. In this episode, May shared how she got everyone onboard the product-led bus, how the transition has affected their approach to selling, and her advice for those who would like to make the switch.  Show Notes [00:34] Why she decided to found Qordoba [01:21] Problem they’re solving [03:55] How they traditionally made sales and why they decided to offer free trials [06:46] Where the fork in the road came for them [08:36] First steps they did to ensure what they want to do is viable [10:51] How she got everyone on the product-led bus [13:36] How their whole approach to selling has changed  [16:56] When their sales team steps in [21:31] Why they end up going down the path of usage-based free trial [24:07] Her thoughts on the cost of a free user [26:10] The benefits she’s seeing  [27:39] Her one tip for founders and companies that are making the switch  [32:50] Where people can find her if they want to know more About May Habib May Habib is the co-founder and CEO of Qordoba, a machine-learning based solution designed to help brands define and scale a consistent brand voice. Qordoba’s platform also integrates with over 100 marketing and development companies and fits them seamlessly into the developer stack. Based in San Francisco, the company is backed by Rincon Venture Partners and Upfront Ventures. To date, Qordoba has helped companies like VISA, Marriott, Postmates, GitHub, and Sephora optimise and release new product copies across marketing, product, and customer support. Links JPMorgan ChaseHow Qordoba launched a successful free trial by May Habib Profile QordobaQordoba 14-Day TrialMay Habib on LinkedInMay Habib on TwitterMay Habib's Email Address: may@qordoba.com

A few months ago, Userlist introduced the $9/month starter plan. The plan allows SaaS founders to enjoy Userlist’s full set of features until they are able to hit the first 100 customers milestone. We talked to Userlist co-founder Jane Portman to know the rationale behind the offering. Aside from co-founding Userlist, Jane is also a UI/UX consultant and the host of UI Breakfast Podcast. In this episode, Jane shared how they arrived at the decision to offer $9/month, why they opted not to offer freemium, and why it makes perfect sense. Show Notes [01:50] What Userlist is and how it started [02:13] What their edge is [04:38 Reason they added the $9/mo starter plan [07:11] How they intend to move forward [09:28] Why they decided on $9  [11:59] Why they didn’t limit specific features for the $9 plan [16:08] The thought process behind their video [19:05] The core idea for a good UI [20:46] What they have in the works to help users install the Userlist app [23:02] One of the reasons they ask for the credit card upfront [24:36] Any experiments they have planned that they’re excited about [25:35] Her one advice to founders [26:40] Where people can find out more about her and Userlist About Jane Portman Jane Portman is a UI/UX consultant and she specializes in web application design. She is also the founder of UI Breakfast and the co-founder of Userlist. Userlist is designed as an alternative to bulky enterprise messaging tools. At Userlist, Jane’s primary objective is to provide impeccable UX and help users become exceptional at customer messaging. Since 2014, Jane has also been hosting UI Breakfast Podcast where she talks to industry experts about UI/UX design, marketing, products, and many more. Links Jane Portman’s Post on Indie HackerUserlist WebsiteSpecial 30% offer (first 3 months) for Product-Led listenersTinySeed Website Profile UI Breakfast WebsiteUI Breakfast PodcastUI Breakfast Mailing ListJane Portman on TwitterJane Portman's Email Address: jane@uibreakfast.com

While seemingly trivial, the shift from sales-led to product-led is actually a massive one. And today’s guest will give us some insight into what it was like. Giovanni Hobbins is a designer, entrepreneur, and product manager. He co-founded (and sold) Nightly Labs and Campus Bubble. He was formerly built product at FullStory. Currently, he is the head of product at Matcha. In this episode, Giovanni shared their journey from sales-led to product-led including the reason they had to make the transition, how he motivated the team around the shift, and how he facilitated culture change. Show Notes [00:50] His background and how he became the head of product at Matcha [01:57] A quick overview of what Matcha is all about [04:00] What the transition to product-led has been like [08:46] What pushed them to make the transition to product-led [10:54] How he motivated the team around the shift [12:31] How he convinced the investors and the board to pursue product-led [13:44] How the shift affected the service component of the business [15:48] The role support plays in a product-led business [18:07] How he structures their roadmap and the inputs he looks for [21:41] Effective way to get everyone on the same page [25:48] How he facilitated culture change [26:08] Where people can find him About Giovanni Hobbins Giovanni Hobbins is the head of product at Matcha, the content marketing experts for e-commerce and lifestyle brands. Aside from creating a technology platform designed to help marketing teams scale content production and measure results, Matcha also provides a done-for-you content service in the form of data analysis, distribution management, and original content production. Matcha’s mission is to give every brand the power of storytelling so they can can deliver more meaningful customer experiences and achieve sustainable growth.  Links FullStorySlackZoomAmplitude’s North Star Metric Profile Matcha WebsiteMatcha BlogGiovanni Hobbins WebsiteGiovanni Hobbins on TwitterGiovanni Hobbins on LinkedInGiovanni Hobbins on MediumGiovanni's Email Address: contact@giovanni.io

Over the years, many companies have made the shift from high touch and high friction sales models to product-led growth. Today’s guest made the same transition and shared what his journey from sales-led to product-led has been like. Brennan McEachran is the CEO and co-founder of SoapBox Innovations. He was also 2015’s Ontario Young Entrepreneur of the Year winner. In this episode, Brennan shared what the transition to product-led growth has been like—from the challenges they encountered down to how he changed the team’s mindset, he covered it all. Show Notes [00:54] How he started Soapbox [02:47] How they pivoted into product-led growth [03:28] What prompted them to pivot into product-led growth [07:29] How he managed the transition [11:23] Biggest challenge of the whole transition [13:32] The experiments he made prior to making the transition and the results he got [21:35] His advice to those who would like to make the jump [25:01] What their org chart looks like [29:15] How support has contributed to growth [37:09] How he changed the team mindset from selling first to adoption first About Brennan McEachran Brennan McEachran is the co-founder and CEO of Soapbox Innovations. Soapbox is the first people platform made to revolutionize management. The amazing tool is designed to help managers coach, collaborate, and communicate with their teams better. Soapbox is trusted by over 100, 000 companies around the globe including HubSpot, GoDaddy, Adobe, Coca-Cola, and Netflix.  Links HubspotChrome ExtensionsSpotifyGmail Profile Brennan McEachran on LinkedInBrennan McEachran on TwitterBrennan McEachran on MediumSoapbox Website

When they redesigned FullStory’s onboarding process, today’s guest scored some definite wins. However, they also made a few mistakes along the way. In this episode, Melanie Crissey shared the six onboarding mistakes they made so you can avoid them! Melanie is FullStory’s product marketing manager. She also serves as product marketing lead for two product programs. In this episode, Melanie shared what onboarding looked like in 2017, how she prevented onboarding from becoming over bloated, and the 6 onboarding mistakes she made and how she addressed them. Show Notes [01:57] What FullStory is and what it’s all about [03:14] Her role and responsibilities at FullStory [04:27] What FullStory is focusing on right now [06:51] How having a conversation can help improve the user experience [08:42] How product-led growth can help traditional sales teams grow the company [11:57] What onboarding looked like in 2017 [14:21] Her thoughts on activation emails [16:25] Negative changes she has seen in terms of user onboarding [17:50] How she was able to prevent onboarding from becoming over bloated  [19:06] How the sales team qualifies the people they’ll call [20:30] The 6 onboarding mistakes product-led businesses should avoid and how to address them [25:35] Things she’s excited to experiment with that’s related to user onboarding [28:20] Her advice for those who are in charge of user onboarding [29:35] Where people can find her About Melanie Crissey Melanie Crissey is a product marketer and customer experience leader. She is also FullStory’s product marketing manager. FullStory is an intelligent platform designed to create groundbreaking digital experiences. FullStory also works by uncovering hidden opportunities to help improve the digital experience. FullStory’s intelligent software can also help pinpoint when, where, and how user struggle affects both retention and revenue.  Links FullStoryFullStory Signup PageEvery Onboarding Mistake I Made (So You Don’t Have To) Profile Melanie Crissey on LinkedIn Melanie Crissey on Twitter

While leading marketing for a marketing-led SaaS company, today’s guest discovered customer-led growth. From there, she used the approach to grow revenue by almost 900 percent! In this episode, Georgiana Laudi talked about product-led growth as well as customer-led growth. Georgiana is a seasoned strategic and growth advisor and marketing executive. She is also the co-founder of Forget the Funnel. In this episode, Georgiana differentiated sales-led from product-led, defined what product-led growth is for her, and shared her thoughts on pricing and its impact, among many others. Show Notes [00:43] What got her to where she is today [07:08] Why some companies are defined as engineering-led [10:15] What product-led growth is for her [14:55] Difference between sales-led and marketing-led [21:44] Types of companies that fits best for different market strategies [27:19] The main barriers she sees for those who are trying product-led growth [36:46] How to figure out the success metric [42:41] One piece of advice for companies who would like to become more customer-led [45:55] Her thoughts on pricing and its impact on the company [47:55] Best place to find her About Georgiana Laudi Georgiana Laudi is a marketing executive and strategic and growth advisor. She is also the co-founder of Forget the Funnel, a company that focuses on executive level growth strategy and support for scaling SaaS businesses. They also help growth and marketing leaders to become more effective through their workshops and trainings. Some of the multi-million dollar SaaS companies they’ve helped include Unbounce, SparkToro, Appcues, MeetEdgar, Saasler, and Calendly. Links HubspotMarketoStripeWordStreamWebsite GraderUnbounceJobs-to-be-Done Theory Profile Forget the FunnelGeorgiana Laudi on LinkedInGeorgiana Laudi on Twitter

To find out how product teams drive growth using data, Mixpanel surveyed close to 500 leading product managers. From the survey, they uncovered the latest trends, focuses, and struggles of product teams across the world. To give us some more insight, we talked to Jeff Beckham, the head of product and content marketing at Mixpanel. In this episode, Jeff shared how their report came together, the key metrics product managers are focusing on these days, and his advice for product teams and managers. Show Notes [01:32] What Mixpanel is and what his role is [02:16] Key metrics product managers are focusing on these days [04:22] How the report came together [05:25] Things that have gotten in the way of product innovation [09:02] Tools that are used to increase KPIs and how Mixpanel stacks up [10:36] His advice for product teams [12:00] His advice to product managers in terms of the skills they need to learn [13:35] How product managers can find the balance [14:05] Where people can find him and the report once it comes out About Jeff Beckham Jeff Beckham is the head of product and content marketing at Mixpanel. Mixpanel is the most powerful self-serve product analytics designed to help businesses understand their users better and to convert, engage, and retain them. Trusted by forward-thinking companies like Microsoft, BMW, Shutterfly, and Microsoft, Mixpanel has provided the support companies need to succeed in their user analytics, from implementation to ongoing support, down to technical consultation, they have it all covered. Profile Mixpanel websiteReport (The State of Product Analytics) 

Why is product adoption vital to the success of any SaaS product? For starters, when product adoption increases, churn also plummets. Preventing churn is one of the primary aims of Gainsight PX. Gainsight PX is the brainchild of Michael Alon, a driven consultant and entrepreneur. In this episode, Michael shares what product-led for B2B means, how to build a powerful product-led growth strategy, and what companies are doing to increase product adoption. Show Notes [00:59] How he became the founder of Gainsight PX [03:51] Difference between sales-led, marketing-led, and product-led growth [07:32] What he thinks is the difference between marketing versus product-led [10:44] When the best time to talk to users is [13:07] How he defines product qualified leads (PQLs) [19:00] What product-led growth for B2B means [26:10] How one should go about building a successful product-led growth strategy [32:43] Things companies are doing to increase product adoption [42:53] Where people can learn more about him and what he’s up to About Michael Alon Michael Alon is a serial entrepreneur who’s passionate about designing, building, and launching innovative products designed to drive business outcomes. Michael is the CEO and founder of Aptrinsic. He is also the CTO and founder of Gainsight PX, a leading customer success platform provider that helps businesses secure and surpass the outcomes desired by their customers. Their evidence-based practices as well as their powerful software platform gives clients the insight they need from customer data so they can take the best action at the right time and maximise customer relationships. Links Insightera(Marketo)HubSpotSlack Profile Michael on SlideshareMichael on LinkedInGainsight