ProductLed Podcast

In this limited series of the ProductLed Podcast, Wes Bush shares the contents of his new book—The Product-Led Playbook. Over the next three months, we’re releasing one chapter at a time, providing you with practical, no-nonsense guidance on how to build a multi-million-dollar product-led business with a lean team. In today’s episode, Wes dives into the strategy component and shares what it takes to become the obvious choice in your market. Just as Southwest Airlines dominated by making key strategic choices, you’ll discover how to simplify your approach and focus your energy on what truly matters. You’ll explore the Bullseye Strategy Framework that helps product-led businesses move from struggling in competitive, commoditized markets to becoming industry leaders—like Canva, HubSpot, and Atlassian. Key Highlights 1:18: Breakdown of Southwest Airlines' strategy, highlighting how strategic choices enabled their rapid growth. 3:15: The importance of saying "no" to non-aligned projects to maintain focus and avoid the "action trap." 6:24: Explanation of the "Commodity Zone," where early-stage businesses struggle with fierce competition and low profits. 9:34: How ProductLed client Paubox focused on mental health professionals to become the obvious choice in a specific niche. 13:30: The "moats" you can use as strategic defences that make a business hard to copy. 30:08 – Introduction to the importance of making strategic choices. 41:51: The importance of aligning your team with a one-page strategy document called the "One-Page Endgame Canvas." You can buy The Product-Led Playbook here.

Discover the transformative power of product-led growth for SaaS businesses. Explore how to transition to a self-serve model that aligns with modern buyer preferences. Uncover essential strategies for irresistible offers and frictionless onboarding. Delve into various profit growth levels and learn what it takes to become the top choice in your market. With practical insights from industry experts, start building a foundation for exponential growth and self-serve success.

In this episode of the ProductLed Podcast, Wes Bush and Laura Kluz discuss Wes’ new book, The Product-Led Playbook, set to launch on October 8, 2024. This playbook is the no-BS guide to actually implementing PLG, and explores why some product-led companies see millions in ARR, while others don’t. The book is structured around nine components, which guide companies from building a solid foundation to scaling for exponential growth. The first stage includes crafting a winning strategy, identifying the ideal user, and creating an intentional product model. The second stage involves establishing a frictionless onboarding process and developing effective pricing strategies. The final stage focuses on data analysis, growth processes, and team development. The playbook offers a step-by-step approach to operationalizing PLG and is full of templates and canvases designed for team collaboration. Intended primarily for B2B software founders and early-stage go-to-market teams, this playbook provides a structured method for effectively implementing PLG. Key Moments: 00:00 – What The Product-Led Playbook is and its release date. 02:03 – Exploration of why some companies succeed with PLG while others don't. 03:00 – The customer patterns Wes saw, which led to the creation of the ProductLed System.  06:32 – Explanation of the nine components of the ProductLed System. 15:11 – The three main outcomes you can expect when you implement the system into your business 20:21 – A juicy gift for podcast listeners.

Ken Babcock, Co-Founder of Tango, and Zach DeWitt from Wing VC share their secrets to achieving 10,000 sign-ups in just two weeks. They discuss strategic insights for startups, emphasizing the value of rapid experimentation and customer feedback. The duo highlights the importance of a data-driven, customer-centric culture, and how to effectively structure pilot programs for early-stage products. They underline the significance of clear communication within teams and the need to understand customer personas to facilitate product alignment and growth.

David Rostan is Head of Revenue (Sales & Marketing) at Stonly in New York. Stonly is a company that created a unique widget to build interactive guides to lead clients’ customers to activation, issue resolution, and success on their terms. He has previously worked with fascinating product-led companies such as Calendly as VP for sales and marketing and Dashly as Head of organic and product marketing. These companies are known for effectively scaling that improved their onboarding experiences. In this episode, David will talk about the topic at hand -- how to use customer intent to build product onboarding that scales. Show Notes [01:19] How David got fascinated in customer intent and product onboarding and scales [03:45] The importance of tailoring onboarding for different user intent for him [05:51] His view on the differences of customer intent at different stages [07:59] What customer intent is for him [10:59] On ‘asking’ as the first step to meaningfully understand customer intent  [14:39] On testing and seeing what resonates as the second step [17:27] On identifying the pattern, replicate successes, and observe as the last steps [23:13] What he does best to scale the business right now [26:23] His favorite companies using user intent [29:12] What intent signals he looks for to ensure success for clients [31:36] The results of the experiments he had on user intent to scale onboarding [35:27] On how to further use customer intent to scale and deliver superb onboarding experiences  [37:53] Ways on building the empathy muscle for him [40:26] Where to find out more about David About David Rostan David Rostan is a marketing bigshot with a track record of starting up and expanding mobile products and applications on the web in Fortune 100 and start-up environments. He has outstanding experience in leading all aspects of marketing strategy, such as but not limited to customer acquisition, product innovation, customer research, branding, and data analytics, to accomplish business objectives. He has accomplished so much as an entrepreneur. He has launched 3 SaaS applications and grew them via online and offline sales and marketing channels. He specializes in the following fields: digital marketing and strategy, customer acquisition and channel prioritization, customer development and market research, technology innovation and product management, team building or hiring, strategic planning (OKRs), and leadership. Profile David Rostan on LinkedInDavid Rostan’s Email AddressStonly

Krish Subramanian, CEO, and Co-founder of the leading subscription and billing software called Chargebee, will be sitting in today’s show to answer that question. Chargebee is a global subscription management platform that automates revenue operations of over 4,500 high-growth subscription-based businesses from startups to enterprises across verticals, including SaaS, eCommerce, e-learning, IoT, Publications, and more. Krish and his extremely dynamic mind will be sharing first-hand experiences on how they evolve their go-to-marketing strategy over the years and learn how to straddle sales-led and product-led motions together to drive fast growth. He also talks about the trials and setbacks that they’ve encountered and how they move past those obstacles to generate wins. Shownotes [0:59] Krish talks about their journey of reflecting on their mistakes and wins at Chargebee [1:56] What got them into solving this problem of helping subscription companies understand their business much better? [7:11] The relevance of understanding your subset of customers  [8:42] How do they identify their best customers? [10:36] Getting that value metric and Northstar metric is the biggest revelation for them [15:33] On building more features for your most successful customers [{21:21 Why does he think the pricing is so important to be Product-Led as a business? [25:03] Your end user’s success will eventually become your success  [30:00] Advantages of having both self-service and pre-sales [31:15] How did Chargebee evolve the way they structure their teams? About Krish Subramanian: Krish Subramanian is the co-founder and CEO of Chargebee, a global leader in subscription billing and revenue management solution for scaling businesses. He is an engineer by profession and a problem solver at heart with over 20 years of experience in the software field. As an ex-consultant, Krish strongly believes that business value is defined by service and experience to the customers and the people. He is referred to as the “nice guy” within the company, the tech community, the media, and his mom.  Profile Chargebee Krish on LinkedIn Krish on Twitter

Mariam Hakobyan, the Co-Founder and CEO of Softr, is an engineer turned entrepreneur dedicated to simplifying software creation. She shares her journey of scaling Softr from zero to 45,000 users in less than a year. Mariam emphasizes the significance of community feedback in product development and how user empowerment fuels growth. She discusses balancing simplicity with advanced features to cater to varying user needs. With a focus on customer value and intuitive design, Mariam reveals her vision for creating a thriving ecosystem for software enthusiasts.

Tom Ronen, the head of customer success at monday.com, shares insights on the synergy between product and customer success teams. He emphasizes the need for shared KPIs to focus on user engagement and customer satisfaction. Tom discusses fostering a culture of transparency, where communication flows freely and customer feedback directly influences product development. He offers advice for leaders in product-led organizations to prioritize collaboration and gives tips for customer success teams to ensure their voices are heard, helping drive feature improvements.

Wes Bush, an expert who has guided over 408 SaaS companies on product-led strategies, shares invaluable insights on transforming business growth. He discusses the pivotal shift from sales-led to product-led approaches, emphasizing the need to avoid common pitfalls. Wes elaborates on the nine core components of the ProductLed System, designed to scale businesses efficiently. Additionally, he highlights how companies like Canva and Atlassian position themselves as top choices in competitive markets. Tune in for strategies that promise faster growth with less effort!

Esben Friis-Jensen, Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer at Userflow and Adviser at Cobalt, shares insights on transitioning from a sales-led to a product-led approach. He discusses the challenges they faced during this shift, including organizational resistance and the importance of gaining team buy-in. Esben highlights the benefits of innovative strategies in the pentesting industry and offers valuable advice on nurturing collaboration between sales and product teams. He emphasizes the need for a positive mindset and iterative learning in this transformative journey.