UI Breakfast: UI/UX Design and Product Strategy

Can developers build beautiful software on their own, without relying on a designer? One team decided to teach this knowledge, and scored massive success. Meet the brains behind Refactoring UI, Adam Wathan and Steve Schoger. You'll learn the story of their project, their favorite design tips, and how much work goes into every bit of content they publish.Podcast feed: subscribe to https://feeds.simplecast.com/4MvgQ73R in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play Music.Show NotesRefactoring UI — team's project we're talking aboutTailwind CSS — Adam's project, a CSS framework for rapid UI developmentThings — a popular to-do app, one of the examples of great design7 Practical Tips for Cheating at Design — one of the team's most successful articlesScreenFlow — a popular tool for screen recording and video editingWatch Refactoring UI on YouTubeGet the Refactoring UI bookFollow Adam and Steve on Twitter: @adamwathan, @steveschogerToday's SponsorThis episode is brought to you by Lightmatter. Have you ever wondered how top companies ship new features so quickly? Or have you ever struggled to get that awesome UX and UI you were going for? That’s where Lightmatter comes in. They act as a direct extension of design and development teams at some of the world’s top companies. Whether your company needs a new brand, website, or app, they can help. Check them out at lightmatter.com/uibreakfast to learn more.Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more here. Leave a ReviewReviews are hugely important because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. Here's how.

Asia Matos, Founder of DemandMaven, discusses strategies for acquiring your first 100 SaaS customers. Topics include sales funnels, conversion rates, acquiring early customers, and avoiding common mistakes in startup growth.

How can custom illustration make your product truly shine? Our guest today is Krystal Lauk, the founder of an illustration-led design agency. You'll learn why illustration is an integral part of the entire user experience, what brands set a good example, and how to approach the creative process.Podcast feed: subscribe to https://feeds.simplecast.com/4MvgQ73R in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play Music.Show NotesKrystal Lauk Studios — Krystal's design agencyHumans of Flat Design — fun project by Eli Schiff featuring modern illustrationsThumbtack Brand Illustration Style — one of Krystal's case studiesIllustrating a more human brand — the history of Dropbox brand illustration by Michael Jeter99U, Pinterest, It's Nice That — places to find inspirationProcreate, Adobe Fresco, Adobe Sketch — some of the popular illustration toolsMention UIBREAKFAST to get 15% your first illustration project at Krystal Lauk StudiosFollow Krystal on InstagramFollow Krystal on Twitter: @krystallaukToday's SponsorThis episode is brought to you by Lightmatter. Have you ever wondered how top companies ship new features so quickly? Or have you ever struggled to get that awesome UX and UI you were going for? That’s where Lightmatter comes in. They act as a direct extension of design and development teams at some of the world’s top companies. Whether your company needs a new brand, website, or app, they can help. Check them out at lightmatter.com/uibreakfast to learn more.Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more here. Leave a ReviewReviews are hugely important because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. Here's how.

Testimonials and case studies hold enormous marketing potential (without coming off as salesy). Our guest today is Joel Klettke, the founder of Case Study Buddy. You'll learn what makes a powerful case study, how to produce one yourself, and how to use them in your sales & marketing process.Podcast feed: subscribe to https://feeds.simplecast.com/4MvgQ73R in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play Music.Show NotesCase Study Buddy — Joel's service we're talking aboutSome of their case study samplesPingboard, Varonis, Buffer — some of the companies that do great case studiesCrisp Video — a company producing amazing video testimonials for lawyers (see one of the samples)Get your free copy of The Complete Guide to Growing Your Revenue with Case StudiesFollow Joel on Twitter: @JoelKlettkeToday's SponsorThis episode is brought to you by Lightmatter. Lightmatter helps some of the world’s fastest growing companies design and develop their software applications. Whether you don’t yet need an in-house engineering team, or you’re busy growing the next unicorn and can’t hire fast enough, there’s an immense value in working with a group of experts like Lightmatter. Check them out at lightmatter.com/uibreakfast to learn more.Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more here. Leave a ReviewReviews are hugely important because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. Here's how.

Growing a SaaS company is such a slow process. How do you know if you're on the right track? Our guest today is Derrick Reimer, a founder of several SaaS companies and a fellow podcaster. You'll learn the story of his previous SaaS product, multiple ways to validate your product idea, and what are the signals that a product-market fit is happening (or not).Download the MP3 audio file: right-click here and choose Save As.Podcast feed: subscribe to https://feeds.simplecast.com/4MvgQ73R in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play Music.Show NotesI'm Walking Away From the Product I Spent a Year Building — Derrick's post-mortem article about Level37signals — the original site from 1999Getting Real — a book by 37signalsStart Small, Stay Small — a book by Rob WallingDrip — Derrick's previous product with Rob Walling (acquired by Leadpages)The Mom Test — a book by Rob Fitzpatrick on talking to customersStaticKit — Derrick's current productThe Art of Product — Derrick's podcast with Ben OrensteinDerrick's personal websiteFollow Derrick on Twitter: @derrickreimerToday's SponsorThis episode is brought to you by Gusto. Small businesses across the US love running payroll with Gusto. Why? Because Gusto automatically files and pays your taxes, it’s super easy to use, plus you can add benefits and management tools to help take care of your team. But here’s the thing: it’s almost 2020, and switching to a new payroll provider can be tricky. Gusto can help! Sign up today at gusto.com/uibreakfast and get three months free when you run your first payroll.Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more here. Leave a ReviewReviews are hugely important because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. Here's how.

The tech world is complex enough to puzzle adults, not to mention children. How shall we teach them about computers? Our guest today is Miriam Tocino, the author of Zerus & Ona book series. We discuss the challenges of parenthood, how Miriam has used intuitive writing to create an engaging book experience, and how to bring up our kids with the right technical mindset.Podcast feed: subscribe to https://feeds.simplecast.com/4MvgQ73R in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play Music.Show NotesZerus & Ona — Miriam's illustrated book series for kidsLauren Sapala — a writer & coach on intuitive writingThe Artist's Way — a book by Julia CameronFollow Miriam on Twitter: @miriamtocinoPre-order Zerus gets a Virus in English or DutchJoin the book launch party in Amsterdam on December 12, 2019 (more details in Miriam's newsletter)Today's SponsorThis episode is brought to you by Gusto. Gusto offers modern, easy payroll and benefits to small businesses across the US. And if you want your business to be all set up by 2020, you don’t want to wait! Sign up today at gusto.com/uibreakfast and get three months free when you run your first payroll.Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more here.Leave a ReviewReviews are hugely important because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. Here's how.

Great copy can turn your SaaS marketing website into a money-making machine. But how do you get it right? Our guest today is Josh Garofalo, a SaaS copywriter and consultant at Sway Copy. You'll learn why customer research is the most important step in the copywriting process, how exactly to approach the key pages of your website, and what mistakes to avoid.Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play Music.Show NotesSway Copy — Josh's consultancyCopyhackers, ConversionXL — great copywriting resourcesAmazon, Capterra — places for customer research12 Voice of the Customer Methodologies To Generate a Goldmine of Customer FeedbackJTBD.info — a website on Jobs to be Done, run by Alan KlementHotjar, FullStory — tools for better understanding customer behaviorUserlist — Jane's SaaS productEpisode 133: SaaS Pricing with Patrick CampbellTom's Planner — a project management tool, one of Josh's case studiesHow Long Should Your Pages Be? — an article by Joanna Wiebe on levels of awarenessThis Sentence Has Five Words — a lesson from Gary Provost on varying sentence lengthGet in touch with JoshFollow Josh on Twitter: @swaycopyToday's SponsorThis episode is brought to you by Gusto. Gusto offers payroll, benefits, HR, and management tools for small businesses. Automatically file and pay your taxes. Sign, store, and organize employee paperwork online. Choose from hundreds of benefits plans to fit nearly any budget. Fast, easy, all in one place! And if you want your business to be all set up by 2020, you don’t want to wait. Sign up today at gusto.com/uibreakfast and get three months free when you run your first payroll.Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more here. Leave a ReviewReviews are hugely important because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. Here's how.

As a founder, you always know why your product is awesome. But how do you explain it to your customers? Our guest today is the amazing April Dunford — a positioning expert and author of Obviously Awesome. You'll learn why positioning is so critical, how April polished her positioning method over the years, and how to find the "secret sauce" for your own product.Podcast feed: subscribe to https://feeds.simplecast.com/4MvgQ73R in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play Music.Show NotesObviously Awesome — April's book we're talking aboutHow We Used April Dunford’s 10-Step Method to Overhaul Positioning at Userlist — Jane's blog postEpisode 37: Customer Support Done Right with Alex Yumashev April's websiteFollow April on Twitter: @aprildunfordToday's SponsorThis episode is brought to you by Gusto. Small businesses across the US love running payroll with Gusto. Why? Because Gusto automatically files and pays your taxes, it’s super easy to use, plus you can add benefits and management tools to help take care of your team. But here’s the thing: it’s almost 2020, and switching to a new payroll provider can be tricky. Gusto can help! Sign up today at gusto.com/uibreakfast and get three months free when you run your first payroll.Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more here. Leave a ReviewReviews are hugely important because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. Here's how.

In this special episode, three Userlist co-founders — Claire Suellentrop, Benedikt Deicke, and Jane herself — get together to answer a few questions from the audience. They share the strategy behind their recent Product Hunt launch (which scored #1 Product of the Day), their founding story, product management techniques, and so much more. Podcast feed: subscribe to https://feeds.simplecast.com/4MvgQ73R in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play Music. Show Notes Userlist — the product we're talking about Episode 49: Behind the Scenes of Tiny Reminder Launch with Benedikt Deicke Episode 56: Product Development Secrets with Claire Suellentrop Episode 92: Behind the Scenes of Userlist.io Research with Claire Suellentrop Behind the Scenes of Our Upcoming Public Launch The story of Userlist, Inc. Userlist Team & Company Values How We Used April Dunford’s 10-Step Method to Overhaul Positioning at Userlist Campaign Templates for Each User Lifecycle Stage Episode 139: Understanding Account-Level Engagement in SaaS with Derek Skaletsky Follow the team on Twitter: @ClaireSuellen, @benediktdeicke, @uibreakfast, @Userlistio Today's Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Gusto. Gusto offers modern, easy payroll and benefits to small businesses across the US. And if you want your business to be all set up by 2020, you don’t want to wait! Sign up today at gusto.com/uibreakfast and get three months free when you run your first payroll. Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more here. Leave a Review Reviews are hugely important because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. Here's how.

Today we're looking into the mobile app ecosystem, which differs dramatically from the cosy world of SaaS. Our guest to day is Sean Casto, the founder of PreApps — a marketing agency that has helped thousands of apps reach millions of downloads. You'll learn about the key ingredients of success in the mobile industry, and different ways to market and monetize your app. Podcast feed: subscribe to https://feeds.simplecast.com/4MvgQ73R in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play Music. Show Notes PreApps — Sean's app marketing agency App Secrets: How to Create A Million Dollar App — Sean's book The One Thing — a book by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan Measure What Matters — a book by John Doerr Sean's website Follow Sean on Facebook Today's Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Gusto. Gusto offers payroll, benefits, HR, and management tools for small businesses. Automatically file and pay your taxes. Sign, store, and organize employee paperwork online. Choose from hundreds of benefits plans to fit nearly any budget. Fast, easy, all in one place! Sign up today at gusto.com/uibreakfast and get three months free when you run your first payroll. Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more here. Leave a Review Reviews are hugely important because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. Here's how.