Product Market Fit

Join me as I speak with April Dunford, the world's foremost expert in positioning for technology companies and the author of Obviously Awesome. Together, we explore the fascinating world of positioning and answer key questions like: What's the relationship between positioning, messaging, and go-to-market strategies? How does it tie into product market fit? And why should you prioritize it before lead generation? We also discuss signals of weak positioning, successful repositioning stories, and tips for early-stage founders. Tune in to learn about the three styles of positioning and way more. Chapters:  (00:00) Intro (02:23) Defining positioning and its relationship with messaging and go-to-market strategies (03:29) The relationship between positioning and product market fit (06:36) April’s unconventional path to becoming a positioning expert (10:49) Prioritizing positioning before lead generation (13:32) Signals to watch out for weak positioning (19:47) Repositioning success stories (24:49) Starting with your best customers for great positioning (28:07) Customer discovery and interview tips (35:42) Positioning for early-stage founders (39:46) Positioning for multiple segments of products (43:56) The three styles of positioning (50:54) What comes after positioning: crafting the sales pitch (53:43) Lightning round Guest Contact Info: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/⁠ ⁠https://www.aprildunford.com/⁠ Sponsor: This podcast is brought to you by ⁠⁠grwth.co⁠⁠. Grwth offers fractional CMOs, paired with best-in-class digital marketing execution to support early-stage startup success. With a focus on seed and series A companies, Grwth has helped a number of SaaS, digital health, and e-commerce startups build their go-to-market function and scale up. To learn more and book a free consultation, go to ⁠⁠grwth.co⁠⁠. Get in touch with Mosheh: ⁠⁠linkedin.com/in/moshehp⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠twitter.com/MoshehP⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠hello@pmfpod.com ⁠⁠⁠www.pmfpod.com⁠

Join me and Adriane Schwager, Founder and CEO at GrowthAssistant, in this exciting episode as we delve into the revolutionary benefits of offshore talent augmentation.  We discuss how entrepreneurs can leverage the power of delegation to scale their business and stretch their runway, and share key takeaways for leveraging offshore talent for maximum success. Chapters: (00:00) Intro (02:29) What is GrowthAssistant? (03:18) Choosing which offshore roles to support (06:43) Adriane's background (08:59) GrowthAssistant success stories (12:30) The ideal customer profile for GrowthAssistant (14:20) Building your business on a budget with offshore (15:37) Growth channels for GrowthAssistant (17:25) Marketing tactics: the waiting list (18:56) Pros and cons of building in public (22:49) What’s the big vision? (25:37) Key factors for successful outsourcing and offshoring (28:06) Streamlining onboarding (30:30) Best practices for effective task delegation (32:27) How is AI changing the offshore business? (34:58) Key takeaways for scaling (38:10) Lightning round Guest Contact Info: twitter.com/aschwags3 linkedin.com/in/aschwager www.GrowthAssistant.com Sponsor: This podcast is brought to you by ⁠grwth.co⁠. Grwth offers fractional CMOs, paired with best-in-class digital marketing execution to support early-stage startup success. With a focus on seed and series A companies, Grwth has helped a number of SaaS, digital health, and e-commerce startups build their go-to-market function and scale up. To learn more and book a free consultation, go to ⁠grwth.co⁠. Get in touch with Mosheh: ⁠linkedin.com/in/moshehp ⁠⁠twitter.com/MoshehP ⁠⁠hello@pmfpod.com ⁠⁠www.pmfpod.com

In this episode, I speak with Mary Sheehan, author of the Product Launches book, host of the Women in Product Marketing podcast, and a renowned product marketing leader with an impressive track record at Adobe, Google, NextRoll, and others. We take a deep dive into the world of product marketing, exploring the role of product marketing managers, the product launch process, and essential metrics for measuring success. We also discuss common pitfalls and mistakes that startups encounter during the launch process and cost-effective ways to launch products. Don't miss out on this informative and engaging conversation. Tune in to learn more! Mentioned Acronyms: - PMM: Product Marketing Manager. - PRD: Product Requirments Documents. Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (02:13) What is product marketing?  (03:15) Mary's current role at Adobe Lightroom (05:01) Getting in the Field of Product Marketing  (08:32) Successful elements of product launch (10:12) The 10% rule of internal communication (11:07) The Power of Events in Product Marketing (13:50) Go to Market and Product launches: what are the differences? (20:41) How PMM can help in market research (22:58) The launch fails (24:30) Measuring success - metrics to look for (27:08) The successful launch of Instacart (28:51) Cost-effective ways for product launching (31:25) How the digital ads industry is moving forward? (34:02) How AI is changing product marketing (36:05) Lightning round Guest contact info: linkedin.com/in/maryshirleysheehanproductlaunch.pro Sponsor: This podcast is brought to you by ⁠grwth.co⁠. Grwth offers fractional CMOs, paired with best-in-class digital marketing execution to support early-stage startup success. With a focus on seed and series A companies, Grwth has helped a number of SaaS, digital health, and e-commerce startups build their go-to-market function and scale up. To learn more and book a free consultation, go to ⁠grwth.co⁠. Get in touch with Mosheh: ⁠linkedin.com/in/moshehp⁠⁠twitter.com/MoshehP hello@pmfpod.com ⁠⁠www.pmfpod.com Previous episodes on Product Launches: Ep18: Mastering Product Launches; w/ Derek Osgood, Founder & CEO, Ignition — Product Market Fit

This is a preview of an interview I did with my good friend Danny Gavin, on his podcast, the Digital Marketing Mentor. Danny and I know each other for almost 25 years; he's a really close friend and an absolutely gifted marketer. He runs an agency called Optidge and is a professor at the University of Houston, as well as runs an online digital marketing school called ODEO Academy. It was nice to be on the other side of the mic. I talked to Danny about many interesting topics, including: Mentorship My journey into marketing My current role as a fractional CMO Marketing for startups ChatGPT and AI I hope you enjoy this, and I encourage you to check out the full episode, as well as other episodes of the Digital Marketing Mentor podcast here: https://optidge.com/podcast/014-mosheh-poltorak-founding-startups-and-fractional-cmo/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1JDJXMchfG5fU7FlY6rFdY Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/014-founding-startups-fractional-cmos-and-facing/id1663970990?i=1000609645069

In this episode, we sit with Yaniv Makover, the co-founder and CEO of Anyword, a leading generative AI content platform for performance marketers. We discuss the impact of generative AI on content creation, people's perspectives on AI-generated content, and whether AI poses a threat to jobs in the creative industry. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 02:20 What's Anyword and who do you serve? 03:48 The story behind the idea of Anyword 07:07 KIWI for Content optimization 08:20 Go-To-Market strategy 09:43 Why do customers love the product? 13:02 Differentiation and positioning 16:53 People don't buy AI, they buy the value it creates 18:34 Finding the ICP 20:49 Defensibility and growth 22:45 First isn't always the best 23:45 Overview of Anyword's AI model 25:35 Growth and acquisition 28:40 Generative AI and job loss 32:09 Consumers' reaction to generated AI content 34:34 Will people replace Google with chatbots? 37:20 Responsible AI 39:25 Lightening Round Guest contact info: linkedin.com/in/yaniv-makover yaniv@anyword.com anyword.com Sponsor: This podcast is brought to you by ⁠grwth.co⁠. Grwth offers fractional CMOs, paired with best-in-class digital marketing execution to support early-stage startup success. With a focus on seed and series A companies, Grwth has helped a number of SaaS, digital health, and e-commerce startups build their go-to-market function and scale up. To learn more and book a free consultation, go to ⁠grwth.co⁠. Get in touch with Mosheh: ⁠linkedin.com/in/moshehp ⁠⁠twitter.com/MoshehP ⁠⁠hello@pmfpod.com ⁠⁠www.pmfpod.com Previous episodes on Generative AI: Ep21: From Idea to Prototype in Minutes; w/ Tony Beltramelli, founder & CEO Uizard — Product Market Fit podcast EP10: Google's AI backlash; w/ Alexander De Ridder, co-founder & CTO, INK — Product Market Fit podcast Ep13: Ethical Machines; w/ Reid Blackman, PhD, Author and Consultant — Product Market Fit podcast

Since I'm off celebrating Passover, instead of releasing a new interview today, I present to you a mashup of key insights from past episodes on several recurring topics, including: Product market fit — what it is, how it's measured, and how you know if you have it. Talking to customers and collecting user feedback. How launching on Product Hunt has gone for several of the startups featured so far on the podcast. If you're new to the pod, hopefully, this is a good entry point and encourages you to go back and listen to these fantastic interviews. But even if you're an avid listener, I find it helpful to revisit these important topics. Chapters: (00:00) Intro (01:28) Rajesh Nerlikar; Product market fit definitions (03:56) Rajesh Nerlikar; Negative signs to watch out for in product market fit (05:40) Jacob Knutzen; How do they think about and measure PMF at Butter (08:02) Sam Shepler; Reevaluating your PMF and buying personas (09:22) Raphael Allstadt; The AHA moment (10:52) Sara Mauskopf; Pivoting to success (16:27) Adam Nash; Considering growth before and after PMF (19:52) Rajesh Nerlikar; Customer discovery (23:24) Jakob Knutzen; Talking to different customer personas (25:23) Raphael Allstadt; The upsell from free to paid (28:24) Pietro Saccomani; Building in public and gathering user input on public roadmaps (31:19) Derek Osgood; Launching on Product Hunt (34:57) Pascal Weinberger; Using Product Hunt to go from V1 to V2 (37:35) Raphael Allstadt; Best video of the year (41:46) Jakob Knutzen; Launching twice on Product Hunt (43:05) Wrap-up Sponsor:  This podcast is brought to you by grwth.co. Grwth offers fractional CMOs, paired with best-in-class digital marketing execution to support early-stage startup success. With a focus on seed and series A companies, Grwth has helped a number of SaaS, digital health, and e-commerce startups build their go-to-market function and scale up. To learn more and book a free consultation, go to grwth.co. Get in touch with Mosheh: linkedin.com/in/moshehp twitter.com/MoshehP hello@pmfpod.com www.pmfpod.com

In this episode, I sit down with Tony Beltramelli, the Co-founder and CEO of Uizard, a startup that is transforming the way websites and apps are designed using artificial intelligence. Tony shares his journey of starting Uizard, raising funds, and growing the company. We also dive deep into the state of AI technology and GPT-4.  It was a really fun conversation and relevant to anyone interested in AI and early-stage startups. Enjoy! Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (03:54) The story behind the idea of Uizard (06:08) The strategy behind Uizard's launches (07:12) Thoughts on dealing with the rising competition when it comes to AI (10:01) The art of keeping up with the fast pace of AI (12:49) AI is becoming the buzz (14:25) AI is helping entrepreneurs in starting and scaling companies (15:52) The potential flip side of using AI (18:52) Pausing research on AI for security reasons (21:26) Uizard growth strategy (25:45) AI can be changing how SEO works (27:03) True product market fit is like retention stickiness (29:25) Measuring success in the uncertain world of startups (31:25) Fundraising (34:25) The grand vision for Uizard (37:33) Lightning round Guest contact info: linkedin.com/in/tony-beltramelli twitter.com/Tbeltramelli uizard.io Sponsor:  This podcast is brought to you by grwth.co. Grwth offers fractional CMOs, paired with best-in-class digital marketing execution to support early-stage startup success. With a focus on seed and series A companies, Grwth has helped a number of SaaS, digital health, and e-commerce startups build their go-to-market function and scale up. To learn more and book a free consultation, go to grwth.co. Get in touch with Mosheh: linkedin.com/in/moshehp twitter.com/MoshehP hello@pmfpod.com www.pmfpod.com

Adam Nash is a legend in the Silicon Valley product world and has held almost every possible role in the startup ecosystem, including: VP of Product and Growth at Dropbox and LinkedIn, CEO of Wealthfront, board member at Acorns and Shift, lecturer at Stanford, and investor in over 120 startups such as Figma, Gusto, and Opendoor, to name a few. Most recently, Adam co-founded Daffy, a modern giving platform. In this interview, we cover:  Adam’s journey from executive to founder and why he started Daffy;  The importance of being intentional with your business model;  Adam’s predictions for the future of fintech;  Key learnings about growth from Dropbox and LinkedIn;  and so much more.  Don't miss the wealth of knowledge Adam shares in this insightful conversation! Special offer: Go to: daffy.org/moshehp/invite to create your account. Once you fund it, Daffy will add $25 that you can donate to any charity of your choice. (Terms and conditions apply.) Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (02:55) What is Daffy? (04:23) Why should I consider a DAF (donor advised fund)? (07:05) Why giving should be social (08:40) The starting of Daffy (11:54) Venture funding and not-for-profit structure (14:46) The importance of aligning your business model with your mission (18:56) Advertising as a business model (22:41) Business models that are interesting for investment (25:45) The future of Fintech (30:10) Growth lessons from LinkedIn, DropBox, & Wealthfront (36:19) How to integrate imperfect data when making decisions (41:57) Why was Dropbox's referral program so successful? (47:18) Lighting Round (52:20) Conclusion Guest contact info: linkedin.com/in/adamnash/ twitter.com/adamnash Adam's blog Daffy.org Further reading: https://www.businessinsider.com/adam-nash-book-recommendations-2015-5 https://www.daffy.org/resources/generosity-gap Sponsor: This podcast is brought to you by ⁠grwth.co⁠. Grwth offers fractional CMOs, paired with best-in-class digital marketing execution to support early-stage startup success. With a focus on seed and series A companies, Grwth has helped a number of SaaS, digital health, and e-commerce startups build their go-to-market function and scale up. To learn more and book a free consultation, go to ⁠grwth.co⁠. Get in touch with Mosheh: ⁠linkedin.com/in/moshehp ⁠⁠twitter.com/MoshehP ⁠⁠hello@pmfpod.com ⁠⁠www.pmfpod.com

Lazer Cohen is the founder & CEO of Concrete Media, one of the top PR firms in Israel focused on tech startups. In this special episode we get tactical on the mechanics of PR for startups. Topics covered include: - Launches, funding announcements, and press releases - Crafting a story - How to approach pitching; and more In our discussion, Lazer makes a compelling case for investing in PR at the early stages, and shares practical tips for founders or anyone responsible for early-stage startup growth. Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (02:11) Why should I care about PR? (03:13) Different types of media outlets (05:29) How does PR support other channels? (07:10) PR for early-stage startups (coming soon; launches; funding announcement) (09:03) Getting started with PR (09:47) What's "newsworthy?" And do press releases still matter? (14:10) Approaching journalists (16:07) The proactive side of PR (18:32) "Newsjacking," crisis management, and rebranding (23:05) Crafting the story (26:43) Story angles ("show don't tell") (28:47) When is a company ready for PR? (30:39) Involving the whole team in PR strategy (32:55) Different models for engaging a PR firm (34:28) Conclusion Guest contact info: linkedin.com/in/lazercohen/ concrete.media/ Sponsor:  This podcast is brought to you by grwth.co. Grwth offers fractional CMOs, paired with best-in-class digital marketing execution to support early-stage startup success. With a focus on seed and series A companies, Grwth has helped a number of SaaS, digital health, and e-commerce startups build their go-to-market function and scale up. To learn more and book a free consultation, go to grwth.co. Get in touch with Mosheh: linkedin.com/in/moshehp twitter.com/MoshehP hello@pmfpod.com www.pmfpod.com

Derek Osgood is the founder & CEO of Ignition and a seasoned Product Marketer. Ignition is “the platform for go-to-market” — a collaborative hub to plan, execute, and measure launches. In today’s discussion Derek shares the keys to a successful launch; Ignition’s experience launching on Product Hunt and AppSumo; why Apple is so successful with their launches and much more; so tune in and get ready to master your next product launch.  As always, I love to hear from you so please leave a rating or review wherever you love to listen and/or contact me directly via email, LinkedIn or Twitter (links below).  Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (02:16) What is Ignition? (03:27) Ignition's origin story (04:43) The concept of launching new things (08:33) The ideal customer profile (09:50) Ignition as a company (10:40) How to orchestrate a successful launch? (14:22) We bring competitors together (14:55) A suite solution (15:23) The balance between new launch and new features (17:28) Launching Mistakes (20:15) Different launching platforms (24:10) Launching metrics (28:04) Product Market Fit (29:02) Cool product launches (30:49) Apple the mother of launches (33:30) Growing Ignition (36:00) How will AI impact content marketing? (37:50) How does Ignition incorporate Ai? (39:47) What is the grand vision for Ignition? (40:33) Lighting round Guest contact info: linkedin.com/in/derekosgood3/ derek@haveignition.com haveignition.com Sponsor:  This podcast is brought to you by grwth.co. Grwth offers fractional CMOs, paired with best-in-class digital marketing execution to support early-stage startup success. With a focus on seed and series A companies, Grwth has helped a number of SaaS, digital health, and e-commerce startups build their go-to-market function and scale up. To learn more and book a free consultation, go to grwth.co. Get in touch with Mosheh: linkedin.com/in/moshehp twitter.com/MoshehP hello@pmfpod.com www.pmfpod.com