PRODUCTEA with Leah, Growth & Senior Leadership

Season 3 of the ProducTea: We spill the tea on Product-led Sales and Product-led Growth in B2B and the realities of senior leadership.Alexa Grabell shares honest perspectives on why she recommends every senior leader to have a product coach and how she accidentally ended up being a founder of a VC-backed gig to drive efficiency in go-to-market.Timestamps:2:40 What do people get wrong about Alexa? Confusing being cheery with not being serious5:50 You lead a team, not a family11:20 The future of GTM is data-driven and hyper-personalized15:35 Getting thicker skin after getting rejected all the time17:30 Hiring people too fast for what you have18:50 Accidental ways of landing in a VC-backed company as a founder22:00 You have to believe in what you do more than anyone else26:30 Insecurities in business and executive coaching31:00 The unusual merits of “being experienced”35:30 The leverage of coaching and brutally honest feedback39:50 Intentional community building to drive your business and the future of Go to Market43:15 Hubspot and its powerful product and community buildingSend us a textLeah on Linkedin / Twitter / Youtube

Shanee Ben-Zur, Senior growth leader at top brands like DropBox, NVIDIA, Crunchbase, and Salesforce, discusses misconceptions in virtual meetings, challenges faced in the tech industry, taking unconventional career paths, the importance of role models in the workplace, the structure and organization of growth teams, and the importance of compliments and constructive feedback.

Season 2 of the ProducTea! I’m joined by a silicon valley legend: Dave Kellogg, EIR at Balderton Capital, independent consultant/advisor, and author of Kellblog.We delve into the pitfalls of building a product strategy on shaky foundations and highlight anyone’s job of designing effective experiments to facilitate learning.We speak about an inherent fear of executives missing out constantly and distinguishing between strategic and opportunistic revenue.Why a company is not a democracy where every customer gets an equal say, and how to be cautious about the bad behaviors that can come from improper incentives.We share insights on establishing control over finding successful customers in a sales-led growth company and the concept of product-led sales and territories.Lastly, he addresses the challenges of understanding the inner workings of a SaaS company which usually means taking a hard look in the mirror.Timestamps:02:15 Dave’s introduction07:18 Explaining Marketing / Sales to technical people11:45 Not accepting things you don’t understand, conventional wisdom that’s not true15:50 What do people get wrong about Dave?17:35 Building product strategy on things that have no business to be built around & decision bias22:40 Your job is to design a good experiment - did we learn or did we learn nothing?25:17 A system that incentivizes to move metrics that are hard to manipulate → What is success?34:10 C-level fear of missing out. Strategic revenue and opportunistic revenue38:00 Your company is not a democracy where every customer gets one vote40:40 Bad behavior driven by incentivizing people wrong.47:15 Trying to get control over finding customers that will be successful in a sales-led growth company, product-led sales & territory54:25 Why is it so difficult to understand what’s going on inside a SaaS company?Connect!Dave’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelloggdave/Dave’s blog: https://kellblog.com/Leah: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leahtharin/Send us a textLeah on Linkedin / Twitter / Youtube

  Season 2 of the ProducTea! In this episode, we’re looking at how awful or delightful it is to work with your sibling.There's a deep dive into Superhuman and Leah's disdain for email, along with the importance of creating defensible moats in product development. We elaborate on what it means to be "exceptional" and give a glimpse into Superhuman’s unique "Delight" team and its unusual structure emphasizing an oversized customer success component.We reflect on how to attract investors for a product reliant on another product's survival. The conversation then shifts towards security vs convenience in product positioning, anchored by the founding thesis of Superhuman. We conclude it by discussing the rapid progress of underlying technology against the backdrop of regulation and how productivity tools enable more efficient utilization of time, aligning with individual aspirations. Timestamps:03.00 How is it to work with a sibling?05:25 What do people get wrong about Gaurav?08:00 Superhuman and Leah’s Disdain for Email11:24 Defendable moats and what your product should do15:15 What does being “Exceptional” mean?18:30 Superhuman’s “Delight” team20:05 Customers in dire need23:15 Superhuman’s unusual structure with an “oversized” customer success part26:45 How to convince investors to invest in a product that depends on the survival of another one33:20 Security vs convenience positioning products35:20 The founding thesis of Superhuman39:30 Ai as proof that people put convenience before accuracy, security44:25 The breakneck pace of the underlying technology development vs. regulation47:08 Productivity tools free up time to do more useful things, wherever your aspirations may lieConnect!Gaurav's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gvohra/His personal page: https://www.gauravvohra.com/ Send us a textLeah on Linkedin / Twitter / Youtube

Season 2 of the ProducTea! Elena Verna joins me to openly gossip about our diverse income streams: Advisory, consulting, and everything else in that word salad. We both dive into our different modes of engagement with an emphasis on what the ideal duration and conditions are for each of them.If you ever wanted to have an inside look into how growth advising happens, this is your episode.Timestamps:03:00 What Elena has been up to in the last 6 months03:50 What does being a growth advisor/consultant or solopreneur mean?09:50 Is career optionality a strength or weakness as a candidate?15:11 How content, advising, and full-time role play into each other17:04 How to get your first contract?22:59 It takes a long time for your seeds to grow, learn to seed fast and putting yourself out there including your knowledge27:19 Leah’s modes of engagements28:34 Elena’s modes of engagements34:14 Acceptable durations for different modes of engagements36:54 The first 3 months as an advisor39:10 The case for interim positions and why Elena picks them occasionally43:40 Interim positions and reasons why companies use them46:55 Contractual conditions you need to set up to have a chance at advising52:10 Monetizing your advising career too early54:50 Being a generalist vs. a specialist, disclosing weaknessesSend us a textLeah on Linkedin / Twitter / Youtube

Season 2 of the ProducTea! Kieran Flanagan is one of the most valuable things I read every day on LinkedIn, his incredible ability to connect the dots when it comes to AI and Business is the reason why it will stay that way for quite some time. He delves into the 'Content Paradox' explaining how AI is transforming content creation and curation and shares intriguing insights into Hubspot's origin story and the potential role of AI as a retention tool, not just an acquisition one.Timestamps:01:00 Kieran’s Introduction and Background06:35 What people get wrong about Kieran09:00 What are you doing in Marketing if AI is about to kill it?13:00 Conent Paradox. AI bundling and unbundling content.19:00 Technological leaps that make people more efficient. Are knowledge workers immune to it?21:30 Hubspots origin story26:00 AI is maybe a retention rather than an acquisition tool31:40 How we think about Software is changing radically35:20 How product-led growth is dramatically getting accelerated by AI39:50 People definitely buy from companies not just people43:48 How Zapier tries to offer value from before AI and now after AIConnect!Kieran Flanagan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kieranjflanagan/Leah: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leahtharin/Send us a textLeah on Linkedin / Twitter / Youtube

Season 2 of the ProducTea! For the first time, I’m joined by 2 guests and it’s none other than Teresa Torres and Hope GurionWe discuss the importance of leadership tied to people management and highlight the value of working from a unified knowledge base from C-level to operational teams. The conversation navigates through the realities of crises such as the 2008 financial recession and connected layoffs and how frameworks cannot replace effort or “putting in the work”. We also grapple with the dilemma of impostor syndrome versus the pressure of always being correct in business. Timestamps:07:50 CEO: “Our PM’s are not delivering big enough ideas”15:00 Making cases about 17:30 Tieing leadership to people management20:40 Working from the same knowledge base from C-Level to operational product teams27:00 When your company gets into trouble suddenly, the financial crisis in 200833:40 This is not the first recession we faced, layoffs are suddenly "39:40 Having fewer people to manage might not be as good for your status but you definitely learn more46:00 Thinking is hard and expensive, frameworks do not replace the work you have to put down50:00 Impostor syndrome throughout our careers vs. needing to be right in business57:30 Finding the one right answer, school vs. business life62:00 Trends which Hope & Teresa are betting on: same old but changing what we learn in schoolSend us a textLeah on Linkedin / Twitter / Youtube

Season 2 of the ProducTea! Seasoned tech leader Ravi shares his insights on founding a business amidst AI disruption, the evolving capabilities of AI in empathy, and the challenges we faced of leadership post our careers at Microsoft. We also explore the concept of dual career ladders, some crazy pivots we both experienced as product leaders. Ravi also addresses dealing with insecurities after achieving significant career success and balancing opportunity cost with efficient time use.Timestamps:02:00 Ravi’s introduction07:25 Ravi’s Origins & Gossip about Microsoft10:30 Founding a business in a domain that is getting shaken up by AI20:03 AI products outperform humans on empathy. What “really” matters to people27:30 What do people get wrong about Ravi? Leading small companies with a big company resume32:00 When you lose the possibility to micromanage everything. Tripadvisor36:50 Opportunity sizing for initiatives, Conviction vs Healthy skepticism44:00 IC careers vs. Manager career Dual Career Ladders52:55 What kind of insecurities do you deal with once you have “done it all already”: opportunity cost and how to use time efficientSend us a textLeah on Linkedin / Twitter / Youtube

Season 2 of the ProducTea! We discuss key distinctions in B2B contexts, notably between buyers and users, and individual versus team metrics. The importance of KPI design in product-led companies and why you can’t skip on this secret weapon, the critique of being in large tech corporations right now, and we explore the benefits of API-first companies in terms of retention.Timestamps:01:00 Sam’s Introduction06:50 Sam’s best growth experiences to move her forward12:00 Differentiate between buyers and users in B2B14:45 Individual vs Team metrics19:13 Companies quitting product-led growth21:38 Net Dollar Retention is a metric you probably get wrong24:00 Doing “product” in product-led vs. sales-led companies: KPI Design is a secret weapon that you can’t outsource28:10 Uncomfortable Truths in tech, don’t be in big companies right now34:35 Retainer and Full-Time roles feeding the content recycling machine37:55 Using control over your calendar to battle insecurities39:55 A lot of people depend on your decisions as a “Head of”41:30 Context switching matters more than the number of hours you have available45:10 API-first companies have an insane retention advantageSam’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-crowell-richard/Send us a textLeah on Linkedin / Twitter / Youtube

Season 2 of the ProducTea! Patrick is the real deal, he ships more than a shipyard, is vulnerable and open with what most likely makes him successful. His unbending will to build something that lasts and how it all connects together with the last step of a buyer's journey: monetization.His personal framework on how to stay on top regardless of what the market throws at him in his day to day.Timestamps:01:00 Patricks Introduction04:00 The origin of Patrick’s pricing and content05:55 Help sells09:40 How the perspective of what you said changes after success14:10 Creating a culture of feedback is about being intentional16:30 How to learn anything21:15 Insecurities & Patrick’s Scoreboard27:53 Impostor Syndrome and comparing yourself to others31:20 Thinking too much about shipping without shipping anything34:05 Patrick’s grim numbers on the market shifting, RIP acquisition39:50 Can AI really automate all Acquisition?48:15 How changes look like if you consider the human element and time to change anything52:50 Tactical tips vs Behavioural change through cadence56:50 Do you have to be broken to be hard-working? Setting up your surroundings to fit your ideal way of working.Patrick’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickccampbell/Send us a textLeah on Linkedin / Twitter / Youtube