Conscious Tech with Sera Tajima

Discover how Product Led Growth (PLG) is transforming SaaS business models in 2025. This comprehensive guide breaks down the fundamentals of PLG strategy, why it's revolutionizing customer acquisition, and the key metrics that drive sustainable growth.In this video, you'll learn:— The core principles of Product Led Growth and how to implement them— Why PLG creates a competitive advantage in today's market— The measurable benefits PLG brings and who benefits— How to build your own growth loops— Essential value creation metrics to track your PLG successWhether you're a founder, product manager, designer, or growth specialist, these PLG insights will help you create more efficient acquisition channels and improve your product's value metrics.Chapters[00:00:00] Understand PLG[00:04:34] Why PLG is Game Changing[00:06:48] Benefits of PLG[00:10:01] Anatomy of a Growth Loop [00:12:38] Value Creation Success MetricsWhere to find more on PLG: https://seratajima.substack.com/p/your-guide-to-product-led-growth___________________________________________________________I'm Sera Tajima —  Founder, Climate Tech Advisor & Investor. 🤙I talk about: → Product Growth Strategy (Growth, Design, AI)→ Climate Tech→ Venture Capital⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Connect for more good energy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⚡️Become a sponsor: partner@seratajima.com

This is Watershed's zero to one journey. From serving tech companies with climate interest to building enterprise-grade solutions for Fortune 500s, Molly Goldberg (Group Product Design Lead, Apps and Foundations) and Tess Hannel (Product Designer, Finance) take us inside this Series C climate tech startup that's tackling global emissions at scale. Discover how they're helping multinational corporations measure, report, and reduce their carbon footprint with a rigorous approach to data and auditable artifacts. Learn how their design team balances technical complexity with user experience while working toward an ambitious goal of reducing global emissions by 500 megatons—equivalent to Brazil's entire carbon output. The conversation spans building effective design teams, tackling complex Scope 3 emissions, navigating corporate sustainability requirements, and creating measurable climate impact. Whether you're a founder looking to create impact at scale or a product designer interested in climate tech, this episode reveals valuable insights about building solutions for one of our generation's most pressing challenges.Subscribe to Conscious Tech⁠⁠🗞️Chapters[00:00:00] The Inspiration to Join a Climate Startup[00:03:31] How Watershed is Reducing Global Emissions by 500 mt[00:06:45] Product 0-1 Journey [00:10:20] Calculate Emissions from Primary Activity Data[00:12:37] Gathering Scope 3 Emissions as Levers[00:15:55] How Watershed Found PMF Upmarket[00:19:22] Key JTBD, Policy, CSRD, ESG[00:22:15] Joining Climate Tech and Climate Expertise[00:24:50] Growth Opportunities in Financial Institutions Scope 3.15[00:27:33] Watershed Design Teams & Customer JTBDs[00:32:59] Gaps in Data, Support Team, Activation[00:39:38] Customer Profiles, Reporting, Data, Watershed Customers[00:48:00] Investment in ESG, Report Authoring[00:50:13] Future Investment Forecasting & Insurance Risk [00:52:10] Design Team OKRs[00:55:54] How to Hire a Great Design Team[01:00:39] Interviewing and Onboarding at Watershed[01:01:52] Hiring Designers Interested in Climate[01:06:33] Measuring Success on Product Usage[01:09:04] Transition Into Climate Tech With No Background[01:11:57] Biggest Surprise Working at Watershed[01:14:55] Lightning Session ⚡️Where to find Molly & Tess: Molly Goldberg, Group Product Design Lead, Apps, and FoundationsTess Hannel, Product Design FinanceWatershed___________________________________________________________I'm Sera Tajima, Climate Tech Advisor & Investor. 🤙I talk about: → Product Growth Strategy (Growth, Design, AI)→ Climate Tech→ Venture CapitalConnect for more good energy ⚡️➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Conscious Tech Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠➕ ⁠Tiktok⁠➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Advising⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a sponsor: partner@seratajima.com

Juan Ramirez has such an incredible story. He came to the US from Colombia as a student and studied at Carnegie Mellon. Following this, he’s worked at some pretty incredible companies like Amazon, Meta, Gitlab, and Netflix. What I enjoy most about Juan’s content is how thought provoking it is. 💡⁠Subscribe to Conscious Tech 🗞️Chapters[00:00:00] The Call to Be a Creative; Meta, Amazon, Netflix[00:03:15] Studying as an Immigrant and Becoming a Citizen [00:05:11] “Netflix is The Best Job I’ve Ever Had”[00:11:50] Netflix is Going Hard on Ads as a Business Strategy [00:14:20] Design Engineer Profile and the Value of Code[00:24:53] What Good Designers Do [00:27:41] Intro to Programming at Carnegie Mellon [00:31:27] Human Consciousness & Esoteric Beliefs[00:47:04] Side Projects: Brainglue.ai [00:54:12] It’s Not Failure if You Learned From It[00:58:17] Design Zeitgeist Concerns About AI Taking Our Jobs[01:00:07] The Problem With Linkedin[01:01:35] Lightning Session ⚡️Where to find JuanLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juanjramirez/Brainglue.ai: https://www.brainglue.ai/___________________________________________________________I'm Sera Tajima, Climate Tech Advisor & Investor. 🤙I talk about: → Product Growth Strategy (Growth, Design, AI)→ Climate Tech→ Venture CapitalConnect for more good energy ⚡️➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Conscious Tech Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠➕ ⁠Tiktok⁠➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Advising⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a sponsor: partner@seratajima.com

Dori Tunstall is the author of Decolonizing Design: A Cultural Justice Guidebook. She has a has a PhD from Stanford and was the Dean of the Faculty of Design at OCAD University in Toronto. Join the Newsletter: ⁠⁠https://seratajima.substack.com/⁠ ⚡️Chapters[00:00:00] Introduction [00:01:23] Dori’s Journey from Anthropology to Design [00:04:15] Becoming the First Black Dean on a Design Faculty [00:10:17] Colonization is Intertwined with Capitalism and Sustainability [00:16:15] Decolonizing Design: A Cultural Justice Guidebook[00:19:52] Releasing the Flow for DEI at OCAD[00:28:43] Self Preparation for Equitable Community[00:32:36] Liberatory Joy is about Connection and Purpose[00:35:11] Colonization is Harmful to White People Too [00:38:00] Is There a Place for Universal Design? [00:44:33] Scaling Monopolies vs Specialization and Exchange[00:47:30] Better Living Through Tech (AI) is a Fallacy[00:56:41] Master and Slave Dynamics in AI [01:05:35] Decoupling From Corporate Taking of Creativity [01:12:11] Lightning Session ⚡️Where to Find Dori Tunstall: Website: https://doritunstall.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dori_tunstall/Book: Decolonizing Design: A Cultural Justice Guidebook___________________________________________________________I'm Sera Tajima, Climate Tech Advisor & Investor. 🤙I talk about: → Product Growth Strategy (Growth, Design, AI)→ Climate Tech→ Venture CapitalConnect for more good energy ⚡️➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Conscious Tech Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠➕ ⁠Tiktok⁠➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Advising⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a sponsor: partner@seratajima.com

Ridd, aka Michael Riddering, is the Founder of Figma Academy, Host of podcast Deep Dives, and the founding designer behind Maven. Subscribe to Conscious Tech 🗞️Join lightning session on product led growth ⚡️Where to find RiddTwitter: ⁠https://x.com/ridd_design⁠Dive Club Podcast: ⁠https://www.dive.club/⁠Figma Academy: ⁠https://www.dive.club/advanced-figma⁠Chapters[00:00:00] Intro[00:01:23] Ridd's background[00:03:25] Learning coding[00:05:29] Startup failure & finding design[00:14:27] Transition to agency life[00:16:56] Visual finesse and raw talent[00:18:08] Becoming a Founding Designer with Maven[00:22:43] Building the Maven team[00:26:54] Twitter as testing for Figma Academy[00:30:07] Design Media Business[00:32:32] It's not work, it's a game[00:42:25] What makes Figma Academy successful[00:53:39] Prototyping is a superpower___________________________________________________________I'm Sera Tajima, Climate Tech Advisor & Investor. 🤙I talk about: → Product Growth Strategy (Growth, Design, AI)→ Climate Tech→ Venture CapitalConnect for more good energy ⚡️➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Conscious Tech Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠➕ ⁠Tiktok⁠➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Advising⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a sponsor: partner@seratajima.com

Founder of UX Playbook, Chris Nguyen, shares what it takes to build a design business with a focus on experimentation and understanding your audience. Join Conscious Tech: ⁠⁠⁠https://seratajima.substack.com/⁠⁠ ⚡️Resources:BacklogUX PlaybookMy First MillionLenny’s PodcastWhere to find Chris Nguyen:LinkedinChapters(00:00:00) Introduction (00:01:04) How Chris Got Into Design(00:03:10) Posting on Linkedin(00:05:00) UX Playbook organic growth(00:10:14) Expanding the funnel on Linkedin(00:16:11) Product Bundle Experiment(00:19:32) Free 5 Day Growth Challenge(00:23:49) What the Market Wants(00:27:33) Downsells are More Effective than Upsells(00:29:02) Pricing Experimentation(00:32:37) Sera's Business Journey(00:39:36) Create Urgency Getting Your Product Out(00:45:55) What Gives Designers Business Superpowers(00:50:33) Biggest Mistakes Chris Made(00:54:20) A Workday With Chris___________________________________________________________I'm Sera Tajima, Climate Tech Advisor & Investor. 🤙I talk about: → Product Growth Strategy (Growth, Design, AI)→ Climate Tech→ Venture CapitalConnect for more good energy ⚡️➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Conscious Tech Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠➕ ⁠Tiktok⁠➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Advising⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a sponsor: partner@seratajima.com

The most comprehensive guide on the internet for Jobs to Be Done (JTBD). Join Conscious Tech: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://seratajima.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠ ⚡️(00:00:00) Introduction(00:00:40) Why companies are dying quicker(00:01:53) Why I like JTBD(00:02:45) People are trying to progress in life(00:03:37) The process of creative disruption(00:04:39) Customers inadvertently lie(00:05:30) JTBD theory and practice(00:09:05) Examples of 3 dimensions(00:10:48) Tony Ulwick's 9 tenets of JTBD(00:12:22) Incorporate JTBD into Your Process(00:13:59) Investigate beyond the superficial layer(00:16:06) 1. Define your market(00:17:15) 2. UX Research(00:22:59) 3. Synthesize your research(00:23:41) 4. Map the job(00:24:22) 5. Identify customer needs (example with ChatGPT and Claude)(00:25:29) 6. Create JTBD statements(00:26:28) 7. Ideate solutions(00:27:12) 8. Prioritization and planning(00:28:19) 9. Design and test(00:29:19) 10. Refine and measure impact(00:30:17) Bob Moesta's Case study(00:32:52) FAQ___________________________________________________________I'm Sera Tajima, Climate Tech Advisor & Investor. 🤙I talk about: → Product Growth Strategy (Growth, Design, AI)→ Climate Tech→ Venture CapitalConnect for more good energy ⚡️➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Conscious Tech Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠➕ ⁠Tiktok⁠➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Advising⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a sponsor: partner@seratajima.com

Don Norman has paved the way for design as we know it. He is a retired Professor, Apple VP, and co-founder of Nielsen Norman Group. His 21 books include Emotional Design, Design of Everyday Things, and Design for a Better World.Join Conscious Tech: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://seratajima.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠ ⚡️Resources: ⁠Design for a Better World Resources⁠⁠Don Norman Design Award⁠⁠Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness⁠⁠Understanding Computers and Cognition: A New Foundation for Design⁠⁠Empire of Cotton: A Global History⁠Where to find Don Norman:Linkedin: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnorman/⁠Website: ⁠https://jnd.org/⁠Chapters(00:00:00) Introduction (00:01:06) Don Norman introduction(00:02:45) Don's 5th retirement(00:05:16) Design Lab University of California San Diego(00:06:53) Author of 21 books(00:09:39) Design for a better world is spreading(00:11:41) What's wrong with human centered design(00:12:56) Expanding our mind and staying curious(00:15:06) Logic is not how people think(00:17:55) The value of creativity(00:19:43) How economics is significant to design(00:21:59) Nobel Prize for economics(00:25:14) Sidetracked on profit(00:27:06) Changing human behavior(00:30:39) Prioritize the most important thing(00:32:56) Problems like climate change are invisible(00:33:39) Greenwashing is good(00:35:00) If your company is wrong, give them a solution(00:38:20) You must understand the entire company(00:40:36) How design increases the quality of life(00:45:58) Lifestyle changes since writing the book(00:50:28) The US medical system has been taken over by profit(00:52:36) Politics and lobbying for Apple(00:55:31) The world is complex(00:56:22) Design systems(00:58:40) Are ICs powerless?(01:01:08) UN Sustainable Development Goal 17(01:01:37) The Netherlands is a leader for sustainability(01:05:44) Colonialism rules the world(01:12:29) It's not too late___________________________________________________________I'm Sera Tajima, Climate Tech Advisor & Investor. 🤙I talk about: → Product Growth Strategy (Growth, Design, AI)→ Climate Tech→ Venture CapitalConnect for more good energy ⚡️➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Conscious Tech Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠➕ ⁠Tiktok⁠➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Advising⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a sponsor: partner@seratajima.com

Sera Tajima, your host, gives a breakdown of planetary boundaries, tipping points, digital illusions, Biden's legacy, and the potential impact of the new administration in the US. Join Conscious Tech: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://seratajima.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠ ⚡️*Correction for the ai generated typo in the captions. It's Vox News, not Fox News. Chapters(00:00:00) Business Growth (00:04:18) Crossing Planetary boundaries(00:09:20) Social Tipping Points(00:10:01) Degrowth is a Response to Crisis(00:17:53) What Are Companies Doing?(00:20:38) The Digital Illusion(00:24:18) A New Paradigm(00:26:49) Biden and Trump Climate Impact___________________________________________________________I'm Sera Tajima, Climate Tech Advisor & Investor. 🤙I talk about: → Product Growth Strategy (Growth, Design, AI)→ Climate Tech→ Venture CapitalConnect for more good energy ⚡️➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Conscious Tech Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠➕ ⁠Tiktok⁠➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Advising⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a sponsor: partner@seratajima.com

Kelly Jacobs is a Product Design Lead and Manager at Parachute Health, formerly Design Manager at Twilio. We talk about becoming a manager, women in leadership, working at Twilio, design career ladders, transitioning to IC, and re-learning Figma.Where to find Kelly: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-jacobs-b491bb23/Revamping the Twilio Career Ladder (Created by Kelly Jacobs and Megan Allison)Twilio’s Product Design Career LadderChapters(00:00:00) Transitioning From Deloitte to An In House Tech Role(00:05:55) Upcoming Events With Sera(00:07:53) Women in Leadership (00:10:36) Influences on Management Style and Julie Zhuo(00:14:39) Imposter Syndrome as a Manager(00:17:43) Qualities of Effective Managers(00:20:52) Interviewing for a Manager Role(00:23:16) People Management at Segment, Twilio(00:27:27) Performance Reviews, Career Ladders & Design Leveling(00:36:04) Returning to Individual Contributor Role(00:38:03) Management to IC Portfolio(00:40:59) Upskilling in Figma with a Maven Course(00:42:27) Debunking Myths in Career Transitions(00:52:41) Lightning Session ⚡️___________________________________________________________I'm Sera Tajima, Climate Tech Advisor & Investor. 🤙I talk about: → Product Growth Strategy (Growth, Design, AI)→ Climate Tech→ Venture CapitalConnect for more good energy ⚡️➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Conscious Tech Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠➕ ⁠Tiktok⁠➕ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Advising⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a sponsor: partner@seratajima.com