ProductLed Podcast

Vivek Balasubramanian, Director of growth at Wave, discusses the challenges of unifying product, growth, and marketing. He shares insights on FAE, determining the first activation event for users, and how the product team has changed since embracing the FAE framework. He also talks about experiments they've implemented and the importance of optimizing post-FAE drop-offs.

When it comes to optimizing the customer experience, today's guest is a pro. Shareil Nariman is Sprout Social’s program manager for customer onboarding and life cycle. Sprout Social is a software that helps organizations of all sizes become better marketers and create the world’s most beloved brands. In this episode, Shareil shared how the onboarding process at Sprout Social has evolved, what their onboarding experience looks like now, and his advice to marketers who want to improve their onboarding experience. Show Notes [00:41] What Sprout Social is [02:01] What the onboarding was like before they improved it [03:58] First few things they focused on when they improved the onboarding process [07:38] What a successful onboarding looks like [09:06] How they defined value for customer onboarding [11:36] What their onboarding experience looks like now [13:14] The evolution of their onboarding process [14:43] What their webinar looks like [16:17] Some of the things he optimized in the program [18:23] What qualifies a customer to be reached out to for those one-on-one calls [19:54] The mechanics of their onboarding guild  [21:15] Things he wished he knew about customer onboarding [23:04 His advice for marketers who are looking to improve their customer onboarding [24:34] Where people can find out more about him and Sprout Social About Shareil Nariman Shareil Nariman is Sprout Social’s program manager for customer onboading and customer lifecycle. He has spent the last 9 years exploring the customer experience to set people up for long-term success. He has also built programs, hired and managed teams, and worked closely with product organizations and marketing to ensure the customer experience is positive and consistent all throughout. Links InstagramFacebookTwitterPinterestBooking.comPendo Profile Sprout SocialSprout Social on LinkedInSprout Social on TwitterSprout Social on InstagramSprout Social on FacebookSprout Social on PinterestSprout Social YouTube ChannelShareil Nariman on TwitterShareil Nariman on LinkedIn 

Today’s accomplished guest is a self-taught entrepreneur who ran and grew a marketing agency for 10 years before starting Hull, a powerful customer data platform designed for high growth companies. Firms that use Hull orchestrate their marketing stacks and growth by collecting, enriching, and synchronizing customer data across all their services in real time. In this episode, Romain shared why they decided to offer free trial, the experiments they did and how it affected their marketing, and why they chose to offer free trial as opposed to other options. Show Notes [00:50] What Hull is and why he decided to start it in the first place [04:11] Why they decided to offer free trial [06:59] What the first attempt looked like for Hull [11:55] How he identified the end value [14:00] The main driver behind people not understanding their problems [17:59] How the experiments they did affected how they market their product [19:19] Why they opted to do free trial as opposed to freemium or some other hybrid model [23:19] How they help people get to a conclusion faster [27:46] What he’ll do differently if he’ll launch the free trial again [31:20] His thoughts on free trial and product-led growth [33:14] How he makes decisions [37:10] Where people can find out more about Hull and what he’s up to About Romain Dardour Romain Dardour is an entrepreneur, self-taught developer, designer, and problem-solver. He is also the co-founder and CEO of Hull, a customer data platform that helps brands create meaningful relationships with their customers by understanding who they are, what they do, and revealing novel insights that can help them personalize experiences at scale. Links HubSpotAmplitude Profile HullHull on LinkedInHull BlogRomain Dardour on LinkedInRomain Dardour on Twitter

The entrepreneurial journey of today’s brilliant guest has been an interesting one—from product manager to founder and chief strategist of ProductPlan. ProductPlan is a roadmap software used by thousands of product teams at the world’s leading companies to power their product roadmaps. In this episode, Jim Semick shared what the journey of starting and scaling a product-led company has been like. He also covered other engrossing topics like product-market fit, the role of pricing, and how product management has changed over the years. Show Notes [00:33] Why he founded ProductPlan [02:47] What his WHY was for starting the company [05:18] How has product management changed over the years [08:41] His market validation process [13:00] His definition of product-market fit [18:56] What the transition to self-service has been like  [21:18] The biggest challenge they have encountered [24:20] One thing he’ll do differently knowing what he knows now [27:07] The role of pricing in a product-led business [28:56] When they decided to have someone in sales [32:02] How they went about hiring their first sales person [34:31] How they are different compared to the traditional sales-led companies [36:50] How their compensation model has changed [38:29] Where people can go to learn more about him and ProductPlan About Jim Semick Jim Semick is a mentor, speaker, and entrepreneur. He has also written books on Product Roadmaps, Product Leadership, and Product-Market Fit. Jim is also the co-founder and chief strategist of ProductPlan, the world’s leading roadmap software. ProductPlan makes roadmapping collaborative, transparent, and easy. Today, leading companies like PBS, Nike, Intuit, and Alaska Airlines has been relying on ProductPlan to guide their product decisions daily.  Links GoToMyPCGoToMeetingGoToWebinarAppFolioHubSpot Profile Jim Semick on LinkedInProductPlanProductPlan BlogProductPlan ResourcesProductPlan on FacebookProductPlan on TwitterProductPlan on YouTube

Creating a great customer experience for Jungle Scout users has been challenging but Danny Villarreal makes it look easy! Danny is the director of customer success and experience at Jungle Scout, the all-in-one platform for selling on Amazon. Danny is responsible for the training, onboarding, adoption, and retention, among many others. In this episode, Danny shared how they addressed the challenges they encountered, the metrics they looked into, and his advice to other product-led companies to improve their onboarding and customer experience. Show Notes [00:42] What Jungle Scout is and what his role there is [01:36] Challenges his team encountered when new users logged in for the first time [03:26] How he figured out the aha moment for each of the segments that signed out [05:23] How they customised the experience for the different types of personas that were logging in for the first time [06:47] How they delivered the live instruction [07:46] How big the calls were [08:40] How they got hundreds of people to sign up [11:06] What the structures of the calls look like [13:46] Other aspects they’ve experimented to improve [16:27] Metrics they took into account [19:08] When their onboarding is completed [20:32] When they realised the need to translate the onboarding experience for the Chinese market [23:01] Results they got after they translated the onboarding for the Chinese market [24:57] How they tweaked the onboarding for the Chinese market [26:49] His advice for those product-led companies in terms of improving their customer experience and onboarding [28:13] Where people can find out more about his work and Jungle Scout About Danny Villarreal Danny Villarreal is the director of customer success and experience at Jungle Scout, the all-in-one platform for finding, launching, and selling Amazon products. Trusted by 400,000 Amazon sellers, the platform also offers step-by-step guides and exclusive tutorials that teach you the ins and outs of Amazon. Links AmazonPendoAlipayWeChat Profile Danny Villarreal on LinkedInJungle ScoutJungle Scout on Facebook

For today’s guest, a culture of experimentation is the key to agility. Jon Noronha is the VP of Product at Optimizely and he believes that to move faster, they need to experiment more. At Optimizely, Jon leads a team of product managers to determine new ways for companies to conduct experiments across apps, websites, and every level of the stack. In this episode, he talked about all the essentials of product experimentation—from the metrics to focus on down to building a culture of experimentation—he covered it all. Show Notes [00:43] How he became the VP of Product at Optimizely [05:29] How they go about building a culture of experimentation [07:33] Metrics teams should take into if they want to experiment [10:37] How to figure out what metrics to focus on first [12:10] Best practices around prioritising experiments [14:42] How to run experiments when the traffic is not sufficient [17:09] How to structure product experiments in a more scientific way [20:46] His thoughts on the first principles of experimentation [23:27] One of the most important things when it comes to democratising experimentation [27:06] Where people can go to find out more about him About Jon Noronha Jon Noronha is the VP of Product at Optimizely, the world’s leading experimentation platform. Optimizely is designed to enable businesses to deliver continuous personalisation and experimentation across mobile apps, websites, and connected devices. Prior to joining Optimizely, Jon was the PM of Image Search at Microsoft. Jon has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from Harvard University. Links MicrosoftBingNetflixAmazonSlack Profile OptimizelyJon Noronha on LinkedInJon Noronha on TwitterJon Noronha on Medium

Hailed as the first conversational marketing platorm, Drift is also considered the new way businesses buy from businesses. In today’s show, Drift’s head of product lead, growth, and lifecycle shared how the platform built a product that acquires users. Matt Bilotti owns Drift’s entire self-service business unit and is responsible for retention and sales figures on a monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis. In this episode, Matt talked about the importance of market alignment, the metrics the product team focuses on, and his thoughts on product channel fit, among others. Show Notes [00:30] How things are in his end [01:24] What Drift is [02:16] Why market alignment is important [04:32] How product co-owns the website with marketing and how it works [07:32] How their team dynamics work [09:15] On the metrics the product team focuses on [13:18] How they’ve evolved into a more unified team [15:38] What their quarterly planning looks like [17:40] His thoughts on product channel fit [23:00] His take on building APIs that people can build on top of [24:39] The impact of having an end goal in their sign up process [27:14] The purpose of the last two tasks [28:46] Piece of advice he’d like to leave the listeners with [31:06] How people can get in touch with him About Matt Bilotti Matt Bilotti is employee number 9 at Drift and he helped make the product a reality. From product manager, he’s now the head of product lead, growth, and lifecycle of the company. Drift is the first conversational marketing platform that emphasized the value of human connection and interaction. The brand is trusted by over 50,000+ businesses to create pipeline and drive revenue. Some of Drift’s valued clients include Smartling, Keap, ConnectWise, Aventri, and Marketo.  Links DriftDropboxAirtableLinkedInSpotifyDuolingoEvernoteTikTokShopifySalesforceBrian Balfour WebsitePareto Principle (80/20 Rule)How I Built This Podcast with Guy Raz Profile Matt Bilotti WebsiteMatt Bilotti on LinkedInMatt Bilotti on TwitterMatt Bilotti's Drift ProfileGrowth with Matt Bilotti Podcast

While making the transition to product-led growth can be very beneficial, it can also be tough. In today’s show, we talked to May Habib, Qordoba’s co-founder and CEO and found out what their experience has been like. Qordoba manages over 2 billion words every day for customers including Sephora, Conde Nast, GitHub, and the NBA. In this episode, May shared how she got everyone onboard the product-led bus, how the transition has affected their approach to selling, and her advice for those who would like to make the switch.  Show Notes [00:34] Why she decided to found Qordoba [01:21] Problem they’re solving [03:55] How they traditionally made sales and why they decided to offer free trials [06:46] Where the fork in the road came for them [08:36] First steps they did to ensure what they want to do is viable [10:51] How she got everyone on the product-led bus [13:36] How their whole approach to selling has changed  [16:56] When their sales team steps in [21:31] Why they end up going down the path of usage-based free trial [24:07] Her thoughts on the cost of a free user [26:10] The benefits she’s seeing  [27:39] Her one tip for founders and companies that are making the switch  [32:50] Where people can find her if they want to know more About May Habib May Habib is the co-founder and CEO of Qordoba, a machine-learning based solution designed to help brands define and scale a consistent brand voice. Qordoba’s platform also integrates with over 100 marketing and development companies and fits them seamlessly into the developer stack. Based in San Francisco, the company is backed by Rincon Venture Partners and Upfront Ventures. To date, Qordoba has helped companies like VISA, Marriott, Postmates, GitHub, and Sephora optimise and release new product copies across marketing, product, and customer support. Links JPMorgan ChaseHow Qordoba launched a successful free trial by May Habib Profile QordobaQordoba 14-Day TrialMay Habib on LinkedInMay Habib on TwitterMay Habib's Email Address: may@qordoba.com

A few months ago, Userlist introduced the $9/month starter plan. The plan allows SaaS founders to enjoy Userlist’s full set of features until they are able to hit the first 100 customers milestone. We talked to Userlist co-founder Jane Portman to know the rationale behind the offering. Aside from co-founding Userlist, Jane is also a UI/UX consultant and the host of UI Breakfast Podcast. In this episode, Jane shared how they arrived at the decision to offer $9/month, why they opted not to offer freemium, and why it makes perfect sense. Show Notes [01:50] What Userlist is and how it started [02:13] What their edge is [04:38 Reason they added the $9/mo starter plan [07:11] How they intend to move forward [09:28] Why they decided on $9  [11:59] Why they didn’t limit specific features for the $9 plan [16:08] The thought process behind their video [19:05] The core idea for a good UI [20:46] What they have in the works to help users install the Userlist app [23:02] One of the reasons they ask for the credit card upfront [24:36] Any experiments they have planned that they’re excited about [25:35] Her one advice to founders [26:40] Where people can find out more about her and Userlist About Jane Portman Jane Portman is a UI/UX consultant and she specializes in web application design. She is also the founder of UI Breakfast and the co-founder of Userlist. Userlist is designed as an alternative to bulky enterprise messaging tools. At Userlist, Jane’s primary objective is to provide impeccable UX and help users become exceptional at customer messaging. Since 2014, Jane has also been hosting UI Breakfast Podcast where she talks to industry experts about UI/UX design, marketing, products, and many more. Links Jane Portman’s Post on Indie HackerUserlist WebsiteSpecial 30% offer (first 3 months) for Product-Led listenersTinySeed Website Profile UI Breakfast WebsiteUI Breakfast PodcastUI Breakfast Mailing ListJane Portman on TwitterJane Portman's Email Address: jane@uibreakfast.com

While seemingly trivial, the shift from sales-led to product-led is actually a massive one. And today’s guest will give us some insight into what it was like. Giovanni Hobbins is a designer, entrepreneur, and product manager. He co-founded (and sold) Nightly Labs and Campus Bubble. He was formerly built product at FullStory. Currently, he is the head of product at Matcha. In this episode, Giovanni shared their journey from sales-led to product-led including the reason they had to make the transition, how he motivated the team around the shift, and how he facilitated culture change. Show Notes [00:50] His background and how he became the head of product at Matcha [01:57] A quick overview of what Matcha is all about [04:00] What the transition to product-led has been like [08:46] What pushed them to make the transition to product-led [10:54] How he motivated the team around the shift [12:31] How he convinced the investors and the board to pursue product-led [13:44] How the shift affected the service component of the business [15:48] The role support plays in a product-led business [18:07] How he structures their roadmap and the inputs he looks for [21:41] Effective way to get everyone on the same page [25:48] How he facilitated culture change [26:08] Where people can find him About Giovanni Hobbins Giovanni Hobbins is the head of product at Matcha, the content marketing experts for e-commerce and lifestyle brands. Aside from creating a technology platform designed to help marketing teams scale content production and measure results, Matcha also provides a done-for-you content service in the form of data analysis, distribution management, and original content production. Matcha’s mission is to give every brand the power of storytelling so they can can deliver more meaningful customer experiences and achieve sustainable growth.  Links FullStorySlackZoomAmplitude’s North Star Metric Profile Matcha WebsiteMatcha BlogGiovanni Hobbins WebsiteGiovanni Hobbins on TwitterGiovanni Hobbins on LinkedInGiovanni Hobbins on MediumGiovanni's Email Address: contact@giovanni.io