Product Habits - How Segment found product-market fit

 Hiten's Pick 

Scaling a Startup to Unicorn Status

I came across a Twitter thread last week where a founder shared a list of things he thought would be easier when scaling his second startup to unicorn status. But, they were just as hard as the first time. The big three are recruiting, sales, and finding product-market fit. Here's why they are challenging no matter how often you've done them at other companies.

 Business 

Open Business Models and Strategies

If you're curious about how open business models and strategies work, this master list of resources is helpful. You can learn about anything—from a course series on open source management to a curated list of monetization approaches for open-source software. Check it out here

Fundamentals of a Calm SaaS Business

Once you identify a viable software solution to a critical problem, SaaS is a great business to run because it's easily scalable. This was an interesting read about the fundamentals of building a foundationally sound, calm SaaS business. If you run a SaaS startup or you're thinking about starting one, this is a must-read

 Product 

How Segment Found Product-Market Fit

In 2020, Segment was acquired for an eye-popping $3.2B. Every startup founder dreams about that level of success. But it often happens when you stumble on an idea by accident. That was the case for the Segment team. After trying two other product ideas and having both of them fail, the third idea stuck. This is how it happened.

You Can't A/B Test Yourself to Product Transformation

Google's new Gmail design is out, and many people are wondering why the design seems haphazard and non-cohesive. The tech giant is infamous for its culture of A/B testing, but it can only get you so far. A/B testing can help you go from good to great, but you can't rely on it to build a foundation or transform a product. 

 Marketing & Sales 

The Pageview Paradox

Many things we do to improve marketing metrics can sometimes hinder long-term business growth. Problems arise when the pursuit of metrics stops helping our ability to deliver value and instead blinds us to the better opportunities that are harder to measure. Be careful not to get caught up in the false certainty of metrics.

How To Make Product Demos Exceptional

Most product demos are subpar. They tend to focus on features, but not why the features matter or how the product is differentiated from other solutions in the market. If you give product demos in your role, here are things you can do to make them exceptional and close more sales

 Growth 
Who Cares if It Scales?

Almost every startup asks the same question: "How can we scale?" It's not that scale isn't valuable, but it's worth asking why it matters. Instead of worrying about how you'll serve millions of customers down the road, spend time thinking about the features that will delight the hundreds or thousands of customers you already have. If you read one article this week, let it be this one.

Grow Your Company Like a Tree

I've heard countless founders talk about "building" a business. But startups are less like building and more like growing. The business idea is the seed, and the effort you put into growing it is like watering it and waiting for fruits. Stay patient. Keep watering.

 Management 
The Rituals of Great Teams

Shishir Mehrotra is the co-founder and CEO of Coda and formerly the head of product and engineering at YouTube. He recently did an interview that is brimming with insight about growth strategy, how he evaluates talent, and what makes a team great. Listen to the entire conversation here.

Product vs. Feature Teams

This article provides an interesting breakdown of the difference between product and feature teams. Most teams that think they are part of a product team are part of a feature team. Once you read this, you won't think of engineering teams in the same way again.

 Insight of the Week 
What Smart People Use To Outperform

One of the best ways to improve your decision-making is to move from first-level to second-order thinking. First-level thinking is fast and easy, and it happens when we look for something that only solves the immediate problem without considering the consequences. Second-order thinking is deeper and more deliberate but gets you better results over the long term



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Older messages

I got some more responses

Monday, August 22, 2022

I promised I'd follow up if I got more responses. Turns out that the current economic conditions are a mixed bag for people, at least based on the... I promised I'd follow up if I got more

Bill Gurley on surviving downturns

Monday, August 15, 2022

Benchmark Capital Partner Bill Gurley shares his thoughts on how startups can tighten their belts, handle layoffs, and survive downturns. Hiten's Pick Bill Gurley on Surviving Downturns Startup

The writing framework Jeff Bezos uses

Monday, August 8, 2022

Here are the seven rules Jeff Bezos uses for writing memos—they will undoubtedly make you a better thinker and clearer writer. Hiten's Pick Most Behavior Change Advice Doesn't Work This thread

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Recently, I asked everyone on this list if they were seeing a slowdown of sales so I could anonymize and synthesize the responses and share them... Recently, I asked everyone on this list if they were

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Monday, August 1, 2022

This is a motivating read for anyone who feels like there are no more good ideas in a startup-saturated world. Hiten's Pick Finishing What You Start It seems intuitive that when you finish projects

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