Product Habits - How Box stimulated growth again

Is It Time To Freak Out About AI?

AI is rapidly changing our world, showing no signs of slowing. Do we have a reason to worry? This article describes a couple of catastrophic scenarios we should hedge against. One is the more probable scenario, but the other is becoming increasingly easier to imagine. 

Don't Hire Engineers Until You Have Product-Market Fit

It sounds counter-intuitive to wait until you have product-market fit before hiring engineers. After all, won't they help you achieve PMF faster? It might be the case down the road, but it has the opposite effect in the early days. A helpful rule of thumb: Before you hire anyone, it should be obvious what that person will work on from day one. 

Top 250 Y Combinator Video Summaries

This is an incredible treasure trove of some of the best Y Combinator videos. Each comes with a summary to help you quickly find the content you're looking for. It covers everything from leadership and management to idea validation and talent acquisition. You'll want to bookmark this one. 

Reflecting On My First Failed Product

One year after launch, Mike Carter declared his first product, Parable, a failure. It's an excellent reminder to take time to reflect on whatever it is you're building. He makes the important point that even when you theoretically know what common startup mistakes to avoid, there's nothing quite like building something and learning lessons first-hand. His big takeaway was not to worry so much the next time around about developing software. 

7 Misconceptions About Product-Led Growth

As more and more startups shift to a product-led growth strategy, it's clear there are a few things that need to be clarified about PLG. This article breaks down seven of the big ones. The two mistakes I see most regularly are using it as a substitute for sales-led growth and under-investing in marketing. Which one do you notice most often?

How To Demo Your Products to an Audience

Demoing your products in the digital world is becoming increasingly important. In a world saturated with software options, it's so important to demonstrate your product's capabilities succinctly. Here's an in-depth look at how you can set up a cohesive workflow for powerful remote product demonstrations. 

How To Build a Recession-Proof Revenue Team

Some of the best founders prioritize generating recession-proof revenue that will tide their company over even during down markets. This is an insightful interview with go-to-market expert Kevin Kinkor about some of the most important factors to consider when building a sales function and managing a GTM strategy when your budget is tight. 

What Winning in SaaS Looks Like in 2023

After more than a decade of explosive growth, with cheap capital to finance it, Box finally started experiencing a revenue decline in 2017. The company had to make some big decisions during the pandemic that would allow them to continue building a compelling enterprise-level product while achieving sustainable profitability. Here's how Box made the shift. Don't be surprised if you see other major SaaS players do something similar over the next few years.