hi, Anthony here! In this newsletter, I curate insights on how to build great products. You’ll improve your product skills with every issue.

Let’s get to it.

(Btw, today’s issue is sponsored by On Deck Catalyst)

Time To Value (TTV)

(Insight from Baremetric’s Business Academy)

Time To Value (TTV) is the amount of time it takes for a customer to realize value from your product.

🌟 Your goal is to decrease TTV as much as possible.

With software products, it’s very easy for customers to churn and sign up for a competitor’s products.

A shorter TTV means customers see their ROI sooner— and they’re more likely to stick with your product!

📓 Defining Value

Value is the benefit your customer is expecting to receive from your product.

It’s your promise to them.

Your product promises X → Customers buy it in hope of X.

Now the question is: How long does it take to fulfill your promise?

✨ The ‘Aha’ Moment

The next question is: Where and how do you fulfill your promise?

This is the ‘aha’ moment.

It’s the moment where customers first realize the value of your product.

• For Airbnb → Finding a dream listing

• For Shazam → Discovering a song’s name

• For Facebook → Seeing your friends, after signup

Once you figure out where and how your promise is fulfilled, decreasing any friction to get customers to that point is critical.

⏳ How To Decrease TTV

Here are 3 ways you can shrink TTV in your product:

• Create Onboarding Guides — this can be in-product tours, documentation, or drip emails. They provide guides on how to get set up and what to do first.

• Deploy Customer Success — this is typically for B2B enterprise-type products that require a more hands-on approach to get set up (ex: Salesforce). Customer success managers help with personalized onboarding and are great first points of contact for customers.

• Improve Product UX — unclear instructions, poorly labeled buttons, and complicated menus can keep customers from that aha moment. Perform user interviews and track product usage stats to identify areas where UX can be improved to make an impact on TTV.

📌 I’ll end with a few questions:

1. Do you know your product’s aha moment?

2. How long does it take for your customers to get there?

3. What are some ways you can shrink the TTV in your product?

🌍 Sponsor

If you want to change the world, then this program is for you.

On Deck Catalyst is a 10-week remote program for young leaders who want to solve the world’s most pressing problems and take an unconventional path to building their career.

Their curriculum includes:

• Deep dives on how startups, and key startup roles, work.

• Learning how to start and invest in companies, with the best in the world.

• Speaker sessions from renowned VCs and entrepreneurs like Keith Rabois, Aileen Lee, and Jack Altman, etc.

• How to create your own opportunities – make roles that previously didn’t exist at any startup you join, launch a startup from scratch, or break into the world of venture capital.

Their next cohort kicks off June 5. You can apply here before May 4th. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

End Note

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Have a great day,
Anthony

(P.S. Anything I can help you with? Just reply to this email, I’ll respond)