Product Habits - Wordle's growth loop

Who's Lying?

When it comes to data and metrics, we interpret them the best we can, and usually, our interpretations check out. But sometimes subtle mistakes—the bug in a spreadsheet formula, the email that didn't get sent to all of the customers, a database that isn't filtering out something important—lead to big misreads down the road. So it's worth double-checking data (and your assumptions) regularly to ensure things are accurate, complete, and stand the test of time. 

Please Don't Ask Founders Existential Questions

When talking to a startup founder, it is seldom helpful to discredit their ideas or tell them why what they are building won't work. Instead, ask them more constructive questions or don't say anything—you don't have to fake enthusiasm. Just remember that many startups didn't seem like viable businesses at first but turned into hugely successful companies down the road. Leave room to be surprised.

How Venture Capital Needs To Evolve in 2022 and Beyond

Entrepreneurship is in a new moment with fresh opportunities and pressures. Successful founders in the future won't look like the ones who have been successful in the past. As things change, the VC world will need to evolve and do something disruptive, too. This is an interesting read about how the venture industry is changing in 2022—and beyond. 

How To Develop Product Sense

Product sense is a learned skill that you can develop. It is essentially the ability to be generally correct about which product changes will have an intended impact. If you want to be a successful PM, it's essential to cultivate this skill. Here are four specific things you can do to get better at it. 

From Idea to Validation in 24 Hours

If you're looking to validate demand and viability for a product quickly, try this seven-step process you can do in 24 hours. One of the most critical steps (which most people forget) is clearly defining a success metric. For example, how will you know if you've validated demand for your product? Make sure you get clear on this metric before moving forward. 

Positioning Software in a Crowded Market

Software is a crowded space these days, but there is plenty of room for innovation. If you're in a competitive market, it's worth positioning your product to focus on a specific target segment. This will give you an added layer of focus and make your product more memorable for customers looking for something new to try. Here are some examples.

B2B Marketing Priorities for 2022

The top priority for B2B marketers in 2022 is creating better alignment between marketing and sales departments around go-to-market initiatives. This shouldn't be a surprise given that only four in 10 senior-level B2B leaders were able to rate their organizations' sales and marketing alignment as very good or excellent. Is this one of your company's demand generation priorities in 2022? 

Product-Led Growth vs. Sales-Led Growth

Product-led growth is becoming the default SaaS strategy, but does the traditional sales-led growth model still have its place? These are the core four differences between the two philosophies. This article makes the case that PLG is far superior—could you envision any scenarios where SLG might be better?