The Product Launch Podcast
By Sean Boyce
The Product Launch PodcastOct 06, 2020
Balancing Discipline and Agility in Product Management with Jama Software’s Jeremy Johnson
Jeremy Johnson is the VP of Product Management at Jama Software. He leads both product management and user experience teams, and has 12 years of experience in product management. On this episode of Product Launch, Sean and Jeremy discuss
The benefits of a non-technical background in being effective in product management How understanding the functional areas of an organization will help you be a better product manager How to perform product management effectively in a complex environment with a team The importance of effective process in ensuring that product management is done well How sharing responsibility on your product team can affect increase agility and consistency The Jama Connect value proposition and how their customers benefit from using it The importance of receiving feedback direct from customers How to move faster in product development by being more thorough with your product design and testing processResources:
Jama Software website: https://www.jamasoftware.com/
Connecting with Jeremy:
Connect with Jeremy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-c-johnson/
Product Flexibility as a Growth Strategy with Agora’s SVP of Marketing Virginia Liu
Virginia is the SVP of Marketing and Ecosystems at Agora. On this episode of Product Launch, Sean and Virginia cover
How a platform as a service product is unique when compared with traditional SaaS products How the demand for the Agora service has increased due to the pandemic The creative applications Agora’s customers have developed with access to their tools and services How to organize data and feedback from users to make your product better as a platform as a service companyResources:
Agora on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/agora-lab-inc/ Agora on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AgoraIOConnecting:
Connect with Virginia in LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/virginia-liu-3705004/
Pivoting your Product Business with Daniel Senyard from Shep
Daniel Senyard who is the Co-founder and CEO of Shep. On this episode of Product Launch, Daniel and Sean cover
The Shep value proposition How Shep pivoted due to industry impact due to the pandemic Framing you product as a hypothesis Distinguishing between adjustments and pivots for your product Pivoting from SMB to enterprise as a target marketResources:
The Start-Up J Curve, by Howard Love - https://www.amazon.com/Start-Up-Curve-Steps-Entrepreneurial-Success/dp/162634292X Obviously Awesome, by April Dunford - https://www.amazon.com/Obviously-Awesome-Product-Positioning-Customers/dp/1999023005 Shep Travel - https://sheptravel.com/ Get Shep - https://getshep.io/Connecting with Daniel:
Connect with Daniel over Email at daniel@sheptravel.comSales as the Key to Success for your Product Business with Lisa Peskin
Lisa is the Founder and CEO of Business Development University or BDU. On this episode of Product Launch, Lisa and Sean cover
The importance of passion and authenticity in communicating your value proposition to prospects They 3 keys to business development and sales Folding 30/60/90 day game plans into your annual plan Building your prospecting process to deliver effective results Why your initial conversations need to start with their problems (and not your solutions) Putting together the pieces to tell an effective sales story Why not everything can be done onlineResources:
Business Development University - https://businessdevelopmentuniversity.com/ BDU's Prospect Visit Checklist - https://businessdevelopmentuniversity.com/bdu-prospect-visit-checklist-pdf/ Fanatical Prospecting, by Jeb Blount - https://www.amazon.com/Fanatical-Prospecting-Conversations-Leveraging-Telephone-ebook/dp/B01617VD3IConnecting with Lisa:
Connect with Lisa on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisapeskin/Better Benefits with Lluna’s Jessica Podgajny
Jess Podgajny has spent her career in client service and management consulting, focused on the people side of projects. She is now the Founder and CEO of LLUNA a B2B platform that enables companies to design, manage, and analyze personalized employment arrangements. On this episode of the Product Launch podcast, Jess and Sean cover
The past, present, and future of LLuna What Lluna offers their clients (that they can’t get elsewhere) The growing demand for flexibility The Lluna prototype build strategy through the use of ‘no-code’ tools The Lluna team’s go-to-market (GTM) strategy Tight target market, build momentum and social proof to take to the bigger organizationsResources:
Tools - Bubble - https://bubble.io/ The Mom Test - http://momtestbook.comConnecting with Jess
https://lluna.io/ - Reach out to Jess to talk about personalized employer arrangements Connect with Jess over email Jess@lluna.ioThe Hyper-Automation Movement with Nividous’s Chris Hawn
Chris Hawn is the Managing Director at Nvidous. Chris’s background includes finance, technology and now hyper automation as he’s leading the charge in growth and scaling the business in the US. This week's topic is hyper-automation, and Sean and Chris specifically cover\
Hyper-automation vs Robotic Process Automation (RPA) How companies interact with their software bot Use cases for the technology Industry applications for hyper-automation Overcoming objections to hyper-automation What the future of automation means for jobs done by peopleResources:
Nividious Website: https://nividous.com/Connecting with Chris:
Connect with Chris over email: chris.hawn@nividous.com Connect with Christ over LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-hawn-b222a582/Product Positioning with Obviously Awesome Author April Dunford
April Dunford is the author of Obviously Awesome which is all about product positioning. Prior to that April was the VP of Marketing for 7 successful startups. This week, April and Sean cover
What is product positioning and how it can help you "Jobs to be done" and the milkshake story Integrating product positioning in a jobs to be done framework The importance of competitive alternatives when it comes to positioning Testing your positioning thesis and how to refine it based on your traction April’s real-world example of the power of positioning Finding the examples of best-fit customer use casesResources:
April's book, Obviously Awesome: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/45166937-obviously-awesomeConnecting with April:
Connect with April on Twitter: https://twitter.com/aprildunford?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor Connect with April on her website: https://www.aprildunford.com/ Connect with April over email: april@aprildunford.comDifferentiating Yourself in a Sea of Competition with Habitat Logistics Trip O’Dell
Trip’s experience and product portfolio is diverse. It includes consumer hardware, software, cloud services, enterprise software, among others at solving complex problems at scale. Trip's grounded product experience combines a track record for envisioning, defining and shipping new ideas, products and technologies resulting in new products, services, intellectual property and driving business outcomes at companies like Amazon, MSFT and Adobe. He is the new CXO at the Y-combinator company Habitat in Philadelphia which deals with last mile delivery technology. On this week's episode of Product Launch, Sean and Trip discuss
What is a CXO (Chief Experience Officers) role all about Why success is all about people, product, and process East vs West coast approaches to building a tech company The importance of a humanistic, experimental, future based mindset “People don’t buy a drill, they buy a repeatable quarter inch hole” Developing a customer obsession at your organization The importance of failureResources:
Trade Off, by Kevin Maney: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6664826-trade-off Brave New Workforce Podcast: https://www.thebraveworkforce.com/Connecting with Trip
Connect with Trip through Twitter: https://twitter.com/tripodell?lang=en Connect with Trip over Email: trip.odell@tryhabitat.comIndustry Expertise as an Accelerator for your Product Career with Hazelcast’s David Brimley
Hazelcast delivers the in-memory computing platform that empowers Global 2000 enterprises to achieve ultra-fast application performance - at any scale. Built for low-latency data processing, Hazelcast’s cloud-native in-memory data store and event stream processing software technologies are trusted by leading companies such as JPMorgan Chase, Charter Communications, Ellie Mae and National Australia Bank to accelerate data-centric applications. On this weeks episode of the Product Launch podcast, Sean and David cover
Why industry subject matter expertise matters and how it differentiate you as a product professional The advantages of building a product for yourself How to keep your industry subject matter expertise to be better product professional Going from a siloed world of being an individual contributor to more of a leadership role for the organization and various functional groups Why product professionals need to maintain a healthy network of industry professionals Getting to know your customers personally so they will feel comfortable opening up to you so you can help themResources:
Flash Boys, by Michael Lewis - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24724602-flash-boys Automate This, by Christopher Steiner - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13542772-automate-this Competing Against Luck, by Clayton M. Christensen - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28820024-competing-against-luck Playing to Win, by A.G. Lafley - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13586928-playing-to-win How to Lead in Product Management, by Roman Pichler - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13586928-playing-to-win Hazelcast Websites - hazelcast.org , hazelcast.comConnecting with David:
Connect with David on Twitter - https://twitter.com/dbrimley?lang=enEmbracing the Pivot with Rhino Review’s Chelsea Craig
Chelsea is the founder of Rhino Reviews and they work with businesses to protect their online reputation by growing and leveraging their online customer reviews. They offer the only fully managed review generation and reputation management program on the market. Every client receives a unique strategy based on their current reputation, where they wish to go, and headwinds they might encounter. They work to improve both the external as well as internal reputation and take businesses from a reactive to a proactive position. On this episode, Sean and Chelsea cover
The success story behind Rhino Review and embracing the concept of the pivot How measuring the customer experience helped Chelsea realize why Rhino was stuck How leveling up their pricing actually helped them refine their value proposition How your sales and go-to-market strategy needs to shift when you decide to pivot How a lower price for your product or service can actually hurt your business Chelsea’s philosophy on adding new services (or features) to their list of offeringsResources:
Sandler Sales Training - https://www.thetrainingcenter.sandler.com/about Rhino Reviews LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/rhino-reviews/?viewAsMember=true Rhino Reviews Blog - https://rhino-reviews.com/blog-2-online-reviews-for-small-business/Connecting with Chelsea:
Rhino Reviews website - https://rhino-reviews.com/ Connect with Chelsea over email - Chelsea@rhino-reviews.comBuilding Data-Driven Products with Stephen Sklarew
Stephen is a product and technology executive with extensive experience building and growing companies both large and small. He is also the CEO of Synaptiq. Synaptiq provides strategic AI and data science services to information, technology, and product officers. On this week's episode, Sean and Stephen discuss
“There’s nothing more frustration than building software that no one will use” Why software is more about understanding your customer than technology How to be a conservative entrepreneur when it comes to financial risk Why selling services is a great way to identify product opportunities “It’s not worth getting others people’s money until you’ve proven your business model” What it means to build a data-driven product How to know when you have a product worth building The critical importance of testing your value proposition early and oftenResources:
Good to Great, by James C. Collins - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/76865.Good_to_Great Traction, by Gino Wickman - https://www.eosworldwide.com/traction-book Scaling Up, by Verne Harnish - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22212880-scaling-up 3HAG Way, by Shannon Byrne Susko - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22212880-scaling-up Synaptiq Website - https://www.synaptiq.ai/Connecting with Stephen:
Connect with Stephen on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sklarew/ Connect with Stephen over Email - Stephen@synaptiq.aiThe Product Launch Journey of Everykey with Founder Chris Wentz
Chris Wentz is the founder of Everykey, the universal smart key that replaces all of your passwords and keys! Everykey can unlock your phone, laptop, tablet, and log you into your online accounts when you're around, then locks everything down when you walk away. Soon Everykey will also unlock your car, house and more! This week on the Product Launch Podcast, Sean and Chris discuss
The origins of Everykey How Everykey identifies customers and improves their lives Everykey's pricing structure and why it works How the team has evolved through different phases of building the company What's next for Everykey Chris's best advice for aspiring product company foundersResources:
Everykey.com - Use promo code PRODUCTLAUNCH20 for 20% off The Hard Thing About Hard Things, by Ben Horowitz - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18176747-the-hard-thing-about-hard-thingsConnecting with Chris:
Connect with Chris over email at Chris.wentz@everykey.comProducing Awesome Content with AI Tools with MarketMuse’s Aki Balogh
Aki is the co-founder and CEO of MarketMuse. MarketMuse uses AI to optimize content for organic search. Their SaaS platform is in use by 200 enterprises and over 10K users. In this episode, Sean and Aki cover topics like
Using analytics to improve decision making Approach big problems from a fresh perspective Identifying powerful use cases within your target market for your product Testing your value proposition Measuring and describing the ROI of your product for your customerResources:
MarketMuse Blog - https://blog.marketmuse.com/ MarketMuse Content Strategy Crash Course - https://blog.marketmuse.com/content-strategy-crash-course/ Get started with their free version - https://app.marketmuse.com/welcome?phone-invisible=dHJ1ZQ%3D%3D Slack community, the Content Strategy Collective - https://contentstrategycomm.slack.com/join/ Product Led Growth (PLG) - https://openviewpartners.com/blog/what-is-product-led-growth/ Openview Venture Partners - https://openviewpartners.com/ FirstRound Newsletter - https://firstround.com/review/ Pricing - Price Intelligently - https://www.priceintelligently.com/ Hubspot- Marketing - https://www.hubspot.com/products/marketingConnecting with Aki:
Email Aki at Aki@marketmuse.com Connect with Aki on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/akibaloghThe Telehealth Product Neeka with President Jared Sheehan
Jared is the President of Neeka Health Intelligence, the econometric and digital arm of Neeka Enterprises. Neeka Enterprises spans the healthcare continuum by providing strategic, operational, and tactical support to leading healthcare organizations. Their team brings a blend of medical, economic, and startup experience to identify strategic margin improvement opportunities and deliver results through tech-enabled services. In this episode, Sean and Jared cover
The telehealth product they’ve built called Neeka What econometrics means and how it applies to healthcare The story behind Neeka and the problems they solve The Neeka value proposition and how they identified their target audience How Neeka is differentiated from the options on the market What’s next for the future of telehealth and how they intended to innovate around these needsResources:
Pwrdby website - https://pwrdby.com/ Neeka - https://neekahealth.com/ Hospital Pandemic Preparation - https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/public-health/part-i-hospital-providers-should-prepare-for-two-years-of-pandemic.html COVID-19 Elective Surgery Recommendations - https://www.cms.gov/files/document/covid-elective-surgery-recommendations.pdf How Will COVID-19 Affect the Health Care Economy - https://jamanetwork.com/channels/health-forum/fullarticle/2764547Connecting with Jared:
Connect with Jared on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheehanjared/The Trudge to the Bathroom Test with Neil Gordon
Neil Gordon helps experts become the face of a movement. He works with executives, influencers, and thought leaders and has helped them get six-figure book advances, be seen on shows like Ellen and Dr. Oz, and double their speaking fees. On this episode of Product Launch, Sean and Neil discuss
What the ‘trudge to the bathroom test’ is all about and why you need to run it “Marketing is made or broken by how well we understand the problems experienced by our customers” Why testing your product ideas are so important Figuring out what problems people are hungry to solve How he markets his products and what you can learn about how to market yours Defining your marketing hooks and figuring out what your next product should be Conducting the twitter test, (struggling with this problem and add a bitly link, spend a couple bucks on each and measure the results) Figuring out the marketing hooks, landing page content, testing your messaging Neil’s magic wand product for transforming webinarsResources:
Visit Neil on the web at https://neilcanhelp.com/ Neil's Silver Bullet at https://neilcanhelp.com/silver-bullet/ A Prayer For Owen Meany at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4473.A_Prayer_for_Owen_MeanyConnecting with Neil:
Neil's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilcanhelp/ Email Neil at neil@neilcanhelp.com
Effective product management done remotely with Internet Creations’ Howard Yermish
Howard is the Director of Product at Internet Creations which is a Salesforce AppExchange and Consulting partner that empowers organizations to operate efficiently and accelerate success by aligning people with technology. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Product Launch:
Being an effective product manager in a fully remote capacityManaging a product that is a native component in an ecosystem
Aligning your product roadmaps
Balancing product experience and product recognition
Resources:
Salesforce learning platform Trailhead (https://trailhead.salesforce.com/en/home) Internet Creations blog (https://blog.internetcreations.com/)Connecting with Howard
Email Howard at howard.yermish@internetcreations.com Connect with Howard on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/hyermish/) Follow Howard on Twitter @hyermish (https://twitter.com/hyermish?lang=en)Building a Product Business Organically with Learnt's Eliza Nimmich
Eliza Nimmich is the COO of Learnt. Learnt is an online marketplace that allows students to seamlessly and instantly connect with highly vetted tutors online and in-person. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Product Launch:
The strategy of developing and growing an enterprise business on a limited budget The importance of cultivating personal connections to customers as a form of investment Crowdfunding as an effective means of fundraising Understanding flexibility as a necessity for early growthResources:
Learnt Eliza's Crowdfunding Campaign SlackConnect With Eliza:
Connect With Eliza Over Email Connect with Eliza on LinkedInProduct Management Advice from Product Coach and Mentor Timo Sturm
Timo Sturm is a freelance product coach and mentor who helps others achieve successful careers in product. He is also the Co-Founder of What a Location which is a data and analytics tool for the commercial real estate industry. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Product Launch.
The impact of local culture on the product management profession What product managers from Europe and the U.S. can learn from each other Why a product role requires effective process as well as, an understanding that the process can always be improved Why product managers need to be decisive in their decision making Why it’s so important for product managers to set explicit goals and drive towards them with convictionResources
Join Timo’s free newsletter Reforge ProgramsConnecting with Timo
Connect with Timo on LinkedInSharpening your Marketing Axe with Creative’s Ben LeDonni
Ben LeDonni is the Founder and CEO of Creative MMS based in Philly. Creative works as a partner to marketing execs and marketing directors who have had trouble reaching their audience with the same tactics that have worked in the past and help them innovate in reaching their audience and generating sales through digital channels. On this episode of Product Launch, here are some of that Ben and I will discuss.
What Abe Lincoln's famous quote about axe sharpening means for marketing your business How to identify the personas relevant to your business Stop focusing on features, focus on problems first Find the pain and solve it Share your ideas with anyone that will listen Qualitative data is your friend, get as much of it as possible Testing your following before building a product Thinking about product marketing as dollar-cost averagingResources
SpyFu Answer the Public Google Trends Creative MMS WebsiteConnecting with Ben
Anyone who is looking to build an audience or grow their business should email Ben at ben@creativemms.comProtecting your Team and Business when Working Remotely with Anthony Mongeluzo
Anthony Mongeluzo is the President of the IT Managed Service Provider company PCS. Anthony details for us what we can do to ensure we are keeping our team and company safe as we transition to working remotely. We’ll talk about what ‘zoom bombing’ is and what you can do to ensure it doesn’t happen to you and your team. In this episode, we’ll talk about everything from protecting your team, securing the tools you use, steps you can take to protect yourself and your company and more.
Resources
PCS Blog & Newsletter - https://www.pcs-ms.com/news Productivity Tool - https://www.followupthen.com/Getting in contact with Anthony
Connect with Anthony on LinkedIn Email - anthony@helpmepcs.com Phone - 877-596-4446Taking Action From User Research with Ralph Pierre-Louis
Ralph is the Head of Design at QuotaPath. On this episode of Product Launch, Ralph shares with us his insight into user research and maximizing the value to both your B2B SaaS company and the customer deploying valuable strategies such as product-led growth. Ralphs shares the progress he’s made throughout his career and what ultimately landed him as Head of Design at QuotaPath. Spoiler alert - it’s got something to do with being product-led!
Recommended Resources
https://growth.design/ https://www.reallygoodux.io/ Openview’s build podcast - https://podcast.openviewpartners.com/ Book - Product-led Growth by Wes Bush Book - Inspired by Marty CaganGetting in touch with Ralph
Connect with Ralph on LinkedInEffectively Marketing Your SaaS Business with Raj Kapur
Raj Kapur is the Founder and Managing Director of &Marketing. Raj shares his insight for those of us looking to market and successfully grow our B2B SaaS businesses. Learn from him as he shares keys in the areas of prioritizing the problem you are solving to the most effective marketing strategies to date. Raj is also offering our listeners a free Initial Marketing Analysis where he and his team will review your marketing strategy and resources to provide you with valuable insight. Don’t forget to sign up for the upcoming Marketing Planning and Execution webinar through the link below.
Resources
Book Recommendation - Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller Webinar - Marketing Planning Like a Pro Initial Marketing Analysis - Free for Product Launch listeners!Getting in touch with Raj
Connect with Raj on LinkedIn Visit the &Marketing websiteGrowing a Successful SaaS Business Without Venture Capital with Brendan Rice
Brendan Rice is the Chief Marketing Officer at Wodify. Wodify provides management software to the fitness industry. Brendan shares the Wodify story and shares lessons from staying lean to building an awesome company without having to raise capital in this episode of the product launch podcast powered by NxtStep.
Best SaaS advice from Brendan
Learn about building a product business by getting out there and talking to customersGetting in touch with Brendan
Connect with Brendan on LinkedIn Wodify is hiring! Email Brendan at brendan@wodify.comJim Paolino from LodeStar
Jim Paolino is the Founder and CEO of LodeStar. Join me as I interview him about the journey he took to bring LodeStar to market. Jim will share his expertise and advice for those looking to build and grow a SaaS business. We’ll discuss everything from startup life to raising capital and everything in between.
Resources
Get a coach and surround yourself with a support system that understands what you’re going through (other founders and CEOs)Getting in contact with Jim
Connect with Jim on LinkedIn Leverage the resources available on the LodeStar websiteGrowing an EdTech SaaS Startup to more than 1000 paid customers with Nick Malekos
Nick Malekos is a marketing expert that is involved in building and selling the EdTech SaaS company Learn Worlds. Learn from him about how they have gained traction in the EdTech SaaS space by addressing the obvious unmet needs in their space. Nick’s speciality in marketing has helped him grow Learn Worlds aggressively in recent years. Learn from his successful strategies and tactics to help grow your SaaS business.
Resources
eLearning trends article How to start and online school How to create an online course Learn Worlds academy Tools to create instructional videos SaaStr (podcast, blog, conference) Equity podcast from TechCrunch Freakanomics - get the book here Cautionary tales podcastGetting in touch with Nick
Connect with Nick on LinkedIn Email Nick at nick@learnworlds.comBen Johnson from Freya Systems
Description: In this episode of the Product Launch Podcast powered by NxtStep, we talk with Ben from Freya Systems about building internal products for the enterprise. Ben and his team build products for large organizations in the aviation, transportation and manufacturing industry.
Show notes
00:30 - Background about Ben and more information about Freya Systems.
02:00 - What Freya Systems is doing to help their customers predict the future.
04:30 - What they do with all that data.
07:00 - What type or problems are you solving?
12:30 - Why elegant and simple solutions are ideal even for complicated problems faced by very large organizations.
17:00 - The advantages of specializing. Niche to get rich.
19:00 - How do you solve the problems of your customers and who is typically involved?
Product Resources
TrainingPluralsight
YouTube Datacamp Wireframing
Adobe XD
Getting in touch with Ben
Connect with Ben on LinkedIn Freya Systems WebsiteSreeni Jakka from Tech O2
Sreeni Jakka from Tech O2Description: In this episode of the Product Launch Podcast powered by NxtStep, we talk with Sreeni from Tech O2 about all things software and startups. Learn how to make your software startup successful from a veteran of helping over 60 startups.
Show notes
01:00 - What is Tech O2?
03:00 - Sreeni’s experience working with startups.
05:00 - Advice for early stage companies
09:00 - How to scale back to your MVP.
14:30 - How do know when you’re ready to actually build the product.
20:00 - Being smart with your budget
21:00 - Why you should avoid ‘stealth mode’ for your startup
Product Resources
BlogsMedium
Books
The Lean Startup (Eric Ries)
Getting in touch with Sreeni
LinkedIn Tech O2 Website Email - sreeni.jakka@techo2.com Phone - 215.262.2633SEO and Organic Content for SaaS Businesses with George
Description: In this episode we speak with an SEO and organic content expert in George. George has created SEO and content strategies for numerous SaaS businesses across the globe.
Show notes
01:00 - The type of companies George works with
03:00 - Knowing when a company has found product-market fit
05:30 - What’s the best way to drive organic growth for your SaaS business
08:00 - George’s 6 step process for organic content and SEO success
09:00 - What is important for SEO success today
11:30 - Why you’ll be fine if you stick to the script
12:00 - What is the best way to build a content strategy that delivers results?
15:00 - When to invest in these strategies for your SaaS business
17:30 - What is a reasonable budget for a project like this for a SaaS business?
Product Resources
WebsitesSEO Tool - Ahrefs
Getting in touch with George
Facebook LinkedIn MINUTTIAStuart Balcombe from Customer Discovery Sprints
Description: In this episode of the Product Launch Podcast powered by NxtStep, we talk with Stuart from Customer Discovery Sprints about everything from starting with problems to verifying solutions in the wide world of product for early stage companies.
Show notes
01:00 - What is Customer Discovery Sprints
03:30 - How to start with problems.
06:00 - Why you shouldn’t start with (just) an idea.
11:00 - Asking the right question - The Mom Test
12:00 - How to ask for real-world examples.
14:00 - How to have an effective customer interview.
16:00 - How do you validate your product ideas?
Product Resources
BooksThe Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick
How to Create Tech Products Customers Love by Marty Cagan
Podcasts
Build by Drift
Courses
Customer Interviews Course
Blogs
Silicon Valley Product Group (Marty Cagan)
Getting in touch with Stuart
Email - Stuart@CustomerDiscoverySprints.com Customer Discovery SprintsZubin from LeagueSide
Description: In this episode of the Product Launch Podcast powered by NxtStep, we talk with Zubin who is the Co-Founder and COO of LeagueSide . Learn about how LeagueSide came to be and how they are ushering sponsorship of youth sports into a whole new era.
Show notes
00:00 - The story behind LeagueSide
03:00 - The problems LeagueSide solves
04:30 - “You have to sell the product to be able to execute it”
07:00 - How do your customers and users try to solve these problems today?
10:00 - How the LeagueSide product works.
13:00 - Company reaction to the LeagueSide product.
14:30 - Key metrics and how the LeagueSide team is measuring the effectiveness of the product.
15:30 - How does the revenue model work?
16:15 - Scaling the LeagueSide product and business.
20:30 - The game winning basketball shot heard around the world!
Product Resources
BooksObviously Awesome by April Dunford
Getting in touch with Zubin and LeagueSide
LinkedIn LeagueSide Website AngelList page (LeagueSide is hiring!)Being Data-Driven in Marketing with Jake from Pareto PPC
Description
In this episode of the Product Launch Podcast powered by NxtStep, we talk with Jake from Pareto PPC about the importance of being data-driven in your marketing approach. Learn more from a marketing expert about what you can do to market your product effectively.
Show notes
00:30 - Jake’s background and the Pareto story
02:00 - The importance of being data-driven
04:50 - How to know if you have the right data
08:00 - Finding product/market fit
12:30 - The cyclical nature of CPC
14:00 - The advantages of targeting a niche
15:00 - “The more general you are the weaker your value proposition will be.”
Product Resources
PodcastsDigital Analytics Power Hour
Slack groups
Measure
Google suite
Google Apps Script
Getting in touch with Jake
Email - jake@paretoppc.com LinkedInThe Importance of User Research with Aggelos from Growth Sandwich.
Description: In this episode of the Product Launch Podcast powered by NxtStep, we talk with Aggelos from Growth Sandwich about the importance of user research in building great products. Learn everything from what an evidence-based decision making loop is and why you should use one to avoiding the hands off trap when it comes to product-market fit.
Show notes
01:00 - The story behind Growth Sandwich.
03:00 - Product vs Marketing.
04:00 - A story about what can go wrong when user research is missing.
07:30 - The impact of poor product management.
09:00 - The case of Ryan Air, ranked worst for 6 years running, but the highest selling. What gives?
11:00 - Getting feedback from users the right way.
15:00 - People don’t buy your product, they buy your value proposition.
18:00 - Aggelos on product-market fit and why what you measure matters.
20:00 - You can lose product-market fit more quickly than you found it.
24:00 - Why automation can jeopardize the strength of your value proposition.
Product Resources
BooksWhen Coffee and Kale Compete by Alan Klement
Positioning by Al Ries
Design Sprint by Jake Knapp
Product-led Growth by Wes Bush
Blogs
Growth Sandwich
OpenView
Events
Product Qualified Summit
Getting in touch with Aggelos
LinkedIn Growth Sandwich WebsiteNeil Gomes - Jefferson Health
In this episode of the product podcast powered by NxtStep, we talk with Chief Digital Officer and EVP of Consumer Experience at Jefferson Health - Neil Gomes. Listen in as Neil talks all about what it takes to achieve product success and all the exciting work him and his team is involved with at Jefferson Health.
Guest
Show Notes
00:30 - What Neil does and what his title really means.
04:00 - How Neil got to where he is today and the cool stuff he’s worked on throughout his career.
10:00 - How you can work like a startup without having to be a startup.
13:00 - What Neil’s team is made up of and how they get work done at Jeff.
15:00 - How Jeff does Lean and Agile.
29:00 - Resources recommended by Neil
36:00 - How to connect with Neil
Twitter LinkedInJohn Waupsh - Kasasa
Product success and Bankruption in FinTech with John WaupshIn this episode of the product podcast powered by NxtStep, we talk with Chief Innovation Officer at Kasasa - John Waupsh. Listen in as John talks all about what it takes to achieve product success. Hear more about John's popular book on the latest in FinTech called Bankruption.
Guest
Show Notes
1:00 - What is Kasasa?
5:00 - What does Chief Innovation Officer mean?
9:30 - Why market research matters.
11:00 - An example from John about how different what customers say can be from what they will actually do.
13:00 - John’s take on what makes a great product professional and what it has to do with 3D chess.
17:00 - Why product can be HARD.
23:00 - How do you find product-market fit?
28:00 - How quitting can be a key part of the path to winning.
30:00 - Why you should pay close attention to your customers voting with their money.
31:30 - Great resources by John.
36:00 - How to get in touch with John.
LinkedIn Twitter37:00 - Bonus product advice from John. Why you should focus on what you’re building and why.
Don Sandusky - Hamboards
In this episode of the product podcast powered by NxtStep, we talk with owner and general manager of Hamboards - Don Sandusky. Don walks us through what they did to achieve success at Hamboards, which is a product that creates a surfboard-like experience on land. Hear more about his path into product, working at NASA and other great product insights.
Guest
Show Notes
1:00 - The Hamboard is a product that mimics the experience of surfing on land
3:10 - How Hamboards extended a great user experience to a new market segment through the use of their product.
8:35 - How Don originally got into product.
11:00 - Fixing problems for NASA
13:00 - Finding the obvious unmet need.
18:30 - Don’s take on finding product/market fit.
23:00 - Focusing on the problem.
24:00 - Product resource recommendations.
How to connect with Don
Connect with Don on LinkedInProduct Launch Podcast powered by NxtStep
Hello and welcome to the Product Launch podcast where we talk all things product strategy. My name is Sean Boyce and I’m the host of the Product Launch podcast and the founder of the product strategy consulting company, NxtStep. On the product launch podcast, I interview guests involved at various stages of different product businesses. So whether you’re looking to launch a product and turn it into a business or you have a product business that has plenty of traction and your challenges are more specific related to product, you’ll find plenty of answers from both myself and the product experts we interview on our show. To learn more reach out to us at hello@nxtstep.io.