Alexander Chukovski

Accurate read on product leadership search from all angles! Thank you Colin Lernell and Aakash Gupta. Adding on one other insight...Making a Head of / VP Product leadership hire - especially first-time founders - can be time-consuming as they understand different personas and levels. Outside of just finding candidates, I've found that CEOs truly value the partnership with a search partner to provide invaluable support and expertise in navigating their options and finding the right fit for each stage #Productmanagement #executivesearch #TalentAcquisition #Recruitment #Hiring #Interviewing

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Last year, at RecBuzz in Berlin, I presented a list of potential generative AI features for job boards. Now, a German job board has implemented one of these ideas. - Are you curious about which feature it is and how it's being used? - Is the implementation good? - What would I have done differently? I'm publishing an in-depth review on my blog this Sunday. This analysis will cover the implementation details and what it means for the future of job boards. Take advantage of this insider insight. Sign up for my blog updates now to be the first to read it: https://lnkd.in/dsa7nX8Q

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Topic of the Week: 𝐎𝐧𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 I often see SaaS companies focusing on adding features, hoping for better results, but often neglecting the onboarding process. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. While conversion and retention are key KPIs, the Activation Rate (AHA moment) is equally important, especially for PLG (Product-Led Growth) products. Here are 3 strategies I implement in companies to enhance onboarding: 1️⃣ 𝗠𝗮𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆: Document every action a user takes to achieve meaningful value with your product. Categorize these steps into ESSENTIAL and NON-ESSENTIAL. Don’t hesitate to remove non-essential steps to accelerate the time-to-value and maintain user engagement. 🗺️ 2️⃣ 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸: You don’t need a UX research team to understand your clients. Schedule calls with new users to observe their onboarding experience firsthand. Address their pain points and actively listen to their feedback. 👂 3️⃣ 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘇𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀: Track user behavior from the outset. Believe me, implementing this early can provide invaluable insights. Bonus tip: Embrace A/B testing whenever possible. It’s a powerful tool. Don’t be afraid of it! 📊 How are you optimizing your onboarding process to boost user activation? #SaaS #UserOnboarding #UserExperience #Product #ProductManagement

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🇺🇸🇪🇺Why are there so few enterprise SaaS founders in Europe compared to the U.S.? ------------------------------------------------------------------ I recently had an interesting discussion with a SaaS founder about how the U.S. market seems much more welcoming to enterprise-focused SaaS compared to Europe. In Europe, building enterprise software is possible, but it’s much harder, and fewer founders are building such SaaS software. Fundamentally, I think it boils down to two major aspects: 🏢 The difference between U.S. and European enterprises in terms of budget, market fragmentation, and risk-taking. 🤗 The lack of an "enterprise software" culture among entrepreneurs and VCs in Europe (especially at early stage). 1️⃣ When it comes to software spending, data from the latest Cledara report supports this idea. The report shows that companies with 200+ employees in the U.S. spend an average of $690k on software, while their European counterparts spend around $490k (see the attached graph). This aligns with a Gartner study, which indicates that U.S. companies typically allocate 3-4% of their revenue to IT, whereas European companies spend around 2-3%. So yes, U.S. enterprises spend significantly more on software than European ones, creating greater revenue opportunities for enterprise software startups. 2️⃣ Another key aspect is market fragmentation. Although Europe may have more enterprises overall than the U.S. (around 40,000 companies with 500+ employees in Europe compared to about 20,000 in the U.S.), the European market is highly fragmented. For instance, Germany has the highest concentration of enterprises, with approximately 10,000 companies with 500+ employees, followed by France, with fewer than 5,000. 3️⃣ In terms of risk-taking, U.S. enterprises have a much stronger culture of technology adoption, especially in large companies, compared to Europe. Many founders in Europe get stuck in "innovation programs" or "proof-of-concept purgatories" when working with enterprises. Although risk tolerance among European enterprises has improved over the past decade, it still lags far behind the American “spirit”. 4️⃣ A consequence of the previous aspects is that there are fewer founders and startup employees in Europe with experience in building enterprise-grade software. Europe's SaaS entrepreneurial culture is much stronger in the SMB/mid-market segment than in enterprise-level SaaS. It’s the same for early stage European VCs, who also tend to favor SMB/mid-market focused SaaS over enterprise solutions. Investments in enterprise-grade software typically come at a much later stage (series A / B), mostly when startups have already moved upmarket.

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🤔 If you are curious about how I got into the role of CRO, feel free to catch up on the newsletter by Tom van den Berg or follow the link below https://lnkd.in/dYnZdme9 #experimentationcareer #experimentation #cro #conversionrate

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Dear B2B tech marketing people! (Yes, you, looking at the screen. Come a bit closer. ) I have a challenge for you: For the next week (for bonus points: month), do not to use the word “seamless”. At all. Don’t even think about it. Why? Let me tell you: When you are selling to a technical audience, we are interested in the seams! We just call them “integrations”: that’s where two systems meet. We need to make sure they work well, so we spend most of our time on figuring those seams out. And yes, despite what you’ve heard, the seams are real, even when all the systems involved are promised to be more seamless than a snail’s backside. Pls. Thx. Bye.

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𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩’𝐬 𝐑&𝐃 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐁𝐒𝐎 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐑𝐮𝐥𝐞! If you’re a startup working on innovative projects, the 𝐖𝐁𝐒𝐎 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐑𝐮𝐥𝐞 offers extra funding by allowing higher tax deductions on R&D costs. This can be a game-changer, especially if your costs are significant. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐈𝐭 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤? Under the regular WBSO scheme, companies can deduct 32% of R&D costs 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 €𝟑𝟓𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎, and startups can take this even further! With the 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐑𝐮𝐥𝐞, you can 𝐝𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝟒𝟎% of your R&D expenses—an 8% higher rate. For example, with €350,000 in R&D costs, a regular company would deduct €112,000, but as a startup, you can deduct €140,000. That’s an additional €28,000 in savings! 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐑𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐟: • Your business is in its first three years • You’ve claimed WBSO for no more than two calendar years 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐞𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐌𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐆𝐞𝐭? Try our WBSO Calculator to instantly estimate how much extra funding you can unlock for your R&D projects! https://lnkd.in/g-w6BVjt

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“How can I increase retention?” This is often a question I get asked by founders and honestly there is no straight forward answer. I guess the first thing to do would be to understand some of the reasons why staff are leaving. Here is a list of the top 5 most common reasons developers are leaving there jobs in Berlin. 1) Salary - Hardly surprising, but salary comes out on top. Ultimately if you are giving your employees a 3-5% yearly raise they will leave. Reward your loyal employees by reviewing there salaries at least every 6 months and offering promotions when necessary. 2) Lack of Growth Opportunity - the most talented engineers I know are always looking for new ways to challenge themselves. If they no longer see this in there current company, they will look to move on. Make sure to be transparent, give them a roadmap, understand where they want to be in the next 2 years, and tell them how you can support there career goals. 3) Burnout - Unfortualty this is such a common feeling for engineers to feel. Constant pressure, tight deadlines & minimal rest is never sustainable in any environment. If your team is feeling burned out, give them more support, offer 30+ days paid vacation, hybrid/remote working, flexible working hours. These benefits cost nothing but can have proven to dramatically increase retention and productivity levels in engineering teams. 4) Micro Management - This is hardly surprising right? Engineers are creative, so give them the tools to express themselves such as freedom and trust and they will create special things for your business. If you have to “check in” on them every hour this is not only counter productive for you but is also harmful to your entire team. Give them autonomy, otherwise they will eventually look somewhere else. 5) Too Many Meetings - I understand that meetings are important… But 3,4 or even 5 every day??? People become developers because they like to make an impact with the code that they write. So streamline your meetings and ask yourself “Is this meeting going to be beneficial?” If not your engineers may become bored. Most of these points are may not come as a shock, however is there any others that you think I have missed? Let me know in the comments!

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The Payments Market Map Germany 🇩🇪 Anyone missing in this overview? 👇 Source: Payment & Banking - PBA Experts GmbH Find this helpful? [ 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 ] Anything to add about this subject? [𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁] Nice story, Marcel. Next! [ 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 ]

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Agentic AI = AI systems that can accomplish complex goals with limited direct human supervision when also given the power of using tools and executing workflows Chat bots >> Co-pilots >> Multi agent systems Agentic architecture allows for AI systems to make context aware decisions and react intelligently to condition changes in a purely automated fashion, across any and all touch points of your product with a consumer. If you want to learn how to bring automation in serving your users with the most optimal message/call to action across all your channels and user touch points, do tune in for the next webinar from team Aampe Schaun Wheeler shall demonstrate how you can deploy and use multi agent architectures for delivering the most optimal product and customer experiences Must attend for all growth and product leaders!

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Most SaaS brands are doing LinkedIn wrong. (Here’s how to do it right) Teach your ICP how to fish. This means educational content like, - Trends about your niche industry  - “How to” content about challenging tasks - Thought leadership on professional development  - Role-specific advice to improve the performance of ICP - Feedback from customers about their experience The information your organization has is useful to businesses. You can turn this into posts that are, - Digestible  - Actionable  - Valuable So consider implementing educational content into your LinkedIn strategy. It will pay dividends. #B2BSaaS #SaaSmarketing #LinkedInTips #Marketing 

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Prospect in DMs, intros, then... “what is your day rate?” My answer? I am unable to provide a competitive offer until I understand more about: → Your business → Your challenges → Potential Solutions → Value unlocked → The type of engagement model that best fits How about a 30min 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹 to explore? This call is all about you: → Current pain points (or more likely presenting symptoms) → What does a desirable future look like? → Why a solution is required now? → Value to remedy? My pricing approach is based on a win/win. I want you to receive a fantastic ROI and I wish to be paid commensurately with the value created.  I used the same approach when I played in a covers band in the mid/late 90s. → Pub (£) → Private Party (££) → Corporate Party (£££) → Wedding (££££) → New Years Eve (££££££) Within 24-48 hours of our call I will write up a proposal that will cover: 1. 𝗦𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 - an overview of your business, commercial model, financials and future plans 2. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 - an concise summary of the problem you need solved 3. 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 - what does your world look like if we are successful working together? 4. 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 - outlines how we will work together 5. 𝗙𝗲𝗲 - what you will pay to achieve the outcomes you seek justified with the value created (I know your CFO will be seeking a strong business case so I help you with this) 6. 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀 - see how delighted my previous clients have been and help you make a confident purchasing decision 7. 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀 - things I will require from you and your team for the partnership to be successful In many cases I recommend a short discovery period. We will work together to understand the situation more deeply and help set realistic milestones and expectations. This allows us both to proceed with greater confidence that the desired outcomes can be met. P.S I am currently enjoying an AI meeting assistant that gives a live talk time so I can ensure I keep to my 20%

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My first startup failed. We almost raised a massive Series A, and I almost became a millionaire at 26. But instead we went bankrupt. I was 26 when I started Fitbay with my brother Christian and my friend Andreas, and I had just one goal: get rich And for a while my co-founders and I were right on track. We secured initial funding from Jesper Buch (founder of Just Eat Takeaway.com). We closed a then record €2m VC-backed seed round from VC's including Creandum (early investor in Spotify) I'm 26 years old - and I've made it. We were one of the most hyped startups and about to get a massive Series A investment and then, at the last minute, they pull their offer. We were burning $100k+ per month and would go bankrupt in 3 months. It was game over. We kept going for a few of months after that. We pivoted. We launched the product we had "always intended to build". But it was too late... We had to let 18 people go overnight. We had competitors at the time including True Fit, Virtusize, and Son of a Tailor, but back then I dismissed them as amateurs. Instead of chasing hype, they built a strong company culture. Instead of chasing unicorns, they delivered value to every single customer. Instead of almost becoming a millionaires, they became millionaires. My 3 learnings: 1. If I were to do it all over again, I would remove my ego from the equation. I wouldn't worry about the 1B+ story or the dream of unlocking a massive new market. I'd worry about delivering real value to customers. I would focus on generating revenue, rather than chasing metrics that gave me a false sense of success. Like sign ups and app installs. 2. Startups are not just hard, they are emotionally draining. I would make sure I didn't work 70+ hour work weeks and that I would have time for my friends and family. After working like that for 3 years I hit the wall big time, and I gave way too much of myself during that period. It impacted me professionally and personally for years to come, and it sure as hell wasn't worth it. 3. There is no substitute for solving real problems for people. No massive investment, no PR, no hype will save you if you're not solving a top-of-mind problem for your customers. If you are unable to create demand or capture demand in the market, odds are you are not solving a problem that is big enough for enough people.

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Do you buy anything expensive without checking if the price is fair? A house? Zillow. Car? A million websites. TV or other hardware? Easy to confirm. So why not with technology? That ends today. We’re releasing a new product called Supplier Intelligence. In 2011, Marc Andreessen said that “Software is eating the world.” I’m not sure even he could have predicted the explosion of software we’ve seen over the last 15 years. SaaS introduced a new paradigm where anyone could swipe a corporate card and get access to tools they needed, and finance teams had no systems to control these types of decentralized purchases. Very quickly, it became nearly impossible for organizations to manage their spend. We wanted to help solve this problem, but rather than attempting to build the best software platform for managing this new paradigm of spend management, we had a different perspective. Our belief was that customers would demand more than just a software tool to give them the infrastructure to manage spend. Customers would demand data, differentiated intelligence from their vendor partners that could help them drive spend efficiency. Building a differentiated data asset requires a deliberate approach to collection, normalization, and distribution that doesn’t happen by accident. We were told when starting a business you have to “do things that don’t scale”, so we decided to launch an outsourced procurement service. One of the beautiful things about a services business is that you get to actually solve customer problems with specialized people having real impact. For us, that problem was saving time and money for our overworked finance and procurement customers. They couldn’t manage all of their own supplier negotiation, so instead we could literally step in and do it for them. Tropic’s services have generated hundreds of millions in savings over the last 5 years for customers, and along the way, has allowed us to gather data that only was possible with a group of experts in the field. Pricing insights, negotiation strategies, purchasing trends, spend benchmarks. The kind of stuff finance and procurement teams desperately need at their fingertips. And now we’re releasing this collection of intelligence into our latest product called Supplier Intelligence. Supplier Intelligence gives finance and procurement teams leverage by providing critical pricing data and supplier insights. We know navigating a software purchase can be like wandering down a dark hallway searching for the way out: bumping into walls, searching for a door handle to grasp onto. Supplier Intelligence is the lightbulb, illuminating the hallway, and empowering you to kick through the door. And for those of you that know and love Tropic’s services - don’t you worry, they’re not going anywhere. Because sometimes you need a steel toe boot, and we’re here for you!

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Many friends ask me what we're building at Rivalyze. Let me break it down with a simple story 👇 Imagine this scenario: Your product team is excited. They've spent 6 months building a "game-changing" feature for your B2B software. The roadmap is set, marketing is preparing the launch, and sales is hyping it to prospects. Then it happens... During a sales call, a prospect casually mentions: "Oh, yeah - we're already using that feature with your competitor. They launched it 3 months ago. Actually, their version also does X and Y..." Ouch. 😬 In this scenario, you're looking at: - 6 months of development resources that could've been used differently - A feature that's now "catching up" instead of "game-changing" - Multiple deals potentially at risk - A complete roadmap rethink - One very tough meeting with the leadership team This is exactly why we built Rivalyze. We automate competitive intelligence for B2B tech companies. Think of us as your 24/7 competitive intelligence department - continuously monitoring your competitors' moves so you can build and sell with confidence, not assumptions. What if you never had to worry about being blindsided by competitor moves again? Let me know what you think in the comments 😁 👇 Omer Goren #B2B #ProductStrategy #CompetitiveIntelligence #StartUp #SaaS

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I’ve worked with 400+ B2B SaaS CEOs in the last 7 years. (One question keeps coming up) "How to get ahead of the competition in a crowded market?" I explored this in my interview with an idealist punk who turned lawyer, then SaaS founder: Niklas Hanitsch, founder and CEO of SECJUR.   Here are my 7 highlights: 1 - Bootstrapping initially to focus on the business and what provides real customer value, instead of fundraising distractions. 2 - Not trying to build everything from scratch but using existing technologies where it makes sense. 3 - Maintaining a healthy company culture: Making values fit a disqualifier in hiring, regardless of a candidate's talent or experience. 4 - Using a risk matrix framework to improve team transparency, prioritization of decisions and alignment. 5 - Staying resourceful - enabling expansion to become a holistic compliance platform covering other frameworks as the GDPR market got crowded. 6 - Shifting away from growth at all costs to focus on balancing growth and profitability early on - especially in uncertain times. 7 - Doubling down on what works with a couple of small side bets and not getting carried away experimenting. Now, if you nodded at any of the 7 highlights, you’re on track. But if you didn’t. And you want to understand how well you’re positioned to stay ahead of the competition. DM me "AHEAD," and I'll send you the next step. Be Remarkable. P.S. The link to the interview is in the 1st comment below.

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List of Startups Receiving Funding in #Germany. Check out the list of #Germany-funded startups available for your reference at any time. View the list now https://lnkd.in/dc9emGbb #startup #startups #vc #venturecapital #investmentbanking #privateequity #managementconsulting #b2b #founders #entrepreneurs

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