Brandon Pizzacalla

Really well illustrated diagram on Growth Loops - an essential part of product led growth. Your key takeaways: -Reduce friction to getting to an Aha moment -Make it easy to share and add others to your product in a free/viewer mode -Make it easy to pay -Make sure your product gets more valuable the more people use it What are your thoughts? #product #design #plg #quantana

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How Dovetail created a new SaaS category while growing to a $970M (Australian) valuation in 5 years: (I learned the details by having a chat with 4 members of their team, and 4 UXR leaders.) 1. Product-led growth, design-led company While Dovetail's culture is design-led, its business model is decidedly product-led growth. The company relies on the product, & inherently viral features like research reports, to: • Acquire • Convert • Monetize • And retain users 2. Creating a hub for a neglected persona Let's go back to 2016. While: • Engineers had JIRA • Designers had Sketch • PMs had Confluence • Analysts had Tableau • User Researchers had... nothing? Their workflow was a chaos of switching between different software and tools. Ben had lived it as a product designer at Atlassian. While there were many softwares focused on how to build, there was almost nothing about what to build. So, after validating the idea with an MVP, he recruited his Atlassian Engineer friend, Bradley Ayers, to join him. 3. Mastering the PLG motion Dovetail excels in all layers of PLG: → Acquisition: they don't use any outbound sales → Core problem: the home page emphasizes on improving your product decision-making → Reduced friction: its onboarding is focused on a standard walkthrough → Activation: an intuitive product, examples & templates → Retention: as a system of record, the product gets stickier as more data is put in → Monetization: free plan has unlimited functionality, but 1 project → Expansion: natural growth of free users, who become editors 4. Creating powerful, reinforcing growth loops Dovetail has 2 primary flywheels: • More paid seats help them build a better product, which helps UXRs succeed, which drives more UXRs & paid seats • UXRs succeed, driving collaborators to join, which go from free to paid seats As well as 2 secondary flywheels: • The more paid seats, the more it can invest in inbound sales • The more free seats, the more expansion products like Channels (to analyze customer support data) it can build 5. Building towards a category of one Dovetail is building out its own category even though there are competitors in the research insights space It's not quite transcription or a hub for research. It's that and more. This has helped it create a new category in SaaS. To learn about the complete story and breakdown, check out the deep dive here: https://buff.ly/4dBAdHs

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⚡Arnon Shimoni & I had a wide-ranging conversation today about all things SaaS monetization, pricing & packaging. Can't wait to share highlights from the conversation next week and the full conversation a bit later on. In the meantime, highly recommend Arnon's writing on billing & entitlements. Linking to two of his great blog posts in the comments. #pricing #packaging #monetization #b2bsaas

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Kogan.com's revenue is down and so are the shares. However, while in 2021 this would have signaled disaster, it is actually a good sign as profitability is on the up! I would rather have a single digit fall in revenue and a double digit improvement in profitability. Why is Kogan more profitable? Transitioning into a capital-light business with more platform-based sales. Improved the profitability of in-warehouse inventory. They shifted from optimizing the business for revenue to prioritizing profitability. What can we learn from this Australian e-commerce giant? GET YOUR UNIT ECONOMICS RIGHT. MANAGE YOUR INVENTORY FOR PROFITABILITY. And remember, if inventory is not moving, it is not 'really' an asset on the balance sheet; it may be more of a liability if your warehousing costs are rising.

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Introducing GTM Mentors APAC, a new series by talking tenets. Episode #1 Nathan Schubert: The new SaaS economics of Go To Market - Implications for Sellers & Sales Leaders A GTM and RevOps expert with a unique background, he's also been an AE. Most recently he was Head of GTM - New Products with Go1. He believes that unit economics are broken in many SaaS orgs. Lean is better to combat the challenges of unit economics and the importance of optimizing CAC payback time. The way in which SaaS companies achieve this can have far-reaching implications for AEs. If done well, AEs could find greater support from a unified sales, marketing and RevOps team, be laser focused and intentional on a the right customers, at the right time. Done poorly, AEs will face more pressure to do much more, with less support. 🔗 Listen or Watch now (Links in comments).

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Day 2 of Building Maven Club Why isn’t anyone discussing the GTM insights in the APAC market? I listen to quite a lot of podcasts (my recent favorites are Greg Isenberg from Late Checkout and Colin and Samir —go check them out). I think listening to experts from different fields can really help me reflect and improve as a founder. However, one thing I realized is that there are so many channels talking about insights in US/EU markets, but very few focus on APAC markets, and almost none of them focus on GTM. Localized GTM strategies are incredibly important in APAC markets, especially in Asia, where the culture and business practices differ significantly from those in the US and EU. McDonald's offers different flavors or items in various markets (btw, I tried the spicy chicken nuggets at Kyoto's McDonald’s—they're great, but McWings here in HK still have my heart). You can't apply the same GTM strategies across different markets. This is what I aim to uncover here at Maven Club. I want to bring you GTM insights for APAC markets and share how founders and GTM leaders here think and strategize when entering new markets, so that you can learn from their experiences and thrive in your own roles. Subscribe here for FREE if that's something you want to learn as well! - https://lnkd.in/g9fDrV5R Oh btw, I just posted a newsletter at Maven Club on how a YouTuber built a $20M coffee brand in 5 years. You might be interested as well :) Cheers!

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Do you work with Startups or Scaleups? When our Founders, Startup / Scaleup Leaders, or Startup Employees join Aussie Founders Club's free membership on Frontcover, they then unlock exclusive offers for products and services. On the list, we currently have offers from companies like: Rapha: 6 months FREE on their recruitment system Heatseeker: A 30% disount on their subscription which gives you access to tools for generating value propositions, conducting live competitor audits, and running in-market experiments Mayfly Ventures: A free 45 minute Product Strategy Session HubSpot: Discounted access to Hubspot for Startups which opens you up to MANY MANY offers for startups BetaTrends: A 25% discount on their analytics subscription Granton: A free 30 minute consult to discuss eligible grants for your startup ScoreApp: 50% off your first month (I love Scoreapp) Informly: 10% off your Idea Validation report (I've used this - their reports are incredible) Also offers from my own businesses: Kairos: Offering exclusive AFC rates for your first hire placed through Kairos Mployd: Discounts on services for startup employees looking for work I've got many more in the works but if this sounds like something you and your business wants to get across, getting you in front of your target market and supporting them with an exclusive offer - you can! Fill out our EOI form and we will be in touch - link here: https://lnkd.in/gWqN32cb

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How much ARR do you generate for every $1 you spend on Sales and Marketing? The answer is your magic number. It's probably my favourite GTM metric. It normalises well across companies and timeframes. Here's how Monday has performed over the last 10 Quarters. Surprisingly it's fairly middling. Much worse than companies like Atlassian ($2.34), Datadog ($1.07), Crowdstrike ($0.83) But better than companies like Asana ($0.19) , Docusign ($0.16) and Box ($0.06)

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There's a glaring irony among NFPs in the Australian startup ecosystem... They preach "know your customer" but often fail to practice it. Want to see how? Let's break it down... 👇🏾 What NFPs preach: "Always talk to your customers." What NFPs practice: Making assumptions about customer needs. What NFPs preach: "Use data to drive decisions." What NFPs practice: Relying on gut feelings and outdated information. What NFPs preach: "Build for diversity and inclusion." What NFPs practice: Creating one-size-fits-all solutions. Remember... NFPs in the startup ecosystem give great advice to founders. But the real winners are those who don't just preach, but actually practice customer-centricity. Have you noticed this disconnect in the startup ecosystem? Share your observations in the comments. ---------------------------------------------- Found this useful? Repost for your NFP startup ecosystem to "know their customer". ♻️

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Nick O'Neill is the greatest sales person in the southern hemisphere! The way he has helped Hype & Dexter | 5x APAC HubSpot Partner of the Year | Part of the Avidly Group grow over the years has been absolutely incredible. If you want to learn a thing or two from one of the experts in HubSpot and sales, tune in to the new RevSpot episode! Listen Here --> https://lnkd.in/e2nWjVGE #revops #crm #sales #ai #marketing #service #hubspot

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This man leads a 20+ revenue team and is now cracking the APAC market. A few weeks ago, I connected with Luke Williams after hearing about his success in building and scaling sales teams at Evotix. With over 15 years of experience in tech sales and regional management, Luke has an incredible knack for not just leading teams but understanding the nuances of outbound sales. What impressed me most about Luke is his ability to balance strategy with execution. By leveraging RevOps to streamline processes and deeply understand the sales cycle, he positions himself as a genuine teammate to SDRs and AEs rather than a commanding leader. In our conversation, we discussed: 🔷 Why should early-stage startups hire AE first?  🔷 The importance of RevOps in driving efficiency and scaling companies 🔷 What are the common bottlenecks for BDRs and AEs?  🔷 How to solve conflicts between BDRs and AEs? 🔷 Why hiring quality over speed is crucial for sustainable team growth Learn more from Luke’s journey and strategies 👉🏻 https://lnkd.in/gq-89XUK For more exclusive insights from leaders like Luke, subscribe to Maven Club: https://lnkd.in/g9fDrV5R

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For AEC focused startups, think about GTM this way. For scale and keeping CAC metrics in line. Bottom Up. PLG for PLG : Product Led Growth for Project Led Growth - User focused marketing - frictionless on boarding - No Sales Function (it’s too expensive) Enterprise: Leverage Project based success to sell to the enterprise. - High Level Solution Sales - Proven ROI Metrics - Make the CFO your champion - Have a well thought out - ABM strategies work well here. Enterprise Solution vs Discounted offering for bulk purchase. Spec to Check: Build generic specifications for your product and work with A/E firms to get them placed. This is for Construction Tech Specific. Owner Influence - Everyone’s ultimate customer. - Brand awareness - Thought Leadership - Building Type Specifc Marketing. We have an entire playbook on this type of stuff. Also what we teach in our stage agnostic incubator.

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This just keeps getting better and better 😍 ... As a recovering perfectionist, the scrappy early days of building something from 0 to 1 are highly uncomfortable for me. Add in the variable of about ~14 other people you need to work with to pull something off, and you've just taken that discomfort level from 10 to 100. But I'm learning to love it - this process of being OK with something evolving over time, learning and improving as you go and I'm growing a lot as a person as a result (if I can say so myself...!). I am SO proud and grateful for the amazing team of volunteer correspondents we've gathered to bring together Pulse Check (the new monthly newsletter from Overnight Success). They've been super patient and flexible as we've worked through the scrappy bits of pulling it together and now we're all seeing the rewards in the form of not only more subscribers (we'll crack 400 this month! 🤞 ), but also genuinely valuable, engaging content people are loving! 🎉 . If you haven't already, check out this month's edition and you'll find these gems... 💎 Kirstin Hunter & Preethi Mohan launching the first ever Investor Leaderboard for our 'Funding the Balance' initiative. Gav Parry offering a super insightful perspective on the role of tech innovation in the music industry. Lea Rausch's insights about Aussie startups going global, as gleaned from chats with Gecko.rent founder Ben Kennedy and Maxine Minter of Co Ventures. Berenice Chong putting a spotlight on the new Curtin University Venture Studio. Andrew Harding talking about Main Sequence's investment into the fascinating world of sustainable apparel dyeing via Xefco. Erin Howell answering the question - WTF is the Bitcoin halving...? Dickie Currer giving the 101 on how Australia's innovation ecosystem stacks up globally. Leila Oliveira with tips from Bae Juice founder Tim O'Sullivan on lessons from their recent fundraising round. Holly Clark explaining why agritech innovation is so challenging, feat insights from Olympia Yarger at the recent FutureAg Expo. AND Anna Mackenzie sharing her ever-insightful and perfectly articulated case for 'optimising for creativity' (and ideas on how to do it!). Phew..! It's a lot of amazing content all in one edition! 🤓 Check it out 👇 🚀

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This drove a 26% CR increase 🚀 A 30% ATC increase... 🚀 And 16% more orders... 🚀 Liz Fedorak @ Ethique came to Because🌈 with this problem: How do I quickly stand up personalization on my website without getting my developer involved? And once I know it works, do I really have to ask my developer to now hard code it long term? This is one of my favorite things about the platform we've developed at Because🌈. It's a CRO solution like you've never used before. We don't BS you when we say it's no code like most of the legacy personalization platforms out there - it REALLY is. You can actually use Because for not only messaging AB testing, but also long term personalization implementations on your site. Once an AB test performs well, you can choose to publish the campaign live to 100% of the audience... (like for example what Ethique did with a quiz personalization message to a Klaviyo segment of users with a specific quiz result). This would traditionally take weeks to scope and build with developers (or a painful process in legacy platforms), but with Because, the Ethique team was able to stand it up in less than an hour. Fully connected into their Shopify site 🤝 Fully integrated into their Klaviyo data 🤝 Anyone else recently struggled with this problem? I'm happy to chat personally and walk you through a demo of how Because works. Booking time for first week of December right now so shoot me a DM ✨

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One thing I've struggled with in business, having run agencies and consultancies for the past 10 years, is client retention. 👋 We spend so much time learning about and focusing on sales, but we often forget about managing churn, which can have a deleterious effect on revenue, growth, and worst of all, morale. 😿 Here are some lessons I learned the hard way on how you can improve churn rates, and foster longer term relationships with your clients. 📈 1️⃣ Target the Right Clients 🎣 - Find clients who understand the long-term value of your work, have budget, and are willing to play the long game where required. 2️⃣ Set Clear Expectations 📐 - Start with low to modest expectations, then aim to exceed them to impress and retain clients. Don't ever over-promise something you can't deliver on. 3️⃣ Deliver Early Wins ⏱️ - Showcase your value within the first 90 days to build trust and solidify the relationship. Do whatever you can to get some measurable quick wins on the board, no matter how small. 4️⃣ Embrace Video Content Early 🎥 - If you run a marketing agency, leverage the power of video from the start for higher reach and quicker results. 5️⃣ Maintain Consistent Quality 🌟 - Quality is king. Consistent, high-quality work wins over clients for the long haul. 6️⃣ Communicate Effectively 💬 - Keep clients informed with regular updates and reports, ensuring they’re aware of your hard work and success. 7️⃣ Implement Value-based Pricing 💵 - Price your services based on the value you deliver, but ensure it’s fair to build satisfaction and loyalty. 8️⃣ Offer Longer-term Contracts 📅 - Incentivize commitment with discounts for longer contracts to stabilize your client base. 9️⃣ Minimize Client Effort 🛋️ - The easier it is to work with you, the longer clients will stay. 🔟 Build a Community 🤝 - Create a space for camaraderie with clients through Slack or WhatsApp groups, making your agency feel more like a partner. 📈 Achieving a lower client churn rate isn't just about delivering results; it's about building relationships, understanding client needs, and consistently over-delivering. 🌱 ❓ Have you implemented any of these strategies in your agency? What was the impact? What else do you do to improve retention?

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Most CRM tech for brokers suck. They are not built for fast-growing businesses or the rapidly changing market and technology. Things are moving fast.. believe me. Get this - we’re a tech company and the way we created software 12 months ago is sooo much different from how we write code now. We wouldn’t be able to create modern automated tech if we did things the same way we did 12 months ago. So why the hell are many brokers still using the same old-school ridiculous CRM and data collection technology they used 5 years ago? It hasn’t changed at all. Sure some tech providers updated their names to 2.0 and changed colors a bit. What a joke. No wonder more and more brokers are telling us that Mystro is like a breath of fresh air… it makes impossible possible. Time for a change… let’s chat? Send me a message

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Breaking down the cultural and tactical issues stopping go-to-market teams from defining their best fit businesses. If you want to read through the full framework you can check it out here https://lnkd.in/gMdD2FR6

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“The deal team tends to forget about the ambers and greens, even though they often outweigh the reds”🚦 That was the feedback shared with me by a seasoned CEO who is now running his third PE-backed company. He was making the point that traffic light (or “RAG”) ratings for diligence findings are usually effective for helping to focus the mind of the deal team on the single-most impactful diligence findings (usually those flagged as red risks). And this is often what is required to get deals across the line⏩ ⚡However, when it comes to operating / integrating the newly acquired asset post-closing, in the aggregate, it is often the lower-order issues identified in due diligence that require the most attention and are those that are most neglected by the deal teams. 🔰 With a degree of compassion, he acknowledged that “you can’t really blame the deal teams. Investment committees and boards rarely have any interest in discussing ambers and greens”. 📄 It is for this reason that some of the more sophisticated corporates and financial sponsors are now broadening their internal reporting and dashboards. 🖼 The goal being to expand the viewing pane through which diligence issues are considered holistically and integrating feedback from the management teams / PMI advisors earlier in the diligence process. One Head of Corporate Development told me that “we used to include a list of the top ten (or so) risks and their mitigants in our board submissions. Now we share a dashboard of all of the findings and we make sure we take into account the feedback of our ops team before we do so”. No doubt to the relief of management teams and PMI advisors, this approach seems to be increasingly common. Although, by way of contrast / light relief, I was also recently talking to the Global Head of Corporate of a large advisory firm about their innovations in the space of diligence. One example he gave – with surprising enthusiasm - was the recent introduction of a traffic light system into their DD reports… Fortunately for them (and their clients) this was not the only (so-called) innovation… #manda #dd #duediligence #pmi #ragreports #dontforgettheambersandgreens

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