The post argues that distribution, not product alone, separates startups that succeed from those that fail, and that a unique distribution advantage is needed to reach audiences more cheaply than competitors. It lays…
Step six of Lenny Rachitsky's consumer-business series explains how products grow through a small set of engines: virality, SEO, and paid growth, plus sales and supply-driven demand for marketplaces. It argues founders…
This post examines how fast-growing B2B startups converted their first users into paying customers, grouping them into three early sales motions: bottom-up self-service, bottom-up with inside sales, and outbound…
Emily Kramer, who led marketing at Asana, Carta and other companies, argues that much marketing work wastes time because teams lack alignment before work begins. She introduces GACCS (Goals, Audience, Creative…
Lenny's paid guest post by April Dunford, a positioning expert who has worked with 300+ B2B companies, covers four advanced roadblocks that derail positioning work. It argues that disagreement over competitors, product…
Lenny Rachitsky synthesizes lessons from Stytch's CEO and marketing leaders at other startups on running out-of-home (billboard, bus, transit) ad campaigns for B2B software. The post argues OOH is best for brand…
“I’ve read hundreds of articles about product-led growth (PLG), and they all kind of blur together. So when founders ask me for advice on building their PLG motion, I still don’t know where to point them. Thus, when Hila Qu approached me about collaborating on a definitive deep-dive on building a PLG motion, I was thrilled. Hila helped scale Acorns from 1 million to 5 million users as their VP of growth, then joined GitLab, where she…”
This guest-written issue, drawn from Ali Abouelatta's First 1000 research, catalogs 60 examples of 'Turbo Boosts,' one-off events that temporarily accelerate growth. It frames them as the fuel-like components of a…
Kyle Poyar argues that product-led growth (PLG) only works economically if customer acquisition cost stays near zero, roughly under $1 per unique website visitor. Using OpenView benchmark funnel math, he shows that a…
Cagan argues that the traditional role of the salesperson is shrinking as customers now research, trial, and buy products online before ever talking to a rep. He identifies the main barriers that kept people buying…
Lenny Rachitsky's fourth installment in his B2B startup series argues that finding your first ten customers starts with trust and hand-to-hand effort, not scalable channels. Drawing on interviews with founders of…
The author argues that many companies reach an early beachhead of customers, assume product/market fit, and then stall because they neglected market fit. Market fit means discovering 'market pull': what makes customers…
David Placek of Lexicon Branding outlines a step-by-step naming playbook drawn from decades of work on brands like Swiffer, Pentium and Vercel. He argues that a strong name builds trust, communicates an original idea…
Lenny Rachitsky reflects on nearly two years of running his product management podcast, which has passed 10 million downloads. He argues that the core job is producing a great audio file, and that starting with modest…
Jason Fried argues that the best time to invite outside users into a product is only a week or two before launch, when it is essentially a near-final release rather than an early beta. At that stage he is not seeking…
Cagan argues that strong products are the foundation of a healthy business: weak products inflate acquisition costs, lengthen sales cycles, pressure prices and burden customer service. The most powerful antidote is a…
The post argues that a Product Hunt launch is worth the heavy time investment only for the right product and goals, and outlines seven tactics for a strong launch alongside five common myths. It frames…
Marty Cagan and Martina Lauchengco argue that the terms "product" and "solution" are often misused, especially in enterprise and infrastructure software. They define a real product as one customers pay for, that works…
Lenny Rachitsky examines how labor marketplaces find and grow their supply side, drawing on interviews with founders and early team members of roughly a dozen fast-growing companies. Because these platforms connect…
Part three of Lenny Rachitsky's B2B series argues that founders should define their ideal customer profile early, alongside the problem itself. Drawing on interviews with dozens of startup leaders, it outlines a list of…
Marty Cagan argues that great brands come from great products rather than from marketing alone, and that Silicon Valley companies often err by fixating on technology. He notes HP's brand was stronger when built on…
Lenny Rachitsky closes his seven-part B2B series by answering how long reaching $1M ARR typically takes, which growth channels scale B2B companies, and when and how much to charge. He draws on interviews with founders…
Chris Jones argues that enterprise software companies often underinvest in product design because they assume only end users benefit from it, when design also drives buyer decisions. He contends that the product itself…
Lenny Rachitsky argues that true viral growth is rare and short-lived, and that most products spike when a large one-to-many broadcaster shares them. Drawing on Derek Thompson's Hit Makers and examples like Spotify…