👨‍💻Vishal Kumar’s Post

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

Some fantastic insights from Aakash Gupta, aka The Product Growth Guy, on Dovetail, the world’s leading customer insights hub! Read more below! ⬇️ #CustomerInsights ##CustomerInsightsHub #CustomerUnderstanding #CustomerResearch

How Dovetail grew to a $970M (Australian) valuation in 5 years—and created a new SaaS category: I chatted with 4 members of their team, and 4 UXR leaders, to learn the details. 1. Product-led growth, design-led company Dovetail's business model is decidedly product-led growth. The company relies on the product, and inherently viral features like research reports, to acquire, convert, monetize, and retain users. But design-led is its culture. CEO and co-founder Benjamin Humphrey has been in the details of the design since its beginning. And the product "feels" like it as a result. 2. Creating a hub for a neglected persona Rewind to 2016. While engineers had JIRA, Designers had Sketch, PMs had Google Docs, and analysts had Tableau, User Researchers had... nothing? Their workflow was a mess of hopping between different software. Ben had lived it as a product designer at Atlassian. There was a plethora of software focused on how to build, but there was almost nothing about what to build. So, after proving out 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, focusing on product acquisition → Core problem communication: the home page emphasizes improving how you make product decisions → Reduced friction: its onboarding is focused on a standard walkthrough, but it is 10 steps → Activation: Dovetail has an intuitive product, examples, and templates to take you from setup to habit → Retention: as a system of record, the product gets stickier as more (qualitative) data is put in it → Monetization: the free plan has unlimited functionality, but only 1 project → Expansion: it has a natural growth of free users, who eventually become editors 4. Creating powerful, reinforcing growth loops Dovetail 2 two core loops: • More paid seats helps them build a better product, which helps UXRs succeed, which drives more UXRs and paid seats                                 • UXRs succeed, driving collaborators to join, which go from free to paid seats As well as 2 ancillary loops: • 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 While there are competitors in the research insights space, Dovetail is building out its own category. It's not quite transcription. It's not quite a hub for research. It's that and more. This has helped it create its own, new category in SaaS. As Benjamin, still the CEO, told me: "We're building a system of record for all insights... It's a friggin' long, 20-year journey. You need to be a little nuts to have that level of ambition. "

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Just came across an insightful article on SaaS product development and wanted to share the key points that caught my attention! - **Understanding SaaS Product Development:** It's all about creating cloud-based software applications hosted on a central server, providing users with accessibility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness. - **Ideation for Winning Ideas:** Key steps include identifying industry pain points, listening to the target market, following trends, exploring cross-industry applications, and prototyping. - **Market Research Essentials:** Understanding your target audience and competition is crucial for developing a successful SaaS product. - **Creating an MVP:** Building a Minimum Viable Product allows for early validation of ideas, feedback gathering, and iterative development. - **Importance of User Experience:** A great UX enhances user satisfaction, engagement, productivity, and reduces learning curve and support costs. - **User Testing:** Helpful in uncovering usability issues, gathering insights, validating assumptions, optimizing onboarding, and continuous improvement. - **Pricing Models:** From subscription-based to usage-based, choosing the right pricing model impacts revenue and user acquisition. - **SaaS Development Tools:** Overview of essential tools like project management, IDEs, cloud providers, automated testing, and analytics tools. - **Best Practices:** Understanding your target audience, focusing on UX, embracing Agile methodology, and prioritizing security are crucial for successful SaaS product development. Would love to hear your thoughts on these aspects of SaaS development! Share your views and experiences in the comments. https://lnkd.in/eU_3y_BC

How We Transformed SaaS Idea into a Scalable Platform in 6 Weeks In July I had an idea where anyone could train their AI-powered webinar support assistant that will boost webinar engagement, increase sales and answer any questions during automated webinars. This idea sounds great on paper, but we all know that it doesn't mean anything if we can't find real customers who will pay for it. To launch it, we had to follow the five-step process we follow with all clients. 1. Product research 🔎 We contacted ~30 people who run automated webinars, discussed the idea, got feedback, and made a plan for the features of our MVP (Minimum Viable Product). 2. The Prototype Sprint 🎨 With all the data from the first step, we designed our prototype using Figma in just one week. The idea here is to create a prototype that we could show to potential customers, and let them even use it to get a feel for how it will work once it's ready. 3. Idea Validation 💡 Now that we have our prototype ready, we went back again to those people from step 1, showed them the solution, asked them to try it and if they like it they had the option to purchase it at a super low founders price. We had 13 people purchase the offer and provide additional feedback on how we can make it even better. 4. Development & Testing Phase </> With having our idea verified, clear picture of how our platform would look like and what features we are going to have in MVP, it was time for the development phase. In this phase our development team was able to create entire MVP in just 4 sprints and deliver it under 4 weeks total. 5. Deployment and Launch 🚀 Finally, we launched, added existing customers and from here we are going to scale it up. I am super proud of the WebbyTeam on getting it all done just under 6 weeks, and proving that not only we have the ability to create the SaaS for others, but we also have the ability to create and run our own. 💬 Do you have a SaaS idea? Connect with us to learn how we can help you turn your vision into reality with speed and efficiency!

Here’s the second part of my series on enhancing your SaaS free trial experience - If you missed the first post with another six tips, check it out here: https://lnkd.in/dDw_b3Q9 Now, let’s dive into six more strategies to make your free trials even more effective ⚡️: 1️⃣ Proactive communication and feedback: Engage users by providing multiple channels to offer feedback on their trial experience. For instance, Atlassian uses in-app feedback tools to collect user input, which helps them make real-time improvements and increases user investment in the product. 2️⃣ Post-trial incentives: To motivate users to convert, offer discounts or extended features for a limited time post-trial. Adobe often uses this tactic by offering a discounted rate for the first year after the trial, effectively increasing their conversion rates. 3️⃣ Optimize trial length: Adjust the length of your free trial based on the complexity of your product and typical user engagement patterns. For example, Basecamp offers a 30-day trial, which provides ample time for teams to integrate and evaluate the full scope of the project management tool. 4️⃣ Enhance product value: Continually upgrade your product based on user feedback and market demands. Evernote regularly updates its feature set and user interface, ensuring that both new and existing customers see ongoing value in their subscription. 5️⃣ Proactive customer support: Combine real-time support with comprehensive self-help resources. Zendesk provides 24/7 live chat support during the trial and a detailed knowledge base, helping users resolve issues quickly and see the value of premium support. 6️⃣ Early success milestones: Set up early success milestones tailored to user actions. For example, Grammarly rewards users with personalized reports and progress checks, encouraging continued engagement and deeper exploration of its features. What other tips do you have for improving SaaS free trials?

What do you see when you zoom out? This question changed the way I think about SaaS messaging. It showed me the things I can mess up when communicating a SaaS product. → Quick story: A year ago, I discovered system thinking. I stacked up on the books I can learn from and dove into the theory. Then, … I forgot about it. Until I talked to Jung-Hong Kim, who re-ignited my interest. Jung, thank you. Your influence was key in creating this framework. Once I got back to learning about system thinking, I decided to apply it to everything. SaaS messaging included. That’s the moment I realized that product messaging is an entire ecosystem. And its impact doesn’t depend on skillful copywriting. But on all the intricate connections between the ecosystem components. → Why I wrote this post: I want to invite you to think differently about your SaaS messaging. → What’s system thinking? System thinking is seeing how different parts (e.g. engine, brakes, exhaust) of a whole (e.g. Toyota Hilux) connect and influence each other. → Why apply system thinking to SaaS messaging? ⚫ See hidden connection between areas that may impact messaging. ⚫ Stop treating messaging issues as isolated problems and solve root causes. ⚫ Understand how changes in one area can affect product messaging. ⚫ Transform siloed thinking and action into ecosystem awareness. → What are the components of the SaaS messaging ecosystem? At the moment, I’ve identified 6 mega components: 1️⃣ Stakeholders mapping 2️⃣ User research 3️⃣ Software taxonomy 4️⃣ Info architecture 5️⃣ Knowledge management 6️⃣ Team comms → How the components’ interconnectedness affect SaaS messaging? ⬛ Stakeholder Mapping (SM) → [informs] → User Research (UR) SM provides a clear outline of target audiences. This helps prioritizing user research. User research, guided by stakeholder mapping, shapes messaging according to specific needs. ⬛ Software Taxonomy (ST) → [structures] → Information Architecture (IA) ST provides the core term vocabulary and relationships for organizing the product capabilities. This capability hierarchy and naming conventions helps structuring IA. A well-structured IA, guided by taxonomy, aligns messaging with the users’ mental maps. ⬛ Knowledge Management (KM) → [enables] → Team Communication (TC) KM provides a centralized knowledge base. This makes shared info accessible to all teams. The shared repository enables alignment between team members. This alignment creates a unified vision, approach, and voice which can shape messaging. [the list continues …] Of course, this is not a set-in-stone framework. The components shaping messaging and their interconnections may vary. What’s important though is to acknowledge that messaging is not a siloed element. How you communicate with audiences depends on … everything you do within your company. 💬 If you need free B2B SaaS messaging consulting, just send me a DM, and we’ll schedule a call. It’s a friendly chat—no catch.

 How to Building a Successful SaaS MVP in 5 Steps… Launching a SaaS product is an exciting journey, but the road to success can be bumpy without the right approach. A Minimum Viable Product (MVP) allows you to test the waters, validate your idea, and iterate based on real-world feedback before going all-in. Here’s a breakdown of the key steps you need to take to build a successful SaaS MVP: 1️. Research and Competitive Analysis Before you start, you need to understand the landscape: - Learn about your target users. - Dive into what your competition is doing. - Analyze pricing models, domain trends, and market gaps.    Taking the time to research and analyze ensures you're not just building another product, but one that truly stands out in the market. 🧠 2️. Prioritize the Features and Requirements Not every idea makes the cut. To create a successful MVP, you must: - Identify the *most critical features*. - Narrow down your list to what's absolutely essential. - Validate whether these features align with your business goals and market demands. This step gives you clarity on what's possible within your current resources and keeps you grounded. 3️. Select the Tools and Technologies Your tech stack is the backbone of your product. Ensure you: - Choose technologies that are scalable and reliable. - Incorporate APIs, third-party integrations, and cloud tools that fit your budget. - Seek input from senior tech experts to ensure you’re using the best tools for the job. Selecting the right tools early on saves time and avoids costly reworks down the line. 4️. Prototyping and Custom MVP Development It’s time to bring your ideas to life: - Develop a usable prototype based on the prioritized features. - Ensure the product is user-friendly and aligns with the initial concept. - Collect feedback from early users to iterate and improve. Remember, an MVP isn’t about perfection—it’s about function. Get it out there and start testing! 🛠️  5️. Collect Feedback and Analyze The launch is just the beginning. After releasing your MVP: - Track analytics, reviews, and metrics to see how your product performs. - Analyze how your target audience interacts with it. - Use the data to make informed decisions on improvements or pivots. The more feedback you gather, the better your chances of building a product that your users actually need. 📊 --- Building an MVP is all about “starting small” and then growing based on real user feedback. It’s not about having all the features but having the right ones that provide value. What step of the MVP process are you on right now? Let’s chat! 💬👇 Fallow more tips Furkan karahan

“Why isn’t there a tool that does this?" The best SaaS ideas start with questions like this. But, it doesn't have to stop there. Here’s how you can turn your everyday frustrations into a scalable business: 1. Start with daily annoyances. Think of the routine tasks that eat up your time. If you’re often manually pulling data from different platforms, imagine a tool that automates it. For example, I regularly pull together stats like app downloads, new accounts, ratings, reviews, and support tickets to guide product decisions. It’s time-consuming—but a tool that automates this would be a game-changer. (Your daily grind could be the seed for a game-changing solution.) 2. Identify repetitive tasks. The golden rule is simple: if it’s repetitive, it’s worth automating. Each time you do something that feels like it could be easier, ask: Could software make this better? 3. Check for existing solutions & list their shortcomings. A quick scan of available tools can reveal gaps. For example, I use AppFollow to collect app stats. It’s a good tool but lacks some key features I need. (Knowing where others fall short can help you create something truly unique.) 4. Validate by asking your network. Reach out to your colleagues and industry connections. Ask, “Do you spend too much time doing an XYZ activity?” If others feel the same pain, your idea just gained validation. 5. Map out your “Ideal Solution.” Think about how the perfect tool would work, listing key features that save time and reduce hassle. Often, imagining the ideal product reveals a clear roadmap for what to build. 6. Build a simple prototype. Start with an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) focused on solving one main problem. Gather feedback, refine it, and let it grow from there. (The simplest solutions often make the most significant impact.) Ever had that moment of “Why doesn’t this exist?” That could be the million-dollar idea you’re waiting for. Share your “Why doesn’t this exist" moment with us. If you’re a founder looking to brainstorm, drop me a DM or book a free call. I’ve also created a Zero to MVP Guide and an Ultimate MVP Planning Template to help you go from idea to launch. Get it here 👉 start.vinodsharma.co) If this post helped, share it ♻️ so others can see it too!