In the stillness of dawn, a lone runner paces the streets, their commitment to the run a silent battle against the comfort of rest. This is the power of accountability: when another joins the run, the journey changes—each stride is shared, and the motivation multiplies. What was once a struggle becomes a pact, as they urge each other forward, embodying the resilience and shared dedication that turn individual effort into collective endurance.

Today, we dive into the parallels between this partnership and the world of B2B SaaS with Tanya Alvarez, Founder of OwnersUP. Tanya stands as the quintessential accountability partner for SaaS leaders, teaching them to channel the spirit of a marathoner to achieve long-term success. We'll uncover how the principles of accountability can catalyze growth, foster relentless pursuit of goals, and transform the solitary sprint of business into a synchronized stride towards triumph. Join us as we explore the synergy of teamwork and accountability with Tanya, and learn how to make your business run a race where every step counts.

• Goal Prioritization: Strategies for entrepreneurs to prioritize tasks effectively to ensure progress towards their most important objectives.
• Accountability Groups: The role and importance of accountability groups for entrepreneurs to stay focused and motivated, sharing the concept of Owners Up as a platform that facilitates such groups.
• Balancing Work and Personal Life: Tanya's personal journey from being a workaholic to achieving a healthier work-life balance, particularly after becoming a parent.
• The R.A.P. Method: Tanya introduces the Review, Assess, and Prioritize method as a daily productivity tool for entrepreneurs to wrap up their day and plan for the next.
• Building Supportive Communities: The significance of creating a supportive network or "village" for entrepreneurial success and parenting, emphasizing the importance of community in personal and business growth.

The R.A.P. method, developed by Tanya Alvarez, is a systematic approach designed for entrepreneurs to enhance their daily productivity and maintain focus on their most impactful tasks. It’s a reflective process that encourages regular review and assessment, allowing for the prioritization of actions that drive the most value for their businesses.

• Review (R): Reflect on the day’s activities, noting accomplishments and areas of improvement. This is a time for celebration of what was achieved and understanding what could be done better.
• Assess (A): Evaluate the day on a scale of one to five to determine what made it a five and what didn’t. This helps in identifying what tasks or actions contribute to the most productive days.
• Prioritize (P): Decide on the top three tasks that, if completed, would make the next day successful. These should be tasks that align with the overall business objectives and personal goals.

This method goes beyond simple task management; it's a strategic approach for entrepreneurs to align their daily actions with their larger business goals. By implementing the R.A.P. method, founders can ensure that their efforts are not just busywork but are meaningful steps towards their company's growth and success. It's a tool for turning the chaotic hustle into a directed effort that pays off in the long run.

In the vast seas of B2B SaaS, where many are seduced by the allure of quick success and fleeting trends, envision a master shipbuilder like Tyler King, CEO and co-founder of Less Annoying CRM. His focus isn't on hastily crafted vessels for short voyages but on robust ships designed to withstand fierce storms, emblematic of resilience and endurance.

Guiding an enduring ship, King's insights, drawn from both calm sails and tempestuous challenges, have become the navigational compass for many SaaS aspirants. Dive in with us to explore the art of building software businesses anchored in lasting vision and profit, and for more insights, catch Tyler on his podcast, Startup to Last, which centers on constructing companies built to stand the test of time.

• Adapting to a Changing Audience: The need for companies to evolve and position themselves for a younger demographic, with a particular focus on the shift in onboarding practices.

• Decision-making and Focus in Business: The challenges faced by founders in making strategic decisions, particularly when deciding which features to add or omit, and the importance of maintaining a specific focus.
• The Trade-offs between Bootstrapping and Raising Capital: Discussing the pros and cons of self-funding a startup versus seeking external investment, highlighting the potential benefits and drawbacks of each approach.
• Understanding Personal and Business Goals: Tyler King emphasizes the importance of founders knowing what they truly want from their business and life, suggesting that these preferences should guide their decision-making processes.
• Advice for SaaS Founders: Tyler offers insights and recommendations for founders in the SaaS industry, stressing the importance of carving out a unique path and not letting external pressures define one's vision for success.

In the fast-paced world of tech startups and SaaS ventures, there’s a prevalent rush towards growth — sometimes even at the cost of sustainability. However, true success in the software industry isn’t just measured by swift scalability or the dazzle of fleeting innovations. It's gauged by the longevity and profitability of a business model that stands the test of time. Building a software company meant to last demands a mix of strategic vision, steadfast commitment, and the agility to adapt, ensuring profitability not just today, but for years to come.

• Customer-centric Approach: Begin with an unwavering commitment to understanding and solving genuine customer pain points. Long-term profitability starts with loyal customers who see the value in your solutions.
• Financial Prudence: Prioritize sustainable growth over hyper-growth. This means being mindful of cash flows, avoiding excessive debts, and ensuring you’re scaling at a pace your revenues can support.
• Continuous Innovation: Ensure that the product evolves with technological advances and changing customer needs. Stagnation is the antithesis of longevity.
• Culture of Excellence: Cultivate a company culture that values long-term vision over short-term gains. This fosters dedication, quality, and resilience among your team members.
• Feedback Loops: Regularly gather feedback not just from customers, but also from internal teams. This helps in preempting potential challenges and adjusting course proactively.
• Diversified Revenue Streams: Relying on a single revenue source can be risky. Explore multiple monetization strategies to buffer against market fluctuations.
• Adaptable Business Model: The tech landscape is ever-evolving. An adaptable business model allows you to pivot when necessary, capitalizing on new opportunities or sidestepping challenges.
• Partnerships and Collaborations: Building lasting relationships with other businesses can provide mutual growth opportunities, strengthen market presence, and offer added value to your customers.

In the journey of building a lasting and profitable SaaS business, there's no one-size-fits-all. The essence lies in understanding the unique values and strengths your company brings to the table and marrying that with the ever-changing demands of the market. It's a balance of staying true to your vision, while also being malleable enough to evolve. As the adage goes, it's not the strongest that survive, but the most adaptable.

Check out the detailed field guide here

Topics discussed in this episode:

• 02:01 - What makes a great SaaS community
• 10:10 - The Three Types of Investors
• 13:24 - Focusing on the interpersonal side of the business
• 18:20 - Building and Maintaining the Founder-Investor Relationship
• 23:44 - Embracing the silence during investor meetings

This is a Paddle production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space.

Topics discussed in this episode:

• The Accidental Entrepreneur
• The Desire for Elevated Status
• Selling Transformation or Identity Reinforcement
• The Cyclical Nature of Marketing
• Frequency Required for a Messaging Breakthrough

This is a ProfitWell Recur production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space.  

For decades we've been talking about active usage in the context of retention. After all, if someone is using the product, then they must be happy, right? Our market has changed though as we're able to measure outcomes better and automate more than we ever have before.

The result—our fixation on active usage may no longer be valid.

In fact, the data actually suggests that the least used products have the best retention, as long as they have a measurable outcome. I get that's a bit counterintuitive, so let's explore this concept with a nice framework, some examples, and of course the data to determine if you should be building a product for usage at all.

This is a ProfitWell Recur production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space. 

Topics discussed in this episode:

• The thin line between being stubborn and principled
• Software as a craft industry
• Permeating shared values throughout a team
• Tactical steps to D.E.I.
• The decision-making values filter

This is a ProfitWell Recur production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space. 

Pricing is one of those topics that sits at the nexus of uncomfortable and long term, which means companies often don’t think about it for far too long. Even when they eventually figure it out, they don’t touch it again for years.

In this episode, Patrick provides a compact, yet thorough, guide to pricing strategy and tells you exactly where and how to get started.

This is a ProfitWell Recur production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space.  

Topics discussed in this episode:

• Understanding the Root of Customer Wants
• Building an Intentional Culture
• The Leapfrog Differentiator
• Living Out Your Weirdness
• The Secret to Uncomfortable Conversations

This is a ProfitWell Recur production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space. 

This week I want to try something a bit different. I'm going to talk through a problem I'm currently working on—essentially a ProfitWell business case—but I haven't completely bridged the framework for or solution quite yet. I'd love your feedback and ultimately any referrals you can send my way for help (or the positions mentioned). As progress or a solution comes into focus, I'll then share the findings with the community.

This is a ProfitWell Recur production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space. 

This episode is a deep dive on Twitter's decision to enter the subscription world. I've been talking about this for quite some time (as has Scott Galloway, and plenty of Twitter team members have been trolling those posts, so I hope I helped ;)), but to me this is the perfect move and it's not because of the obvious stock market reasons. Let's jump in.

This is a ProfitWell Recur production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space. 

Topics discussed in this episode:

• The democratization of automation
• Not hiring until it hurts
• Aligning on a singular strategy to empower individual execution
• Manufacturing a leveraged growth machine
• Straddling the many precipices of entrepreneurship

This is a ProfitWell Recur production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space. 

This episode is an internal memo (slightly redacted and modified) on one of ProfitWell's core axioms of "feedback is non-negotiable." Patrick wanted to share it because he's been thinking about this memo quite a bit the past couple of weeks, and a lot of you have been asking for how we run ProfitWell. If you find these worthwhile, let us know and we'll publish more. Enjoy.

This is a ProfitWell Recur production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space. 

Topics discussed in this episode:

• Using mega trends as a tailwind to growth
• Building product principles into your business
• How to choose the right problems to solve
• The foundational pillars of building product
• The discomfort around decision-making tradeoffs

This is a ProfitWell Recur production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space. 

Imagine standing in a gym, facing an overwhelming array of free weights, machines, and fitness programs. Choosing where to start is challenging, and without proper guidance, you may squander your resources on ineffective methods, yielding little progress. Now picture an experienced personal trainer, like Andres Glusman, who directs you towards exercises that are proven to work, align with your personal goals, and minimize risks. This scenario finds its echo in the B2B SaaS landscape, a complex gym of infinite growth strategies where identifying productive strategies from unproductive ones demands the expertise of a growth experimentation maestro.

Andres Glusman, the Co-Founder and CEO of DoWhatWorks, is this expert trainer in our metaphorical gym. With real-world experience, including being part of the team that launched MeetUp.com, Andres possesses a unique perspective on steering SaaS businesses towards effective strategies and away from potential pitfalls. In today's episode, we're joining him on the gym floor to delve into the world of growth experimentation and uncover how smart growth experimentation can revolutionize your SaaS business. So, gear up and prepare to unravel the secrets of effective growth experimentation.

• Embrace Experimentation: Andres Glusman champions the idea of running growth experiments within your organization. The principle is simple, yet profound - test a variety of strategies, learn from the outcomes, and optimize based on what works.
• Learn From Successes: Drawing on his experience with MeetUp.com, Andres teaches us to focus on techniques that have already proven successful. It's the equivalent of not wasting time on ineffective workout techniques in a gym.
• Avoid Past Failures: Andres emphasizes the importance of avoiding strategies that have already proven to be ineffective. His philosophy cuts down on wasted time and resources, akin to not spending effort on futile exercise routines.
• Leverage Real-World Experience: With his involvement in the launch of MeetUp.com, Andres stands out as a seasoned 'trainer'. He offers invaluable, practical lessons, far from theoretical knowledge, which he gleaned from his hands-on experience.
• Guided Learning is Key: Andres underscores the importance of guided learning in growth experimentation. Much like having a personal trainer in a gym, having someone who knows the ropes can help avoid missteps and accelerate progress in the complex landscape of SaaS growth strategies.

Learning from Successful Experiments

In the competitive world of SaaS, the difference between success and stagnation often lies in one's ability to conduct and learn from successful growth experiments. As any seasoned gym-goer can tell you, finding the most effective exercise regimen takes time, patience, and a lot of trial and error. This approach is just as applicable when it comes to orchestrating growth in SaaS businesses. The most successful companies aren't those who shy away from experimentation, but those who learn from their winners, optimize, and then iterate.

• Trial and Embrace Change: Be prepared to experiment with different techniques, products, or strategies. Embrace change and understand that some experiments will work better than others.
• Data-Driven Decisions: Lean heavily on data to determine your 'winning' experiments. This ensures that your strategy is rooted in fact, not guesswork or bias.
• Continuous Learning: Even a successful experiment can be improved. Never stop learning, iterating, and experimenting. There's always room for improvement.
• Focus on the Customer: All experiments should ultimately improve the customer experience. If they're not, reassess your strategy and pivot accordingly.
• Organizational Buy-In: Everyone within the organization should be aligned on the value of experimentation and be prepared to learn from the results, whether they're positive or negative.

In conclusion, learning from successful growth experiments isn't just about finding what works and sticking to it. It's about understanding why it works, and how you can apply those learnings to other areas of your business. It's about taking calculated risks, analyzing your results, and using this data to guide your future strategies. It's a continuous journey, not a destination. With this mindset, your SaaS company will be well-positioned to stay ahead of the competition and sustain long-term growth.

Follow Andres on LinkedIn.

Today, we're sharing a framework for becoming a media company, including why you should abandon your current inbound strategy and move to media. HubSpot bought a media company for this very reason.

This is a ProfitWell Recur production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space. 

Topics discussed:

• How HubSpot developed a data-driven sales playbook
• The powerful potential of combining marketing and customer success
• The Science of Scaling
• Leading indicators that signal a readiness to scale
• What to do when scaling breaks

This is a ProfitWell Recur production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space.

Topics covered in this episode:

• The art of making technology
• The alignment of product, marketing, and sales 
• Prioritizing marketing initiatives 
• Knowing when to pivot and when to stay the course
• The common thread of successful companies

This is a ProfitWell Recur production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space.

Today, Patrick goes deep on defending hustle culture. He discusses how to better align what you want with your efforts, as well as how we'd be better off not judging others for their choices, and reminding you that you have agency.

This is a ProfitWell Recur production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space. 

Topics covered in this episode:

1. What makes your business is more than just a piece of tech.
2. Subscriptions make better citizens of the world.
3. The fundamental shift occurring with your customers.

This is a ProfitWell Recur production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space.

Topics discussed in this episode.

• In 2021 and in general, you need a coach to give you proper outside perspective and to check your self-awareness.
• If you're in B2B SaaS, I recommend Dan Martell and his SaaS Academy program. There's no one I've met more helpful to SaaS Founders. And he offered up some 1:1 time to Protect the Hustle subscribers. You can book that time here.

This is a ProfitWell Recur production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space.

Topics covered in this episode:

• How to avoid getting sucked into traps
• Using perspective to get everyone on the same page
• Creating tools to reveal answers
• The importances of shared language
• Understanding nuances to unlock frameworks

This is a ProfitWell Recur production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space.

Today, Patrick goes into probably the most obvious, superficial point we could learn from Disney. It's lazy analysis. And why we need to go deeper to uncover why this is so powerful for every subscription business out there.

This is a ProfitWell Recur Studios production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space.

Topics covered in this episode:

1. Difficulty of category creation
2. Marketing trends with the rule of 3
3. Rift between marketing factions
4. How to acquire a company
5. Customer needs and wants

This is a ProfitWell Recur production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space.

Topics covered in this episode: 

• The evolution of growth
• Prioritizing and positioning
• Overinvesting in a few growth bets
• Playbooks and planning
• Learning from mistakes

This is a ProfitWell Recur production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space.

Check out the detailed field guide here

Topics discussed in this episode:

• 01:57 - Why some fintech is really “tech fin”
• 11:00 - Reducing the time and friction to execute
• 19:00 - The "Buy now, Pay later" space
• 23:56 - The anchor tenant persona
• 30:11 - How to find anchor tenants

This is a Paddle production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Earning the right to educate
• Weaponizing your ego
• Generating demand
• Characteristics of success
• The key to leverage

This is a ProfitWell Recur production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space.

Topics covered in this episode:

1. Building a career off problem solving
2. The growing skills gap
3. Keeping pace with innovation
4. Developing a learner’s mindset
5. The growth of silicon slopes

This is a ProfitWell Recur production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space.

Topics covered in this episode:

1. Don’t be a solution searching for a problem
2. Tall Poppy Syndrome in Canada
3. Cultivating a culture of competition
4. The importance of stepping away 

This is a ProfitWell Recur Studios production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Bootstrapped beginnings
• Subscriptions are the future
• Contributing vs. building your own
• Rallying behind a metric
• Positioning your company globally

This is a ProfitWell Recur Studios production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space.

Topics covered in this episode:

1. Roots in programming
2. Talking to your customers
3. Finding levers for growth
4. Lessons in scaling
5. Alignment and shared vision

This is a ProfitWell Recur Studios production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space.

Topics covered in this episode:

1. What is positioning?
2. Dissonance between revenue timeliness and marketing priorities
3. Category creation and adoption.
4. How to position your product.

Watch the video version of this episode at protectthehustle.com.

This is a ProfitWell Recur Studios production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space.

Topics covered in this episode

• Accepting the lows with the highs of entrepreneurship
• The importance of a support system
• Trust & loyalty comes through being human & garnering interactions
• Building community
• The people are what make a company successful

This is a ProfitWell Recur Studios production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space.

This week, Patrick and Neel discuss the considerable thought that should go into a company statement when presented with a sensitive and significant event—and how action can speak louder.

This is a ProfitWell Recur Studios production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space.

*This episode was filmed prior to the occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Topics covered in this episode

• The shift from a product economy to a subscription economy 
• How to build a long-term, sustainable startup 
• The power of a strong marketing strategy and the power of storytelling

This is a ProfitWell Recur Studios production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space.

In this episode, PC and Neel discuss the pros and cons around mandated vs. unlimited time off. Plus, what does the travel industry recovery look like?

This is a ProfitWell Recur Studios production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space.

Picture this: you're attempting to make your favorite cocktail with a blender, the vital tool that promises to unify varied ingredients into a symphony of flavors. However, misusing this powerful device or misunderstanding its capabilities can lead to a catastrophic concoction, much like the unintended mess when AI is poorly incorporated into your business. In the B2B SaaS realm, AI mirrors this high-tech blender, capable of transforming your services, processing customer needs, and unveiling potential you never knew existed. But be wary, the allure of AI's mesmerizing whirl can deceive, causing more harm than good when the focus is on the technology's novelty rather than tangible outcomes.

As we navigate this intricate landscape, our expert mixologist for this journey, Rudina Seseri, steps up to the bar. As the founder and managing partner of Glasswing Ventures, Rudina has perfected the art of mixing AI into business operations. Under her guidance, we learn that leading with outcomes, rather than the mere fascination of AI, can help avoid misuse and leverage this tool to solve real-world problems effectively. In today's episode, Rudina unpacks the complexities of AI implementation, helping us avoid the common traps that turn AI dreams into nightmares. So, buckle up as we explore the exciting yet challenging world of AI in B2B SaaS with Rudina, transforming your approach to AI and setting you up for a taste of success.

• It's crucial to lead with outcomes, not with the lure of AI: This means focusing on the results and value AI can bring to the business, rather than the novelty of AI itself.
• AI implementation requires strategic thought: It's not about embracing AI for the sake of it, but about a thoughtful integration strategy that aligns with business goals.
• AI should be used as a tool for competitive differentiation: It can allow companies to uncover hidden insights, streamline processes, and anticipate customer needs.
• Risks associated with AI need to be identified and mitigated: Without a clear understanding of potential challenges, AI can lead to more problems than it solves.
• A balanced approach is required when dealing with AI: It's essential to combine strategic implementation, human judgment, and automation to achieve the desired outcomes.

Strategically implementing AI within your business is akin to a finely tuned orchestra, where each instrument plays its part to create a harmonious symphony. When done right, AI can be the maestro that harmonizes your processes, uncovers hidden insights, and anticipates customer needs, leading to a symphony of innovation and efficiency.

• Outcome-Centric Approach: Focus on the business outcomes that you desire, and use these as a compass when integrating AI within your business.
• Understand the Tools: A solid understanding of AI's capabilities and limitations allows for effective integration. Implement AI where it makes strategic sense and brings real value.
• Risk Assessment: Identify potential challenges and risks associated with AI implementation. Mitigation strategies should be in place before the onset of AI integration.
• Balance AI with Human Judgment: While AI can offer impressive automation and insights, it's important not to underestimate the role of human judgment in making key decisions.
• Continuous Learning and Adaptation: AI is a fast-evolving field. It's important to stay current and adapt your strategies as AI technologies and best practices evolve.

In conclusion, implementing AI in your business is not a one-size-fits-all approach. It requires a thoughtful and nuanced strategy that aligns with your business goals, coupled with an understanding of AI’s capabilities and limitations. The sweet spot lies in harmonizing AI capabilities with human judgment to achieve the desired outcomes. The magic happens when AI is not viewed as a novelty, but as an integral tool for business growth.

Follow Rudina on LinkedIn.

Topics covered in this episode

• We must continually power the curious, because feedback is essential for growth.
• Companies who don’t listen to input—both internally with employees and externally with users—are missing out on opportunity for growth (and potentially harming their brand entirely).
• Surveys are a key tool for attainment of real perspectives.
• Remaining in sync with your team is a must for seamless collaboration.

This is a ProfitWell Recur Studios production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space.

In this episode, PC and Neel share their take on these burning topics: 

• Google's platform flex on Zoom
• Facebook Shop
• Joe Rogan's move to Spotify

This is a ProfitWell Recur Studios production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space.

Topics covered in this episode

• You have to remain authentic. Much of authenticity stems from accepting vulnerability.
• Surround yourself with the right people. Your tribe should support your future, not your past.
• Find a way to constantly pay it forward and contribute to your community.

This is a ProfitWell Recur Studios production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space.

In this episode, PC and Neel bring up some questions around the road to redemption.

This is a ProfitWell Recur Studios production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space.

Topics covered in this episode

• Why providing customers with a desired outcome is crucial

• How to align customer success properly within an organization and how to measure it

• The scoreboard Nick recommends using to help rationalize feedback

• Customer outcomes + great customer experience = customer success

Check out the making of Nick's rap song, "Who's Fired Up?" here.

This is a ProfitWell Recur Studios production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space.

Topics covered in this episode

• The primary reasons for Moz's failure and what Rand would've changed about the operation
• The implications of creating an anti-active usage product
• The lessons Rand extracted from early failure and how he picked back up again as a secondary founder
• The cruciality of leveraging your resources—namely, people and product—to optimize for the right thing

This is a ProfitWell Recur Studios production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space.

This is a ProfitWell Recur Studios production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space.

Topics covered in this episode

• The saga of Brian Halligan's purchase of Jerry Garcia's guitar

• The differences of running a company with 2 to 20 people, 20 to 200 people, 200 to 2,00 people, and beyond

• Recognizing that mistakes happen but ensuring that mistakes do not happen more than once

• Maintaining high-performance and how slacking in one area can lead to the downfall of the entire company Everything is tied together.

• There is no hero ball in a Scale-Up

• Death by overeating vs starvation by not executing

• Going into other markets after championing marketing automation

• Staying focused on the long arduous journey of creating a great company

• The hunger to be a pillar company in Boston that makes your children proud.

• Staying motivated by going after big meaty problems and staying determined with horizon planning

Welcome to the first-ever episode of Tradeoffs, where Hiten Shah (of FYI and Product Habits) and I talk through the product decisions of popular companies and the potential tradeoffs they made as a result. We break down how these choices shaped the growth of these companies and what it means for their future. Starting it off is our conversation about online streaming juggernaut Netflix.

You can find a full blog write up here, as well as subscribe to get the show delivered to your inbox weekly.

Company culture means a lot of things to a lot of different people, not because culture has a lot of definitions, but because culture has been co-opted by perks, ping pong tables, and snacks in the kitchen. In reality, culture is behavioral, it’s the collection of habits that we accept and tolerate within our company and it will make or break your business.

Culture is hard though, because it's your responsibility to hire the right people, nurture the right behaviors, and let people go when they aren't fitting the future. As a group, we're pretty terrible at this, particularly that last one. 

To help, on this week's episode of Protect The Hustle, we interview one of the most prolific figures in People Operations and HR, Patty McCord, the former Chief Talent Officer at Netflix and author of Powerful, a book that's taken high growth companies by storm. We discuss how Patty went from Texas border towns and Oregon lumber yards to making the tough decisions to push Netflix to a $160B market cap, which included redefining what HR is supposed to be inside a company. 

Topics covered in this episode:

• How HR and People Operations became legal and anything but helping people do their best work within a company

• How writing down your values is pretty much the last step in the culture cultivation process

• How to model behavior instead of punishing or negatively reinforcing people

• How management has ultimate responsibility for all of this

• How to apply these learnings to your hiring process

• How to nurture your current team and stamp out politics

• How to let people go who are no longer a fit for the mission

Check out the detailed field guide here

Topics discussed in this episode:

• 01:59 - Connecting emotion and value to drive results
• 07:18 - What to look for when building a marketing team
• 16:26 - Prioritizing efforts on areas of biggest influence
• 21:35 - Setting up a team of highly skilled marketers
• 34:09 - Which partnerships are essential within your organization

This is a Paddle production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space.

Every company goes up market eventually, especially in B2B. Most do so by expanding their offering, few actually make the leap from abandoning the low end of the market and going right at the enterprise instead. So how do you get there? Transitioning from the startup market to the enterprise world requires strategic pivoting and a proactive group effort. 

May Habib has witnessed this first hand, as she played a pivotal role in the market transition of content intelligence platform Qordoba. May oversaw a considerable transformation with Qordoba, moving from the low end of the market as a content localization product to selling to giant enterprises like Marriott, Visa, and Condé Nast. She's steadfast in the mindset that training is everything, and you must prioritize heavy coaching, transparency, and feedback in the process. Listen here to see how she did it so successfully.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Transitioning markets (from startup to enterprise) through strategic pivoting
• Training your team for proactivity through heavy coaching
• The value of transparency and feedback in your process of transition

This is a ProfitWell Recur Studios production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space.

People are the hardest part of building a company.

Think about it - when you’re building a company, your people are the company. And if you’re terrible at finding great people, hiring great people, and keeping great people, then your company is going to fail.

Mike Volpe is an excellent example of someone who is great at all three of those. Currently the CEO of lola.com, he was able to put together one of the most all star marketing teams of the past couple of decades during his time as the CMO of HubSpot.

In this episode of Protect the Hustle, Mike walks us through his methodology for recruiting, hiring, and retaining stellar team members that allowed him to build the marketing department at HubSpot into what it is today.

This is a ProfitWell Recur Studios production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space.

Topics covered in this episode

• Having a product team that can say “no” in order to stay on plan

• Choosing one singular focus and target customer instead of trying to do everything

• The future goals of Yesware

• Keeping product and sales focus, and how it's made Yesware successful

• Getting your team aligned and on board with direction

• The Characteristics of a great salesperson

This episode is produced by Dan Callahan, Benjamin Hillman, and Patrick Campbell. Additional support by Steve Cerasoli and Allissa Chan.

Written by Mary Matton

Protect the Hustle is a ProfitWell Recur Production. All rights reserved.