Unsolicited Feedback https://reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback en Tired of interview podcasts? Us too. That's why we created Unsolicited Feedback - the podcast that should have come out 5 years ago, but we're making it anyway. In this podcast, Brian Balfour (Reforge, HubSpot), Fareed Mosavat (Reforge, Slack) and friends provide unfiltered feedback on the products they actually use, along with key product lessons. Essentially, we're taking the conversations that happen between experts at invite-only happy-hours and delivering them to the podcast platform of your choice. Although no one asked for their opinions, they're sharing them. It's like eating Goodles when you want Kraft Mac n Cheese, or Olipop when you want Pepsi - it feels wrong, yet so right. Each week, they analyze recent announcements, features, and releases across product and growth. The hosts make predictions about where Threads and Twitter will be in a year, and analyze unparalleled growth loops at LinkedIn. They give respect where it's due, but also deliver tear-downs when the writing’s on the wall. Sorry, not sorry! https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/36208caa-4efc-11ee-b1c2-a37d8f128621/image/Cover_Art_Unsolicited_Feedback.png?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress Unsolicited Feedback https://reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback yes episodic A Reforge Podcast Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat Tired of interview podcasts? Us too. That's why we created Unsolicited Feedback - the podcast that should have come out 5 years ago, but we're making it anyway. In this podcast, Brian Balfour (Reforge, HubSpot), Fareed Mosavat (Reforge, Slack) and friends provide unfiltered feedback on the products they actually use, along with key product lessons. Essentially, we're taking the conversations that happen between experts at invite-only happy-hours and delivering them to the podcast platform of your choice. Although no one asked for their opinions, they're sharing them. It's like eating Goodles when you want Kraft Mac n Cheese, or Olipop when you want Pepsi - it feels wrong, yet so right. Each week, they analyze recent announcements, features, and releases across product and growth. The hosts make predictions about where Threads and Twitter will be in a year, and analyze unparalleled growth loops at LinkedIn. They give respect where it's due, but also deliver tear-downs when the writing’s on the wall. Sorry, not sorry! Tired of interview podcasts? Us too. That's why we created Unsolicited Feedback - the podcast that should have come out 5 years ago, but we're making it anyway. In this podcast, Brian Balfour (Reforge, HubSpot), Fareed Mosavat (Reforge, Slack) and friends provide unfiltered feedback on the products they actually use, along with key product lessons.


Essentially, we're taking the conversations that happen between experts at invite-only happy-hours and delivering them to the podcast platform of your choice.


Although no one asked for their opinions, they're sharing them. It's like eating Goodles when you want Kraft Mac n Cheese, or Olipop when you want Pepsi - it feels wrong, yet so right.


Each week, they analyze recent announcements, features, and releases across product and growth. The hosts make predictions about where Threads and Twitter will be in a year, and analyze unparalleled growth loops at LinkedIn. They give respect where it's due, but also deliver tear-downs when the writing’s on the wall. Sorry, not sorry!

]]> Reforge ben.kornick@reforge.com OpenAI’s Triple Threat: ChatGPT Apps, AgentKit, and Sora In the span of two weeks, OpenAI launched an app platform with 800 million users, released Agent Kit with visual workflows and custom widgets, and dropped Sora—a social video app that instantly became the #1 and #2 app in the App Store. If you've been following our predictions about the next great distribution shift, this is the moment we've been waiting for. The "open" phase has officially begun. In this episode, Brian Balfour (Founder and CEO of Reforge) is joined by Ravi Mehta (former CPO at Tinder, product leader at Meta and TripAdvisor) and Adam Fishman (former Interim VP Product at Mozilla, previously at Patreon and Lyft) to break down what these launches really mean for product leaders. We discuss why this could be the "uh-oh moment" for Google and Apple, how OpenAI is using memory and context to build their moat, and the specific tactical steps you should be taking right now—before your competitors do. We also dive deep on Sora's surprising product design, why it feels more like Snapchat than TikTok, the dopamine mechanics of AI-generated content, and whether Meta is about to "Stories-ify" the whole thing. Get Your Product Team AI-Native This episode is brought to you by Reforge. Reforge provides the tools and training your team needs to become AI-native: Reforge Insights aggregates your scattered customer feedback into actionable intelligence. Reforge Research runs AI interviews and surveys so you can capture new insights at scale. Reforge Build lets you prototype AI features for your existing product in minutes. Reforge Launch gives you the feature management infrastructure you need for AI products. Key Topics: Why ChatGPT's app platform threatens Google Search and the iPhone home screen The distribution shift playbook and what Phase One means for startups vs. incumbents How to get early access and build on OpenAI's platform before it's too late Sora's design choices, creator-product fit, and the unsustainable economics of AI video Why there's no opting out of this wave—and how to catch it This is the strategically most intense environment we've ever seen. Don't miss this one. Tue, 14 Oct 2025 10:00:00 -0000 full Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat In the span of two weeks, OpenAI launched an app platform with 800 million users, released Agent Kit with visual workflows and custom widgets, and dropped Sora—a social video app that instantly became the #1 and #2 app in the App Store. If you've been following our predictions about the next great distribution shift, this is the moment we've been waiting for. The "open" phase has officially begun. In this episode, Brian Balfour (Founder and CEO of Reforge) is joined by Ravi Mehta (former CPO at Tinder, product leader at Meta and TripAdvisor) and Adam Fishman (former Interim VP Product at Mozilla, previously at Patreon and Lyft) to break down what these launches really mean for product leaders. We discuss why this could be the "uh-oh moment" for Google and Apple, how OpenAI is using memory and context to build their moat, and the specific tactical steps you should be taking right now—before your competitors do. We also dive deep on Sora's surprising product design, why it feels more like Snapchat than TikTok, the dopamine mechanics of AI-generated content, and whether Meta is about to "Stories-ify" the whole thing. Get Your Product Team AI-Native This episode is brought to you by Reforge. Reforge provides the tools and training your team needs to become AI-native: Reforge Insights aggregates your scattered customer feedback into actionable intelligence. Reforge Research runs AI interviews and surveys so you can capture new insights at scale. Reforge Build lets you prototype AI features for your existing product in minutes. Reforge Launch gives you the feature management infrastructure you need for AI products. Key Topics: Why ChatGPT's app platform threatens Google Search and the iPhone home screen The distribution shift playbook and what Phase One means for startups vs. incumbents How to get early access and build on OpenAI's platform before it's too late Sora's design choices, creator-product fit, and the unsustainable economics of AI video Why there's no opting out of this wave—and how to catch it This is the strategically most intense environment we've ever seen. Don't miss this one. In the span of two weeks, OpenAI launched an app platform with 800 million users, released Agent Kit with visual workflows and custom widgets, and dropped Sora—a social video app that instantly became the #1 and #2 app in the App Store. If you've been following our predictions about the next great distribution shift, this is the moment we've been waiting for. The "open" phase has officially begun.

In this episode, Brian Balfour (Founder and CEO of Reforge) is joined by Ravi Mehta (former CPO at Tinder, product leader at Meta and TripAdvisor) and Adam Fishman (former Interim VP Product at Mozilla, previously at Patreon and Lyft) to break down what these launches really mean for product leaders. We discuss why this could be the "uh-oh moment" for Google and Apple, how OpenAI is using memory and context to build their moat, and the specific tactical steps you should be taking right now—before your competitors do.

We also dive deep on Sora's surprising product design, why it feels more like Snapchat than TikTok, the dopamine mechanics of AI-generated content, and whether Meta is about to "Stories-ify" the whole thing.


Get Your Product Team AI-Native

This episode is brought to you by Reforge. Reforge provides the tools and training your team needs to become AI-native:

  • Reforge Insights aggregates your scattered customer feedback into actionable intelligence.
  • Reforge Research runs AI interviews and surveys so you can capture new insights at scale.
  • Reforge Build lets you prototype AI features for your existing product in minutes.
  • Reforge Launch gives you the feature management infrastructure you need for AI products.

Key Topics:

  • Why ChatGPT's app platform threatens Google Search and the iPhone home screen
  • The distribution shift playbook and what Phase One means for startups vs. incumbents
  • How to get early access and build on OpenAI's platform before it's too late
  • Sora's design choices, creator-product fit, and the unsustainable economics of AI video
  • Why there's no opting out of this wave—and how to catch it

This is the strategically most intense environment we've ever seen. Don't miss this one.

]]> 2940 Credit Anxiety: When Nobody Knows What AI Really Costs What happens when the entire software industry gets repriced on the cost basis of AI? When AI procurement agents are pitting your product against five competitors in real-time speed trials? And when every project management tool builds the exact same agent platform? Welcome to Unsolicited Feedback, where we dig into the messy realities of building in the age of AI. Brian Balfour (Founder and CEO of Reforge) and Aaron White (Founder of Appy.ai, Former CTO at Vendr) are in the thick of building AI tools and their companies for the AI era. In this episode, they pull back the curtain on a massive shift happening right now: The entire industry is scrambling to shift from "all you can eat subscription" pricing to credit-based models that few consumers understand and the secondary effects. Brian and Aaron also tackle the launch of Notion’s Agent platform and how it feels like every project management tool from Jira to Glean to Notion to Monday has the exact same strategy. Tue, 30 Sep 2025 10:00:00 -0000 full Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat What happens when the entire software industry gets repriced on the cost basis of AI? When AI procurement agents are pitting your product against five competitors in real-time speed trials? And when every project management tool builds the exact same agent platform? Welcome to Unsolicited Feedback, where we dig into the messy realities of building in the age of AI. Brian Balfour (Founder and CEO of Reforge) and Aaron White (Founder of Appy.ai, Former CTO at Vendr) are in the thick of building AI tools and their companies for the AI era. In this episode, they pull back the curtain on a massive shift happening right now: The entire industry is scrambling to shift from "all you can eat subscription" pricing to credit-based models that few consumers understand and the secondary effects. Brian and Aaron also tackle the launch of Notion’s Agent platform and how it feels like every project management tool from Jira to Glean to Notion to Monday has the exact same strategy. What happens when the entire software industry gets repriced on the cost basis of AI? When AI procurement agents are pitting your product against five competitors in real-time speed trials? And when every project management tool builds the exact same agent platform?

Welcome to Unsolicited Feedback, where we dig into the messy realities of building in the age of AI. Brian Balfour (Founder and CEO of Reforge) and Aaron White (Founder of Appy.ai, Former CTO at Vendr) are in the thick of building AI tools and their companies for the AI era.

In this episode, they pull back the curtain on a massive shift happening right now: The entire industry is scrambling to shift from "all you can eat subscription" pricing to credit-based models that few consumers understand and the secondary effects.

Brian and Aaron also tackle the launch of Notion’s Agent platform and how it feels like every project management tool from Jira to Glean to Notion to Monday has the exact same strategy.

]]> 2365 GPT-5 After the Hype: Strategy, Monetization & the Next Billion Users It’s been weeks since GPT-5 launched—which is basically a decade in AI time. The hype fog has finally lifted, and that’s the perfect moment to ask: what really changed, what actually matters, what were the actual product strategy decision? In this episode, Brian Balfour and Fareed Mosavat dig into why OpenAI went all-in on a “one model to rule them all” consumer strategy, the quiet product moves aimed at the next billion users, and the weird tension between how they marketed GPT-5 and what the product strategy actually says. We also go straight to the money: the “gym-membership” economics of AI, why flat pricing turns into a house of cards, and how usage-based, hybrid, and outcome-based models actually shake out when cost to serve is variable and compute doesn’t magically 10× cheaper. If you want clear takeaways on strategy, distribution, and monetization, keep listening as we are about to dive in. Wed, 03 Sep 2025 18:00:00 -0000 full Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat It’s been weeks since GPT-5 launched—which is basically a decade in AI time. The hype fog has finally lifted, and that’s the perfect moment to ask: what really changed, what actually matters, what were the actual product strategy decision? In this episode, Brian Balfour and Fareed Mosavat dig into why OpenAI went all-in on a “one model to rule them all” consumer strategy, the quiet product moves aimed at the next billion users, and the weird tension between how they marketed GPT-5 and what the product strategy actually says. We also go straight to the money: the “gym-membership” economics of AI, why flat pricing turns into a house of cards, and how usage-based, hybrid, and outcome-based models actually shake out when cost to serve is variable and compute doesn’t magically 10× cheaper. If you want clear takeaways on strategy, distribution, and monetization, keep listening as we are about to dive in. It’s been weeks since GPT-5 launched—which is basically a decade in AI time. The hype fog has finally lifted, and that’s the perfect moment to ask: what really changed, what actually matters, what were the actual product strategy decision?

In this episode, Brian Balfour and Fareed Mosavat dig into why OpenAI went all-in on a “one model to rule them all” consumer strategy, the quiet product moves aimed at the next billion users, and the weird tension between how they marketed GPT-5 and what the product strategy actually says.

We also go straight to the money: the “gym-membership” economics of AI, why flat pricing turns into a house of cards, and how usage-based, hybrid, and outcome-based models actually shake out when cost to serve is variable and compute doesn’t magically 10× cheaper.

If you want clear takeaways on strategy, distribution, and monetization, keep listening as we are about to dive in.

]]> 2559 AI Data Wars & Claude's Growth Loops: Who Owns the Fuel & Wins the Race? AI’s crown jewels, you data, is under siege. Lawsuits, API throttles, and Cloudflare’s “default-off” move have publishers slamming the gate while AI titans keep battering it down. Brian Balfour (Reforge) and Fareed Mosavat break down who’s suing whom, why API chokeholds matter, and how these defense moves could hand even more power to the Googles and OpenAIs of the world. We then tackle Anthropic’s latest launch: Claude “artifacts.” These bite-sized AI mini-apps piggyback on the user’s own API quota, and spin up self-fueling growth loops to build a unique growth model. We unpack the model step-by-step, the constraints, and the upside for builders hunting leverage. Grab your coffee, hit play, and turn today’s hot takes into tomorrow’s unfair advantage. Tue, 15 Jul 2025 10:00:00 -0000 full Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat AI’s crown jewels, you data, is under siege. Lawsuits, API throttles, and Cloudflare’s “default-off” move have publishers slamming the gate while AI titans keep battering it down. Brian Balfour (Reforge) and Fareed Mosavat break down who’s suing whom, why API chokeholds matter, and how these defense moves could hand even more power to the Googles and OpenAIs of the world. We then tackle Anthropic’s latest launch: Claude “artifacts.” These bite-sized AI mini-apps piggyback on the user’s own API quota, and spin up self-fueling growth loops to build a unique growth model. We unpack the model step-by-step, the constraints, and the upside for builders hunting leverage. Grab your coffee, hit play, and turn today’s hot takes into tomorrow’s unfair advantage. AI’s crown jewels, you data, is under siege. Lawsuits, API throttles, and Cloudflare’s “default-off” move have publishers slamming the gate while AI titans keep battering it down. Brian Balfour (Reforge) and Fareed Mosavat break down who’s suing whom, why API chokeholds matter, and how these defense moves could hand even more power to the Googles and OpenAIs of the world.


We then tackle Anthropic’s latest launch: Claude “artifacts.” These bite-sized AI mini-apps piggyback on the user’s own API quota, and spin up self-fueling growth loops to build a unique growth model. We unpack the model step-by-step, the constraints, and the upside for builders hunting leverage.


Grab your coffee, hit play, and turn today’s hot takes into tomorrow’s unfair advantage.

]]> 2314 AI's Distribution Shift: The Land Grab Ahead - Unsolicited Feedback S3E8 Get ready for a crash course for you in the next great distribution shift. In this episode, Brian Balfour and Fareed Mosavat pull back the curtain on why AI’s real battleground isn’t the tech itself—it’s the fight to be the next distribution platform. Fareed and Brian dissect the playbooks and cycles that crowned Facebook, Google, Apple and LinkedIn as the winners of their categories and turned them from open platforms into toll booths. The key part is who is going to be next, and what you need to know to play the game. We cover: Brian's prediction on which LLM will create the platform first—and exactly how to ride that wave before the gates slam shut. How startups need to play the game differently vs larger companies A candid debate on platform moats, memory vs. action, and whether PLG just made a roaring comeback. If you build, invest, or obsess over AI products, this 45-minute sprint will hand you the hard truths and the hidden opportunities shaping the next couple of years. Plug in, level up—and learn how to play the game before the game plays you. Fri, 27 Jun 2025 11:00:00 -0000 full Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat Get ready for a crash course for you in the next great distribution shift. In this episode, Brian Balfour and Fareed Mosavat pull back the curtain on why AI’s real battleground isn’t the tech itself—it’s the fight to be the next distribution platform. Fareed and Brian dissect the playbooks and cycles that crowned Facebook, Google, Apple and LinkedIn as the winners of their categories and turned them from open platforms into toll booths. The key part is who is going to be next, and what you need to know to play the game. We cover: Brian's prediction on which LLM will create the platform first—and exactly how to ride that wave before the gates slam shut. How startups need to play the game differently vs larger companies A candid debate on platform moats, memory vs. action, and whether PLG just made a roaring comeback. If you build, invest, or obsess over AI products, this 45-minute sprint will hand you the hard truths and the hidden opportunities shaping the next couple of years. Plug in, level up—and learn how to play the game before the game plays you. Get ready for a crash course for you in the next great distribution shift. In this episode, Brian Balfour and Fareed Mosavat pull back the curtain on why AI’s real battleground isn’t the tech itself—it’s the fight to be the next distribution platform. Fareed and Brian dissect the playbooks and cycles that crowned Facebook, Google, Apple and LinkedIn as the winners of their categories and turned them from open platforms into toll booths. The key part is who is going to be next, and what you need to know to play the game.


We cover:

  • Brian's prediction on which LLM will create the platform first—and exactly how to ride that wave before the gates slam shut.
  • How startups need to play the game differently vs larger companies
  • A candid debate on platform moats, memory vs. action, and whether PLG just made a roaring comeback.

If you build, invest, or obsess over AI products, this 45-minute sprint will hand you the hard truths and the hidden opportunities shaping the next couple of years. Plug in, level up—and learn how to play the game before the game plays you.

]]> 2603 yes OpenAI’s Land Grab: Are Moats Dead? How Startups Can Still Differentiate - Unsolicited Feedback S3E7 The AI Wild West just got wilder — and we’re riding straight into the melee.In this episode, Brian Balfour, Fareed Mosavat, and special guest Aaron White crack open the three questions every builder is secretly sweating right now: Can you actually differentiate when every launch feels like a land-grab? Is “move fast” still an edge — or just table-stakes? What happens when OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic hoover up all the context you thought was your moat? Expect hot takes on speed-as-a-moat, why Apple’s “slow and perfect” playbook suddenly looks brittle, and how vertical-niche founders can still carve out 10-to-100× markets hiding in plain sight. You’ll hear: The Great Land Grab – Why OpenAI’s next platform move could dwarf Facebook’s 2007 dev-platform blitz. Speed vs. Strategy – If “move fast” is merely table stakes, what actually sets winning teams apart? Moats in 2025 – From data loops to brand trust, which defenses still work—and which are illusions? Niche Power Plays – How vertical micro-SaaS and “taste-driven” products can survive the AI tidal wave. The Dark & Bright Futures – Privacy nightmares, device wars, and the unexpected upside for founders who master context. If you’re building, investing, or just trying to keep your head above the AI tidal wave, hit play. This convo will arm you with the mindset (and the memes) you need to survive the quicksand and still grab the crown. Strap in—let’s ride. Tue, 10 Jun 2025 11:00:00 -0000 full Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat The AI Wild West just got wilder — and we’re riding straight into the melee.In this episode, Brian Balfour, Fareed Mosavat, and special guest Aaron White crack open the three questions every builder is secretly sweating right now: Can you actually differentiate when every launch feels like a land-grab? Is “move fast” still an edge — or just table-stakes? What happens when OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic hoover up all the context you thought was your moat? Expect hot takes on speed-as-a-moat, why Apple’s “slow and perfect” playbook suddenly looks brittle, and how vertical-niche founders can still carve out 10-to-100× markets hiding in plain sight. You’ll hear: The Great Land Grab – Why OpenAI’s next platform move could dwarf Facebook’s 2007 dev-platform blitz. Speed vs. Strategy – If “move fast” is merely table stakes, what actually sets winning teams apart? Moats in 2025 – From data loops to brand trust, which defenses still work—and which are illusions? Niche Power Plays – How vertical micro-SaaS and “taste-driven” products can survive the AI tidal wave. The Dark & Bright Futures – Privacy nightmares, device wars, and the unexpected upside for founders who master context. If you’re building, investing, or just trying to keep your head above the AI tidal wave, hit play. This convo will arm you with the mindset (and the memes) you need to survive the quicksand and still grab the crown. Strap in—let’s ride. The AI Wild West just got wilder — and we’re riding straight into the melee.
In this episode, Brian Balfour, Fareed Mosavat, and special guest Aaron White crack open the three questions every builder is secretly sweating right now:

  • Can you actually differentiate when every launch feels like a land-grab?
  • Is “move fast” still an edge — or just table-stakes?
  • What happens when OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic hoover up all the context you thought was your moat?

Expect hot takes on speed-as-a-moat, why Apple’s “slow and perfect” playbook suddenly looks brittle, and how vertical-niche founders can still carve out 10-to-100× markets hiding in plain sight. You’ll hear:

  • The Great Land Grab – Why OpenAI’s next platform move could dwarf Facebook’s 2007 dev-platform blitz.
  • Speed vs. Strategy – If “move fast” is merely table stakes, what actually sets winning teams apart?
  • Moats in 2025 – From data loops to brand trust, which defenses still work—and which are illusions?
  • Niche Power Plays – How vertical micro-SaaS and “taste-driven” products can survive the AI tidal wave.
  • The Dark & Bright Futures – Privacy nightmares, device wars, and the unexpected upside for founders who master context.

If you’re building, investing, or just trying to keep your head above the AI tidal wave, hit play. This convo will arm you with the mindset (and the memes) you need to survive the quicksand and still grab the crown.

Strap in—let’s ride.

]]> 3120 yes Ripple Effects: Google’s AI Mode & the New-Grad Hiring Crash - Unsolicited Feedback S3E6 Last week we talked about Everyone-versus-Everyone. That hasn’t stopped. Before we could edit and publish the last episode, Google unleashed a “do-everything” AI bundle. Last week we talked about when everyone ships everything at once, how do you find the whitespace? This week we continue to discuss two more tectonic shifts: 1. The Great SEO Trade-Off ➜ The AI Answer Engine - Google’s new AI-mode could nuke the blue-link economy that’s powered the internet for 20+ years. If LLMs hoard the traffic, who keeps creating the content they need to stay smart? Expect hot takes on long-tail extinction, “answer-engine optimization,” and whether originality still pays. 2. Hiring Hangover Meets AI Reality - New-grad recruiting is down 50 %, senior talent is grumbling, and managers admit they’d rather spin up an LLM than onboard Gen Z. Brian and Fareed unpack why the entry-level pipeline collapsed, where the arbitrage is hiding, and how startups can weaponize AI-native rookies before incumbents wake up. We add a dash of labor-economics humor, a sprinkle of Shopify-meets-Stack-Overflow, and you’ve got an episode that will leave you rethinking your product, growth, and hiring strategy all at the same time. Tue, 03 Jun 2025 13:00:00 -0000 full Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat Last week we talked about Everyone-versus-Everyone. That hasn’t stopped. Before we could edit and publish the last episode, Google unleashed a “do-everything” AI bundle. Last week we talked about when everyone ships everything at once, how do you find the whitespace? This week we continue to discuss two more tectonic shifts: 1. The Great SEO Trade-Off ➜ The AI Answer Engine - Google’s new AI-mode could nuke the blue-link economy that’s powered the internet for 20+ years. If LLMs hoard the traffic, who keeps creating the content they need to stay smart? Expect hot takes on long-tail extinction, “answer-engine optimization,” and whether originality still pays. 2. Hiring Hangover Meets AI Reality - New-grad recruiting is down 50 %, senior talent is grumbling, and managers admit they’d rather spin up an LLM than onboard Gen Z. Brian and Fareed unpack why the entry-level pipeline collapsed, where the arbitrage is hiding, and how startups can weaponize AI-native rookies before incumbents wake up. We add a dash of labor-economics humor, a sprinkle of Shopify-meets-Stack-Overflow, and you’ve got an episode that will leave you rethinking your product, growth, and hiring strategy all at the same time. Last week we talked about Everyone-versus-Everyone. That hasn’t stopped. Before we could edit and publish the last episode, Google unleashed a “do-everything” AI bundle. Last week we talked about when everyone ships everything at once, how do you find the whitespace? This week we continue to discuss two more tectonic shifts: 1. The Great SEO Trade-Off ➜ The AI Answer Engine - Google’s new AI-mode could nuke the blue-link economy that’s powered the internet for 20+ years. If LLMs hoard the traffic, who keeps creating the content they need to stay smart? Expect hot takes on long-tail extinction, “answer-engine optimization,” and whether originality still pays. 2. Hiring Hangover Meets AI Reality - New-grad recruiting is down 50 %, senior talent is grumbling, and managers admit they’d rather spin up an LLM than onboard Gen Z. Brian and Fareed unpack why the entry-level pipeline collapsed, where the arbitrage is hiding, and how startups can weaponize AI-native rookies before incumbents wake up. We add a dash of labor-economics humor, a sprinkle of Shopify-meets-Stack-Overflow, and you’ve got an episode that will leave you rethinking your product, growth, and hiring strategy all at the same time.

]]> 2416 It's Everyone vs. Everyone: Navigating the New Strategic Arena - Unsolicited Feedback S3E5 In the last 30 days, Notion fired off three products, Figma morphed into a mini-Adobe, OpenAI gobbled Windsurf, and Loom, Atlassian, Anthropic, Cursor, and Granola pointed their AI cannons straight at one another. Welcome to ludicrous speed—a market where every launch feels like a direct hit on your roadmap and “competitive landscape” now means everyone vs. everyone.  In this episode Brian Balfour and Fareed Mosavat are joined by Ravi Mehta to talk about The Great Bundle Brawl, Granola's Escape Hatch, The AI Flywheel, and more. Wed, 21 May 2025 10:00:00 -0000 full Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat In the last 30 days, Notion fired off three products, Figma morphed into a mini-Adobe, OpenAI gobbled Windsurf, and Loom, Atlassian, Anthropic, Cursor, and Granola pointed their AI cannons straight at one another. Welcome to ludicrous speed—a market where every launch feels like a direct hit on your roadmap and “competitive landscape” now means everyone vs. everyone.  In this episode Brian Balfour and Fareed Mosavat are joined by Ravi Mehta to talk about The Great Bundle Brawl, Granola's Escape Hatch, The AI Flywheel, and more. In the last 30 days, Notion fired off three products, Figma morphed into a mini-Adobe, OpenAI gobbled Windsurf, and Loom, Atlassian, Anthropic, Cursor, and Granola pointed their AI cannons straight at one another. Welcome to ludicrous speed—a market where every launch feels like a direct hit on your roadmap and “competitive landscape” now means everyone vs. everyone.  In this episode Brian Balfour and Fareed Mosavat are joined by Ravi Mehta to talk about The Great Bundle Brawl, Granola's Escape Hatch, The AI Flywheel, and more.

]]> 2780 AI Memo Manifestos: Turning Executive Decrees into Product Team Velocity - S3E4 Unsolicited Feedback The “AI memo” craze is officially here—and it’s more than executive theater. In this episode, Brian Balfour and Fareed Mosavat break down how leading CEOs (Shopify, Duolingo, Box, Meta) are using public AI manifestos to jolt their companies into a faster, smarter future—and what product leaders must do next to turn those words into shipping velocity. What we cover: - The 5-Layer AI Memo Framework—ownership, expectations, directives, accountability, constraints—so your decree actually drives behavior. - Experiment → Learn → Share Loops that turn scattered tinkering into org-wide best practices. - Concrete “forcing-function” constraints (team-size caps, prototype-only reviews, head-count ceilings) that accelerate adoption. - Why value creation beats cost cutting—and how to put AI on the roadmap, not just the balance sheet. - Meta’s new AI app: a real-time case study on distribution, context, and the missing zero-to-one spark. - Cultural fault lines—leaders, followers, laggards—and playbooks for bringing the middle 80 % over the line (before performance reviews do it for you). Whether you’re drafting your own AI memo or figuring out how to implement the one that just landed in your inbox, this conversation delivers the practical moves to convert manifesto hype into measurable product momentum. Wed, 07 May 2025 14:00:00 -0000 full Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat The “AI memo” craze is officially here—and it’s more than executive theater. In this episode, Brian Balfour and Fareed Mosavat break down how leading CEOs (Shopify, Duolingo, Box, Meta) are using public AI manifestos to jolt their companies into a faster, smarter future—and what product leaders must do next to turn those words into shipping velocity. What we cover: - The 5-Layer AI Memo Framework—ownership, expectations, directives, accountability, constraints—so your decree actually drives behavior. - Experiment → Learn → Share Loops that turn scattered tinkering into org-wide best practices. - Concrete “forcing-function” constraints (team-size caps, prototype-only reviews, head-count ceilings) that accelerate adoption. - Why value creation beats cost cutting—and how to put AI on the roadmap, not just the balance sheet. - Meta’s new AI app: a real-time case study on distribution, context, and the missing zero-to-one spark. - Cultural fault lines—leaders, followers, laggards—and playbooks for bringing the middle 80 % over the line (before performance reviews do it for you). Whether you’re drafting your own AI memo or figuring out how to implement the one that just landed in your inbox, this conversation delivers the practical moves to convert manifesto hype into measurable product momentum. The “AI memo” craze is officially here—and it’s more than executive theater. In this episode, Brian Balfour and Fareed Mosavat break down how leading CEOs (Shopify, Duolingo, Box, Meta) are using public AI manifestos to jolt their companies into a faster, smarter future—and what product leaders must do next to turn those words into shipping velocity. What we cover: - The 5-Layer AI Memo Framework—ownership, expectations, directives, accountability, constraints—so your decree actually drives behavior. - Experiment → Learn → Share Loops that turn scattered tinkering into org-wide best practices. - Concrete “forcing-function” constraints (team-size caps, prototype-only reviews, head-count ceilings) that accelerate adoption. - Why value creation beats cost cutting—and how to put AI on the roadmap, not just the balance sheet. - Meta’s new AI app: a real-time case study on distribution, context, and the missing zero-to-one spark. - Cultural fault lines—leaders, followers, laggards—and playbooks for bringing the middle 80 % over the line (before performance reviews do it for you). Whether you’re drafting your own AI memo or figuring out how to implement the one that just landed in your inbox, this conversation delivers the practical moves to convert manifesto hype into measurable product momentum.

]]> 2804 yes The Great AI Corporate Divide and the Race for AI Context In this episode, Brian Balfour and Fareed Mosavat dive into the widening gulf between companies embracing AI and those drowning in corporate red tape. While some organizations are rewriting job descriptions and preparing to ax 40-50% of employees who can't adapt, others are taking MONTHS just to process a basic AI tool agreement. Plus: Glean's existential threat as OpenAI and Anthropic invade the enterprise space, why speed trumps perfection in AI coding tools, and OpenAI's curious social media play. The tech landscape is splitting between the innovators and the bureaucracy-bound—and the clock is ticking faster than ever. Tue, 22 Apr 2025 07:00:00 -0000 full 3 3 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat In this episode, Brian Balfour and Fareed Mosavat dive into the widening gulf between companies embracing AI and those drowning in corporate red tape. While some organizations are rewriting job descriptions and preparing to ax 40-50% of employees who can't adapt, others are taking MONTHS just to process a basic AI tool agreement. Plus: Glean's existential threat as OpenAI and Anthropic invade the enterprise space, why speed trumps perfection in AI coding tools, and OpenAI's curious social media play. The tech landscape is splitting between the innovators and the bureaucracy-bound—and the clock is ticking faster than ever. In this episode, Brian Balfour and Fareed Mosavat dive into the widening gulf between companies embracing AI and those drowning in corporate red tape. While some organizations are rewriting job descriptions and preparing to ax 40-50% of employees who can't adapt, others are taking MONTHS just to process a basic AI tool agreement. Plus: Glean's existential threat as OpenAI and Anthropic invade the enterprise space, why speed trumps perfection in AI coding tools, and OpenAI's curious social media play. The tech landscape is splitting between the innovators and the bureaucracy-bound—and the clock is ticking faster than ever.

]]> 2679 Unsolicited Feedback S3, E2: Product Management In The Age of AI, featuring Shaun Clowes In this episode, Brian and Fareed discuss the challenges facing product managers in the AI era with Shaun Clowes, CPO at Confluent. Many product professionals are questioning their future as traditional PM workflows—documentation, basic prioritization, and coordination—become increasingly automated. Yet this technological shift isn't eliminating the product management function; rather, it's elevating what has always differentiated exceptional PMs from average ones. While low-value processes are being automated away, the core elements that create product success—strategic vision, judgment, taste, and leadership—are becoming dramatically more valuable. Wed, 05 Mar 2025 15:04:05 -0000 Product Management In The Age of AI featuring Shaun Clowes full 3 2 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat AI is transforming product management by automating low-value tasks while enhancing strategic direction, judgment, and leadership. In this episode, Brian and Fareed discuss the challenges facing product managers in the AI era with Shaun Clowes, CPO at Confluent. Many product professionals are questioning their future as traditional PM workflows—documentation, basic prioritization, and coordination—become increasingly automated. Yet this technological shift isn't eliminating the product management function; rather, it's elevating what has always differentiated exceptional PMs from average ones. While low-value processes are being automated away, the core elements that create product success—strategic vision, judgment, taste, and leadership—are becoming dramatically more valuable. In this episode, Brian and Fareed discuss the challenges facing product managers in the AI era with Shaun Clowes, CPO at Confluent.

Many product professionals are questioning their future as traditional PM workflows—documentation, basic prioritization, and coordination—become increasingly automated. Yet this technological shift isn't eliminating the product management function; rather, it's elevating what has always differentiated exceptional PMs from average ones. While low-value processes are being automated away, the core elements that create product success—strategic vision, judgment, taste, and leadership—are becoming dramatically more valuable.

]]> 3109 Product Market Fit Collapse: The AI Tipping Point w/ Casey Winters (Season 3 Premier) https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/ The Unsolicited Feedback podcast is back for a season 3. We kicked off episode 1 with Casey Winters going deeper on Product Market Fit Collapse. In this episode we discuss: Unlike previous tech shifts (mobile, internet), AI is causing exponential rather than linear increases in customer expectations The speed of both capability advancement and consumer adoption is unprecedented Competition is coming from all directions simultaneously. Incumbents are heavily invested and moving quickly. New startups are emerging. Foundation model companies are expanding rapidly Infrastructure and tooling are evolving weekly, making it hard to pick the right stack And as a result of these things: Traditional "disruption playbooks" may not work - this isn't classic low-end disruption Companies need to consider more radical self-disruption rather than gradual evolution The error rate on predicting winners is extremely high, even among experts M&A strategies are shifting where companies are acquiring AI-native leadership (e.g., Grammarly/Coda, Snowflake/Neva). Focus on acquiring both capabilities and adjacent use cases. More product-capability acquisitions vs. pure talent acquisitions In the end, even successful companies with strong product-market fit are vulnerable of getting side swiped.Check out more from Unsolicited Feedback! https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/ Reforge Insight Analytics https://reforge.com/insight-analytics Product Strategy Courses https://www.reforge.com/courses/product-strategy/details https://www.reforge.com/courses/ai-strategy/details Wed, 29 Jan 2025 13:00:00 -0000 Product Market Fit Collapse: The AI Tipping Point w/ Casey Winters full 3 1 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat The Unsolicited Feedback podcast is back for a season 3. We kicked off episode 1 with Casey Winters going deeper on Product Market Fit Collapse. The Unsolicited Feedback podcast is back for a season 3. We kicked off episode 1 with Casey Winters going deeper on Product Market Fit Collapse. In this episode we discuss: Unlike previous tech shifts (mobile, internet), AI is causing exponential rather than linear increases in customer expectations The speed of both capability advancement and consumer adoption is unprecedented Competition is coming from all directions simultaneously. Incumbents are heavily invested and moving quickly. New startups are emerging. Foundation model companies are expanding rapidly Infrastructure and tooling are evolving weekly, making it hard to pick the right stack And as a result of these things: Traditional "disruption playbooks" may not work - this isn't classic low-end disruption Companies need to consider more radical self-disruption rather than gradual evolution The error rate on predicting winners is extremely high, even among experts M&A strategies are shifting where companies are acquiring AI-native leadership (e.g., Grammarly/Coda, Snowflake/Neva). Focus on acquiring both capabilities and adjacent use cases. More product-capability acquisitions vs. pure talent acquisitions In the end, even successful companies with strong product-market fit are vulnerable of getting side swiped.Check out more from Unsolicited Feedback! https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/ Reforge Insight Analytics https://reforge.com/insight-analytics Product Strategy Courses https://www.reforge.com/courses/product-strategy/details https://www.reforge.com/courses/ai-strategy/details The Unsolicited Feedback podcast is back for a season 3. We kicked off episode 1 with Casey Winters going deeper on Product Market Fit Collapse. In this episode we discuss:

  • Unlike previous tech shifts (mobile, internet), AI is causing exponential rather than linear increases in customer expectations
  • The speed of both capability advancement and consumer adoption is unprecedented
  • Competition is coming from all directions simultaneously. Incumbents are heavily invested and moving quickly. New startups are emerging. Foundation model companies are expanding rapidly
  • Infrastructure and tooling are evolving weekly, making it hard to pick the right stack


And as a result of these things:

  • Traditional "disruption playbooks" may not work - this isn't classic low-end disruption
  • Companies need to consider more radical self-disruption rather than gradual evolution
  • The error rate on predicting winners is extremely high, even among experts
  • M&A strategies are shifting where companies are acquiring AI-native leadership (e.g., Grammarly/Coda, Snowflake/Neva). Focus on acquiring both capabilities and adjacent use cases. More product-capability acquisitions vs. pure talent acquisitions

In the end, even successful companies with strong product-market fit are vulnerable of getting side swiped.Check out more from Unsolicited Feedback!

https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/


Reforge Insight Analytics

https://reforge.com/insight-analytics


Product Strategy Courses

https://www.reforge.com/courses/product-strategy/details

https://www.reforge.com/courses/ai-strategy/details

]]> 3091 ref:AI x Unsolicited Feedback Presents Strategies To Beat The AI S-Curve w/ Andrew Chen https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/refAI-Live?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast&utm_content=unsolicited_feedback_refAI-Live AI Innovations & Growth Strategies with Andrew Chen | Unsolicited Feedback Live This is a special live episode of Unsolicited Feedback, as part of Reforge's ref:AI conference. Join Fareed Mosavat as he welcomes Andrew Chen from Andreessen Horowitz for an engaging discussion on AI's impact on product growth and innovation. This episode covers the significance of the S curve in technology adoption, the challenges and opportunities arising from rapid AI advancements, and what it means for startups and established companies alike. Andrew shares insights on how to differentiate in a competitive landscape, the evolving role of AI in various industries, and strategic approaches for maintaining relevance. Whether you're a product manager, designer, or tech enthusiast, this episode offers a wealth of knowledge to help you navigate the AI revolution. Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons from this conversation at https://www.reforge.com/blog/strategies-to-beat-the-ai-s-curve Check out more from Unsolicited Feedback! https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/  00:00 Welcome  04:13 Understanding the S Curve 08:35 The Novelty Phase of AI Products 12:26 Challenges and Strategies in AI Product Development 23:19 The Future of AI and Product Innovation 27:44 Platform Shifts and AI Paradigms Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons from this episode at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/ Thu, 27 Jun 2024 18:00:00 -0000 ref:AI x Unsolicited Feedback Presents Strategies To Beat The AI S-Curve w/ Andrew Chen full 2 17 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat AI Innovations & Growth Strategies with Andrew Chen | Unsolicited Feedback Live This is a special live episode of Unsolicited Feedback, as part of Reforge's ref:AI conference. Join Fareed Mosavat as he welcomes Andrew Chen from Andreessen Horowitz for an engaging discussion on AI's impact on product growth and innovation. This episode covers the significance of the S curve in technology adoption, the challenges and opportunities arising from rapid AI advancements, and what it means for startups and established companies alike. Andrew shares insights on how to differentiate in a competitive landscape, the evolving role of AI in various industries, and strategic approaches for maintaining relevance. Whether you're a product manager, designer, or tech enthusiast, this episode offers a wealth of knowledge to help you navigate the AI revolution. Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons from this conversation at https://www.reforge.com/blog/strategies-to-beat-the-ai-s-curve Check out more from Unsolicited Feedback! https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/  00:00 Welcome  04:13 Understanding the S Curve 08:35 The Novelty Phase of AI Products 12:26 Challenges and Strategies in AI Product Development 23:19 The Future of AI and Product Innovation 27:44 Platform Shifts and AI Paradigms Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons from this episode at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/ AI Innovations & Growth Strategies with Andrew Chen | Unsolicited Feedback Live

This is a special live episode of Unsolicited Feedback, as part of Reforge's ref:AI conference. Join Fareed Mosavat as he welcomes Andrew Chen from Andreessen Horowitz for an engaging discussion on AI's impact on product growth and innovation. This episode covers the significance of the S curve in technology adoption, the challenges and opportunities arising from rapid AI advancements, and what it means for startups and established companies alike. Andrew shares insights on how to differentiate in a competitive landscape, the evolving role of AI in various industries, and strategic approaches for maintaining relevance. Whether you're a product manager, designer, or tech enthusiast, this episode offers a wealth of knowledge to help you navigate the AI revolution.

Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons from this conversation at https://www.reforge.com/blog/strategies-to-beat-the-ai-s-curve


Check out more from Unsolicited Feedback! https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/ 


00:00 Welcome 

04:13 Understanding the S Curve

08:35 The Novelty Phase of AI Products

12:26 Challenges and Strategies in AI Product Development

23:19 The Future of AI and Product Innovation

27:44 Platform Shifts and AI Paradigms


Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons from this episode at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/

]]> 3236 yes Real-Time Feedback: Apple's WWDC 2024 w/ Aaron White & Fareed Mosavat https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/rt-wwdc2024?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast&utm_content=unsolicited_feedback_rt-wwdc2024 Real-Time Feedback: Apple's WWDC 2024 w/ Aaron White & Fareed Mosavat In this Real-Time Feedback Episode, Fareed Mosavat and AI thought-leader Aaron White unpack Apple's strategic moves announced during WWDC, focusing on their approach to AI, their hardware ecosystem, and their long-term vision. We analyze Apple's iterative process, their integration of machine learning and AI, the implications of Apple intelligence, and the unmet potential of the Apple Vision Pro. We also revisited how Apple stacks up against its competitors, contrasting its strategies with those of Google and Microsoft. There's a lot to unpack. We hope you enjoy! Show Notes:  Reforge has just launched a brand new AI product, the Reforge Extension, now in public beta. Ever wish you could get expert feedback from leaders like Fareed, Brian Balfour, Andrew Chen, and Elena Verna while working on your documents? Now you can! Next week, we're excited for ref:AI, a full-day virtual conference delving into all things AI, featuring a special episode of Unsolicited Feedback with the legendary Andrew Chen. Secure your spot now as spaces are limited. Register here today. Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons from this episode at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/ 00:00 Introduction  00:40 Apple's Strategy and Market Position 05:23 Apple Watch and Health Ecosystem 12:58 Siri and Voice Interface Challenges 23:17 Apple's Vision for AI and Machine Learning 31:38 Apple's Strategic Integration of GPT and Siri 35:16 The Apple Ecosystem and User Experience 39:25 The Future of Apple Intelligence and Hardware 47:19 Apple's Approach to AI and Competitor Comparison 58:32 Advice for AI Startups in the Apple Ecosystem Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons from this episode at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/ Tue, 18 Jun 2024 08:00:00 -0000 Real-Time Feedback: Apple's WWDC 2024 w/ Aaron White & Fareed Mosavat full 2 16 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat Real-Time Feedback: Apple's WWDC 2024 w/ Aaron White & Fareed Mosavat In this Real-Time Feedback Episode, Fareed Mosavat and AI thought-leader Aaron White unpack Apple's strategic moves announced during WWDC, focusing on their approach to AI, their hardware ecosystem, and their long-term vision. We analyze Apple's iterative process, their integration of machine learning and AI, the implications of Apple intelligence, and the unmet potential of the Apple Vision Pro. We also revisited how Apple stacks up against its competitors, contrasting its strategies with those of Google and Microsoft. There's a lot to unpack. We hope you enjoy! Show Notes:  Reforge has just launched a brand new AI product, the Reforge Extension, now in public beta. Ever wish you could get expert feedback from leaders like Fareed, Brian Balfour, Andrew Chen, and Elena Verna while working on your documents? Now you can! Next week, we're excited for ref:AI, a full-day virtual conference delving into all things AI, featuring a special episode of Unsolicited Feedback with the legendary Andrew Chen. Secure your spot now as spaces are limited. Register here today. Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons from this episode at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/ 00:00 Introduction  00:40 Apple's Strategy and Market Position 05:23 Apple Watch and Health Ecosystem 12:58 Siri and Voice Interface Challenges 23:17 Apple's Vision for AI and Machine Learning 31:38 Apple's Strategic Integration of GPT and Siri 35:16 The Apple Ecosystem and User Experience 39:25 The Future of Apple Intelligence and Hardware 47:19 Apple's Approach to AI and Competitor Comparison 58:32 Advice for AI Startups in the Apple Ecosystem Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons from this episode at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/ Real-Time Feedback: Apple's WWDC 2024 w/ Aaron White & Fareed Mosavat

In this Real-Time Feedback Episode, Fareed Mosavat and AI thought-leader Aaron White unpack Apple's strategic moves announced during WWDC, focusing on their approach to AI, their hardware ecosystem, and their long-term vision. We analyze Apple's iterative process, their integration of machine learning and AI, the implications of Apple intelligence, and the unmet potential of the Apple Vision Pro. We also revisited how Apple stacks up against its competitors, contrasting its strategies with those of Google and Microsoft. There's a lot to unpack. We hope you enjoy!


Show Notes: 

Reforge has just launched a brand new AI product, the Reforge Extension, now in public beta. Ever wish you could get expert feedback from leaders like Fareed, Brian Balfour, Andrew Chen, and Elena Verna while working on your documents? Now you can!

Next week, we're excited for ref:AI, a full-day virtual conference delving into all things AI, featuring a special episode of Unsolicited Feedback with the legendary Andrew Chen. Secure your spot now as spaces are limited. Register here today.


Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons from this episode at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/


00:00 Introduction 

00:40 Apple's Strategy and Market Position

05:23 Apple Watch and Health Ecosystem

12:58 Siri and Voice Interface Challenges

23:17 Apple's Vision for AI and Machine Learning

31:38 Apple's Strategic Integration of GPT and Siri

35:16 The Apple Ecosystem and User Experience

39:25 The Future of Apple Intelligence and Hardware

47:19 Apple's Approach to AI and Competitor Comparison

58:32 Advice for AI Startups in the Apple Ecosystem


Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons from this episode at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/

]]> 3919 The Future of AI in Marketing, Growth & Content: Season 2 Finale (Part 2) w/ Brian Balfour, Ravi Mehta, Joff Redfern, and Fareed Mosavat https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/s2ep15-deepdive?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast&utm_content=unsolicited_feedback_s2ep15-deepdive The Future of AI in Marketing, Growth & Content: Season 2 Finale (Part 2) w/ Brian Balfour, Ravi Mehta, Joff Redfern, and Fareed Mosavat In part two of the Unsolicited Feedback Season 2 Finale, Brian Balfour, Joff Redfern, Ravi Mehta, and Fareed Mosavat return to discuss the challenges associated with marketing in the face of declining search trends. They also explore the growing significance of content licensing deals and contemplate the future as AI models become commoditized and our interactions with them (and expectations of them) evolve. Show Notes:  Fareed mentioned that Reforge has just launched a brand new AI product, the Reforge Extension, now in public beta. Ever wish you could get expert feedback from leaders like Fareed, Brian Balfour, Andrew Chen, and Elena Verna while working on your documents? Now you can! He also mentioned our free AI festival, ref:AI, a full-day virtual conference delving into all things AI, featuring a special episode of Unsolicited Feedback with the legendary Andrew Chen. Secure your spot now as spaces are limited. Register here today. And, last but not least, Rupa Chaturvedi & Polly Allen (renowned industry experts with expertise in Generative AI from Amazon’s Alexa, Google and Uber) are teaching Generative AI Products: How to get from Idea to MVP for the 3rd time starting on June 14. It's a 3-week course designed to get you started on your journey of leading AI initiatives and projects that involve Generative AI. Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons from this episode at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/ 00:00 Season Finale Introduction (Part 2) 02:20 Decline of the S-Curve 07:10 SEO Unknowns 11:15 Modality Changes 13:05 Trouble Monetizing Traffic 14:15 Confusion Around Copyright Law 16:05 Licensing Content & Revenue Issues 17:30 LLMs In The Gray Area 19:08 Content As Supply for Generative Models 22:17 Hot Takes 22:40 AI Value Is Not In Foundational Models 24:42 AI Chatbots Are A Phase 27:56 What We Thought AI Would Be Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons from this episode at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/ Thu, 06 Jun 2024 09:30:00 -0000 The Future of AI in Marketing, Growth & Content full 2 15 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat Decreasing Search Engine Clicks, Trust Shift, Paid Channel Pressures, Content Licensing, Commoditizing AI Models The Future of AI in Marketing, Growth & Content: Season 2 Finale (Part 2) w/ Brian Balfour, Ravi Mehta, Joff Redfern, and Fareed Mosavat In part two of the Unsolicited Feedback Season 2 Finale, Brian Balfour, Joff Redfern, Ravi Mehta, and Fareed Mosavat return to discuss the challenges associated with marketing in the face of declining search trends. They also explore the growing significance of content licensing deals and contemplate the future as AI models become commoditized and our interactions with them (and expectations of them) evolve. Show Notes:  Fareed mentioned that Reforge has just launched a brand new AI product, the Reforge Extension, now in public beta. Ever wish you could get expert feedback from leaders like Fareed, Brian Balfour, Andrew Chen, and Elena Verna while working on your documents? Now you can! He also mentioned our free AI festival, ref:AI, a full-day virtual conference delving into all things AI, featuring a special episode of Unsolicited Feedback with the legendary Andrew Chen. Secure your spot now as spaces are limited. Register here today. And, last but not least, Rupa Chaturvedi & Polly Allen (renowned industry experts with expertise in Generative AI from Amazon’s Alexa, Google and Uber) are teaching Generative AI Products: How to get from Idea to MVP for the 3rd time starting on June 14. It's a 3-week course designed to get you started on your journey of leading AI initiatives and projects that involve Generative AI. Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons from this episode at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/ 00:00 Season Finale Introduction (Part 2) 02:20 Decline of the S-Curve 07:10 SEO Unknowns 11:15 Modality Changes 13:05 Trouble Monetizing Traffic 14:15 Confusion Around Copyright Law 16:05 Licensing Content & Revenue Issues 17:30 LLMs In The Gray Area 19:08 Content As Supply for Generative Models 22:17 Hot Takes 22:40 AI Value Is Not In Foundational Models 24:42 AI Chatbots Are A Phase 27:56 What We Thought AI Would Be Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons from this episode at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/ The Future of AI in Marketing, Growth & Content: Season 2 Finale (Part 2) w/ Brian Balfour, Ravi Mehta, Joff Redfern, and Fareed Mosavat

In part two of the Unsolicited Feedback Season 2 Finale, Brian Balfour, Joff Redfern, Ravi Mehta, and Fareed Mosavat return to discuss the challenges associated with marketing in the face of declining search trends. They also explore the growing significance of content licensing deals and contemplate the future as AI models become commoditized and our interactions with them (and expectations of them) evolve.


Show Notes: 

Fareed mentioned that Reforge has just launched a brand new AI product, the Reforge Extension, now in public beta. Ever wish you could get expert feedback from leaders like Fareed, Brian Balfour, Andrew Chen, and Elena Verna while working on your documents? Now you can!

He also mentioned our free AI festival, ref:AI, a full-day virtual conference delving into all things AI, featuring a special episode of Unsolicited Feedback with the legendary Andrew Chen. Secure your spot now as spaces are limited. Register here today.

And, last but not least, Rupa Chaturvedi & Polly Allen (renowned industry experts with expertise in Generative AI from Amazon’s Alexa, Google and Uber) are teaching Generative AI Products: How to get from Idea to MVP for the 3rd time starting on June 14. It's a 3-week course designed to get you started on your journey of leading AI initiatives and projects that involve Generative AI.


Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons from this episode at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/


00:00 Season Finale Introduction (Part 2)

02:20 Decline of the S-Curve

07:10 SEO Unknowns

11:15 Modality Changes

13:05 Trouble Monetizing Traffic

14:15 Confusion Around Copyright Law

16:05 Licensing Content & Revenue Issues

17:30 LLMs In The Gray Area

19:08 Content As Supply for Generative Models

22:17 Hot Takes

22:40 AI Value Is Not In Foundational Models

24:42 AI Chatbots Are A Phase

27:56 What We Thought AI Would Be


Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons from this episode at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/

]]> 1886 yes Key Takeaways from H1 2024 (Part 1) w/ Brian Balfour, Ravi Mehta, Joff Redfern, and Fareed Mosavat https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/s2ep15-riff?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast&utm_content=unsolicited_feedback_s2ep15-riff Key Takeaways from H1 2024: Reflecting on Hardware, Unstructured Data, and the Future of Product Management In the season 2 finale of 'Unsolicited Feedback,' co-hosts Brian Balfour, Ravi Mehta, and Joff Redfern join Fareed Mosavat to reflect on the most compelling topics of the season. They start with discussions on how trends diverge between hardware and software markets, and the distinctions between luxury and premium products. The episode takes a deep dive into AI's role in revolutionizing unstructured data and its far-reaching effects on product management. Touching on methodology changes, the hosts contemplate how AI might transform the software development life cycle and what it means for the future roles of product managers, designers, and engineers, giving some Unsolicited Feedback to our friend Lenny Rachitsky along the way. Show Notes: Fareed mentioned that Reforge has just launched a brand new AI product, the Reforge Extension, now in public beta. Ever wish you could get expert feedback from leaders like Fareed, Brian Balfour, Andrew Chen, and Elena Verna while working on your documents? Now you can! He also mentioned our free AI festival, ref:AI, a full-day virtual conference delving into all things AI, featuring a special episode of Unsolicited Feedback with the legendary Andrew Chen. Secure your spot now as spaces are limited. Register here today. And, last but not least, Rupa Chaturvedi & Polly Allen (renowned industry experts with expertise in Generative AI from Amazon’s Alexa, Google and Uber) are teaching Generative AI Products: How to get from Idea to MVP for the 3rd time starting on June 14. It's a 3-week course designed to get you started on your journey of leading AI initiatives and projects that involve Generative AI. Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons from this episode at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/ 00:00 Season Finale Introduction 03:50 Luxury in Software and Physical Goods 18:16 AI's Impact on Product Management 30:29 AI vs Human Intuition in Strategy 38:11 The Role of AI in Communication and Empathy 41:19 Revolutionizing the Software Development Life Cycle 52:25 The Rise of Full-Stack Product Leaders Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons from this episode at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/ Tue, 04 Jun 2024 08:00:00 -0000 Key Takeaways from H1 2024 (Part 1) w/ Brian Balfour, Ravi Mehta, Joff Redfern, and Fareed Mosavat full 2 15 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat Key Takeaways from H1 2024: Reflecting on Hardware, Unstructured Data, and the Future of Product Management In the season 2 finale of 'Unsolicited Feedback,' co-hosts Brian Balfour, Ravi Mehta, and Joff Redfern join Fareed Mosavat to reflect on the most compelling topics of the season. They start with discussions on how trends diverge between hardware and software markets, and the distinctions between luxury and premium products. The episode takes a deep dive into AI's role in revolutionizing unstructured data and its far-reaching effects on product management. Touching on methodology changes, the hosts contemplate how AI might transform the software development life cycle and what it means for the future roles of product managers, designers, and engineers, giving some Unsolicited Feedback to our friend Lenny Rachitsky along the way. Show Notes: Fareed mentioned that Reforge has just launched a brand new AI product, the Reforge Extension, now in public beta. Ever wish you could get expert feedback from leaders like Fareed, Brian Balfour, Andrew Chen, and Elena Verna while working on your documents? Now you can! He also mentioned our free AI festival, ref:AI, a full-day virtual conference delving into all things AI, featuring a special episode of Unsolicited Feedback with the legendary Andrew Chen. Secure your spot now as spaces are limited. Register here today. And, last but not least, Rupa Chaturvedi & Polly Allen (renowned industry experts with expertise in Generative AI from Amazon’s Alexa, Google and Uber) are teaching Generative AI Products: How to get from Idea to MVP for the 3rd time starting on June 14. It's a 3-week course designed to get you started on your journey of leading AI initiatives and projects that involve Generative AI. Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons from this episode at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/ 00:00 Season Finale Introduction 03:50 Luxury in Software and Physical Goods 18:16 AI's Impact on Product Management 30:29 AI vs Human Intuition in Strategy 38:11 The Role of AI in Communication and Empathy 41:19 Revolutionizing the Software Development Life Cycle 52:25 The Rise of Full-Stack Product Leaders Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons from this episode at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/ Key Takeaways from H1 2024: Reflecting on Hardware, Unstructured Data, and the Future of Product Management

In the season 2 finale of 'Unsolicited Feedback,' co-hosts Brian Balfour, Ravi Mehta, and Joff Redfern join Fareed Mosavat to reflect on the most compelling topics of the season. They start with discussions on how trends diverge between hardware and software markets, and the distinctions between luxury and premium products. The episode takes a deep dive into AI's role in revolutionizing unstructured data and its far-reaching effects on product management. Touching on methodology changes, the hosts contemplate how AI might transform the software development life cycle and what it means for the future roles of product managers, designers, and engineers, giving some Unsolicited Feedback to our friend Lenny Rachitsky along the way.

Show Notes:

Fareed mentioned that Reforge has just launched a brand new AI product, the Reforge Extension, now in public beta. Ever wish you could get expert feedback from leaders like Fareed, Brian Balfour, Andrew Chen, and Elena Verna while working on your documents? Now you can!

He also mentioned our free AI festival, ref:AI, a full-day virtual conference delving into all things AI, featuring a special episode of Unsolicited Feedback with the legendary Andrew Chen. Secure your spot now as spaces are limited. Register here today.

And, last but not least, Rupa Chaturvedi & Polly Allen (renowned industry experts with expertise in Generative AI from Amazon’s Alexa, Google and Uber) are teaching Generative AI Products: How to get from Idea to MVP for the 3rd time starting on June 14. It's a 3-week course designed to get you started on your journey of leading AI initiatives and projects that involve Generative AI.


Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons from this episode at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/


00:00 Season Finale Introduction

03:50 Luxury in Software and Physical Goods

18:16 AI's Impact on Product Management

30:29 AI vs Human Intuition in Strategy

38:11 The Role of AI in Communication and Empathy

41:19 Revolutionizing the Software Development Life Cycle

52:25 The Rise of Full-Stack Product Leaders


Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons from this episode at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/


]]> 3894 yes Microsoft’s Game-Changing Releases: Is Windows Poised to Dominate the AI Era? w/ Kurt Schrader https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/s2ep14-deepdive?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast&utm_content=unsolicited_feedback_s2ep14-deepdive Microsoft’s Game-Changing Releases: Is Windows Poised to Dominate the AI Era? w/ Kurt Schrader In this episode of 'Unsolicited Feedback,' host Fareed Mosavat and guest Kurt Schrader, CEO and founder of Shortcut, dive into Microsoft's latest AI announcements, including the Copilot+ PC initiative and Windows Recall. We explore the potential impact of these innovations on the consumer market and reflect on how Apple should respond at the upcoming WWDC. We also debate the strategic strengths and weaknesses of both tech giants in the evolving AI landscape.  Before we dive in, Fareed mentioned in the podcast that Reforge has just launched a brand new AI product, the Reforge Extension, now in public beta. Ever wish you could get expert feedback from leaders like Fareed, Brian Balfour, Andrew Chen, and Elena Verna while working on your documents? Now you can! Install it for free today and elevate your work with Reforge experts by your side. Join us for refAI, a full-day virtual conference delving into all things AI, featuring a special episode of Unsolicited Feedback with the legendary Andrew Chen. Secure your spot now as spaces are limited. Register here today. Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons from this episode at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/ 00:00 Introduction 01:11 Microsoft's Big AI Announcements 04:46 Microsoft's AI-Powered Future 07:00 Copilot Plus PCs: A Full Stack Experience 17:59 Windows Recall: A Game Changer? 21:06 The Future of AI and Privacy 25:41 Speculations on Apple's Upcoming Surprises 27:34 Microsoft's Strategic Moves and Apple's Response 29:41 Apple's Potential AI and Voice Integration 31:30 The Developer Ecosystem: Microsoft vs. Apple 35:45 Hopes and Predictions for WWDC  Thu, 30 May 2024 08:00:00 -0000 Microsoft’s Game-Changing Releases: Is Windows Poised to Dominate the AI Era? w/ Kurt Schrader full 2 14 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat Microsoft’s Game-Changing Releases: Is Windows Poised to Dominate the AI Era? w/ Kurt Schrader In this episode of 'Unsolicited Feedback,' host Fareed Mosavat and guest Kurt Schrader, CEO and founder of Shortcut, dive into Microsoft's latest AI announcements, including the Copilot+ PC initiative and Windows Recall. We explore the potential impact of these innovations on the consumer market and reflect on how Apple should respond at the upcoming WWDC. We also debate the strategic strengths and weaknesses of both tech giants in the evolving AI landscape.  Before we dive in, Fareed mentioned in the podcast that Reforge has just launched a brand new AI product, the Reforge Extension, now in public beta. Ever wish you could get expert feedback from leaders like Fareed, Brian Balfour, Andrew Chen, and Elena Verna while working on your documents? Now you can! Install it for free today and elevate your work with Reforge experts by your side. Join us for refAI, a full-day virtual conference delving into all things AI, featuring a special episode of Unsolicited Feedback with the legendary Andrew Chen. Secure your spot now as spaces are limited. Register here today. Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons from this episode at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/ 00:00 Introduction 01:11 Microsoft's Big AI Announcements 04:46 Microsoft's AI-Powered Future 07:00 Copilot Plus PCs: A Full Stack Experience 17:59 Windows Recall: A Game Changer? 21:06 The Future of AI and Privacy 25:41 Speculations on Apple's Upcoming Surprises 27:34 Microsoft's Strategic Moves and Apple's Response 29:41 Apple's Potential AI and Voice Integration 31:30 The Developer Ecosystem: Microsoft vs. Apple 35:45 Hopes and Predictions for WWDC  Microsoft’s Game-Changing Releases: Is Windows Poised to Dominate the AI Era? w/ Kurt Schrader

In this episode of 'Unsolicited Feedback,' host Fareed Mosavat and guest Kurt Schrader, CEO and founder of Shortcut, dive into Microsoft's latest AI announcements, including the Copilot+ PC initiative and Windows Recall. We explore the potential impact of these innovations on the consumer market and reflect on how Apple should respond at the upcoming WWDC. We also debate the strategic strengths and weaknesses of both tech giants in the evolving AI landscape. 

Before we dive in, Fareed mentioned in the podcast that Reforge has just launched a brand new AI product, the Reforge Extension, now in public beta. Ever wish you could get expert feedback from leaders like Fareed, Brian Balfour, Andrew Chen, and Elena Verna while working on your documents? Now you can!

Install it for free today and elevate your work with Reforge experts by your side.

Join us for refAI, a full-day virtual conference delving into all things AI, featuring a special episode of Unsolicited Feedback with the legendary Andrew Chen. Secure your spot now as spaces are limited. Register here today.

Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons from this episode at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/

00:00 Introduction

01:11 Microsoft's Big AI Announcements

04:46 Microsoft's AI-Powered Future

07:00 Copilot Plus PCs: A Full Stack Experience

17:59 Windows Recall: A Game Changer?

21:06 The Future of AI and Privacy

25:41 Speculations on Apple's Upcoming Surprises

27:34 Microsoft's Strategic Moves and Apple's Response

29:41 Apple's Potential AI and Voice Integration

31:30 The Developer Ecosystem: Microsoft vs. Apple

35:45 Hopes and Predictions for WWDC 

]]> 2731 yes Sonos' Redesign Debacle: How to Avoid Common Pitfalls in Product Upgrades w/ Kurt Schrader https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/s2ep14-riff?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast&utm_content=unsolicited_feedback_s2ep14-riff Sonos' Redesign Debacle: How to Avoid Common Pitfalls in Product Upgrades w/ Kurt Schrader Join host Fareed Mosavat on 'Unsolicited Feedback' as he delves into the latest Sonos app controversy with guest Kurt Schrader, CEO and founder of Shortcut, a platform that helps product and engineering teams unify to build collaboratively. This episode covers the major issues faced by Sonos power users, strategies for effective feature deprecation, the risks of big product redesigns, and how to manage user feedback and trust. Additionally, the episode touches on strategic pre-mortems, real-world scenarios from Slack and Shortcut, and insights into balancing innovation with user experience. Before we dive in, Fareed mentioned in the podcast that Reforge has just launched a brand new AI product, the Reforge Extension, now in public beta. Ever wish you could get expert feedback from leaders like Fareed, Brian Balfour, Andrew Chen, and Elena Verna while working on your documents? Now you can! Install it for free today and elevate your work with Reforge experts by your side. Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons from this episode at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/ 00:00 Introduction 01:44 Diving Into the Sonos App Update Controversy 05:16 The Challenges of Redesigning with Power Users in Mind 15:49 Learning from Slack's IRC Gateway Deprecation 18:26 Strategies for Managing Feature Deprecation and User Transition 24:31 Navigating the Challenges of Product Redesigns 26:18 Evaluating Redesign Feedback: Timing and Approach 28:50 The Pre-Mortem Strategy: Anticipating User Feedback 34:00 The Lock-In Factor: Navigating Customer Loyalty and Alternatives 37:33 Innovating in a Market Dominated by Incumbents Tue, 28 May 2024 07:24:48 -0000 Sonos' Redesign Debacle: How to Avoid Common Pitfalls in Product Upgrades w/ Kurt Schrader full 2 14 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat Sonos' Redesign Debacle: How to Avoid Common Pitfalls in Product Upgrades w/ Kurt Schrader Join host Fareed Mosavat on 'Unsolicited Feedback' as he delves into the latest Sonos app controversy with guest Kurt Schrader, CEO and founder of Shortcut, a platform that helps product and engineering teams unify to build collaboratively. This episode covers the major issues faced by Sonos power users, strategies for effective feature deprecation, the risks of big product redesigns, and how to manage user feedback and trust. Additionally, the episode touches on strategic pre-mortems, real-world scenarios from Slack and Shortcut, and insights into balancing innovation with user experience. Before we dive in, Fareed mentioned in the podcast that Reforge has just launched a brand new AI product, the Reforge Extension, now in public beta. Ever wish you could get expert feedback from leaders like Fareed, Brian Balfour, Andrew Chen, and Elena Verna while working on your documents? Now you can! Install it for free today and elevate your work with Reforge experts by your side. Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons from this episode at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/ 00:00 Introduction 01:44 Diving Into the Sonos App Update Controversy 05:16 The Challenges of Redesigning with Power Users in Mind 15:49 Learning from Slack's IRC Gateway Deprecation 18:26 Strategies for Managing Feature Deprecation and User Transition 24:31 Navigating the Challenges of Product Redesigns 26:18 Evaluating Redesign Feedback: Timing and Approach 28:50 The Pre-Mortem Strategy: Anticipating User Feedback 34:00 The Lock-In Factor: Navigating Customer Loyalty and Alternatives 37:33 Innovating in a Market Dominated by Incumbents Sonos' Redesign Debacle: How to Avoid Common Pitfalls in Product Upgrades w/ Kurt Schrader

Join host Fareed Mosavat on 'Unsolicited Feedback' as he delves into the latest Sonos app controversy with guest Kurt Schrader, CEO and founder of Shortcut, a platform that helps product and engineering teams unify to build collaboratively. This episode covers the major issues faced by Sonos power users, strategies for effective feature deprecation, the risks of big product redesigns, and how to manage user feedback and trust. Additionally, the episode touches on strategic pre-mortems, real-world scenarios from Slack and Shortcut, and insights into balancing innovation with user experience.

Before we dive in, Fareed mentioned in the podcast that Reforge has just launched a brand new AI product, the Reforge Extension, now in public beta. Ever wish you could get expert feedback from leaders like Fareed, Brian Balfour, Andrew Chen, and Elena Verna while working on your documents? Now you can!

Install it for free today and elevate your work with Reforge experts by your side.

Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons from this episode at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/

00:00 Introduction

01:44 Diving Into the Sonos App Update Controversy

05:16 The Challenges of Redesigning with Power Users in Mind

15:49 Learning from Slack's IRC Gateway Deprecation

18:26 Strategies for Managing Feature Deprecation and User Transition

24:31 Navigating the Challenges of Product Redesigns

26:18 Evaluating Redesign Feedback: Timing and Approach

28:50 The Pre-Mortem Strategy: Anticipating User Feedback

34:00 The Lock-In Factor: Navigating Customer Loyalty and Alternatives

37:33 Innovating in a Market Dominated by Incumbents

]]> 2769 yes Evaluating AI Models, Unlocking Unstructured Data, and Achieving Reliability w/ Ben Kus https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/s2ep13-deepdive?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast&utm_content=unsolicited_feedback_s2ep13-deepdive Evaluating AI Models, Unlocking Unstructured Data, and Achieving Reliability w/ Ben Kus Today on "Unsolicited Feedback," Fareed Mosavat dives deep into the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence with tech expert and Box CTO, Ben Kus. As AI continues to reshape industries, understanding its core mechanisms and potential applications has never been more critical. Ben sheds light on how AI can enhance productivity and decision-making within organizations while also sharing technical strategies he’s implemented to ensure reliability for Box’s enterprise customers. Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/ 00:00 Introduction 02:19 Rapid Fire Advice for AI Product and Technology Teams 05:25 Understanding and Navigating the World of AI Models 08:21 The Challenges of AI Change Management and Model Selection 14:29 Evaluating AI Quality and Performance in the Enterprise 25:23 Unstructured Data: The Next Frontier for AI 29:15 The Future of AI in Structuring Unstructured Data 43:55 Exploring the Potential of AI Agents and User Experience Thank you for listening to Unsolicited Feedback! Don’t forget to hit subscribe on the podcast network of your choice: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/id1706701340 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7FzVEIBamWnExyJpJ2LCwF And sign up for our mailing list at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/ If you love this show, please leave us a 5-Star Review and tell a friend about the podcast! Thu, 23 May 2024 07:15:00 -0000 Evaluating AI Models, Unlocking Unstructured Data, and Achieving Reliability w/ Ben Kus full 2 13 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat Evaluating AI Models, Unlocking Unstructured Data, and Achieving Reliability w/ Ben Kus Today on "Unsolicited Feedback," Fareed Mosavat dives deep into the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence with tech expert and Box CTO, Ben Kus. As AI continues to reshape industries, understanding its core mechanisms and potential applications has never been more critical. Ben sheds light on how AI can enhance productivity and decision-making within organizations while also sharing technical strategies he’s implemented to ensure reliability for Box’s enterprise customers. Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/ 00:00 Introduction 02:19 Rapid Fire Advice for AI Product and Technology Teams 05:25 Understanding and Navigating the World of AI Models 08:21 The Challenges of AI Change Management and Model Selection 14:29 Evaluating AI Quality and Performance in the Enterprise 25:23 Unstructured Data: The Next Frontier for AI 29:15 The Future of AI in Structuring Unstructured Data 43:55 Exploring the Potential of AI Agents and User Experience Thank you for listening to Unsolicited Feedback! Don’t forget to hit subscribe on the podcast network of your choice: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/id1706701340 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7FzVEIBamWnExyJpJ2LCwF And sign up for our mailing list at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/ If you love this show, please leave us a 5-Star Review and tell a friend about the podcast! Evaluating AI Models, Unlocking Unstructured Data, and Achieving Reliability w/ Ben Kus

Today on "Unsolicited Feedback," Fareed Mosavat dives deep into the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence with tech expert and Box CTO, Ben Kus. As AI continues to reshape industries, understanding its core mechanisms and potential applications has never been more critical. Ben sheds light on how AI can enhance productivity and decision-making within organizations while also sharing technical strategies he’s implemented to ensure reliability for Box’s enterprise customers.


Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/


00:00 Introduction

02:19 Rapid Fire Advice for AI Product and Technology Teams

05:25 Understanding and Navigating the World of AI Models

08:21 The Challenges of AI Change Management and Model Selection

14:29 Evaluating AI Quality and Performance in the Enterprise

25:23 Unstructured Data: The Next Frontier for AI

29:15 The Future of AI in Structuring Unstructured Data

43:55 Exploring the Potential of AI Agents and User Experience


Thank you for listening to Unsolicited Feedback!


Don’t forget to hit subscribe on the podcast network of your choice:

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/id1706701340

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7FzVEIBamWnExyJpJ2LCwF


And sign up for our mailing list at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/


If you love this show, please leave us a 5-Star Review and tell a friend about the podcast!

]]> 3155 yes Box CTO's Approach to Enterprise AI Tools & Insights from Google and OpenAI's Latest Releases w/ Ben Kus https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/s2ep13-riff?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast&utm_content=unsolicited_feedback_s2ep13-riff Box CTO's Approach to Enterprise AI Tools & Insights from Google and OpenAI's Latest Releases w/ Ben Kus In the latest episode of "Unsolicited Feedback," Fareed Mosavat chats with Ben Kus, CTO of Box, to delve into the dynamic world of AI advancements and their implications for technology companies and users alike. This episode offers rich insights into how multimodal AI is transforming the tech landscape, driven by recent announcements from OpenAI and Google. Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/ 00:00 Introduction 02:07 Ben Kus: From Technologist to CTO of Box 04:08 AI Week Highlights: OpenAI and Google's Diverse Approaches 06:21 The Real-Time Magic of AI Demonstrations 11:43 OpenAI's Strategy: A Broad Yet Focused Approach 16:30 Google's AI Integration Strategy 19:49 Exploring the Potential of AI in Everyday Tools 23:39 The Enterprise Side of AI: Tailoring Technology for Business 32:39 Navigating Enterprise Needs and AI Innovation: A Case Study with Box  Tue, 21 May 2024 09:00:00 -0000 Box CTO's Approach to Enterprise AI Tools & Insights from Google and OpenAI's Latest Releases w/ Ben Kus full 2 13 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat Box CTO's Approach to Enterprise AI Tools & Insights from Google and OpenAI's Latest Releases w/ Ben Kus In the latest episode of "Unsolicited Feedback," Fareed Mosavat chats with Ben Kus, CTO of Box, to delve into the dynamic world of AI advancements and their implications for technology companies and users alike. This episode offers rich insights into how multimodal AI is transforming the tech landscape, driven by recent announcements from OpenAI and Google. Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/ 00:00 Introduction 02:07 Ben Kus: From Technologist to CTO of Box 04:08 AI Week Highlights: OpenAI and Google's Diverse Approaches 06:21 The Real-Time Magic of AI Demonstrations 11:43 OpenAI's Strategy: A Broad Yet Focused Approach 16:30 Google's AI Integration Strategy 19:49 Exploring the Potential of AI in Everyday Tools 23:39 The Enterprise Side of AI: Tailoring Technology for Business 32:39 Navigating Enterprise Needs and AI Innovation: A Case Study with Box  Box CTO's Approach to Enterprise AI Tools & Insights from Google and OpenAI's Latest Releases w/ Ben Kus

In the latest episode of "Unsolicited Feedback," Fareed Mosavat chats with Ben Kus, CTO of Box, to delve into the dynamic world of AI advancements and their implications for technology companies and users alike. This episode offers rich insights into how multimodal AI is transforming the tech landscape, driven by recent announcements from OpenAI and Google.


Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/


00:00 Introduction

02:07 Ben Kus: From Technologist to CTO of Box

04:08 AI Week Highlights: OpenAI and Google's Diverse Approaches

06:21 The Real-Time Magic of AI Demonstrations

11:43 OpenAI's Strategy: A Broad Yet Focused Approach

16:30 Google's AI Integration Strategy

19:49 Exploring the Potential of AI in Everyday Tools

23:39 The Enterprise Side of AI: Tailoring Technology for Business

32:39 Navigating Enterprise Needs and AI Innovation: A Case Study with Box 

]]> 2517 yes MVPs are Officially Dead: Here's How to Launch and Find Market Fit in 2024 w/ Sachin Rekhi https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/s2ep12-deepdive?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast&utm_content=unsolicited_feedback_s2ep12-deepdive MVPs are Officially Dead: Here's How to Launch and Find Market Fit in 2024 w/ Sachin Rekhi Welcome back to "Unsolicited Feedback," where Product-Market Fit (PMF) expert, Sachin Rekhi joins Fareed Mosavat to discuss the evolving thinking on Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) and their impact on achieving PMF in competitive markets. We discuss Linear, Dropbox, and Airbnb, and reflect on this post by Linear co-founder, Tuomas Artman. Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/ 00:00 From MVP to Magical: Rethinking Product Launch Strategy 06:46 Narrowing the Market: A Key to Success 07:34 The Dropbox Story: A Lesson in Product Polish and Narrow Focus 14:00 The Importance of Craft, Taste, and Target Audience in Product Development 18:25 Linear's Approach: Strong Convictions and Narrow Focus 24:01 The Power of Closed Betas and Waitlists 27:48 Case Study: LinkedIn Sales Navigator's Journey from Zero to One 31:20 Validating Product Market Fit Before Building 36:06 Narrowing the Target Audience for Precise Market Fit 39:04 Key Takeaways on Product Development and Market Fit Thu, 16 May 2024 09:00:00 -0000 MVPs are Officially Dead: Here's How to Launch and Find Market Fit in 2024 w/ Sachin Rekhi full 2 12 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat MVPs are Officially Dead: Here's How to Launch and Find Market Fit in 2024 w/ Sachin Rekhi Welcome back to "Unsolicited Feedback," where Product-Market Fit (PMF) expert, Sachin Rekhi joins Fareed Mosavat to discuss the evolving thinking on Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) and their impact on achieving PMF in competitive markets. We discuss Linear, Dropbox, and Airbnb, and reflect on this post by Linear co-founder, Tuomas Artman. Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/ 00:00 From MVP to Magical: Rethinking Product Launch Strategy 06:46 Narrowing the Market: A Key to Success 07:34 The Dropbox Story: A Lesson in Product Polish and Narrow Focus 14:00 The Importance of Craft, Taste, and Target Audience in Product Development 18:25 Linear's Approach: Strong Convictions and Narrow Focus 24:01 The Power of Closed Betas and Waitlists 27:48 Case Study: LinkedIn Sales Navigator's Journey from Zero to One 31:20 Validating Product Market Fit Before Building 36:06 Narrowing the Target Audience for Precise Market Fit 39:04 Key Takeaways on Product Development and Market Fit MVPs are Officially Dead: Here's How to Launch and Find Market Fit in 2024 w/ Sachin Rekhi


Welcome back to "Unsolicited Feedback," where Product-Market Fit (PMF) expert, Sachin Rekhi joins Fareed Mosavat to discuss the evolving thinking on Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) and their impact on achieving PMF in competitive markets. We discuss Linear, Dropbox, and Airbnb, and reflect on this post by Linear co-founder, Tuomas Artman.


Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/


00:00 From MVP to Magical: Rethinking Product Launch Strategy

06:46 Narrowing the Market: A Key to Success

07:34 The Dropbox Story: A Lesson in Product Polish and Narrow Focus

14:00 The Importance of Craft, Taste, and Target Audience in Product Development

18:25 Linear's Approach: Strong Convictions and Narrow Focus

24:01 The Power of Closed Betas and Waitlists

27:48 Case Study: LinkedIn Sales Navigator's Journey from Zero to One

31:20 Validating Product Market Fit Before Building

36:06 Narrowing the Target Audience for Precise Market Fit

39:04 Key Takeaways on Product Development and Market Fit

]]> 2524 yes Andrew Chen's Dopamine Culture Post & Its Impact on Product and Marketing Strategy w/ Sachin Rekhi https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/s2ep12-riff?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast&utm_content=unsolicited_feedback_s2ep12-riff This week on "Unsolicited Feedback," Fareed Mosavat welcomed Sachin Rekhi to explore the shifting landscape of media, focusing on the evolution from traditional, slower media forms to what's increasingly being termed "dopamine culture." We analyze how this change is not only profoundly affecting how we consume content but also how we should build and launch products. Sachin has created multiple Reforge courses, is the founder & CEO of NoteJoy, and the creator of LinkedIn Sales Navigator, a now $1B ARR business. And, he has a new video-native podcast you can watch on YouTube! Check out a full summary at UnsolicitedFeedback.co! We're back Thursday to discuss finding Product-Market Fit without MVPs! Tue, 14 May 2024 09:00:00 -0000 Andrew Chen's Dopamine Culture Post & Its Impact on Product and Marketing Strategy w/ Sachin Rekhi full 2 12 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat This week on "Unsolicited Feedback," Fareed Mosavat welcomed Sachin Rekhi to explore the shifting landscape of media, focusing on the evolution from traditional, slower media forms to what's increasingly being termed "dopamine culture." We analyze how this change is not only profoundly affecting how we consume content but also how we should build and launch products. Sachin has created multiple Reforge courses, is the founder & CEO of NoteJoy, and the creator of LinkedIn Sales Navigator, a now $1B ARR business. And, he has a new video-native podcast you can watch on YouTube! Check out a full summary at UnsolicitedFeedback.co! We're back Thursday to discuss finding Product-Market Fit without MVPs! This week on "Unsolicited Feedback," Fareed Mosavat welcomed Sachin Rekhi to explore the shifting landscape of media, focusing on the evolution from traditional, slower media forms to what's increasingly being termed "dopamine culture." We analyze how this change is not only profoundly affecting how we consume content but also how we should build and launch products.

Sachin has created multiple Reforge courses, is the founder & CEO of NoteJoy, and the creator of LinkedIn Sales Navigator, a now $1B ARR business. And, he has a new video-native podcast you can watch on YouTube!

Check out a full summary at UnsolicitedFeedback.co!

We're back Thursday to discuss finding Product-Market Fit without MVPs!

]]> 3115 yes Revolutionizing Productivity: Feedback on Loom, Linear, and Even LaunchDarkly w/ Claire Vo https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/s2ep11-deepdive?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast&utm_content=unsolicited_feedback_s2ep11-deepdive Revolutionizing Productivity: Feedback on Loom, Linear, and Even LaunchDarkly w/ Claire Vo In part two of our "Unsolicited Feedback," host Fareed Mosavat and our esteemed guest, Claire Vo (CPO at LaunchDarkly, Founder of ChatPRD), explore significant advancements in AI and collaboration tools, with a spotlight on Loom and Linear's latest innovations. The episode delves into how these tools are not only enhancing productivity but also potentially reshaping communication norms in professional environments. Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/ 00:00 Introduction 02:17 Exploring Loom's Innovations and Atlassian Integration 06:57 The Future of Collaboration: Video, Audio, and AI 14:42 Loom's Role in Atlassian's Ecosystem and Future Directions 17:33 Linear's Approach to Enhancing Product Development 20:55 The Challenge of Integrating Docs and Tasks 30:41 The Power of Being Your Own Customer 35:47 Embracing New User Experience and Onboarding Thank you for listening to Unsolicited Feedback! Don’t forget to hit subscribe on the podcast network of your choice! And sign up for our mailing list at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/ Thu, 09 May 2024 09:00:00 -0000 Revolutionizing Productivity: Feedback on Loom, Linear, and Even LaunchDarkly w/ Claire Vo full 2 11 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat Revolutionizing Productivity: Feedback on Loom, Linear, and Even LaunchDarkly w/ Claire Vo In part two of our "Unsolicited Feedback," host Fareed Mosavat and our esteemed guest, Claire Vo (CPO at LaunchDarkly, Founder of ChatPRD), explore significant advancements in AI and collaboration tools, with a spotlight on Loom and Linear's latest innovations. The episode delves into how these tools are not only enhancing productivity but also potentially reshaping communication norms in professional environments. Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/ 00:00 Introduction 02:17 Exploring Loom's Innovations and Atlassian Integration 06:57 The Future of Collaboration: Video, Audio, and AI 14:42 Loom's Role in Atlassian's Ecosystem and Future Directions 17:33 Linear's Approach to Enhancing Product Development 20:55 The Challenge of Integrating Docs and Tasks 30:41 The Power of Being Your Own Customer 35:47 Embracing New User Experience and Onboarding Thank you for listening to Unsolicited Feedback! Don’t forget to hit subscribe on the podcast network of your choice! And sign up for our mailing list at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/ Revolutionizing Productivity: Feedback on Loom, Linear, and Even LaunchDarkly w/ Claire Vo


In part two of our "Unsolicited Feedback," host Fareed Mosavat and our esteemed guest, Claire Vo (CPO at LaunchDarkly, Founder of ChatPRD), explore significant advancements in AI and collaboration tools, with a spotlight on Loom and Linear's latest innovations. The episode delves into how these tools are not only enhancing productivity but also potentially reshaping communication norms in professional environments.


Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/


00:00 Introduction

02:17 Exploring Loom's Innovations and Atlassian Integration

06:57 The Future of Collaboration: Video, Audio, and AI

14:42 Loom's Role in Atlassian's Ecosystem and Future Directions

17:33 Linear's Approach to Enhancing Product Development

20:55 The Challenge of Integrating Docs and Tasks

30:41 The Power of Being Your Own Customer

35:47 Embracing New User Experience and Onboarding


Thank you for listening to Unsolicited Feedback!


Don’t forget to hit subscribe on the podcast network of your choice!

And sign up for our mailing list at ➡️ https://www.unsolicitedfeedback.co/

]]> 2287 yes Building ChatPRD and 🌶️ Takes on the Future of Product Management in the AI-Era w/ Claire Vo https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/s2ep11-riff?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast&utm_content=unsolicited_feedback_s2ep11-riff Building ChatPRD and 🌶️ Takes on the Future of Product Management in the AI-Era w/ Claire Vo In this week’s episode of "Unsolicited Feedback," we're excited to welcome back Claire Vo, CPO of LaunchDarkly and the founder of ChatPRD. As a repeat guest, Claire delves into the intricacies of building her AI tool, ChatPRD, and shares her incisive perspectives on the evolving roles in product management as AI reshapes the industry in 2024 and beyond. Check out a full summary of her hot takes at Unsolicitedfeedback.co! 00:00 Introduction 02:22 Rethinking the 'No' Mantra in Product Management 06:42 Leveraging ChatPRD for Career Growth and Efficiency 20:29 Navigating the Challenges of Building AI Products 26:50 The Accessibility of Software Engineering for PMs 31:01 The Impact of Low Friction Analytics on Deep Analysis 46:39 Efficiency and Organizational Design in Product Teams Tue, 07 May 2024 09:00:00 -0000 Building ChatPRD and 🌶️ Takes on the Future of Product Management in the AI-Era w/ Claire Vo full 2 11 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat Building ChatPRD and 🌶️ Takes on the Future of Product Management in the AI-Era w/ Claire Vo In this week’s episode of "Unsolicited Feedback," we're excited to welcome back Claire Vo, CPO of LaunchDarkly and the founder of ChatPRD. As a repeat guest, Claire delves into the intricacies of building her AI tool, ChatPRD, and shares her incisive perspectives on the evolving roles in product management as AI reshapes the industry in 2024 and beyond. Check out a full summary of her hot takes at Unsolicitedfeedback.co! 00:00 Introduction 02:22 Rethinking the 'No' Mantra in Product Management 06:42 Leveraging ChatPRD for Career Growth and Efficiency 20:29 Navigating the Challenges of Building AI Products 26:50 The Accessibility of Software Engineering for PMs 31:01 The Impact of Low Friction Analytics on Deep Analysis 46:39 Efficiency and Organizational Design in Product Teams Building ChatPRD and 🌶️ Takes on the Future of Product Management in the AI-Era w/ Claire Vo

In this week’s episode of "Unsolicited Feedback," we're excited to welcome back Claire Vo, CPO of LaunchDarkly and the founder of ChatPRD. As a repeat guest, Claire delves into the intricacies of building her AI tool, ChatPRD, and shares her incisive perspectives on the evolving roles in product management as AI reshapes the industry in 2024 and beyond.

Check out a full summary of her hot takes at Unsolicitedfeedback.co!


00:00 Introduction

02:22 Rethinking the 'No' Mantra in Product Management

06:42 Leveraging ChatPRD for Career Growth and Efficiency

20:29 Navigating the Challenges of Building AI Products

26:50 The Accessibility of Software Engineering for PMs

31:01 The Impact of Low Friction Analytics on Deep Analysis

46:39 Efficiency and Organizational Design in Product Teams

]]> 3221 yes Critiquing Disney's Strategic Moves & Bundling Choices; Navigating the Future of Streaming w/ Mariah Muscato https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/s2ep10-deepdive?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast&utm_content=unsolicited_feedback_s2ep10-deepdive Critiquing Disney's Strategic Moves & Bundling Choices; Navigating the Future of Streaming In this episode of 'Unsolicited Feedback,' host Fareed Mosavat and guest Mariah Muscato, a Director of Product at HubSpot, dive into a detailed discussion about Disney Plus, its bundle strategy, and the broader challenges facing streaming services. They explore Disney's transition from content creation to embracing technology, its battles with activist investors, and strategic decisions against the backdrop of evolving consumer expectations and the competitive landscape of streaming services. The conversation also touches upon the principle of the perfect bundle, Disney's potential shifts in strategy, the impact on and from platforms like YouTube, and broader discussions on the future of streaming content. Finally, the dialogue covers the pricing and packaging strategies of streaming, and speculates on the future direction of Disney Plus and its competitors. Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons at unsolicitedfeedback.co. Timestamps: 00:00 Welcome 01:00 The Evolution and Challenges of Disney's Streaming Strategy 02:27 The Superfan vs. Casual Fan Dilemma in Content Strategy 03:20 The Impact of Content Strategy on Subscriber Growth and Retention 06:59 Disney's Strategic Shift and the Role of Bundling 10:54 The Streaming Wars: A Battle for Content and Subscribers 19:00 The Future of Streaming: Consolidation, Content, and Consumer Choice 27:48 Disney Plus and the Challenge of Tech Transformation 30:41 The Challenges of Content Distribution and Monetization 39:49 YouTube and the Evolution of Content Consumption 50:24 The Streaming Wars: Predictions and Strategies for Survival Show Notes: ➡️ Shishir Mehrotra's Four Myths of Bundling ➡️ Disney's Original Bundling Strategy Thu, 02 May 2024 09:00:00 -0000 Critiquing Disney's Strategic Moves & Bundling Choices; Navigating the Future of Streaming w/ Mariah Muscato full 2 10 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat Critiquing Disney's Strategic Moves & Bundling Choices; Navigating the Future of Streaming In this episode of 'Unsolicited Feedback,' host Fareed Mosavat and guest Mariah Muscato, a Director of Product at HubSpot, dive into a detailed discussion about Disney Plus, its bundle strategy, and the broader challenges facing streaming services. They explore Disney's transition from content creation to embracing technology, its battles with activist investors, and strategic decisions against the backdrop of evolving consumer expectations and the competitive landscape of streaming services. The conversation also touches upon the principle of the perfect bundle, Disney's potential shifts in strategy, the impact on and from platforms like YouTube, and broader discussions on the future of streaming content. Finally, the dialogue covers the pricing and packaging strategies of streaming, and speculates on the future direction of Disney Plus and its competitors. Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons at unsolicitedfeedback.co. Timestamps: 00:00 Welcome 01:00 The Evolution and Challenges of Disney's Streaming Strategy 02:27 The Superfan vs. Casual Fan Dilemma in Content Strategy 03:20 The Impact of Content Strategy on Subscriber Growth and Retention 06:59 Disney's Strategic Shift and the Role of Bundling 10:54 The Streaming Wars: A Battle for Content and Subscribers 19:00 The Future of Streaming: Consolidation, Content, and Consumer Choice 27:48 Disney Plus and the Challenge of Tech Transformation 30:41 The Challenges of Content Distribution and Monetization 39:49 YouTube and the Evolution of Content Consumption 50:24 The Streaming Wars: Predictions and Strategies for Survival Show Notes: ➡️ Shishir Mehrotra's Four Myths of Bundling ➡️ Disney's Original Bundling Strategy Critiquing Disney's Strategic Moves & Bundling Choices; Navigating the Future of Streaming


In this episode of 'Unsolicited Feedback,' host Fareed Mosavat and guest Mariah Muscato, a Director of Product at HubSpot, dive into a detailed discussion about Disney Plus, its bundle strategy, and the broader challenges facing streaming services. They explore Disney's transition from content creation to embracing technology, its battles with activist investors, and strategic decisions against the backdrop of evolving consumer expectations and the competitive landscape of streaming services. The conversation also touches upon the principle of the perfect bundle, Disney's potential shifts in strategy, the impact on and from platforms like YouTube, and broader discussions on the future of streaming content. Finally, the dialogue covers the pricing and packaging strategies of streaming, and speculates on the future direction of Disney Plus and its competitors.


Check out a full summary of the takeaways and lessons at unsolicitedfeedback.co.


Timestamps:

00:00 Welcome

01:00 The Evolution and Challenges of Disney's Streaming Strategy

02:27 The Superfan vs. Casual Fan Dilemma in Content Strategy

03:20 The Impact of Content Strategy on Subscriber Growth and Retention

06:59 Disney's Strategic Shift and the Role of Bundling

10:54 The Streaming Wars: A Battle for Content and Subscribers

19:00 The Future of Streaming: Consolidation, Content, and Consumer Choice

27:48 Disney Plus and the Challenge of Tech Transformation

30:41 The Challenges of Content Distribution and Monetization

39:49 YouTube and the Evolution of Content Consumption

50:24 The Streaming Wars: Predictions and Strategies for Survival


Show Notes:

➡️ Shishir Mehrotra's Four Myths of Bundling

➡️ Disney's Original Bundling Strategy

]]> 3485 yes Tinder's New Safety Feature Delivers More Than Just Security w/ Mariah Muscato https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/s2ep10-riff?utm_id=unsolicited_feedback_s2ep10-riff&utm_medium=email&utm_source=podcast_page&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast Tinder's New Safety Feature Delivers More Than Just Security to the Legendary Swiping App 🎉 In this episode of 'Unsolicited Feedback', host Fareed Mosavat and guest Mariah Moscato (Director of Product, HubSpot) discuss the intricacies of dating apps, with a focus on Tinder's new safety feature, 'Share My Date'. This feature allows users to share their location and date details for safety purposes. They explore how it not only enhances user safety but could open Tinder to new user groups and potentially drive network effects. Mariah shares her personal journey of moving to Dublin, her experiences with dating apps, and insights into how dating behaviors are evolving, especially around ethical non-monogamy. They also touch on how dating apps like Tinder could evolve to include non-dating functionalities and improve user engagements.  Check out a full summary here, and stay tuned as our Deep Dive this week covers the magical world of Disney! Tue, 30 Apr 2024 09:00:00 -0000 Tinder's New Safety Feature Delivers More Than Just Security w/ Mariah Muscato full 2 10 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat Tinder's New Safety Feature Delivers More Than Just Security to the Legendary Swiping App 🎉 In this episode of 'Unsolicited Feedback', host Fareed Mosavat and guest Mariah Moscato (Director of Product, HubSpot) discuss the intricacies of dating apps, with a focus on Tinder's new safety feature, 'Share My Date'. This feature allows users to share their location and date details for safety purposes. They explore how it not only enhances user safety but could open Tinder to new user groups and potentially drive network effects. Mariah shares her personal journey of moving to Dublin, her experiences with dating apps, and insights into how dating behaviors are evolving, especially around ethical non-monogamy. They also touch on how dating apps like Tinder could evolve to include non-dating functionalities and improve user engagements.  Check out a full summary here, and stay tuned as our Deep Dive this week covers the magical world of Disney! Tinder's New Safety Feature Delivers More Than Just Security to the Legendary Swiping App 🎉

In this episode of 'Unsolicited Feedback', host Fareed Mosavat and guest Mariah Moscato (Director of Product, HubSpot) discuss the intricacies of dating apps, with a focus on Tinder's new safety feature, 'Share My Date'. This feature allows users to share their location and date details for safety purposes. They explore how it not only enhances user safety but could open Tinder to new user groups and potentially drive network effects. Mariah shares her personal journey of moving to Dublin, her experiences with dating apps, and insights into how dating behaviors are evolving, especially around ethical non-monogamy. They also touch on how dating apps like Tinder could evolve to include non-dating functionalities and improve user engagements. 

Check out a full summary here, and stay tuned as our Deep Dive this week covers the magical world of Disney!

]]> 1607 yes Feedback on Humane, Limitless, and AirChat: Positioning and Strategy Insights w/ Kieran Flanagan https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/s2ep9-deepdive?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast&utm_content=unsolicited_feedback_s2ep9-deepdive Feedback on Humane, Limitless, and AirChat: Positioning and Strategy Insights For Early Stage Companies In Part 2 of our conversation with Kieran Flanagan, CMO behind Zapier & HubSpot, we wanted to get back to our roots with some Unsolicited Feedback on the product launches of Humane AI, Limitless, and AirChat. Along the way, we uncovered a few key lessons for any early stage company navigating the complexities of market entry and product development. If you think we’re wrong about any of this, we hope you’ll tell us on LinkedIn! As always, a full summary is available at Unsolicitedfeedback.co! Thu, 25 Apr 2024 09:00:00 -0000 Feedback on Humane, Limitless, and AirChat: Positioning and Strategy Insights w/ Kieran Flanagan full 2 9 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat Feedback on Humane, Limitless, and AirChat: Positioning and Strategy Insights For Early Stage Companies In Part 2 of our conversation with Kieran Flanagan, CMO behind Zapier & HubSpot, we wanted to get back to our roots with some Unsolicited Feedback on the product launches of Humane AI, Limitless, and AirChat. Along the way, we uncovered a few key lessons for any early stage company navigating the complexities of market entry and product development. If you think we’re wrong about any of this, we hope you’ll tell us on LinkedIn! As always, a full summary is available at Unsolicitedfeedback.co! Feedback on Humane, Limitless, and AirChat: Positioning and Strategy Insights For Early Stage Companies

In Part 2 of our conversation with Kieran Flanagan, CMO behind Zapier & HubSpot, we wanted to get back to our roots with some Unsolicited Feedback on the product launches of Humane AI, Limitless, and AirChat. Along the way, we uncovered a few key lessons for any early stage company navigating the complexities of market entry and product development.

If you think we’re wrong about any of this, we hope you’ll tell us on LinkedIn!

As always, a full summary is available at Unsolicitedfeedback.co!

]]> 1608 yes The New AI Marketing Playbook Amid Google's Stumbles w/ Kieran Flanagan https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/s2ep9-riff?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast&utm_content=unsolicited_feedback_s2ep9-riff The New AI Marketing Playbook Amid Google's Stumbles  This week on Unsolicited Feedback, Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat welcomed Kieran Flanagan, and within 30 seconds of taping, Kieran dropped a 💣 on us! He’s leaving his role as CMO of Zapier and rejoining HubSpot to lead initiatives at the intersection of marketing and AI! Kieran is driven by the opportunity to define the future of marketing in an AI-driven world, and that naturally became our first topic. As Kieran prepares to dive back into HubSpot, Brian mentions that a lot of HubSpot’s success has been accelerated by its ability to conquer Google. So, naturally, we questioned what lies ahead for this behemoth amidst the rise of AI and what the implications of Google’s latest SEO decisions are, given the broad dependency of marketing strategies on Google's search capabilities. Fareed optimistically suggests that Google will adapt and continue to thrive. However, Kieran presents a compelling counterargument, starkly stating, "Google will not be fine." 🔥🔥🔥 After some spicy 🌶️ Unsolicited Feedback for Google, Kieran builds a "AI Marketing Playbook," a fascinating framework for navigating the new realities of an AI-driven marketing world. The initial four pillars are: Personalization PLG 2.0 Multimodal Focus Creator Partnerships Visit us at UnsolicitedFeedback.co for a full summary! Tue, 23 Apr 2024 09:00:00 -0000 The New AI Marketing Playbook Amid Google's Stumbles w/ Kieran Flanagan full 2 9 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat The New AI Marketing Playbook Amid Google's Stumbles  This week on Unsolicited Feedback, Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat welcomed Kieran Flanagan, and within 30 seconds of taping, Kieran dropped a 💣 on us! He’s leaving his role as CMO of Zapier and rejoining HubSpot to lead initiatives at the intersection of marketing and AI! Kieran is driven by the opportunity to define the future of marketing in an AI-driven world, and that naturally became our first topic. As Kieran prepares to dive back into HubSpot, Brian mentions that a lot of HubSpot’s success has been accelerated by its ability to conquer Google. So, naturally, we questioned what lies ahead for this behemoth amidst the rise of AI and what the implications of Google’s latest SEO decisions are, given the broad dependency of marketing strategies on Google's search capabilities. Fareed optimistically suggests that Google will adapt and continue to thrive. However, Kieran presents a compelling counterargument, starkly stating, "Google will not be fine." 🔥🔥🔥 After some spicy 🌶️ Unsolicited Feedback for Google, Kieran builds a "AI Marketing Playbook," a fascinating framework for navigating the new realities of an AI-driven marketing world. The initial four pillars are: Personalization PLG 2.0 Multimodal Focus Creator Partnerships Visit us at UnsolicitedFeedback.co for a full summary! The New AI Marketing Playbook Amid Google's Stumbles 

This week on Unsolicited Feedback, Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat welcomed Kieran Flanagan, and within 30 seconds of taping, Kieran dropped a 💣 on us! He’s leaving his role as CMO of Zapier and rejoining HubSpot to lead initiatives at the intersection of marketing and AI!

Kieran is driven by the opportunity to define the future of marketing in an AI-driven world, and that naturally became our first topic.

As Kieran prepares to dive back into HubSpot, Brian mentions that a lot of HubSpot’s success has been accelerated by its ability to conquer Google. So, naturally, we questioned what lies ahead for this behemoth amidst the rise of AI and what the implications of Google’s latest SEO decisions are, given the broad dependency of marketing strategies on Google's search capabilities.

Fareed optimistically suggests that Google will adapt and continue to thrive. However, Kieran presents a compelling counterargument, starkly stating, "Google will not be fine." 🔥🔥🔥

After some spicy 🌶️ Unsolicited Feedback for Google, Kieran builds a "AI Marketing Playbook," a fascinating framework for navigating the new realities of an AI-driven marketing world.

The initial four pillars are:

  1. Personalization
  2. PLG 2.0
  3. Multimodal Focus
  4. Creator Partnerships


Visit us at UnsolicitedFeedback.co for a full summary!

]]> 3421 yes Product Lessons from Netflix's "Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul" with Penelope Talbot-Kelly https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/s2ep8-deepdive?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast&utm_content=unsolicited_feedback_s2ep8-deepdive Product Lessons from Netflix's "Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul" with Penelope Talbot-Kelly In a fascinating episode of our podcast, Penelope Talbot-Kelly & Fareed Mosavat dove deep into the Netflix documentary "Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul." The discussion revealed critical insights that resonate far beyond the e-cigarette industry, touching on fundamental issues relevant to all tech companies. But first, Fareed and Penelope discuss the broader tech landscape, discussing trends such as AI, layoffs, and how these elements influence the current work culture. Penelope shared firsthand experiences and observations about the changing dynamics in recruitment and employee experiences, especially during times of economic downturns. The tech labor market discussion starts immediately, and the Big Vape / Juul analysis begins at 15:30. Join us at UnsolicitedFeedback.co for a full summary of the spiciest hottakes and most compelling lessons derived from the conversation! Thu, 18 Apr 2024 09:00:00 -0000 Product Lessons from Netflix's "Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul" with Penelope Talbot-Kelly full 2 5 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat Product Lessons from Netflix's "Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul" with Penelope Talbot-Kelly In a fascinating episode of our podcast, Penelope Talbot-Kelly & Fareed Mosavat dove deep into the Netflix documentary "Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul." The discussion revealed critical insights that resonate far beyond the e-cigarette industry, touching on fundamental issues relevant to all tech companies. But first, Fareed and Penelope discuss the broader tech landscape, discussing trends such as AI, layoffs, and how these elements influence the current work culture. Penelope shared firsthand experiences and observations about the changing dynamics in recruitment and employee experiences, especially during times of economic downturns. The tech labor market discussion starts immediately, and the Big Vape / Juul analysis begins at 15:30. Join us at UnsolicitedFeedback.co for a full summary of the spiciest hottakes and most compelling lessons derived from the conversation! Product Lessons from Netflix's "Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul" with Penelope Talbot-Kelly

In a fascinating episode of our podcast, Penelope Talbot-Kelly & Fareed Mosavat dove deep into the Netflix documentary "Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul."

The discussion revealed critical insights that resonate far beyond the e-cigarette industry, touching on fundamental issues relevant to all tech companies.

But first, Fareed and Penelope discuss the broader tech landscape, discussing trends such as AI, layoffs, and how these elements influence the current work culture. Penelope shared firsthand experiences and observations about the changing dynamics in recruitment and employee experiences, especially during times of economic downturns.

The tech labor market discussion starts immediately, and the Big Vape / Juul analysis begins at 15:30.

Join us at UnsolicitedFeedback.co for a full summary of the spiciest hottakes and most compelling lessons derived from the conversation!

]]> 2438 yes Analyzing Google's Rumored HubSpot Buy & The Future of CRMs w/ Penelope Talbot-Kelly & Austin Hay https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/s2ep8-riff?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast&utm_content=unsolicited_feedback_s2ep8-riff Unpacking the Google-HubSpot Acquisition Rumors: Implications for the Future of CRM This week on "Unsolicited Feedback," host Fareed Mosavat welcomed Penelope Talbot-Kelly, GM of Platform & Services at DoorDash, and Austin Hays, a veteran in CRM and Martech, to discuss the buzzing rumors about Google potentially acquiring HubSpot. Austin previously joined us to chat about HubSpot’s acquisition of Clearbit. Well, he’s back to help us delve deeper into what this new merger could mean for the CRM landscape and digital marketing tools. Join us at Unsolicitedfeedback.co for a full summary! Tue, 16 Apr 2024 09:00:00 -0000 Analyzing Google's Rumored HubSpot Buy & The Future of CRMs w/ Penelope Talbot-Kelly & Austin Hay full 2 8 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat Unpacking the Google-HubSpot Acquisition Rumors: Implications for the Future of CRM This week on "Unsolicited Feedback," host Fareed Mosavat welcomed Penelope Talbot-Kelly, GM of Platform & Services at DoorDash, and Austin Hays, a veteran in CRM and Martech, to discuss the buzzing rumors about Google potentially acquiring HubSpot. Austin previously joined us to chat about HubSpot’s acquisition of Clearbit. Well, he’s back to help us delve deeper into what this new merger could mean for the CRM landscape and digital marketing tools. Join us at Unsolicitedfeedback.co for a full summary! Unpacking the Google-HubSpot Acquisition Rumors: Implications for the Future of CRM

This week on "Unsolicited Feedback," host Fareed Mosavat welcomed Penelope Talbot-Kelly, GM of Platform & Services at DoorDash, and Austin Hays, a veteran in CRM and Martech, to discuss the buzzing rumors about Google potentially acquiring HubSpot.

Austin previously joined us to chat about HubSpot’s acquisition of Clearbit. Well, he’s back to help us delve deeper into what this new merger could mean for the CRM landscape and digital marketing tools.

Join us at Unsolicitedfeedback.co for a full summary!

]]> 2940 yes Erik Allebest of Chess.com: Transforming a Niche Business into a Global Phenomenon https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/s2ep7?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast&utm_content=unsolicited_feedback_s2ep7 Ever wondered how a game as old as chess could become a global sensation in the digital age? The answer lies in the power of product, growth, and, more recently, AI. In our latest episode of Unsolicited Feedback, Joff Redfern and Fareed Mosavat had an insightful conversation with Erik Allebest, CEO of Chess.com. This episode explores the intersection of technology, human behavior, and ethics in the world of online chess, focusing on how Chess.com leverages AI to revolutionize the game while confronting challenges like cheating and maintaining a fair competitive environment. Insights from the platform's journey illuminate broader lessons in innovation, user engagement, ethical considerations, and growth strategy. Tue, 09 Apr 2024 09:55:00 -0000 Erik Allebest of Chess.com: Transforming a Niche Business into a Global Phenomenon full 2 7 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat Ever wondered how a game as old as chess could become a global sensation in the digital age? The answer lies in the power of product, growth, and, more recently, AI. In our latest episode of Unsolicited Feedback, Joff Redfern and Fareed Mosavat had an insightful conversation with Erik Allebest, CEO of Chess.com. This episode explores the intersection of technology, human behavior, and ethics in the world of online chess, focusing on how Chess.com leverages AI to revolutionize the game while confronting challenges like cheating and maintaining a fair competitive environment. Insights from the platform's journey illuminate broader lessons in innovation, user engagement, ethical considerations, and growth strategy. Ever wondered how a game as old as chess could become a global sensation in the digital age? The answer lies in the power of product, growth, and, more recently, AI.

In our latest episode of Unsolicited Feedback, Joff Redfern and Fareed Mosavat had an insightful conversation with Erik Allebest, CEO of Chess.com. This episode explores the intersection of technology, human behavior, and ethics in the world of online chess, focusing on how Chess.com leverages AI to revolutionize the game while confronting challenges like cheating and maintaining a fair competitive environment. Insights from the platform's journey illuminate broader lessons in innovation, user engagement, ethical considerations, and growth strategy.

]]> 3902 yes Kipp Bodnar on Marketing Experiments at HubSpot and Harnessing HeyGen to Improve Conversion https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/s2ep6-deepdive?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast&utm_content=unsolicited_feedback_s2ep6-deepdive In today’s episode of Unsolicited Feedback, Fareed Mosavat, Joff Redfern, and Kipp Bodnar delve into the meteoric rise of Martech tools and the transformative role of AI, with a special focus on the innovative video creation platform, HeyGen. This discussion is very valuable for anyone leading marketing efforts in 2024 and beyond. 🌠 The bottom line: We're currently optimizing AI tools to enhance conversion rates, yet we're still waiting for a new distribution channel to emerge. Could this change be on the horizon? Full summary is available at UnsolicitedFeedback.co Thu, 04 Apr 2024 07:30:00 -0000 Kipp Bodnar on Marketing Experiments at HubSpot and Harnessing HeyGen to Improve Conversion full 2 6 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat In today’s episode of Unsolicited Feedback, Fareed Mosavat, Joff Redfern, and Kipp Bodnar delve into the meteoric rise of Martech tools and the transformative role of AI, with a special focus on the innovative video creation platform, HeyGen. This discussion is very valuable for anyone leading marketing efforts in 2024 and beyond. 🌠 The bottom line: We're currently optimizing AI tools to enhance conversion rates, yet we're still waiting for a new distribution channel to emerge. Could this change be on the horizon? Full summary is available at UnsolicitedFeedback.co In today’s episode of Unsolicited Feedback, Fareed Mosavat, Joff Redfern, and Kipp Bodnar delve into the meteoric rise of Martech tools and the transformative role of AI, with a special focus on the innovative video creation platform, HeyGen. This discussion is very valuable for anyone leading marketing efforts in 2024 and beyond. 🌠

The bottom line: We're currently optimizing AI tools to enhance conversion rates, yet we're still waiting for a new distribution channel to emerge. Could this change be on the horizon?

Full summary is available at UnsolicitedFeedback.co

]]> 2434 Kipp Bodnar on LinkedIn's Gamification Gambit - Game On or Game Over? https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/s2ep6-riff?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast&utm_content=unsolicited_feedback_s2ep6-riff LinkedIn Games: A Brilliant Move or a Misstep? 🎮🤔 LinkedIn is reportedly working on in-app games, a move that has ignited a wide range of opinions. In our latest episode of Unsolicited Feedback, co-hosts Joff Redfern and Fareed Mosavat, joined by HubSpot CMO Kipp Bodnar, delved into this topic. We’ve shared our thoughts below, and we’d love to hear yours! Tune in next Thursday for more Unsolicited Feedback, where we’ll discuss the growing surge of martech tools. Context: LinkedIn is testing the gamification waters, with companies ranked based on their employees' gaming scores. The company has confirmed these rumors, though we've only seen a few early screenshots. The games, a mix of puzzles and mini-games, seem reminiscent of the New York Times' daily games. But the question remains: is this what LinkedIn users need or want? Full summary is available here! Tue, 02 Apr 2024 08:30:00 -0000 Kipp Bodnar on LinkedIn's Gamification Gambit - Game On or Game Over? full 2 6 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat LinkedIn Games: A Brilliant Move or a Misstep? 🎮🤔 LinkedIn is reportedly working on in-app games, a move that has ignited a wide range of opinions. In our latest episode of Unsolicited Feedback, co-hosts Joff Redfern and Fareed Mosavat, joined by HubSpot CMO Kipp Bodnar, delved into this topic. We’ve shared our thoughts below, and we’d love to hear yours! Tune in next Thursday for more Unsolicited Feedback, where we’ll discuss the growing surge of martech tools. Context: LinkedIn is testing the gamification waters, with companies ranked based on their employees' gaming scores. The company has confirmed these rumors, though we've only seen a few early screenshots. The games, a mix of puzzles and mini-games, seem reminiscent of the New York Times' daily games. But the question remains: is this what LinkedIn users need or want? Full summary is available here! LinkedIn Games: A Brilliant Move or a Misstep? 🎮🤔

LinkedIn is reportedly working on in-app games, a move that has ignited a wide range of opinions. In our latest episode of Unsolicited Feedback, co-hosts Joff Redfern and Fareed Mosavat, joined by HubSpot CMO Kipp Bodnar, delved into this topic.

We’ve shared our thoughts below, and we’d love to hear yours! Tune in next Thursday for more Unsolicited Feedback, where we’ll discuss the growing surge of martech tools.

Context: LinkedIn is testing the gamification waters, with companies ranked based on their employees' gaming scores. The company has confirmed these rumors, though we've only seen a few early screenshots. The games, a mix of puzzles and mini-games, seem reminiscent of the New York Times' daily games. But the question remains: is this what LinkedIn users need or want?

Full summary is available here!

]]> 1573 yes Adam Nash Applies Clay Christensen’s Innovator's Dilemma to Modern Fintech https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/s2ep5-deepdive?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast&utm_content=unsolicited_feedback_s2ep5-deepdive In Part 2, of our Unsolicited Feedback with Adam Nash, CEO of Daffy, co-hosts Joff Redfern & Fareed Mosavat dove deep into the world of fintech, exploring the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. To frame the conversation, Adam looked to the past, revisiting Clay Christensen's Innovator's Dilemma. For a full summary of the episode's takeaways, join us at UnsolicitedFeedback.co. 0:00 Introduction & AI's Impact on Fintech 17:31 Importance of Understanding Competitors 19:40 Adam's Spicy Take 28:09 Return to Value Creation 36:41 Revisiting Clay Christensen's Innovator's Dilemma 41:50 Innovator's Dilemma Applied to Fintech Thu, 28 Mar 2024 09:30:00 -0000 Adam Nash Applies Clay Christensen’s Innovator's Dilemma to Modern Fintech full 2 5 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat In Part 2, of our Unsolicited Feedback with Adam Nash, CEO of Daffy, co-hosts Joff Redfern & Fareed Mosavat dove deep into the world of fintech, exploring the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. To frame the conversation, Adam looked to the past, revisiting Clay Christensen's Innovator's Dilemma. For a full summary of the episode's takeaways, join us at UnsolicitedFeedback.co. 0:00 Introduction & AI's Impact on Fintech 17:31 Importance of Understanding Competitors 19:40 Adam's Spicy Take 28:09 Return to Value Creation 36:41 Revisiting Clay Christensen's Innovator's Dilemma 41:50 Innovator's Dilemma Applied to Fintech In Part 2, of our Unsolicited Feedback with Adam Nash, CEO of Daffy, co-hosts Joff Redfern & Fareed Mosavat dove deep into the world of fintech, exploring the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

To frame the conversation, Adam looked to the past, revisiting Clay Christensen's Innovator's Dilemma.

For a full summary of the episode's takeaways, join us at UnsolicitedFeedback.co.


0:00 Introduction & AI's Impact on Fintech

17:31 Importance of Understanding Competitors

19:40 Adam's Spicy Take

28:09 Return to Value Creation

36:41 Revisiting Clay Christensen's Innovator's Dilemma

41:50 Innovator's Dilemma Applied to Fintech

]]> 3518 yes Adam Nash Explores the Art of Process-Strategy Fit at eBay and LinkedIn, with a Side of Diet Coke and Legos https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/s2ep5-riff?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast&utm_content=unsolicited_feedback_s2ep5-riff Adam Nash Explores the Art of Process-Strategy Fit at eBay and LinkedIn, with a Side of Diet Coke and Legos On the latest episode of Unsolicited Feedback, hosts Fareed Mosavat and Joff Redfern are joined by the esteemed Adam Nash, CEO and Co-Founder of Daffy, a philanthropic platform championing the concept that everyone should get in the habit of giving back. Adam's illustrious career spans across tech giants like Greylock, Dropbox, LinkedIn, eBay, and Apple, and he's widely recognized for his insightful contributions on his blog, PsychoHistory. Our journey begins with a nostalgic look at the pioneering days at LinkedIn and eBay, where we discuss the intricacies of process creation and leadership dynamics. Stay tuned for our upcoming episode where we'll delve into the Fintech sphere, diving into the nuances of prioritization and competitive analysis. Full summary of the takeaways and links to Adam's infamous blog can be found at Unsolicitedfeedback.co Tue, 26 Mar 2024 07:01:00 -0000 Adam Nash Explores the Art of Process-Strategy Fit at eBay and LinkedIn, with a Side of Diet Coke and Legos full 2 5 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat Adam Nash Explores the Art of Process-Strategy Fit at eBay and LinkedIn, with a Side of Diet Coke and Legos On the latest episode of Unsolicited Feedback, hosts Fareed Mosavat and Joff Redfern are joined by the esteemed Adam Nash, CEO and Co-Founder of Daffy, a philanthropic platform championing the concept that everyone should get in the habit of giving back. Adam's illustrious career spans across tech giants like Greylock, Dropbox, LinkedIn, eBay, and Apple, and he's widely recognized for his insightful contributions on his blog, PsychoHistory. Our journey begins with a nostalgic look at the pioneering days at LinkedIn and eBay, where we discuss the intricacies of process creation and leadership dynamics. Stay tuned for our upcoming episode where we'll delve into the Fintech sphere, diving into the nuances of prioritization and competitive analysis. Full summary of the takeaways and links to Adam's infamous blog can be found at Unsolicitedfeedback.co Adam Nash Explores the Art of Process-Strategy Fit at eBay and LinkedIn, with a Side of Diet Coke and Legos

On the latest episode of Unsolicited Feedback, hosts Fareed Mosavat and Joff Redfern are joined by the esteemed Adam Nash, CEO and Co-Founder of Daffy, a philanthropic platform championing the concept that everyone should get in the habit of giving back. Adam's illustrious career spans across tech giants like Greylock, Dropbox, LinkedIn, eBay, and Apple, and he's widely recognized for his insightful contributions on his blog, PsychoHistory.

Our journey begins with a nostalgic look at the pioneering days at LinkedIn and eBay, where we discuss the intricacies of process creation and leadership dynamics.

Stay tuned for our upcoming episode where we'll delve into the Fintech sphere, diving into the nuances of prioritization and competitive analysis.

Full summary of the takeaways and links to Adam's infamous blog can be found at Unsolicitedfeedback.co

]]> 3038 yes Shaun Clowes Analyzes Cognition Labs' Devin & Reddit’s IPO https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/s2ep4-deepdive?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast&utm_content=unsolicited_feedback_s2ep1-deepdive Shaun Clowes Analyzes Cognition Labs' Devin & Reddit’s IPO We are joined by guest co-host Joff Redfern, Fareed Mosavat, and our guest Shaun Clowes. Today, we dive into two major stories: Devin and Reddit. Join us at UnsolicitedFeedback.co for a full summary! Devin: The Future of Programming or Just Another Tool in the Box? 🧰 This week, Cognition Labs released a video showcasing it’s AI Coder, Devin. Devin promises to be able to handle complex programming tasks with the autonomy that you’d expect from a human coder. We thought it was worth diving into this new offering and delivering some Unsolicited Feedback. The Pending Reddit IPO: A Deep Dive into the Power of Community and the Potential of Monetization 🚀 Reddit, the front page of the internet, is finally going public and we have thoughts. For absolute clarity, it is important to note that neither the podcast content nor this summary constitutes investment advice. Let’s dive in. Wed, 20 Mar 2024 07:01:00 -0000 Shaun Clowes Analyzes Cognition Labs' Devin & Reddit’s IPO full 2 4 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat Shaun Clowes Analyzes Cognition Labs' Devin & Reddit’s IPO We are joined by guest co-host Joff Redfern, Fareed Mosavat, and our guest Shaun Clowes. Today, we dive into two major stories: Devin and Reddit. Join us at UnsolicitedFeedback.co for a full summary! Devin: The Future of Programming or Just Another Tool in the Box? 🧰 This week, Cognition Labs released a video showcasing it’s AI Coder, Devin. Devin promises to be able to handle complex programming tasks with the autonomy that you’d expect from a human coder. We thought it was worth diving into this new offering and delivering some Unsolicited Feedback. The Pending Reddit IPO: A Deep Dive into the Power of Community and the Potential of Monetization 🚀 Reddit, the front page of the internet, is finally going public and we have thoughts. For absolute clarity, it is important to note that neither the podcast content nor this summary constitutes investment advice. Let’s dive in. Shaun Clowes Analyzes Cognition Labs' Devin & Reddit’s IPO

We are joined by guest co-host Joff Redfern, Fareed Mosavat, and our guest Shaun Clowes. Today, we dive into two major stories: Devin and Reddit.

Join us at UnsolicitedFeedback.co for a full summary!

Devin: The Future of Programming or Just Another Tool in the Box? 🧰

This week, Cognition Labs released a video showcasing it’s AI Coder, Devin. Devin promises to be able to handle complex programming tasks with the autonomy that you’d expect from a human coder. We thought it was worth diving into this new offering and delivering some Unsolicited Feedback.

The Pending Reddit IPO: A Deep Dive into the Power of Community and the Potential of Monetization 🚀

Reddit, the front page of the internet, is finally going public and we have thoughts.

For absolute clarity, it is important to note that neither the podcast content nor this summary constitutes investment advice.

Let’s dive in.

]]> 3143 yes Shaun Clowes (Confluent, Salesforce) Riffs on Waymo, Legos, and Process Advancement https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/s2ep4-riff?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast&utm_content=unsolicited_feedback_s2ep4-riff Shaun Clowes Riffs on Waymo, Legos, and Process Advancement This week, Fareed welcomed co-host Joff Redfern, Principle at Menlo VC and former CPO at Atlassian and guest Shaun Clowes, CPO at Confluent and former CPO of Mulesoft at Salesforce, CPO @ Metromile, and Head of Growth @ Atlassian. This week’s Deep Dive drops Wednesday and we’re focused on Reddit & Cognition Lab’s Devin, but our riff this week is simply a classic happy hour conversation. Fareed, Joff and Shaun cover a wide range of topics dropping some brilliant nuggets along the way. Enjoy! For a summary of their takeaways, join us at UnsolicitedFeedback.co. Tue, 19 Mar 2024 07:01:00 -0000 Shaun Clowes (Confluent, Salesforce) Riffs on Waymo, Legos, and Process Advancement full 2 4 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat Shaun Clowes Riffs on Waymo, Legos, and Process Advancement This week, Fareed welcomed co-host Joff Redfern, Principle at Menlo VC and former CPO at Atlassian and guest Shaun Clowes, CPO at Confluent and former CPO of Mulesoft at Salesforce, CPO @ Metromile, and Head of Growth @ Atlassian. This week’s Deep Dive drops Wednesday and we’re focused on Reddit & Cognition Lab’s Devin, but our riff this week is simply a classic happy hour conversation. Fareed, Joff and Shaun cover a wide range of topics dropping some brilliant nuggets along the way. Enjoy! For a summary of their takeaways, join us at UnsolicitedFeedback.co. Shaun Clowes Riffs on Waymo, Legos, and Process Advancement

This week, Fareed welcomed co-host Joff Redfern, Principle at Menlo VC and former CPO at Atlassian and guest Shaun Clowes, CPO at Confluent and former CPO of Mulesoft at Salesforce, CPO @ Metromile, and Head of Growth @ Atlassian.

This week’s Deep Dive drops Wednesday and we’re focused on Reddit & Cognition Lab’s Devin, but our riff this week is simply a classic happy hour conversation.

Fareed, Joff and Shaun cover a wide range of topics dropping some brilliant nuggets along the way. Enjoy!

For a summary of their takeaways, join us at UnsolicitedFeedback.co.

]]> 2547 yes Casey Winters Dives Deep Into Prioritization, Second Product Mishaps, Meta & Square https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/s2ep3-deepdive?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast&utm_content=unsolicited_feedback_s2ep3-deepdive Casey Winters is back with Fareed Mosavat and our guest co-host, Ravi Mehta. In this episode, we're discussing two recent articles from Casey Accidental, Casey’s product & growth blog. In “Wood Grain Steering Wheels,” Casey writes about a misplaced prioritization pattern he sees time and time again.  We delve into these prioritization challenges and explore Meta's impressive history of decisive prioritization. Then, we jump into mishaps with second products - understanding signs of trouble and how to address them. Lastly, we delve into the impact of organizational structure on product expansions, analyzing the reasoning behind Square's recent organizational shift. For a full summary, join us at Unsolicitedfeedback.co. Thu, 14 Mar 2024 09:00:00 -0000 Casey Winters Dives Deep Into Prioritization, Second Product Mishaps, Meta & Square full 2 3 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat Casey Winters is back with Fareed Mosavat and our guest co-host, Ravi Mehta. In this episode, we're discussing two recent articles from Casey Accidental, Casey’s product & growth blog. In “Wood Grain Steering Wheels,” Casey writes about a misplaced prioritization pattern he sees time and time again.  We delve into these prioritization challenges and explore Meta's impressive history of decisive prioritization. Then, we jump into mishaps with second products - understanding signs of trouble and how to address them. Lastly, we delve into the impact of organizational structure on product expansions, analyzing the reasoning behind Square's recent organizational shift. For a full summary, join us at Unsolicitedfeedback.co. Casey Winters is back with Fareed Mosavat and our guest co-host, Ravi Mehta. In this episode, we're discussing two recent articles from Casey Accidental, Casey’s product & growth blog. In “Wood Grain Steering Wheels,” Casey writes about a misplaced prioritization pattern he sees time and time again. 

We delve into these prioritization challenges and explore Meta's impressive history of decisive prioritization.

Then, we jump into mishaps with second products - understanding signs of trouble and how to address them.

Lastly, we delve into the impact of organizational structure on product expansions, analyzing the reasoning behind Square's recent organizational shift.

For a full summary, join us at Unsolicitedfeedback.co.

]]> 3084 yes Casey Winters (Eventbrite, Pinterest) Riffs on Whether Consumer Is Back and What It Means for Product Leaders? 🤔 https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/s2ep3-riff?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast&utm_content=unsolicited_feedback_s2ep3-riff Ravi Mehta teams up with Fareed Mosavat once more. This week, Ravi and Fareed are joined by Casey Winters, former CPO at Eventbrite and growth expert at Pinterest and Grubhub. 🔍 The Big Question for Today: Is consumer tech experiencing a resurgence? With the advent of AI, some believe we're on the brink of a consumer tech revolution. But is this really the case? 🤷 Is consumer back? Sort of… 🤷 The Good News 🎉 People are spending more time online and are more willing than ever to try new products, including paid products. The days of freemium being the only way to acquire customers is seemingly behind us. And, the rise of AI has opened up exciting opportunities for product-minded founders to create value for consumers. The Bad News 😬 The landscape is dominated by big players like Apple, Amazon, and Epic, making it hard for new entrants. Plus, the journey from seed stage to a mass-market consumer platform is long and fraught with risk. As a result, we’re still seeing few and far between VC backed consumer start ups. But, just because consumer is largely not investable, doesn’t mean it isn’t vibrant and growing. What should founders or product leaders interested in consumer markets do? Check out a full summary of the takeaways at UnsolicitedFeedback.co. Tue, 12 Mar 2024 09:30:00 -0000 Casey Winters (Eventbrite, Pinterest) Riffs on Whether Consumer Is Back and What It Means for Product Leaders? 🤔 full 2 3 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat Ravi Mehta teams up with Fareed Mosavat once more. This week, Ravi and Fareed are joined by Casey Winters, former CPO at Eventbrite and growth expert at Pinterest and Grubhub. 🔍 The Big Question for Today: Is consumer tech experiencing a resurgence? With the advent of AI, some believe we're on the brink of a consumer tech revolution. But is this really the case? 🤷 Is consumer back? Sort of… 🤷 The Good News 🎉 People are spending more time online and are more willing than ever to try new products, including paid products. The days of freemium being the only way to acquire customers is seemingly behind us. And, the rise of AI has opened up exciting opportunities for product-minded founders to create value for consumers. The Bad News 😬 The landscape is dominated by big players like Apple, Amazon, and Epic, making it hard for new entrants. Plus, the journey from seed stage to a mass-market consumer platform is long and fraught with risk. As a result, we’re still seeing few and far between VC backed consumer start ups. But, just because consumer is largely not investable, doesn’t mean it isn’t vibrant and growing. What should founders or product leaders interested in consumer markets do? Check out a full summary of the takeaways at UnsolicitedFeedback.co. Ravi Mehta teams up with Fareed Mosavat once more. This week, Ravi and Fareed are joined by Casey Winters, former CPO at Eventbrite and growth expert at Pinterest and Grubhub.

🔍 The Big Question for Today: Is consumer tech experiencing a resurgence? With the advent of AI, some believe we're on the brink of a consumer tech revolution. But is this really the case?

🤷 Is consumer back? Sort of… 🤷

The Good News 🎉 People are spending more time online and are more willing than ever to try new products, including paid products. The days of freemium being the only way to acquire customers is seemingly behind us. And, the rise of AI has opened up exciting opportunities for product-minded founders to create value for consumers.

The Bad News 😬 The landscape is dominated by big players like Apple, Amazon, and Epic, making it hard for new entrants. Plus, the journey from seed stage to a mass-market consumer platform is long and fraught with risk. As a result, we’re still seeing few and far between VC backed consumer start ups. But, just because consumer is largely not investable, doesn’t mean it isn’t vibrant and growing.

What should founders or product leaders interested in consumer markets do? Check out a full summary of the takeaways at UnsolicitedFeedback.co.

]]> 2394 yes Behzod Sirjani and Ravi Mehta Dive Deep on the EV Market Speed Bump for Apple, Rivian and Tesla https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/s2ep2-deepdive?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast&utm_content=unsolicited_feedback_s2ep2-deepdive Apple's car project is dead, Tesla missed earnings, and Rivian's stock is down. So, what's going on here? We deep dive on this very topic with our guest Behzod Sirjani, our guest co-host Ravi Mehta, and of course, the one and only Fareed Mosavat!  We discuss Adjacent User Theory, the problem with Early Adopters, the risks of limited SKUs, and why Apple might want to avoid this commodity market. For a full summary of all of the insights from the episode, head to Unsolicitedfeedback.co! Thu, 07 Mar 2024 10:00:00 -0000 Behzod Sirjani and Ravi Mehta Dive Deep on the EV Market Speed Bump for Apple, Rivian and Tesla full 2 1 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat Apple's car project is dead, Tesla missed earnings, and Rivian's stock is down. So, what's going on here? We deep dive on this very topic with our guest Behzod Sirjani, our guest co-host Ravi Mehta, and of course, the one and only Fareed Mosavat!  We discuss Adjacent User Theory, the problem with Early Adopters, the risks of limited SKUs, and why Apple might want to avoid this commodity market. For a full summary of all of the insights from the episode, head to Unsolicitedfeedback.co! Apple's car project is dead, Tesla missed earnings, and Rivian's stock is down. So, what's going on here? We deep dive on this very topic with our guest Behzod Sirjani, our guest co-host Ravi Mehta, and of course, the one and only Fareed Mosavat! 

We discuss Adjacent User Theory, the problem with Early Adopters, the risks of limited SKUs, and why Apple might want to avoid this commodity market.

For a full summary of all of the insights from the episode, head to Unsolicitedfeedback.co!

]]> 2311 yes Behzod Sirjani & Ravi Mehta Riff on Leveraging AI to Transform Qualitative Data into Scientific Insights 🧠💡 https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/s2ep2-riff?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast&utm_content=unsolicited_feedback_s2ep2-riff Leveraging AI to Transform Qualitative Data into Scientific Insights 🧠💡 Ever wondered how to make sense of the vast amount of qualitative data at your fingertips? We've got you covered! 🎧 In our latest episode of Unsolicited Feedback, we delved deep into the world of customer research in 2024 and the potential for AI to revolutionize how we handle qualitative data. Our guest, Behzod Sirjani, shared his experience as a research consultant and advisor, helping companies make better decisions by enhancing their research and data science practices. He sees himself as a personal trainer for companies, aiding them in extracting more efficiency, results, and insights from their data-driven work. The companies are already working out (using data), but he assists them in maximizing the benefits. Additionally, we're joined by Ravi Mehta as Fareed's co-host this week and next. Ravi is a Co-Founder at Outpace, and previously an EIR at Reforge, CPO at Tinder, and Product Director at Facebook. You may also recognize his name as a guest on Season 1. For a full summary of their discussion, head to Unsolicitedfeedback.co! Tue, 05 Mar 2024 10:30:00 -0000 Behzod Sirjani & Ravi Mehta Riff on Leveraging AI to Transform Qualitative Data into Scientific Insights 🧠💡 full 2 2 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat Leveraging AI to Transform Qualitative Data into Scientific Insights 🧠💡 Ever wondered how to make sense of the vast amount of qualitative data at your fingertips? We've got you covered! 🎧 In our latest episode of Unsolicited Feedback, we delved deep into the world of customer research in 2024 and the potential for AI to revolutionize how we handle qualitative data. Our guest, Behzod Sirjani, shared his experience as a research consultant and advisor, helping companies make better decisions by enhancing their research and data science practices. He sees himself as a personal trainer for companies, aiding them in extracting more efficiency, results, and insights from their data-driven work. The companies are already working out (using data), but he assists them in maximizing the benefits. Additionally, we're joined by Ravi Mehta as Fareed's co-host this week and next. Ravi is a Co-Founder at Outpace, and previously an EIR at Reforge, CPO at Tinder, and Product Director at Facebook. You may also recognize his name as a guest on Season 1. For a full summary of their discussion, head to Unsolicitedfeedback.co! Leveraging AI to Transform Qualitative Data into Scientific Insights 🧠💡

Ever wondered how to make sense of the vast amount of qualitative data at your fingertips? We've got you covered! 🎧 In our latest episode of Unsolicited Feedback, we delved deep into the world of customer research in 2024 and the potential for AI to revolutionize how we handle qualitative data.

Our guest, Behzod Sirjani, shared his experience as a research consultant and advisor, helping companies make better decisions by enhancing their research and data science practices. He sees himself as a personal trainer for companies, aiding them in extracting more efficiency, results, and insights from their data-driven work. The companies are already working out (using data), but he assists them in maximizing the benefits.

Additionally, we're joined by Ravi Mehta as Fareed's co-host this week and next. Ravi is a Co-Founder at Outpace, and previously an EIR at Reforge, CPO at Tinder, and Product Director at Facebook. You may also recognize his name as a guest on Season 1.

For a full summary of their discussion, head to Unsolicitedfeedback.co!


]]> 2803 yes Aaron White Dives Deep on Navigating AI's Horizon: Future-Proofing Products in the Age of AI https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/s2ep1-deepdive?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast&utm_content=unsolicited_feedback_s2ep1-deepdive Navigating AI's Horizon: Future-Proofing Products in the Age of AI We're continuing our chat with AI enthusiast, Aaron White in part 2 of our series. This time, we're diving into how different AI products measure up against the ever-evolving S-Curve. Before we jump into it, following our podcast summary, we've got a BONUS (edited for time) chat where Aaron, Fareed, and Brian weigh in on the advantages of the top players in the AI race. That clip is exclusively posted to our Youtube page, so after you finish listening to this episode, make sure to check it out. 📺 As always, you can read a full summary of the key takeaways from the episode HERE on our website or by subscribing to our mailing list. Thu, 29 Feb 2024 11:00:00 -0000 Aaron White Dives Deep on Navigating AI's Horizon: Future-Proofing Products in the Age of AI full 2 1 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat Navigating AI's Horizon: Future-Proofing Products in the Age of AI We're continuing our chat with AI enthusiast, Aaron White in part 2 of our series. This time, we're diving into how different AI products measure up against the ever-evolving S-Curve. Before we jump into it, following our podcast summary, we've got a BONUS (edited for time) chat where Aaron, Fareed, and Brian weigh in on the advantages of the top players in the AI race. That clip is exclusively posted to our Youtube page, so after you finish listening to this episode, make sure to check it out. 📺 As always, you can read a full summary of the key takeaways from the episode HERE on our website or by subscribing to our mailing list. Navigating AI's Horizon: Future-Proofing Products in the Age of AI

We're continuing our chat with AI enthusiast, Aaron White in part 2 of our series. This time, we're diving into how different AI products measure up against the ever-evolving S-Curve.

Before we jump into it, following our podcast summary, we've got a BONUS (edited for time) chat where Aaron, Fareed, and Brian weigh in on the advantages of the top players in the AI race.

That clip is exclusively posted to our Youtube page, so after you finish listening to this episode, make sure to check it out. 📺

As always, you can read a full summary of the key takeaways from the episode HERE on our website or by subscribing to our mailing list.

]]> 2521 Aaron White (Vendr, ProfitWell) Riffs on the Future of AI 🤖 https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/s2ep1-riff?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast&utm_content=unsolicited_feedback_s2ep1-riff Our first guest for Season 2 is none other than Aaron White. Aaron, the recent CTO of Vendr, Co-Founder of ProfitWell, and Founder of Blissfully, is now in stealth mode with a new AI venture called AppyPeople. Besides his impressive credentials, Aaron has long been a passionate advocate and expert in all things AI. Having him as our inaugural guest this season was a perfect fit! But before we dive in, we're trying something a bit different this season. Every episode will be divided into two parts - a Riff and a Deep Dive. In this week’s Riff, we delve into Aaron’s spicy, slightly gloomy, yet probably on point glimpse of the future. Aaron’s been coining some seriously sharp terms to help us talk about what the future of AI could look like. As we discussed in our AI-themed Season Preview a few weeks ago, we feel that the future is so unknown that all decision making should be based on a 2-3 year horizon. That said, the perspective shared by Aaron brings an intriguing twist to the discussion. Aaron argues that the S-Curve is undergoing a tightening phase, resulting from an unprecedentedly rapid pace of development. Thus, he feels ignoring the longer horizon is not only unproductive, but perhaps harmful to decision making. Aaron highlights that having foresight is crucial for making decisions in the upcoming years and he also points out that some of these futuristic concepts are already beginning to materialize today. For a full summary of the insights here, head to UnsolicitedFeedback.co. Tue, 27 Feb 2024 16:03:03 -0000 Aaron White (Vendr, ProfitWell) Riffs on the Future of AI 🤖 full 2 1 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat Our first guest for Season 2 is none other than Aaron White. Aaron, the recent CTO of Vendr, Co-Founder of ProfitWell, and Founder of Blissfully, is now in stealth mode with a new AI venture called AppyPeople. Besides his impressive credentials, Aaron has long been a passionate advocate and expert in all things AI. Having him as our inaugural guest this season was a perfect fit! But before we dive in, we're trying something a bit different this season. Every episode will be divided into two parts - a Riff and a Deep Dive. In this week’s Riff, we delve into Aaron’s spicy, slightly gloomy, yet probably on point glimpse of the future. Aaron’s been coining some seriously sharp terms to help us talk about what the future of AI could look like. As we discussed in our AI-themed Season Preview a few weeks ago, we feel that the future is so unknown that all decision making should be based on a 2-3 year horizon. That said, the perspective shared by Aaron brings an intriguing twist to the discussion. Aaron argues that the S-Curve is undergoing a tightening phase, resulting from an unprecedentedly rapid pace of development. Thus, he feels ignoring the longer horizon is not only unproductive, but perhaps harmful to decision making. Aaron highlights that having foresight is crucial for making decisions in the upcoming years and he also points out that some of these futuristic concepts are already beginning to materialize today. For a full summary of the insights here, head to UnsolicitedFeedback.co. Our first guest for Season 2 is none other than Aaron White. Aaron, the recent CTO of Vendr, Co-Founder of ProfitWell, and Founder of Blissfully, is now in stealth mode with a new AI venture called AppyPeople. Besides his impressive credentials, Aaron has long been a passionate advocate and expert in all things AI. Having him as our inaugural guest this season was a perfect fit!

But before we dive in, we're trying something a bit different this season. Every episode will be divided into two parts - a Riff and a Deep Dive.

In this week’s Riff, we delve into Aaron’s spicy, slightly gloomy, yet probably on point glimpse of the future. Aaron’s been coining some seriously sharp terms to help us talk about what the future of AI could look like.

As we discussed in our AI-themed Season Preview a few weeks ago, we feel that the future is so unknown that all decision making should be based on a 2-3 year horizon.

That said, the perspective shared by Aaron brings an intriguing twist to the discussion. Aaron argues that the S-Curve is undergoing a tightening phase, resulting from an unprecedentedly rapid pace of development. Thus, he feels ignoring the longer horizon is not only unproductive, but perhaps harmful to decision making. Aaron highlights that having foresight is crucial for making decisions in the upcoming years and he also points out that some of these futuristic concepts are already beginning to materialize today.

For a full summary of the insights here, head to UnsolicitedFeedback.co.

]]> 1962 yes Season 2 Preview: Advancing Your Product Career in an AI World [Live Taping] https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/s2ep0 We're back for Season 2, launching Feb 20! We recently held our first live Unsolicited Feedback taping where Brian & Fareed discussed Advancing Your Product Career in an AI World. They also had the opportunity to answer your questions live! We have more of these events planned, so if you're interested in attending, be sure to sign up for our email list at Unsolicitedfeedback.co. In today's episode, Brian revisits his now legendary blog post, How to Become a Customer Acquisition Expert. In short, the post focuses on enhancing your skillsets by adopting a "T" shape approach. In any role, such as product or marketing, it's crucial to have a broad understanding of key topics. This wide knowledge base helps you grasp the entire discipline, providing context, aiding in strategic comprehension, and linking the functional strategy to the company's overall strategy. It makes you a versatile player. However, it's equally important to delve deeply into a specific topic. Aim to position yourself among the top 10% of professionals in a particular skill or topic within your field. That framework became a core pillar of our Product Strategy program and has remained sound advice to this day… Now with the rise of AI, does anything about this framework change? And is AI PM going to be a thing? For a full summary of the key takeaways, head to UnsolicitedFeedback.co!  Mon, 05 Feb 2024 16:35:00 -0000 Advancing Your Product Career in an AI World full Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat We're back for Season 2, launching Feb 20! We recently held our first live Unsolicited Feedback taping where Brian & Fareed discussed Advancing Your Product Career in an AI World. They also had the opportunity to answer your questions live! We have more of these events planned, so if you're interested in attending, be sure to sign up for our email list at Unsolicitedfeedback.co. In today's episode, Brian revisits his now legendary blog post, How to Become a Customer Acquisition Expert. In short, the post focuses on enhancing your skillsets by adopting a "T" shape approach. In any role, such as product or marketing, it's crucial to have a broad understanding of key topics. This wide knowledge base helps you grasp the entire discipline, providing context, aiding in strategic comprehension, and linking the functional strategy to the company's overall strategy. It makes you a versatile player. However, it's equally important to delve deeply into a specific topic. Aim to position yourself among the top 10% of professionals in a particular skill or topic within your field. That framework became a core pillar of our Product Strategy program and has remained sound advice to this day… Now with the rise of AI, does anything about this framework change? And is AI PM going to be a thing? For a full summary of the key takeaways, head to UnsolicitedFeedback.co!  We're back for Season 2, launching Feb 20!

We recently held our first live Unsolicited Feedback taping where Brian & Fareed discussed Advancing Your Product Career in an AI World. They also had the opportunity to answer your questions live! We have more of these events planned, so if you're interested in attending, be sure to sign up for our email list at Unsolicitedfeedback.co.

In today's episode, Brian revisits his now legendary blog post, How to Become a Customer Acquisition Expert. In short, the post focuses on enhancing your skillsets by adopting a "T" shape approach.

In any role, such as product or marketing, it's crucial to have a broad understanding of key topics. This wide knowledge base helps you grasp the entire discipline, providing context, aiding in strategic comprehension, and linking the functional strategy to the company's overall strategy. It makes you a versatile player.

However, it's equally important to delve deeply into a specific topic. Aim to position yourself among the top 10% of professionals in a particular skill or topic within your field.

That framework became a core pillar of our Product Strategy program and has remained sound advice to this day…

Now with the rise of AI, does anything about this framework change? And is AI PM going to be a thing?

For a full summary of the key takeaways, head to UnsolicitedFeedback.co! 

]]> 3440 yes Andrew Chen (a16z) Unveils Lessons from Gaming: The Power of Community, Creativity, and Storytelling https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/episode-17-part2/ We're back for Part 2 of our Season Finale with Andrew Chen, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz. Today, we're deep-diving into the lessons Andrew has gleaned from his years focusing on gaming 🎮 at Andreessen Horowitz. Plus, we'll round off our 2024 discussion with an exploration of emerging growth channels 📈🚀. We want YOU to be part of the show and the conversation. We're discussing predictions RIGHT NOW on LinkedIn, HERE. Think we're wrong? Tell us live. Let's talk about it. If you prefer giving us feedback offline, please fill out our "feedback form” HERE, and we'll start discussing your feedback during episodes next year. We hope you've been enjoying "Unsolicited Feedback". We'll be back with Season 2 in just a few weeks! For a full summary of the episode and to sign up for our email list for extended summaries and exclusive Youtube videos, please join us at UnsolicitedFeedback.co. Wed, 03 Jan 2024 10:00:00 -0000 Andrew Chen (a16z) Unveils Lessons from Gaming: The Power of Community, Creativity, and Storytelling full 1 18 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat We're back for Part 2 of our Season Finale with Andrew Chen, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz. Today, we're deep-diving into the lessons Andrew has gleaned from his years focusing on gaming 🎮 at Andreessen Horowitz. Plus, we'll round off our 2024 discussion with an exploration of emerging growth channels 📈🚀. We want YOU to be part of the show and the conversation. We're discussing predictions RIGHT NOW on LinkedIn, HERE. Think we're wrong? Tell us live. Let's talk about it. If you prefer giving us feedback offline, please fill out our "feedback form” HERE, and we'll start discussing your feedback during episodes next year. We hope you've been enjoying "Unsolicited Feedback". We'll be back with Season 2 in just a few weeks! For a full summary of the episode and to sign up for our email list for extended summaries and exclusive Youtube videos, please join us at UnsolicitedFeedback.co. We're back for Part 2 of our Season Finale with Andrew Chen, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz. Today, we're deep-diving into the lessons Andrew has gleaned from his years focusing on gaming 🎮 at Andreessen Horowitz. Plus, we'll round off our 2024 discussion with an exploration of emerging growth channels 📈🚀.


We want YOU to be part of the show and the conversation. We're discussing predictions RIGHT NOW on LinkedIn, HERE. Think we're wrong? Tell us live. Let's talk about it. If you prefer giving us feedback offline, please fill out our "feedback form” HERE, and we'll start discussing your feedback during episodes next year.


We hope you've been enjoying "Unsolicited Feedback". We'll be back with Season 2 in just a few weeks!


For a full summary of the episode and to sign up for our email list for extended summaries and exclusive Youtube videos, please join us at UnsolicitedFeedback.co.

]]> 2775 yes Andrew Chen’s (a16z) 2024 Predictions: The Future of Product, Growth, and AI https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/episode-17?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast&utm_content=unsolicited_feedback_episode17 What's in store for 2024? 🤔 Andrew Chen, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, joined us on the Season Finale of Unsolicited Feedback to share his insights. Before we dive in… Surprise! This is only the first part of our conversation with Andrew. Make sure to mark your calendars for Part 2, landing on January 3, 2024! This marks our Season Finale, but fear not! We'll be back and better than ever. Season 2 kicks off in late January with an updated format, new guests, and an elevated spice level as we're shifting from Jalapeños 🌶️ to Habaneros 🌶️🌶️🌶️. We want YOU to be part of the show and the conversation. We're discussing predictions RIGHT NOW on LinkedIn, HERE. Think we're wrong? Tell us live. Let's talk about it. If you prefer giving us feedback offline, please fill out our "feedback form” HERE, and we'll start discussing your feedback during episodes next year. For a full summary of the episode and to sign up for our email list for extended summaries and exclusive Youtube videos, please join us at UnsolicitedFeedback.co. Tue, 26 Dec 2023 08:42:00 -0000 Andrew Chen’s (a16z) 2024 Predictions: The Future of Product, Growth, and AI full 1 17 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat What's in store for 2024? 🤔 Andrew Chen, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, joined us on the Season Finale of Unsolicited Feedback to share his insights. Before we dive in… Surprise! This is only the first part of our conversation with Andrew. Make sure to mark your calendars for Part 2, landing on January 3, 2024! This marks our Season Finale, but fear not! We'll be back and better than ever. Season 2 kicks off in late January with an updated format, new guests, and an elevated spice level as we're shifting from Jalapeños 🌶️ to Habaneros 🌶️🌶️🌶️. We want YOU to be part of the show and the conversation. We're discussing predictions RIGHT NOW on LinkedIn, HERE. Think we're wrong? Tell us live. Let's talk about it. If you prefer giving us feedback offline, please fill out our "feedback form” HERE, and we'll start discussing your feedback during episodes next year. For a full summary of the episode and to sign up for our email list for extended summaries and exclusive Youtube videos, please join us at UnsolicitedFeedback.co. What's in store for 2024? 🤔 Andrew Chen, General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, joined us on the Season Finale of Unsolicited Feedback to share his insights.

Before we dive in…

  1. Surprise! This is only the first part of our conversation with Andrew. Make sure to mark your calendars for Part 2, landing on January 3, 2024!
  2. This marks our Season Finale, but fear not! We'll be back and better than ever. Season 2 kicks off in late January with an updated format, new guests, and an elevated spice level as we're shifting from Jalapeños 🌶️ to Habaneros 🌶️🌶️🌶️.
  3. We want YOU to be part of the show and the conversation. We're discussing predictions RIGHT NOW on LinkedIn, HERE. Think we're wrong? Tell us live. Let's talk about it. If you prefer giving us feedback offline, please fill out our "feedback form” HERE, and we'll start discussing your feedback during episodes next year.


For a full summary of the episode and to sign up for our email list for extended summaries and exclusive Youtube videos, please join us at UnsolicitedFeedback.co.

]]> 2500 yes Meghan Keaney Anderson (Jasper) & Mary Sheehan (Author) Cut Through the AI Clutter While Contextualizing the Latest From Google’s Gemini https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/episode-16?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast&utm_content=unsolicited_feedback_episode16 This week, Product Marketing experts Meghan Keaney Anderson (Jasper.AI, HubSpot) & Mary Sheehan (Author, AdRoll) joins us to discuss how to navigate and cut through the intricate clutter of Artificial Intelligence while contextualizing the most recent developments from Google’s Gemini. We discuss how to tackle crowded markets, what makes a great marketer, and strategies that can help companies stand out amidst the AI chaos.  For a full episode summary, exclusive Youtube clips, and more, please join our newsletter at UnsolicitedFeedback.co! Tue, 12 Dec 2023 13:17:00 -0000 Meghan Keaney Anderson (Jasper) & Mary Sheehan (Author) Cut Through the AI Clutter While Contextualizing the Latest From Google’s Gemini full 1 16 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat This week, Product Marketing experts Meghan Keaney Anderson (Jasper.AI, HubSpot) & Mary Sheehan (Author, AdRoll) joins us to discuss how to navigate and cut through the intricate clutter of Artificial Intelligence while contextualizing the most recent developments from Google’s Gemini. We discuss how to tackle crowded markets, what makes a great marketer, and strategies that can help companies stand out amidst the AI chaos.  For a full episode summary, exclusive Youtube clips, and more, please join our newsletter at UnsolicitedFeedback.co! This week, Product Marketing experts Meghan Keaney Anderson (Jasper.AI, HubSpot) & Mary Sheehan (Author, AdRoll) joins us to discuss how to navigate and cut through the intricate clutter of Artificial Intelligence while contextualizing the most recent developments from Google’s Gemini. We discuss how to tackle crowded markets, what makes a great marketer, and strategies that can help companies stand out amidst the AI chaos. 

For a full episode summary, exclusive Youtube clips, and more, please join our newsletter at UnsolicitedFeedback.co!

]]> 3635 yes Nabeel Hyatt's (Spark Capital) Lessons from His 2023 Wrapped, Midjourney's Unique Growth Loops, and Google's AI Crisis. https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/episode-15?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast&utm_content=unsolicited_feedback_episode15 This week, Nabeel Hyatt (GP at Spark Capital) joins us to discuss: Our version of a 2023 Wrapped: Tech Edition. Nabeel reflects on what he looks for in founders to bet on. Next, we perform a growth model breakdown on Midjouney's unconventional success. (Starts at 39:12) Finally, we discuss the viral SEO Heist and its implications for Google's future. (Starts at 1:24:50) For a full episode summary, exclusive Youtube clips, and more, please join our newsletter at UnsolicitedFeedback.co! Tue, 05 Dec 2023 08:00:00 -0000 Nabeel Hyatt's (Spark Capital) Lessons from His 2023 Wrapped, Midjourney's Unique Growth Loops, and Google's AI Crisis. full 1 15 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat This week, Nabeel Hyatt (GP at Spark Capital) joins us to discuss: Our version of a 2023 Wrapped: Tech Edition. Nabeel reflects on what he looks for in founders to bet on. Next, we perform a growth model breakdown on Midjouney's unconventional success. (Starts at 39:12) Finally, we discuss the viral SEO Heist and its implications for Google's future. (Starts at 1:24:50) For a full episode summary, exclusive Youtube clips, and more, please join our newsletter at UnsolicitedFeedback.co! This week, Nabeel Hyatt (GP at Spark Capital) joins us to discuss:

Our version of a 2023 Wrapped: Tech Edition. Nabeel reflects on what he looks for in founders to bet on.

Next, we perform a growth model breakdown on Midjouney's unconventional success. (Starts at 39:12)

Finally, we discuss the viral SEO Heist and its implications for Google's future. (Starts at 1:24:50)

For a full episode summary, exclusive Youtube clips, and more, please join our newsletter at UnsolicitedFeedback.co!

]]> 6359 yes Chris Savage (Wistia) Analyzes InVision's Downfall, Reviews Humane’s Product Reveal, and Discusses the OpenAI Drama https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/episode-14 This week, our dynamic duo, Brian Balfour and Fareed Mosavat, have the pleasure of hosting Chris Savage, the Co-Founder & CEO of Wistia. Our post-Thanksgiving menu features a hearty discussion about InVision's fall (starts at 14:30), spiced up with Chris's “Savage” critique of Humane's product reveal (starts at 36:15). Of course, we couldn't resist visiting the OpenAI drama that's been simmering recently. To round off, Chris shares a product he is excited about, Ro.am. For a full episode summary, exclusive Youtube clips, and more, please join our newsletter at UnsolicitedFeedback.co! Tue, 28 Nov 2023 09:00:00 -0000 Chris Savage (Wistia) Analyzes InVision's Downfall, Reviews Humane’s Product Reveal, and Discusses the OpenAI Drama full 1 14 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat This week, our dynamic duo, Brian Balfour and Fareed Mosavat, have the pleasure of hosting Chris Savage, the Co-Founder & CEO of Wistia. Our post-Thanksgiving menu features a hearty discussion about InVision's fall (starts at 14:30), spiced up with Chris's “Savage” critique of Humane's product reveal (starts at 36:15). Of course, we couldn't resist visiting the OpenAI drama that's been simmering recently. To round off, Chris shares a product he is excited about, Ro.am. For a full episode summary, exclusive Youtube clips, and more, please join our newsletter at UnsolicitedFeedback.co! This week, our dynamic duo, Brian Balfour and Fareed Mosavat, have the pleasure of hosting Chris Savage, the Co-Founder & CEO of Wistia.

Our post-Thanksgiving menu features a hearty discussion about InVision's fall (starts at 14:30), spiced up with Chris's “Savage” critique of Humane's product reveal (starts at 36:15).

Of course, we couldn't resist visiting the OpenAI drama that's been simmering recently.

To round off, Chris shares a product he is excited about, Ro.am.

For a full episode summary, exclusive Youtube clips, and more, please join our newsletter at UnsolicitedFeedback.co!

]]> 4297 yes Laura Schaffer (Amplitude) Dissects Cameo's Rise and Fall; Plus New Benchmarks for Companies in 2024 https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/episode-13?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=weekly_podcast&utm_content=unsolicited_feedback_episode13 Laura Schaffer Dissects Cameo's Rise and Fall; Plus New Benchmarks for Companies in 2024 This week, Brian Balfour and Casey Winters are joined by Laura Schaffer, the VP of Growth at Amplitude. Laura is bringing the heat as we unpack the rise and fall of Cameo and discuss what the latest SaaS benchmarks mean for companies braving the challenging waters ahead in 2024. Our discussion about Cameo begins at 4:30, and the conversation of the Openview VC Benchmarks starts at 39:14. We have a full summary of the episode available at UnsolicitedFeedback.co. Want to get a full summary and exclusive Youtube clips delivered to your inbox? Sign up for our new weekly email also at UnsolicitedFeedback.co. Tue, 21 Nov 2023 10:30:00 -0000 Laura Schaffer (Amplitude) Dissects Cameo's Rise and Fall; Plus New Benchmarks for Companies in 2024 full 1 13 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat Laura Schaffer Dissects Cameo's Rise and Fall; Plus New Benchmarks for Companies in 2024 This week, Brian Balfour and Casey Winters are joined by Laura Schaffer, the VP of Growth at Amplitude. Laura is bringing the heat as we unpack the rise and fall of Cameo and discuss what the latest SaaS benchmarks mean for companies braving the challenging waters ahead in 2024. Our discussion about Cameo begins at 4:30, and the conversation of the Openview VC Benchmarks starts at 39:14. We have a full summary of the episode available at UnsolicitedFeedback.co. Want to get a full summary and exclusive Youtube clips delivered to your inbox? Sign up for our new weekly email also at UnsolicitedFeedback.co. Laura Schaffer Dissects Cameo's Rise and Fall; Plus New Benchmarks for Companies in 2024

This week, Brian Balfour and Casey Winters are joined by Laura Schaffer, the VP of Growth at Amplitude. Laura is bringing the heat as we unpack the rise and fall of Cameo and discuss what the latest SaaS benchmarks mean for companies braving the challenging waters ahead in 2024.

Our discussion about Cameo begins at 4:30, and the conversation of the Openview VC Benchmarks starts at 39:14.

We have a full summary of the episode available at UnsolicitedFeedback.co.

Want to get a full summary and exclusive Youtube clips delivered to your inbox? Sign up for our new weekly email also at UnsolicitedFeedback.co.

]]> 4753 yes Cem Kansu (Duolingo) Analyzes the Implications of OpenAI's DevDay and Airbnb's Release Strategy https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/episode-12 Cem Kansu on OpenAI's DevDay and Airbnb's Strategy Join us with Cem Kansu, VP of Product at Duolingo, as we discuss Duolingo's expansion into math and music (starts immediately), OpenAI's DevDay (starts at 21:15), and Airbnb's bi-annual product announcement (starts at 1:03:05). We’re covering the highlights from our OpenAI discussion below, but join us at UnsolicitedFeedback.co for full episode summaries. OpenAI's GPT Store: A New Frontier or a Wild West? 🤠 OpenAI's recent announcement of their GPT store has sent ripples through the tech world. But what does this mean for product and growth professionals? Let's dive in. 🤖 Custom GPTs: A New Era of User Experience 🤖 OpenAI's GPT store allows users to create custom versions of ChatGPT through natural language prompting. This means creating AI models that can advise startup founders, act as math tutors, or even generate content for language learning apps. The possibilities are endless, but we’re skeptical that the first version is a complete success. Why? 1️⃣ Text-based chat functionalities seem limited in a world dominated by engaging graphics accross devices. 2️⃣ The process to get started is still somewhat cumbersome and time-consuming. Is it worth the effort? 🛍️ The GPT Store: A Double-Edged Sword? 🛍️ The GPT store is designed to provide distribution and monetization for creators of GPTs. It's like the app store for AI models. But building a successful app store is no small feat. It requires a robust system for rankings, promotions, search, discovery, and more. Not to mention, handling the back office, fraud protection, and chargebacks. It's a massive undertaking, and one that could distract from OpenAI's core competencies. We also question if GPT has sufficient active users to justify an app store. Successful app stores like Apple and Android have constant active audiences thanks to their devices. 🎯 User Activation: The Key to Success 🎯 One of the biggest challenges with horizontal products like ChatGPT is user activation. Users often struggle to understand what they can do with the product. By creating a GPT store, OpenAI is essentially offloading this activation problem to user-generated solutions. This could potentially drive more traffic and engagement to the platform. But will it be enough to sustain the marketplace? ⚾ A Swing and a Miss, but with Many More At-Bats ⚾ Our hottest take: We're lukewarm on these releases in their current form, but excited for what they could become and respect OpenAI for the swing. We can't remember the last time a DevDay was this highly anticipated. By releasing and iterating, OpenAI shows they essentially have unlimited at-bats, so why not swing? It's clear these new features will unlock new possibilities, but it's likely that the first wave won't have the biggest impact. We're deep in the wild wild west, so we're anticipating some truly crazy initial uses of the custom GPT feature. But, the second wave of movement here is the one we're excited to watch. Are you ready to play? 🎲 Tue, 14 Nov 2023 09:00:00 -0000 Cem Kansu (Duolingo) Analyzes the Implications of OpenAI's DevDay and Airbnb's Release Strategy full 1 12 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat Cem Kansu on OpenAI's DevDay and Airbnb's Strategy Join us with Cem Kansu, VP of Product at Duolingo, as we discuss Duolingo's expansion into math and music (starts immediately), OpenAI's DevDay (starts at 21:15), and Airbnb's bi-annual product announcement (starts at 1:03:05). We’re covering the highlights from our OpenAI discussion below, but join us at UnsolicitedFeedback.co for full episode summaries. OpenAI's GPT Store: A New Frontier or a Wild West? 🤠 OpenAI's recent announcement of their GPT store has sent ripples through the tech world. But what does this mean for product and growth professionals? Let's dive in. 🤖 Custom GPTs: A New Era of User Experience 🤖 OpenAI's GPT store allows users to create custom versions of ChatGPT through natural language prompting. This means creating AI models that can advise startup founders, act as math tutors, or even generate content for language learning apps. The possibilities are endless, but we’re skeptical that the first version is a complete success. Why? 1️⃣ Text-based chat functionalities seem limited in a world dominated by engaging graphics accross devices. 2️⃣ The process to get started is still somewhat cumbersome and time-consuming. Is it worth the effort? 🛍️ The GPT Store: A Double-Edged Sword? 🛍️ The GPT store is designed to provide distribution and monetization for creators of GPTs. It's like the app store for AI models. But building a successful app store is no small feat. It requires a robust system for rankings, promotions, search, discovery, and more. Not to mention, handling the back office, fraud protection, and chargebacks. It's a massive undertaking, and one that could distract from OpenAI's core competencies. We also question if GPT has sufficient active users to justify an app store. Successful app stores like Apple and Android have constant active audiences thanks to their devices. 🎯 User Activation: The Key to Success 🎯 One of the biggest challenges with horizontal products like ChatGPT is user activation. Users often struggle to understand what they can do with the product. By creating a GPT store, OpenAI is essentially offloading this activation problem to user-generated solutions. This could potentially drive more traffic and engagement to the platform. But will it be enough to sustain the marketplace? ⚾ A Swing and a Miss, but with Many More At-Bats ⚾ Our hottest take: We're lukewarm on these releases in their current form, but excited for what they could become and respect OpenAI for the swing. We can't remember the last time a DevDay was this highly anticipated. By releasing and iterating, OpenAI shows they essentially have unlimited at-bats, so why not swing? It's clear these new features will unlock new possibilities, but it's likely that the first wave won't have the biggest impact. We're deep in the wild wild west, so we're anticipating some truly crazy initial uses of the custom GPT feature. But, the second wave of movement here is the one we're excited to watch. Are you ready to play? 🎲 Cem Kansu on OpenAI's DevDay and Airbnb's Strategy

Join us with Cem Kansu, VP of Product at Duolingo, as we discuss Duolingo's expansion into math and music (starts immediately), OpenAI's DevDay (starts at 21:15), and Airbnb's bi-annual product announcement (starts at 1:03:05).

We’re covering the highlights from our OpenAI discussion below, but join us at UnsolicitedFeedback.co for full episode summaries.

OpenAI's GPT Store: A New Frontier or a Wild West? 🤠

OpenAI's recent announcement of their GPT store has sent ripples through the tech world. But what does this mean for product and growth professionals? Let's dive in.

🤖 Custom GPTs: A New Era of User Experience 🤖

OpenAI's GPT store allows users to create custom versions of ChatGPT through natural language prompting. This means creating AI models that can advise startup founders, act as math tutors, or even generate content for language learning apps. The possibilities are endless, but we’re skeptical that the first version is a complete success. Why? 1️⃣ Text-based chat functionalities seem limited in a world dominated by engaging graphics accross devices. 2️⃣ The process to get started is still somewhat cumbersome and time-consuming. Is it worth the effort?

🛍️ The GPT Store: A Double-Edged Sword? 🛍️

The GPT store is designed to provide distribution and monetization for creators of GPTs. It's like the app store for AI models. But building a successful app store is no small feat. It requires a robust system for rankings, promotions, search, discovery, and more. Not to mention, handling the back office, fraud protection, and chargebacks. It's a massive undertaking, and one that could distract from OpenAI's core competencies. We also question if GPT has sufficient active users to justify an app store. Successful app stores like Apple and Android have constant active audiences thanks to their devices.

🎯 User Activation: The Key to Success 🎯

One of the biggest challenges with horizontal products like ChatGPT is user activation. Users often struggle to understand what they can do with the product. By creating a GPT store, OpenAI is essentially offloading this activation problem to user-generated solutions. This could potentially drive more traffic and engagement to the platform. But will it be enough to sustain the marketplace?

⚾ A Swing and a Miss, but with Many More At-Bats ⚾

Our hottest take: We're lukewarm on these releases in their current form, but excited for what they could become and respect OpenAI for the swing. We can't remember the last time a DevDay was this highly anticipated. By releasing and iterating, OpenAI shows they essentially have unlimited at-bats, so why not swing?

It's clear these new features will unlock new possibilities, but it's likely that the first wave won't have the biggest impact. We're deep in the wild wild west, so we're anticipating some truly crazy initial uses of the custom GPT feature. But, the second wave of movement here is the one we're excited to watch. Are you ready to play? 🎲

]]> 5395 yes Austin Hay (Ramp) Examines What's Next for HubSpot's Newest Acquisition, Clearbit; Plus a Defense of Freemium https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/episode-11 Austin Hay Examines What's Next for HubSpot's Newest Acquisition, Clearbit; Plus a Defense of Freemium This week, we're thrilled to discuss the biggest bombshell acquisition in the marketing space - HubSpot's acquisition of Clearbit. To really understand the implications here, we tapped Austin Hay, a renowned expert in marketing technology. Austin, who currently leads MarTech at Ramp, has previously worked with prominent companies like Branch and Runway and advised industry leaders like Notion, Walmart, and Postmates on their marketing technology strategies. Today he joins us to discuss: 1️⃣ HubSpot’s acquisition of Clearbit (Starts at 2:36) 2️⃣ A blog post by Bobby Pinero, the insightful CEO of Equals, where he tackles the complexities of Freemium (52:48) Below, we’ll unpack the critical takeaways from our in-depth discussion on HubSpot's pivotal acquisition of Clearbit. For summaries of our rebuttal of Bobby’s Freemium takedown and Austin's views on which Martech tools are underrated and which are overrated, you’ll either need to subscribe to our new email list at Unsolicitedfeedback.co, or just listen to the episode 🙂. Finally, scroll all the way down for some key definitions for those who haven’t taken Reforge’s Martech course. 1️⃣ HubSpot's Clearbit Acquisition Clearbit has three core products: Prospect: A contact database, much like ZoomInfo. 📚 Enrich: A tool for enhancing your contact data. 📈 Reveal: A tool for identifying anonymous web traffic. 🧩 Here's why this acquisition is a win-win, and a word of caution for Clearbit customers. 💡🔔 1️⃣ Why it makes sense for HubSpot: HubSpot is uniquely positioned to extract value. It can integrate Clearbit into all of its different hubs. 🔄 It aids the core business. CRMs are evolving to auto-fill over time, becoming more powerful and user-friendly. 💼 A seamless Clearbit integration could provide particularly strong value for HubSpot’s small to mid-market customers. 🎯 2️⃣ Why it makes sense for Clearbit: Data has been commoditized. Multiple vendors offer enrichment services making Clearbit's core competency an add-on. 🌐 Clearbit didn’t own the workflow, limiting its growth. 🚦 3️⃣ Key Questions: Will this still be a standalone product in a few years? We think not. ⏱️ How will AI factor into this? Could AI mine consumer data in an aggregate way? Or, could it leverage Clearbit data to auto-customize emails? 🤔 ⚠️ A word of caution for Clearbit customers: If you're not a HubSpot user, it might be time to explore alternatives. 🧭 Key Definitions: Good Redundancy: The ability to use multiple tools to perform a subfunction, with a clearly defined preferred tool. 🔄 Bad Redundancy: When a single vendor performs the same function across different parts of the stack at distinct times, leading to data becoming out of sync, outdated, or inconsistent. 📉 CDP: A system that helps companies unify customer data from multiple sources. 📊 CRM: A tool to manage interactions with current and potential customers. 💼 Enrichment: A process that enhances existing information with additional, relevant data. 📈 Reverse ETL: The process of extracting data from a data warehouse and loading it into cloud-based operational systems. ☁️ Thu, 09 Nov 2023 07:35:00 -0000 Austin Hay (Ramp) Examines What's Next for HubSpot's Newest Acquisition, Clearbit; Plus a Defense of Freemium full 1 11 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat Austin Hay Examines What's Next for HubSpot's Newest Acquisition, Clearbit; Plus a Defense of Freemium This week, we're thrilled to discuss the biggest bombshell acquisition in the marketing space - HubSpot's acquisition of Clearbit. To really understand the implications here, we tapped Austin Hay, a renowned expert in marketing technology. Austin, who currently leads MarTech at Ramp, has previously worked with prominent companies like Branch and Runway and advised industry leaders like Notion, Walmart, and Postmates on their marketing technology strategies. Today he joins us to discuss: 1️⃣ HubSpot’s acquisition of Clearbit (Starts at 2:36) 2️⃣ A blog post by Bobby Pinero, the insightful CEO of Equals, where he tackles the complexities of Freemium (52:48) Below, we’ll unpack the critical takeaways from our in-depth discussion on HubSpot's pivotal acquisition of Clearbit. For summaries of our rebuttal of Bobby’s Freemium takedown and Austin's views on which Martech tools are underrated and which are overrated, you’ll either need to subscribe to our new email list at Unsolicitedfeedback.co, or just listen to the episode 🙂. Finally, scroll all the way down for some key definitions for those who haven’t taken Reforge’s Martech course. 1️⃣ HubSpot's Clearbit Acquisition Clearbit has three core products: Prospect: A contact database, much like ZoomInfo. 📚 Enrich: A tool for enhancing your contact data. 📈 Reveal: A tool for identifying anonymous web traffic. 🧩 Here's why this acquisition is a win-win, and a word of caution for Clearbit customers. 💡🔔 1️⃣ Why it makes sense for HubSpot: HubSpot is uniquely positioned to extract value. It can integrate Clearbit into all of its different hubs. 🔄 It aids the core business. CRMs are evolving to auto-fill over time, becoming more powerful and user-friendly. 💼 A seamless Clearbit integration could provide particularly strong value for HubSpot’s small to mid-market customers. 🎯 2️⃣ Why it makes sense for Clearbit: Data has been commoditized. Multiple vendors offer enrichment services making Clearbit's core competency an add-on. 🌐 Clearbit didn’t own the workflow, limiting its growth. 🚦 3️⃣ Key Questions: Will this still be a standalone product in a few years? We think not. ⏱️ How will AI factor into this? Could AI mine consumer data in an aggregate way? Or, could it leverage Clearbit data to auto-customize emails? 🤔 ⚠️ A word of caution for Clearbit customers: If you're not a HubSpot user, it might be time to explore alternatives. 🧭 Key Definitions: Good Redundancy: The ability to use multiple tools to perform a subfunction, with a clearly defined preferred tool. 🔄 Bad Redundancy: When a single vendor performs the same function across different parts of the stack at distinct times, leading to data becoming out of sync, outdated, or inconsistent. 📉 CDP: A system that helps companies unify customer data from multiple sources. 📊 CRM: A tool to manage interactions with current and potential customers. 💼 Enrichment: A process that enhances existing information with additional, relevant data. 📈 Reverse ETL: The process of extracting data from a data warehouse and loading it into cloud-based operational systems. ☁️ Austin Hay Examines What's Next for HubSpot's Newest Acquisition, Clearbit; Plus a Defense of Freemium

This week, we're thrilled to discuss the biggest bombshell acquisition in the marketing space - HubSpot's acquisition of Clearbit. To really understand the implications here, we tapped Austin Hay, a renowned expert in marketing technology.

Austin, who currently leads MarTech at Ramp, has previously worked with prominent companies like Branch and Runway and advised industry leaders like Notion, Walmart, and Postmates on their marketing technology strategies. Today he joins us to discuss:

1️⃣ HubSpot’s acquisition of Clearbit (Starts at 2:36)

2️⃣ A blog post by Bobby Pinero, the insightful CEO of Equals, where he tackles the complexities of Freemium (52:48)

Below, we’ll unpack the critical takeaways from our in-depth discussion on HubSpot's pivotal acquisition of Clearbit. For summaries of our rebuttal of Bobby’s Freemium takedown and Austin's views on which Martech tools are underrated and which are overrated, you’ll either need to subscribe to our new email list at Unsolicitedfeedback.co, or just listen to the episode 🙂.

Finally, scroll all the way down for some key definitions for those who haven’t taken Reforge’s Martech course.

1️⃣ HubSpot's Clearbit Acquisition

Clearbit has three core products:

  • Prospect: A contact database, much like ZoomInfo. 📚
  • Enrich: A tool for enhancing your contact data. 📈
  • Reveal: A tool for identifying anonymous web traffic. 🧩


Here's why this acquisition is a win-win, and a word of caution for Clearbit customers. 💡🔔


1️⃣ Why it makes sense for HubSpot:

  • HubSpot is uniquely positioned to extract value. It can integrate Clearbit into all of its different hubs. 🔄
  • It aids the core business. CRMs are evolving to auto-fill over time, becoming more powerful and user-friendly. 💼
  • A seamless Clearbit integration could provide particularly strong value for HubSpot’s small to mid-market customers. 🎯


2️⃣ Why it makes sense for Clearbit:

  • Data has been commoditized. Multiple vendors offer enrichment services making Clearbit's core competency an add-on. 🌐
  • Clearbit didn’t own the workflow, limiting its growth. 🚦


3️⃣ Key Questions:

  • Will this still be a standalone product in a few years? We think not. ⏱️
  • How will AI factor into this? Could AI mine consumer data in an aggregate way? Or, could it leverage Clearbit data to auto-customize emails? 🤔


⚠️ A word of caution for Clearbit customers: If you're not a HubSpot user, it might be time to explore alternatives. 🧭


Key Definitions:

  • Good Redundancy: The ability to use multiple tools to perform a subfunction, with a clearly defined preferred tool. 🔄
  • Bad Redundancy: When a single vendor performs the same function across different parts of the stack at distinct times, leading to data becoming out of sync, outdated, or inconsistent. 📉
  • CDP: A system that helps companies unify customer data from multiple sources. 📊
  • CRM: A tool to manage interactions with current and potential customers. 💼
  • Enrichment: A process that enhances existing information with additional, relevant data. 📈
  • Reverse ETL: The process of extracting data from a data warehouse and loading it into cloud-based operational systems. ☁️
]]> 4806 yes Darius Contractor (Otter.ai) Joins to Unpack Arc's Viral Loops and Show the Slack Redesign Haters They’re Wrong https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/episode-10 Darius Contractor Joins to Unpack Arc's Viral Loops and Show the Slack Redesign Haters They’re Wrong This week, Brian and Fareed are joined by Darius Contractor, the current Chief Growth Officer at Otter.ai. Darius has a background in growth, product, and engineering, and his experience spans some of the world's most notable companies. These include early social media platform Bebo and renowned unicorns like Facebook, Dropbox, and Airtable. This week, we're all about the praise 🙌! 1️⃣ First, we're discussing why Arc is succeeding in a market crowded with powerful incumbents. 2️⃣ Next, we're defending Slack's redesign against the wave of criticism in our Slack channels and X comments. Plus, Brian, Fareed, and Darius will each share their favorite viral memories 🚀 And, we're getting an exclusive preview of Darius' new mental model focused on gravity 🧑‍🚀 🔥 Arc browser is stirring things up...and here's why it's a game changer. 👣 Virality is in its DNA 👣 Arc nails the concept of virality by creating a value exchange where both the sender and receiver of shared content benefit. As Darius quips, "when things go viral, you want to make the person who sends the virality look smart and the person who receives the virality get some like quota of value, right?" 🎯 Super Serving a Niche Audience (Fareed) 🎯 Arc effectively caters to a specific ideal customer profile, the tech enthusiast. It facilitates quick link finding, enables seamless multitasking, and maintains links and thoughts at the forefront with Spaces. Even minor details, such as their AI feature that intuitively renames downloads, impress their core audience. As Fareed eloquently puts it, "And I was like, that was really cool.” 🎮Browser Goes Multiplayer 🎮 Arc transforms the traditional browser experience into a multiplayer experience. It’s like the Stone Soup of Virality, Darius Notes. Everyone can contribute a little something difference, and the value of the whole increases. ✨ UI Tweaks for The Win ✨ Minor tweaks in the UI, like moving the navigation bar to the left, make the browsing experience more user-friendly. It's a simple yet effective change that taps into trends in screen sizes. "The left nav makes sense because screens are getting wider... So it just makes sense to use the extra width as the kind of browser bar." In this episode, we delve deeper into Arc, its unique features, and potential impact. We also highlight key insights that founders or product leaders should take note of. We're here to defend Slack Everyone's favorite workplace messenger has moved the cheese, and the world has been set ablaze. Slack's redesign hits the validity bar. First, what is the point of a redesign? It has to do two things to be worth upsetting customers. 1️⃣ it has to solve a core user problem and 2️⃣ it has to set Slack up for a strategic benefit. In our view, this solves numerous problems. 1️⃣ ✅ The redesign is a game-changer for power users, by making DMs and activity more front and center. It also enables users with multiple workspaces to toggle more seamlessly between the workspaces. And finally, it gets rid of the sequence problems with Threads (Darius can't even open his threads unless he's prepared to get through all of them because they are so hard to track). We also feel it's setting up for a Strategic Benefit, although it's hard to be certain this early 2️⃣ ✅ It solves a major problem for enterprise clients who might be in multiple workspaces per company. And, the redesign could be seen as Slack's attempt to make space for non-messaging type features. 💪 Word to the wise - Immediate praise for redesigns is rare, so don't expect them. For those doing a redesign, just know no matter how good it is, people will be upset. So make sure you brace for impact and have clear communication. To listen to their complete discussion on Slack, hear epic virality stories, and discover Darius' new mental model about gravity, tune into the full episode on your preferred platform. Thu, 02 Nov 2023 05:05:00 -0000 Darius Contractor (Otter.ai) Joins to Unpack Arc's Viral Loops and Show the Slack Redesign Haters They’re Wrong full 1 10 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat Darius Contractor Joins to Unpack Arc's Viral Loops and Show the Slack Redesign Haters They’re Wrong This week, Brian and Fareed are joined by Darius Contractor, the current Chief Growth Officer at Otter.ai. Darius has a background in growth, product, and engineering, and his experience spans some of the world's most notable companies. These include early social media platform Bebo and renowned unicorns like Facebook, Dropbox, and Airtable. This week, we're all about the praise 🙌! 1️⃣ First, we're discussing why Arc is succeeding in a market crowded with powerful incumbents. 2️⃣ Next, we're defending Slack's redesign against the wave of criticism in our Slack channels and X comments. Plus, Brian, Fareed, and Darius will each share their favorite viral memories 🚀 And, we're getting an exclusive preview of Darius' new mental model focused on gravity 🧑‍🚀 🔥 Arc browser is stirring things up...and here's why it's a game changer. 👣 Virality is in its DNA 👣 Arc nails the concept of virality by creating a value exchange where both the sender and receiver of shared content benefit. As Darius quips, "when things go viral, you want to make the person who sends the virality look smart and the person who receives the virality get some like quota of value, right?" 🎯 Super Serving a Niche Audience (Fareed) 🎯 Arc effectively caters to a specific ideal customer profile, the tech enthusiast. It facilitates quick link finding, enables seamless multitasking, and maintains links and thoughts at the forefront with Spaces. Even minor details, such as their AI feature that intuitively renames downloads, impress their core audience. As Fareed eloquently puts it, "And I was like, that was really cool.” 🎮Browser Goes Multiplayer 🎮 Arc transforms the traditional browser experience into a multiplayer experience. It’s like the Stone Soup of Virality, Darius Notes. Everyone can contribute a little something difference, and the value of the whole increases. ✨ UI Tweaks for The Win ✨ Minor tweaks in the UI, like moving the navigation bar to the left, make the browsing experience more user-friendly. It's a simple yet effective change that taps into trends in screen sizes. "The left nav makes sense because screens are getting wider... So it just makes sense to use the extra width as the kind of browser bar." In this episode, we delve deeper into Arc, its unique features, and potential impact. We also highlight key insights that founders or product leaders should take note of. We're here to defend Slack Everyone's favorite workplace messenger has moved the cheese, and the world has been set ablaze. Slack's redesign hits the validity bar. First, what is the point of a redesign? It has to do two things to be worth upsetting customers. 1️⃣ it has to solve a core user problem and 2️⃣ it has to set Slack up for a strategic benefit. In our view, this solves numerous problems. 1️⃣ ✅ The redesign is a game-changer for power users, by making DMs and activity more front and center. It also enables users with multiple workspaces to toggle more seamlessly between the workspaces. And finally, it gets rid of the sequence problems with Threads (Darius can't even open his threads unless he's prepared to get through all of them because they are so hard to track). We also feel it's setting up for a Strategic Benefit, although it's hard to be certain this early 2️⃣ ✅ It solves a major problem for enterprise clients who might be in multiple workspaces per company. And, the redesign could be seen as Slack's attempt to make space for non-messaging type features. 💪 Word to the wise - Immediate praise for redesigns is rare, so don't expect them. For those doing a redesign, just know no matter how good it is, people will be upset. So make sure you brace for impact and have clear communication. To listen to their complete discussion on Slack, hear epic virality stories, and discover Darius' new mental model about gravity, tune into the full episode on your preferred platform. Darius Contractor Joins to Unpack Arc's Viral Loops and Show the Slack Redesign Haters They’re Wrong

This week, Brian and Fareed are joined by Darius Contractor, the current Chief Growth Officer at Otter.ai. Darius has a background in growth, product, and engineering, and his experience spans some of the world's most notable companies. These include early social media platform Bebo and renowned unicorns like Facebook, Dropbox, and Airtable.

This week, we're all about the praise 🙌!

1️⃣ First, we're discussing why Arc is succeeding in a market crowded with powerful incumbents.

2️⃣ Next, we're defending Slack's redesign against the wave of criticism in our Slack channels and X comments.

Plus, Brian, Fareed, and Darius will each share their favorite viral memories 🚀

And, we're getting an exclusive preview of Darius' new mental model focused on gravity 🧑‍🚀


🔥 Arc browser is stirring things up...and here's why it's a game changer.

👣 Virality is in its DNA 👣 Arc nails the concept of virality by creating a value exchange where both the sender and receiver of shared content benefit. As Darius quips, "when things go viral, you want to make the person who sends the virality look smart and the person who receives the virality get some like quota of value, right?"

🎯 Super Serving a Niche Audience (Fareed) 🎯 Arc effectively caters to a specific ideal customer profile, the tech enthusiast. It facilitates quick link finding, enables seamless multitasking, and maintains links and thoughts at the forefront with Spaces. Even minor details, such as their AI feature that intuitively renames downloads, impress their core audience. As Fareed eloquently puts it, "And I was like, that was really cool.”

🎮Browser Goes Multiplayer 🎮 Arc transforms the traditional browser experience into a multiplayer experience. It’s like the Stone Soup of Virality, Darius Notes. Everyone can contribute a little something difference, and the value of the whole increases.

✨ UI Tweaks for The Win ✨ Minor tweaks in the UI, like moving the navigation bar to the left, make the browsing experience more user-friendly. It's a simple yet effective change that taps into trends in screen sizes. "The left nav makes sense because screens are getting wider... So it just makes sense to use the extra width as the kind of browser bar."

In this episode, we delve deeper into Arc, its unique features, and potential impact. We also highlight key insights that founders or product leaders should take note of.


We're here to defend Slack

Everyone's favorite workplace messenger has moved the cheese, and the world has been set ablaze.

Slack's redesign hits the validity bar. First, what is the point of a redesign? It has to do two things to be worth upsetting customers. 1️⃣ it has to solve a core user problem and 2️⃣ it has to set Slack up for a strategic benefit.

In our view, this solves numerous problems. 1️⃣ ✅

The redesign is a game-changer for power users, by making DMs and activity more front and center. It also enables users with multiple workspaces to toggle more seamlessly between the workspaces. And finally, it gets rid of the sequence problems with Threads (Darius can't even open his threads unless he's prepared to get through all of them because they are so hard to track).

We also feel it's setting up for a Strategic Benefit, although it's hard to be certain this early 2️⃣ ✅

It solves a major problem for enterprise clients who might be in multiple workspaces per company. And, the redesign could be seen as Slack's attempt to make space for non-messaging type features.

💪 Word to the wise - Immediate praise for redesigns is rare, so don't expect them. For those doing a redesign, just know no matter how good it is, people will be upset. So make sure you brace for impact and have clear communication.

To listen to their complete discussion on Slack, hear epic virality stories, and discover Darius' new mental model about gravity, tune into the full episode on your preferred platform.

]]> 4981 yes Crystal Widjaja (Gojek) Unlocks the Secrets of Unmeasurable Metrics and Extracts Lessons from Convoy's Downfall! https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/episode-9 This week, we are joined by Crystal Widjaja, a data-driven product expert. Crystal has held product and data leadership roles at various companies, including Kumu and Gojek, a super app and delivery and logistics platform in Southeast Asia. In these roles, she led data teams and product teams. Crystal is also a prolific contributor to Reforge, providing valuable insights through our programs, blog, and artifacts. If you enjoy what you hear in the podcast, you can find more of Crystal's rich insights at Reforge.com. This week, we will be discussing: Jason Cohen's blog post on "Metrics That Cannot Be Measured Even in Retrospect" and the challenges faced by data-driven product leaders. 📊 The lessons that product leaders can learn from the failure of Convoy, a major player in the freight brokerage business. 💡 Challenges of Being a Data-Driven Product Leader We're starting with Jason Cohen's article in which he makes three key points: 1) Some widely discussed metrics, such as the impact of a single feature on product revenue, are not easily quantifiable. 🔢 Why? Customers often ask for many features during the buying process, but they end up not using them. However, this doesn't mean that these features don't affect revenue or aren't important. ❓💰❗ Our take? It's a bit crazy how many product management books and blogs tell you to measure the impact of a feature on acquisition, retention, and monetization. 📚📈 Instead, use TARS, a framework that stands for Target Audience, Adoption, Retention, and Satisfaction. ✨🎯😃 Or, instead of measuring the positive impact on revenue, Shashir Mehrotra suggests measuring the churn rate if you remove the feature to evaluate its impact. ⏪➡️⚖️ 2) Measuring the impact of incremental activities on customer churn can be challenging. Why? There's often a big lag between the action happening and the customer churning, making it impossible to measure the single action that caused the churn. Crystal thinks this is the wrong point to make. In general, there's a sliding scale of metrics from difficult to easy things to measure, but nothing is really impossible. The real question is, for the impossible side of the scale, can we come up with a proxy that's good enough? Do I really need perfect data? "You can come up with a proxy for everything, right?" - Crystal 3) Measuring the probability of risks is more of a "cover your ass" activity than actually being useful? 🤔 Why? Whether something has a 30% or a 70% probability of happening, it could still happen. So, "don't put probabilities on the slide at all. Only list the risks that you feel are so important that they either merit action or awareness." ❌📊 Fareed agrees - there are only two types of risks that matter: Ones with a very high probability of happening ❗ Ones that are so severe that their impact is existential ❗ Anything other than those two should just be a "deal with it when it happens" situation. 💼🕒 Do a pre-mortem. Just sit down in a room and say, if this project fails, why would it have failed? Then figure out which of those fail points you want to try and preempt or solve against. 💭💡 Avoid a "Bike Shedding Discussion." "You are designing a nuclear factory, but everyone's spending all this time deciding, where should we put the bike storage shed? That must be the most important thing to talk about and define, and I'm just gonna force the conversation on this smaller piece, versus the like, building of the nuclear factory." - Crystal 🚳🚲🏭 Want to hear more on Crystal's metaverse approach to data analytics and discover why Brian, Fareed, and Crystal dislike benchmarks? How about hearing the hard truths about Convoy's downfall? Listen to the full episode! It's time to level up your product decisions! 💥 Thu, 26 Oct 2023 08:09:00 -0000 Crystal Widjaja (Gojek) Unlocks the Secrets of Unmeasurable Metrics and Extracts Lessons from Convoy's Downfall! full 1 9 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat This week, we are joined by Crystal Widjaja, a data-driven product expert. Crystal has held product and data leadership roles at various companies, including Kumu and Gojek, a super app and delivery and logistics platform in Southeast Asia. In these roles, she led data teams and product teams. Crystal is also a prolific contributor to Reforge, providing valuable insights through our programs, blog, and artifacts. If you enjoy what you hear in the podcast, you can find more of Crystal's rich insights at Reforge.com. This week, we will be discussing: Jason Cohen's blog post on "Metrics That Cannot Be Measured Even in Retrospect" and the challenges faced by data-driven product leaders. 📊 The lessons that product leaders can learn from the failure of Convoy, a major player in the freight brokerage business. 💡 Challenges of Being a Data-Driven Product Leader We're starting with Jason Cohen's article in which he makes three key points: 1) Some widely discussed metrics, such as the impact of a single feature on product revenue, are not easily quantifiable. 🔢 Why? Customers often ask for many features during the buying process, but they end up not using them. However, this doesn't mean that these features don't affect revenue or aren't important. ❓💰❗ Our take? It's a bit crazy how many product management books and blogs tell you to measure the impact of a feature on acquisition, retention, and monetization. 📚📈 Instead, use TARS, a framework that stands for Target Audience, Adoption, Retention, and Satisfaction. ✨🎯😃 Or, instead of measuring the positive impact on revenue, Shashir Mehrotra suggests measuring the churn rate if you remove the feature to evaluate its impact. ⏪➡️⚖️ 2) Measuring the impact of incremental activities on customer churn can be challenging. Why? There's often a big lag between the action happening and the customer churning, making it impossible to measure the single action that caused the churn. Crystal thinks this is the wrong point to make. In general, there's a sliding scale of metrics from difficult to easy things to measure, but nothing is really impossible. The real question is, for the impossible side of the scale, can we come up with a proxy that's good enough? Do I really need perfect data? "You can come up with a proxy for everything, right?" - Crystal 3) Measuring the probability of risks is more of a "cover your ass" activity than actually being useful? 🤔 Why? Whether something has a 30% or a 70% probability of happening, it could still happen. So, "don't put probabilities on the slide at all. Only list the risks that you feel are so important that they either merit action or awareness." ❌📊 Fareed agrees - there are only two types of risks that matter: Ones with a very high probability of happening ❗ Ones that are so severe that their impact is existential ❗ Anything other than those two should just be a "deal with it when it happens" situation. 💼🕒 Do a pre-mortem. Just sit down in a room and say, if this project fails, why would it have failed? Then figure out which of those fail points you want to try and preempt or solve against. 💭💡 Avoid a "Bike Shedding Discussion." "You are designing a nuclear factory, but everyone's spending all this time deciding, where should we put the bike storage shed? That must be the most important thing to talk about and define, and I'm just gonna force the conversation on this smaller piece, versus the like, building of the nuclear factory." - Crystal 🚳🚲🏭 Want to hear more on Crystal's metaverse approach to data analytics and discover why Brian, Fareed, and Crystal dislike benchmarks? How about hearing the hard truths about Convoy's downfall? Listen to the full episode! It's time to level up your product decisions! 💥 This week, we are joined by Crystal Widjaja, a data-driven product expert. Crystal has held product and data leadership roles at various companies, including Kumu and Gojek, a super app and delivery and logistics platform in Southeast Asia. In these roles, she led data teams and product teams.

Crystal is also a prolific contributor to Reforge, providing valuable insights through our programs, blog, and artifacts. If you enjoy what you hear in the podcast, you can find more of Crystal's rich insights at Reforge.com.

This week, we will be discussing:

  • Jason Cohen's blog post on "Metrics That Cannot Be Measured Even in Retrospect" and the challenges faced by data-driven product leaders. 📊
  • The lessons that product leaders can learn from the failure of Convoy, a major player in the freight brokerage business. 💡

Challenges of Being a Data-Driven Product Leader

We're starting with Jason Cohen's article in which he makes three key points:


1) Some widely discussed metrics, such as the impact of a single feature on product revenue, are not easily quantifiable. 🔢


Why? Customers often ask for many features during the buying process, but they end up not using them. However, this doesn't mean that these features don't affect revenue or aren't important. ❓💰❗

Our take? It's a bit crazy how many product management books and blogs tell you to measure the impact of a feature on acquisition, retention, and monetization. 📚📈

Instead, use TARS, a framework that stands for Target Audience, Adoption, Retention, and Satisfaction. ✨🎯😃

Or, instead of measuring the positive impact on revenue, Shashir Mehrotra suggests measuring the churn rate if you remove the feature to evaluate its impact. ⏪➡️⚖️


2) Measuring the impact of incremental activities on customer churn can be challenging.

Why? There's often a big lag between the action happening and the customer churning, making it impossible to measure the single action that caused the churn.

Crystal thinks this is the wrong point to make. In general, there's a sliding scale of metrics from difficult to easy things to measure, but nothing is really impossible.

The real question is, for the impossible side of the scale, can we come up with a proxy that's good enough? Do I really need perfect data? "You can come up with a proxy for everything, right?" - Crystal


3) Measuring the probability of risks is more of a "cover your ass" activity than actually being useful? 🤔

Why? Whether something has a 30% or a 70% probability of happening, it could still happen. So, "don't put probabilities on the slide at all. Only list the risks that you feel are so important that they either merit action or awareness." ❌📊

Fareed agrees - there are only two types of risks that matter:

  1. Ones with a very high probability of happening ❗
  2. Ones that are so severe that their impact is existential ❗

Anything other than those two should just be a "deal with it when it happens" situation. 💼🕒

Do a pre-mortem. Just sit down in a room and say, if this project fails, why would it have failed? Then figure out which of those fail points you want to try and preempt or solve against. 💭💡

Avoid a "Bike Shedding Discussion." "You are designing a nuclear factory, but everyone's spending all this time deciding, where should we put the bike storage shed? That must be the most important thing to talk about and define, and I'm just gonna force the conversation on this smaller piece, versus the like, building of the nuclear factory." - Crystal 🚳🚲🏭


Want to hear more on Crystal's metaverse approach to data analytics and discover why Brian, Fareed, and Crystal dislike benchmarks? How about hearing the hard truths about Convoy's downfall? Listen to the full episode! It's time to level up your product decisions! 💥

]]> 4640 yes Patrick Campbell (ProfitWell) Joins for a Growth Model Breakdown of Loom, Plus Patrick Campbell’s Pricing Corner https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/episode-8 This week, Unsolicited Feedback is thrilled to welcome Patrick Campbell. Patrick was founder and CEO of ProfitWell, an analytics tool for subscription companies, which was sold to payments company Paddle about a year ago for $200 million. This week’s episode features: 1️⃣ Patrick Campbell’s Pricing Corner as he dishes out hot-takes on Unity’s pricing faux pa, AI’s monetization challenges, and the state of the macroeconomy (starts at 12:22) 2️⃣ A Deep Dive into Loom’s growth models in light of their acquisition by Atlassian. Plus, is the acquisition a win-win? (starts at 30:49) The Growth Loops that led to Loom’s Acquisition Loom Growth Loops: Loom utilized several growth loops that contributed to their remarkable growth. One of the main loops was their viral acquisition engine, which was driven by their free account offering. It was a User Generated, User Distributed Loop consisting of the following steps: Entry: The user creates a Loom video. Trigger: The user shares that Loom video with a colleague or client. Action: The colleague or client views or comments on that video. Back to Entry: Some subset of those colleagues or clients will begin using Loom. Environmental & Manufactured Loops Power Loom’s Retention Environmental loops are mechanisms that utilize the user's environment or external factors to strengthen and maintain engagement with a product or service. These loops rely on the context in which the product is used and create a seamless experience that encourages users to continue their interactions. Specifically, Loom is available in all the places where you might need to record: in your applications, on your desktop, and in your browser. It is constantly accessible, just one click away. Loom also offers a strong manufactured loop to combat camera anxiety: Trigger: The loop starts when a user creates a Loom Video and shares it with a colleague or client. Action: The colleague or client is then prompted to take an action, such as playing or commenting on the video. Reward: Every time someone comments on or views the video, Loom sends an email notification to the user, providing a little dopamine boost. This reward gives the user a sense of accomplishment and transparency. Trigger: This reward then triggers a new set of actions as the original user wants to create more videos, thus repeating the loop. Furthermore, Loom has reduced significant friction in the first step by adding AI as a step 1a in the process, which helps clean up the video and gives the core user additional confidence to share it. Looms Monetization Model fueled it’s growth Loom's pricing model is designed to balance acquisition and engagement, with a free plan that allows for viral growth and a paid plan that offers additional features and removes limitations. They have strategically kept Loom's pricing high to maximize revenue from highly engaged users. And they have done a great job packaging it so that for lean-in users, the 5-minute video length cap, 25 videos per month maximum, and Loom branding are enough to encourage them to upgrade, but not so prohibitive that a newer or casual fan of Loom cannot use the product for free. Acquisition was a Win-Win: Atlassian gains a new front-door to sell its other products. "Loom drives the acquisition of logos. This is the next level of fuel for the business." Atlassian has already stated its plans to integrate Loom heavily into its other product lines. Atlassian gains access to new customers in education and customer success, which are slightly further from its core product. Loom achieves much deeper defensibility. Loom avoids the need to become a multi-product company. And, Loom delivers a healthy return for it’s employees and investors! For more Unsolicited Feedback, join us at reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback! Thu, 19 Oct 2023 09:52:00 -0000 Patrick Campbell (ProfitWell) Joins for a Growth Model Breakdown of Loom, Plus Patrick Campbell's Pricing Corner full 1 8 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat This week, Unsolicited Feedback is thrilled to welcome Patrick Campbell. Patrick was founder and CEO of ProfitWell, an analytics tool for subscription companies, which was sold to payments company Paddle about a year ago for $200 million. This week’s episode features: 1️⃣ Patrick Campbell’s Pricing Corner as he dishes out hot-takes on Unity’s pricing faux pa, AI’s monetization challenges, and the state of the macroeconomy (starts at 12:22) 2️⃣ A Deep Dive into Loom’s growth models in light of their acquisition by Atlassian. Plus, is the acquisition a win-win? (starts at 30:49) The Growth Loops that led to Loom’s Acquisition Loom Growth Loops: Loom utilized several growth loops that contributed to their remarkable growth. One of the main loops was their viral acquisition engine, which was driven by their free account offering. It was a User Generated, User Distributed Loop consisting of the following steps: Entry: The user creates a Loom video. Trigger: The user shares that Loom video with a colleague or client. Action: The colleague or client views or comments on that video. Back to Entry: Some subset of those colleagues or clients will begin using Loom. Environmental & Manufactured Loops Power Loom’s Retention Environmental loops are mechanisms that utilize the user's environment or external factors to strengthen and maintain engagement with a product or service. These loops rely on the context in which the product is used and create a seamless experience that encourages users to continue their interactions. Specifically, Loom is available in all the places where you might need to record: in your applications, on your desktop, and in your browser. It is constantly accessible, just one click away. Loom also offers a strong manufactured loop to combat camera anxiety: Trigger: The loop starts when a user creates a Loom Video and shares it with a colleague or client. Action: The colleague or client is then prompted to take an action, such as playing or commenting on the video. Reward: Every time someone comments on or views the video, Loom sends an email notification to the user, providing a little dopamine boost. This reward gives the user a sense of accomplishment and transparency. Trigger: This reward then triggers a new set of actions as the original user wants to create more videos, thus repeating the loop. Furthermore, Loom has reduced significant friction in the first step by adding AI as a step 1a in the process, which helps clean up the video and gives the core user additional confidence to share it. Looms Monetization Model fueled it’s growth Loom's pricing model is designed to balance acquisition and engagement, with a free plan that allows for viral growth and a paid plan that offers additional features and removes limitations. They have strategically kept Loom's pricing high to maximize revenue from highly engaged users. And they have done a great job packaging it so that for lean-in users, the 5-minute video length cap, 25 videos per month maximum, and Loom branding are enough to encourage them to upgrade, but not so prohibitive that a newer or casual fan of Loom cannot use the product for free. Acquisition was a Win-Win: Atlassian gains a new front-door to sell its other products. "Loom drives the acquisition of logos. This is the next level of fuel for the business." Atlassian has already stated its plans to integrate Loom heavily into its other product lines. Atlassian gains access to new customers in education and customer success, which are slightly further from its core product. Loom achieves much deeper defensibility. Loom avoids the need to become a multi-product company. And, Loom delivers a healthy return for it’s employees and investors! For more Unsolicited Feedback, join us at reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback! This week, Unsolicited Feedback is thrilled to welcome Patrick Campbell. Patrick was founder and CEO of ProfitWell, an analytics tool for subscription companies, which was sold to payments company Paddle about a year ago for $200 million. This week’s episode features:


1️⃣ Patrick Campbell’s Pricing Corner as he dishes out hot-takes on Unity’s pricing faux pa, AI’s monetization challenges, and the state of the macroeconomy (starts at 12:22)


2️⃣ A Deep Dive into Loom’s growth models in light of their acquisition by Atlassian. Plus, is the acquisition a win-win? (starts at 30:49)



The Growth Loops that led to Loom’s Acquisition


Loom Growth Loops:

Loom utilized several growth loops that contributed to their remarkable growth. One of the main loops was their viral acquisition engine, which was driven by their free account offering. It was a User Generated, User Distributed Loop consisting of the following steps:

  1. Entry: The user creates a Loom video.
  2. Trigger: The user shares that Loom video with a colleague or client.
  3. Action: The colleague or client views or comments on that video.
  4. Back to Entry: Some subset of those colleagues or clients will begin using Loom.


Environmental & Manufactured Loops Power Loom’s Retention

Environmental loops are mechanisms that utilize the user's environment or external factors to strengthen and maintain engagement with a product or service. These loops rely on the context in which the product is used and create a seamless experience that encourages users to continue their interactions.

Specifically, Loom is available in all the places where you might need to record: in your applications, on your desktop, and in your browser. It is constantly accessible, just one click away.

Loom also offers a strong manufactured loop to combat camera anxiety:

  1. Trigger: The loop starts when a user creates a Loom Video and shares it with a colleague or client.
  2. Action: The colleague or client is then prompted to take an action, such as playing or commenting on the video.
  3. Reward: Every time someone comments on or views the video, Loom sends an email notification to the user, providing a little dopamine boost. This reward gives the user a sense of accomplishment and transparency.
  4. Trigger: This reward then triggers a new set of actions as the original user wants to create more videos, thus repeating the loop.


Furthermore, Loom has reduced significant friction in the first step by adding AI as a step 1a in the process, which helps clean up the video and gives the core user additional confidence to share it.


Looms Monetization Model fueled it’s growth

Loom's pricing model is designed to balance acquisition and engagement, with a free plan that allows for viral growth and a paid plan that offers additional features and removes limitations.

They have strategically kept Loom's pricing high to maximize revenue from highly engaged users.

And they have done a great job packaging it so that for lean-in users, the 5-minute video length cap, 25 videos per month maximum, and Loom branding are enough to encourage them to upgrade, but not so prohibitive that a newer or casual fan of Loom cannot use the product for free.


Acquisition was a Win-Win:

Atlassian gains a new front-door to sell its other products.

"Loom drives the acquisition of logos. This is the next level of fuel for the business."

Atlassian has already stated its plans to integrate Loom heavily into its other product lines.

Atlassian gains access to new customers in education and customer success, which are slightly further from its core product.

Loom achieves much deeper defensibility.

Loom avoids the need to become a multi-product company.

And, Loom delivers a healthy return for it’s employees and investors!

For more Unsolicited Feedback, join us at reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback!

]]> 5270 yes Claire Vo (Color) Tackles Monetization Strategy for AI Businesses and Protecting the Super ICs in Product https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/episode-7 Claire Vo Tackles Monetization Strategy for AI Businesses and Protecting the Super ICs in Product This week, Unsolicited Feedback is thrilled to welcome Claire Vo to the virtual table. Claire, the CPO at Color and former CPO at Optimizely, is known for her prolific Product HotTakes on X! Join us as we dive into an engaging conversation with Claire and get ready for some hot takes as: 1️⃣ This week’s trio analyze the real cost and pricing challenges of new AI products (starts at 10:37) 2️⃣ Brian & Fareed deliver some Unsolicited Feedback on Claire’s views on managing efficient product teams (starts at 48:14) AI’s Monetization Challenges Today’s discussion starts with a Wall Street Journal article detailing how GitHub's Copilot is in the red due to the costs of AI. The debate is fascinating, but ultimately we walk away with three big takeaways: 🏢 AI favors the incumbents: 🏢 Why? High start-up costs, high incremental costs of delivery, and competitive advantages in terms of user base and data richness. Further, large companies like Replit can afford to offer their AI for free as a loss leader, bearing the expense until the cost of delivering AI decreases. 💰 Value-based pricing appears to be the early winner: 💰 Seat-based pricing will eventually decline to zero and may not have an attractive total addressable market (TAM). Brian highlights that cost-plus pricing, where pricing is determined by applying some margin to the cost of goods, presents a few challenges: Is it a strong enough counter-positioning move from a business model perspective to compete against incumbents with more cash, data, and users? How do users perceive value when tokens are introduced? Do tokens inadvertently create friction? If you can develop a solution that delivers tangible and measurable value, and customers can easily recognize this value is lower than their best alternative, the purchase is an easy yes. 🤔 It's not about real value. It's about perceived value. 🤔 Claire says perceived value is often a function of two things. Firstly, it considers the cost of having a human or a group of humans with limited expertise perform a certain task. Second, it considers the amount of enterprise value you know the product will produce. 💡 "I think both of those things are very quickly going to shift in folks' minds over the next couple of years. I think the perceived value of human expertise is going to collapse." 💡- Claire In fact, Claire envisions a future where a department head, instead of thinking about headcount, thinks about budget. They can then decide what portion of that budget to allocate to humans versus AI! Managing Efficiency in Product ❗️The problem: ❗️ "Almost everything about growing the size and scale of your team has an immediate and detrimental impact on the thing that matters most: building awesome products. Unless you actively fight against these effects, you'll wake up one day with a very effective bureaucracy, but a very poor product." - Claire 💪 How do we battle against this? 💪 1) 😎 Smaller teams to achieve big things: 😎 Actually ingraining this mentality in an organization that needs to grow is difficult because all of the industry incentives are just fundamentally flipped in the opposite direction. 2) 🔑 Protect and Incentivize Senior ICs: 🔑 Teams are best served by more star players on the field, not by more coaches on the sidelines. How to fix it? Eliminate financial incentives to becoming a manager by making the IC path equally or even more attractive. This means that folks who actually choose the coach path do it for the right reasons, and not the wrong reasons. 3) 🚀 Lead by example if you are a product leader: 🚀 Emphasize that "there's no pride in size and scope. There's only pride in output and impact." - Claire Thu, 12 Oct 2023 09:33:00 -0000 Claire Vo (Color) Tackles Monetization Strategy for AI Businesses and Protecting the Super ICs in Product full 1 4 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat Claire Vo Tackles Monetization Strategy for AI Businesses and Protecting the Super ICs in Product This week, Unsolicited Feedback is thrilled to welcome Claire Vo to the virtual table. Claire, the CPO at Color and former CPO at Optimizely, is known for her prolific Product HotTakes on X! Join us as we dive into an engaging conversation with Claire and get ready for some hot takes as: 1️⃣ This week’s trio analyze the real cost and pricing challenges of new AI products (starts at 10:37) 2️⃣ Brian & Fareed deliver some Unsolicited Feedback on Claire’s views on managing efficient product teams (starts at 48:14) AI’s Monetization Challenges Today’s discussion starts with a Wall Street Journal article detailing how GitHub's Copilot is in the red due to the costs of AI. The debate is fascinating, but ultimately we walk away with three big takeaways: 🏢 AI favors the incumbents: 🏢 Why? High start-up costs, high incremental costs of delivery, and competitive advantages in terms of user base and data richness. Further, large companies like Replit can afford to offer their AI for free as a loss leader, bearing the expense until the cost of delivering AI decreases. 💰 Value-based pricing appears to be the early winner: 💰 Seat-based pricing will eventually decline to zero and may not have an attractive total addressable market (TAM). Brian highlights that cost-plus pricing, where pricing is determined by applying some margin to the cost of goods, presents a few challenges: Is it a strong enough counter-positioning move from a business model perspective to compete against incumbents with more cash, data, and users? How do users perceive value when tokens are introduced? Do tokens inadvertently create friction? If you can develop a solution that delivers tangible and measurable value, and customers can easily recognize this value is lower than their best alternative, the purchase is an easy yes. 🤔 It's not about real value. It's about perceived value. 🤔 Claire says perceived value is often a function of two things. Firstly, it considers the cost of having a human or a group of humans with limited expertise perform a certain task. Second, it considers the amount of enterprise value you know the product will produce. 💡 "I think both of those things are very quickly going to shift in folks' minds over the next couple of years. I think the perceived value of human expertise is going to collapse." 💡- Claire In fact, Claire envisions a future where a department head, instead of thinking about headcount, thinks about budget. They can then decide what portion of that budget to allocate to humans versus AI! Managing Efficiency in Product ❗️The problem: ❗️ "Almost everything about growing the size and scale of your team has an immediate and detrimental impact on the thing that matters most: building awesome products. Unless you actively fight against these effects, you'll wake up one day with a very effective bureaucracy, but a very poor product." - Claire 💪 How do we battle against this? 💪 1) 😎 Smaller teams to achieve big things: 😎 Actually ingraining this mentality in an organization that needs to grow is difficult because all of the industry incentives are just fundamentally flipped in the opposite direction. 2) 🔑 Protect and Incentivize Senior ICs: 🔑 Teams are best served by more star players on the field, not by more coaches on the sidelines. How to fix it? Eliminate financial incentives to becoming a manager by making the IC path equally or even more attractive. This means that folks who actually choose the coach path do it for the right reasons, and not the wrong reasons. 3) 🚀 Lead by example if you are a product leader: 🚀 Emphasize that "there's no pride in size and scope. There's only pride in output and impact." - Claire Claire Vo Tackles Monetization Strategy for AI Businesses and Protecting the Super ICs in Product


This week, Unsolicited Feedback is thrilled to welcome Claire Vo to the virtual table. Claire, the CPO at Color and former CPO at Optimizely, is known for her prolific Product HotTakes on X! Join us as we dive into an engaging conversation with Claire and get ready for some hot takes as:


1️⃣ This week’s trio analyze the real cost and pricing challenges of new AI products (starts at 10:37)

2️⃣ Brian & Fareed deliver some Unsolicited Feedback on Claire’s views on managing efficient product teams (starts at 48:14)


AI’s Monetization Challenges

Today’s discussion starts with a Wall Street Journal article detailing how GitHub's Copilot is in the red due to the costs of AI. The debate is fascinating, but ultimately we walk away with three big takeaways:


🏢 AI favors the incumbents: 🏢

Why? High start-up costs, high incremental costs of delivery, and competitive advantages in terms of user base and data richness.

Further, large companies like Replit can afford to offer their AI for free as a loss leader, bearing the expense until the cost of delivering AI decreases.


💰 Value-based pricing appears to be the early winner: 💰

Seat-based pricing will eventually decline to zero and may not have an attractive total addressable market (TAM).

Brian highlights that cost-plus pricing, where pricing is determined by applying some margin to the cost of goods, presents a few challenges:


  1. Is it a strong enough counter-positioning move from a business model perspective to compete against incumbents with more cash, data, and users?
  2. How do users perceive value when tokens are introduced? Do tokens inadvertently create friction?


If you can develop a solution that delivers tangible and measurable value, and customers can easily recognize this value is lower than their best alternative, the purchase is an easy yes.


🤔 It's not about real value. It's about perceived value. 🤔

Claire says perceived value is often a function of two things.

Firstly, it considers the cost of having a human or a group of humans with limited expertise perform a certain task.

Second, it considers the amount of enterprise value you know the product will produce.

💡 "I think both of those things are very quickly going to shift in folks' minds over the next couple of years. I think the perceived value of human expertise is going to collapse." 💡- Claire

In fact, Claire envisions a future where a department head, instead of thinking about headcount, thinks about budget. They can then decide what portion of that budget to allocate to humans versus AI!



Managing Efficiency in Product


❗️The problem: ❗️

"Almost everything about growing the size and scale of your team has an immediate and detrimental impact on the thing that matters most: building awesome products.

Unless you actively fight against these effects, you'll wake up one day with a very effective bureaucracy, but a very poor product." - Claire


💪 How do we battle against this? 💪


1) 😎 Smaller teams to achieve big things: 😎

Actually ingraining this mentality in an organization that needs to grow is difficult because all of the industry incentives are just fundamentally flipped in the opposite direction.


2) 🔑 Protect and Incentivize Senior ICs: 🔑

Teams are best served by more star players on the field, not by more coaches on the sidelines.

How to fix it? Eliminate financial incentives to becoming a manager by making the IC path equally or even more attractive.

This means that folks who actually choose the coach path do it for the right reasons, and not the wrong reasons.


3) 🚀 Lead by example if you are a product leader: 🚀

Emphasize that "there's no pride in size and scope. There's only pride in output and impact." - Claire

]]> 5151 yes Joff Redfern (Menlo VC) Discusses AI's Onboarding Conundrum & Adobe's Web-First Photoshop https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/episode-6 🎙️ In this week's episode of Unsolicited Feedback, Joff Redfern, the former Chief Product Officer at Atlassian and current Venture Partner at Menlo Ventures, joins the podcast. Fareed takes a bye-week, and Brian welcomes back Adam Fishman as his co-host. This week's discussion includes: 1️⃣ Unlocking the Potential of AI Businesses (Starts at 17:05) 2️⃣ The Release of Adobe's Web-Version of Photoshop (Starts at 1:06:41) We also kick off the episode with Joff introducing us to the Swiss Cheese Method. Curious? Find out more by watching the episode. 🚀 AI's Onboarding Conundrum 🤖💼 Have you ever felt like an AI's forgotten your conversations? 😕 Joff certainly has. He wants a personal assistant like the Chief of Staff from Veep, who knows him inside out and can anticipate his needs. But instead, he gets generic responses and no personalization. 😒 So, what's the real issue here? Why are AI companies falling short of the Job to be Done here? Our experts feel it might be the onboarding experience. What makes onboarding critical? 🤔 Onboarding serves two purposes: educating the user about the application's capabilities, and personalizing the application. Unfortunately, AI companies have not cracked the code here. Why? 1️⃣ Eliminating Friction at All Costs: AI companies focus on reducing friction at the expense of personalizing the experience. Good AI performance requires learning about the user, which takes time and effort. A little good friction can go a long way! ⚙️ 2️⃣ Desire for the largest possible TAM: Companies aim to solve problems for everyone, but we're all unique. Instead, Brian suggests a solution: Starting more narrowly and taking power users who have customized and figured out how to get their job done, and transforming their knowledge into a context window that becomes a new input. Joff expands on this idea and proposes unlocking many possibilities with a few key decisions. He suggests using pairwise refinement to indicate your preferences and offers options for different response modes: long or concise, funny or serious. 🌍🤝 3️⃣ Trust creates a Chicken and Egg problem: Without a detailed onboarding, AI usage is underwhelming. And without trust, users won't share their time and info. It's time for AI companies to reinvent the onboarding process and earn that trust! 🙌 Join the discussion and share your thoughts! How can we make AI onboarding easy but effective? 🌟💬 Adobe’s Web-Version of Photoshop 🎉 Adobe has released a web version of Photoshop, and it offers new collaboration, the ability for non-members to view and comment, and a firefly generative AI model! 🔥🎨 Overall, our cynical experts are pretty complimentary. 1️⃣ The team has brilliantly transformed the desktop version of Photoshop into a user-friendly and streamlined web product. 👏✨ 2️⃣ Say goodbye to solo editing! Photoshop is now a multiplayer experience with the exciting addition of collaboration. No Photoshop experience required to comment and view. 🤝🔍 3️⃣ This update expands Photoshop's audience, bringing its power to a broader user base. 🌍💪 However, there are a few areas that still need improvement. Currently, there is limited connective tissue to other Adobe products, and collaboration doesn't feel like a first-class citizen just yet. 🧩🤷‍♂️ Nevertheless, these additions might be a great defense for Adobe. If they can provide enough value to prevent users from switching to platforms like Canva or Figma, then it might just be good enough. 🛡️💼 What are your thoughts on these new features? Thu, 05 Oct 2023 18:54:00 -0000 Joff Redfern (Menlo VC) Discusses AI's Onboarding Conundrum & Adobe's Web-First Photoshop full 1 6 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat 🎙️ In this week's episode of Unsolicited Feedback, Joff Redfern, the former Chief Product Officer at Atlassian and current Venture Partner at Menlo Ventures, joins the podcast. Fareed takes a bye-week, and Brian welcomes back Adam Fishman as his co-host. This week's discussion includes: 1️⃣ Unlocking the Potential of AI Businesses (Starts at 17:05) 2️⃣ The Release of Adobe's Web-Version of Photoshop (Starts at 1:06:41) We also kick off the episode with Joff introducing us to the Swiss Cheese Method. Curious? Find out more by watching the episode. 🚀 AI's Onboarding Conundrum 🤖💼 Have you ever felt like an AI's forgotten your conversations? 😕 Joff certainly has. He wants a personal assistant like the Chief of Staff from Veep, who knows him inside out and can anticipate his needs. But instead, he gets generic responses and no personalization. 😒 So, what's the real issue here? Why are AI companies falling short of the Job to be Done here? Our experts feel it might be the onboarding experience. What makes onboarding critical? 🤔 Onboarding serves two purposes: educating the user about the application's capabilities, and personalizing the application. Unfortunately, AI companies have not cracked the code here. Why? 1️⃣ Eliminating Friction at All Costs: AI companies focus on reducing friction at the expense of personalizing the experience. Good AI performance requires learning about the user, which takes time and effort. A little good friction can go a long way! ⚙️ 2️⃣ Desire for the largest possible TAM: Companies aim to solve problems for everyone, but we're all unique. Instead, Brian suggests a solution: Starting more narrowly and taking power users who have customized and figured out how to get their job done, and transforming their knowledge into a context window that becomes a new input. Joff expands on this idea and proposes unlocking many possibilities with a few key decisions. He suggests using pairwise refinement to indicate your preferences and offers options for different response modes: long or concise, funny or serious. 🌍🤝 3️⃣ Trust creates a Chicken and Egg problem: Without a detailed onboarding, AI usage is underwhelming. And without trust, users won't share their time and info. It's time for AI companies to reinvent the onboarding process and earn that trust! 🙌 Join the discussion and share your thoughts! How can we make AI onboarding easy but effective? 🌟💬 Adobe’s Web-Version of Photoshop 🎉 Adobe has released a web version of Photoshop, and it offers new collaboration, the ability for non-members to view and comment, and a firefly generative AI model! 🔥🎨 Overall, our cynical experts are pretty complimentary. 1️⃣ The team has brilliantly transformed the desktop version of Photoshop into a user-friendly and streamlined web product. 👏✨ 2️⃣ Say goodbye to solo editing! Photoshop is now a multiplayer experience with the exciting addition of collaboration. No Photoshop experience required to comment and view. 🤝🔍 3️⃣ This update expands Photoshop's audience, bringing its power to a broader user base. 🌍💪 However, there are a few areas that still need improvement. Currently, there is limited connective tissue to other Adobe products, and collaboration doesn't feel like a first-class citizen just yet. 🧩🤷‍♂️ Nevertheless, these additions might be a great defense for Adobe. If they can provide enough value to prevent users from switching to platforms like Canva or Figma, then it might just be good enough. 🛡️💼 What are your thoughts on these new features? 🎙️ In this week's episode of Unsolicited Feedback, Joff Redfern, the former Chief Product Officer at Atlassian and current Venture Partner at Menlo Ventures, joins the podcast. Fareed takes a bye-week, and Brian welcomes back Adam Fishman as his co-host.


This week's discussion includes:

1️⃣ Unlocking the Potential of AI Businesses (Starts at 17:05)

2️⃣ The Release of Adobe's Web-Version of Photoshop (Starts at 1:06:41)

We also kick off the episode with Joff introducing us to the Swiss Cheese Method. Curious? Find out more by watching the episode.


🚀 AI's Onboarding Conundrum 🤖💼


Have you ever felt like an AI's forgotten your conversations? 😕 Joff certainly has. He wants a personal assistant like the Chief of Staff from Veep, who knows him inside out and can anticipate his needs. But instead, he gets generic responses and no personalization. 😒


So, what's the real issue here? Why are AI companies falling short of the Job to be Done here? Our experts feel it might be the onboarding experience.


What makes onboarding critical? 🤔 Onboarding serves two purposes: educating the user about the application's capabilities, and personalizing the application. Unfortunately, AI companies have not cracked the code here. Why?


1️⃣ Eliminating Friction at All Costs: AI companies focus on reducing friction at the expense of personalizing the experience. Good AI performance requires learning about the user, which takes time and effort. A little good friction can go a long way! ⚙️


2️⃣ Desire for the largest possible TAM: Companies aim to solve problems for everyone, but we're all unique. Instead, Brian suggests a solution: Starting more narrowly and taking power users who have customized and figured out how to get their job done, and transforming their knowledge into a context window that becomes a new input.


Joff expands on this idea and proposes unlocking many possibilities with a few key decisions. He suggests using pairwise refinement to indicate your preferences and offers options for different response modes: long or concise, funny or serious. 🌍🤝


3️⃣ Trust creates a Chicken and Egg problem:

Without a detailed onboarding, AI usage is underwhelming. And without trust, users won't share their time and info. It's time for AI companies to reinvent the onboarding process and earn that trust! 🙌

Join the discussion and share your thoughts! How can we make AI onboarding easy but effective? 🌟💬


Adobe’s Web-Version of Photoshop


🎉 Adobe has released a web version of Photoshop, and it offers new collaboration, the ability for non-members to view and comment, and a firefly generative AI model! 🔥🎨


Overall, our cynical experts are pretty complimentary.


1️⃣ The team has brilliantly transformed the desktop version of Photoshop into a user-friendly and streamlined web product. 👏✨


2️⃣ Say goodbye to solo editing! Photoshop is now a multiplayer experience with the exciting addition of collaboration. No Photoshop experience required to comment and view. 🤝🔍


3️⃣ This update expands Photoshop's audience, bringing its power to a broader user base. 🌍💪


However, there are a few areas that still need improvement. Currently, there is limited connective tissue to other Adobe products, and collaboration doesn't feel like a first-class citizen just yet. 🧩🤷‍♂️


Nevertheless, these additions might be a great defense for Adobe. If they can provide enough value to prevent users from switching to platforms like Canva or Figma, then it might just be good enough. 🛡️💼


What are your thoughts on these new features?

]]> 5801 yes Elena Verna (Dropbox) Analyzes Airtable's Shift to Enterprise and Slack's Product Roadmap https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/episode-5 This week, Unsolicited Feedback welcomes Elena Verna - the OG of PLG, former SVP growth at Survey Monkey, and renowned PLG advisor to Miro, Amplitude and MongoDB. Now, she’s the Interim Head of Growth at Dropbox, and trust us, you’re not going to want to miss what she has to say as today’s trio: 🥅 Discuss what it takes to be a solopreneur expert (starts immediately) 🥊 Battle it out with AI-written PLG trivia (starts at 9:30) 🔥 Debate whether Airtable’s shift to enterprise is a disaster in the making (starts at 19:54) 🔎 Evaluate Slack’s move to multi-product-company with new workflow tools and AI features (59:06) This uncovers a deeper conversation around the dangers of betting on a single growth loop. Airtable's Shift to Enterprise Airtable's CEO has announced a shift to enterprise, which has caused concern for Elena and Fareed. Why? The word "SHIFT." 🛫 Growth loops hit plateaus. When that happens, you need to layer other growth loops on top, not shift away from the plateaued loop. It seems from the announcement that this isn't a layering of enterprise on top of PLG, but rather a shift away from PLG. 🥾 It's likely that many enterprise wins were a result of Airtable's PLG motion. Without being inside the company, Elena and Fareed have observed patterns where companies recognize the value of enterprise clients they're closing, but fail to acknowledge the impact that PLG had on closing those clients. 🏁 A shift to Top-Down Sales is a dangerous shortcut. It requires a different set of skills and organizational culture to successfully empower top-down without a bottom-up motion. "The moment you lose that user love, and the moment that you lose that end-user focus, it gives you false hope because you are able to close a few more deals than you did before, but then the root of those deals starts to go down." ~ Elena However, Brian wonders if there is ever a case in which it does make sense to truly ignore and abandon PLG in exchange for an Enterprise motion. Slack’s Move to Multi-Product Slack announces four new products, and everyone has a take: Sales Elevate, a deep integration with Salesforce tools Workflow Builder, enabling custom workflows Slack AI, channel recaps, threads summaries, etc., Slack Lists, a task management interface 💥 While the concepts are exciting, Fareed worries it might be a repeat of the Zoom discussion from the Adam Fishman episode. But these are more focused releases, and it could be their best bet to capture more value. ✨ Elena is thrilled about going multi-product after years of a lack of innovation, but she's concerned about one thing - Slack's AI play. Slack is where human interaction happens now, the heartbeat of remote companies. If we replace too much with AI, will we lose the ability to truly connect with people? 🔮 This leads to a prediction for a larger pendulum swing. As AI scales, human-focused companies will win the Anti-AI trend. Could Slack be that winner or will it’s lean into AI have negative effects on it’s ability to foster genuine connections? 🤔 Finally, it seems like Slack is trying to become the all-encompassing, single-platform system of record for companies. Are Microsoft or Google already leading the way? Will fears of consolidated power create an opening for Slack? We'll see... 🤔 Next week, we’re sitting down with Joff Redfern, who is most recently chief product officer at Atlassian! Much to look forward to! Thu, 28 Sep 2023 16:15:00 -0000 Elena Verna (Dropbox) Analyzes Airtable's Shift to Enterprise and Slack's Product Roadmap full 1 5 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat This week, Unsolicited Feedback welcomes Elena Verna - the OG of PLG, former SVP growth at Survey Monkey, and renowned PLG advisor to Miro, Amplitude and MongoDB. Now, she’s the Interim Head of Growth at Dropbox, and trust us, you’re not going to want to miss what she has to say as today’s trio: 🥅 Discuss what it takes to be a solopreneur expert (starts immediately) 🥊 Battle it out with AI-written PLG trivia (starts at 9:30) 🔥 Debate whether Airtable’s shift to enterprise is a disaster in the making (starts at 19:54) 🔎 Evaluate Slack’s move to multi-product-company with new workflow tools and AI features (59:06) This uncovers a deeper conversation around the dangers of betting on a single growth loop. Airtable's Shift to Enterprise Airtable's CEO has announced a shift to enterprise, which has caused concern for Elena and Fareed. Why? The word "SHIFT." 🛫 Growth loops hit plateaus. When that happens, you need to layer other growth loops on top, not shift away from the plateaued loop. It seems from the announcement that this isn't a layering of enterprise on top of PLG, but rather a shift away from PLG. 🥾 It's likely that many enterprise wins were a result of Airtable's PLG motion. Without being inside the company, Elena and Fareed have observed patterns where companies recognize the value of enterprise clients they're closing, but fail to acknowledge the impact that PLG had on closing those clients. 🏁 A shift to Top-Down Sales is a dangerous shortcut. It requires a different set of skills and organizational culture to successfully empower top-down without a bottom-up motion. "The moment you lose that user love, and the moment that you lose that end-user focus, it gives you false hope because you are able to close a few more deals than you did before, but then the root of those deals starts to go down." ~ Elena However, Brian wonders if there is ever a case in which it does make sense to truly ignore and abandon PLG in exchange for an Enterprise motion. Slack’s Move to Multi-Product Slack announces four new products, and everyone has a take: Sales Elevate, a deep integration with Salesforce tools Workflow Builder, enabling custom workflows Slack AI, channel recaps, threads summaries, etc., Slack Lists, a task management interface 💥 While the concepts are exciting, Fareed worries it might be a repeat of the Zoom discussion from the Adam Fishman episode. But these are more focused releases, and it could be their best bet to capture more value. ✨ Elena is thrilled about going multi-product after years of a lack of innovation, but she's concerned about one thing - Slack's AI play. Slack is where human interaction happens now, the heartbeat of remote companies. If we replace too much with AI, will we lose the ability to truly connect with people? 🔮 This leads to a prediction for a larger pendulum swing. As AI scales, human-focused companies will win the Anti-AI trend. Could Slack be that winner or will it’s lean into AI have negative effects on it’s ability to foster genuine connections? 🤔 Finally, it seems like Slack is trying to become the all-encompassing, single-platform system of record for companies. Are Microsoft or Google already leading the way? Will fears of consolidated power create an opening for Slack? We'll see... 🤔 Next week, we’re sitting down with Joff Redfern, who is most recently chief product officer at Atlassian! Much to look forward to! This week, Unsolicited Feedback welcomes Elena Verna - the OG of PLG, former SVP growth at Survey Monkey, and renowned PLG advisor to Miro, Amplitude and MongoDB. Now, she’s the Interim Head of Growth at Dropbox, and trust us, you’re not going to want to miss what she has to say as today’s trio:


🥅 Discuss what it takes to be a solopreneur expert (starts immediately)


🥊 Battle it out with AI-written PLG trivia (starts at 9:30)


🔥 Debate whether Airtable’s shift to enterprise is a disaster in the making (starts at 19:54)


🔎 Evaluate Slack’s move to multi-product-company with new workflow tools and AI features (59:06)


This uncovers a deeper conversation around the dangers of betting on a single growth loop.



Airtable's Shift to Enterprise


Airtable's CEO has announced a shift to enterprise, which has caused concern for Elena and Fareed. Why? The word "SHIFT."


🛫 Growth loops hit plateaus. When that happens, you need to layer other growth loops on top, not shift away from the plateaued loop. It seems from the announcement that this isn't a layering of enterprise on top of PLG, but rather a shift away from PLG.


🥾 It's likely that many enterprise wins were a result of Airtable's PLG motion. Without being inside the company, Elena and Fareed have observed patterns where companies recognize the value of enterprise clients they're closing, but fail to acknowledge the impact that PLG had on closing those clients.


🏁 A shift to Top-Down Sales is a dangerous shortcut. It requires a different set of skills and organizational culture to successfully empower top-down without a bottom-up motion. "The moment you lose that user love, and the moment that you lose that end-user focus, it gives you false hope because you are able to close a few more deals than you did before, but then the root of those deals starts to go down." ~ Elena


However, Brian wonders if there is ever a case in which it does make sense to truly ignore and abandon PLG in exchange for an Enterprise motion.



Slack’s Move to Multi-Product


Slack announces four new products, and everyone has a take:

  1. Sales Elevate, a deep integration with Salesforce tools
  2. Workflow Builder, enabling custom workflows
  3. Slack AI, channel recaps, threads summaries, etc.,
  4. Slack Lists, a task management interface


💥 While the concepts are exciting, Fareed worries it might be a repeat of the Zoom discussion from the Adam Fishman episode. But these are more focused releases, and it could be their best bet to capture more value.


✨ Elena is thrilled about going multi-product after years of a lack of innovation, but she's concerned about one thing - Slack's AI play. Slack is where human interaction happens now, the heartbeat of remote companies. If we replace too much with AI, will we lose the ability to truly connect with people?


🔮 This leads to a prediction for a larger pendulum swing. As AI scales, human-focused companies will win the Anti-AI trend. Could Slack be that winner or will it’s lean into AI have negative effects on it’s ability to foster genuine connections?


🤔 Finally, it seems like Slack is trying to become the all-encompassing, single-platform system of record for companies. Are Microsoft or Google already leading the way? Will fears of consolidated power create an opening for Slack? We'll see... 🤔


Next week, we’re sitting down with Joff Redfern, who is most recently chief product officer at Atlassian! Much to look forward to!

]]> 5737 yes Ravi Mehta (Outpace) Analyzes the Switching Costs from Jira to Linear, Plus Unity's Pricing Faux Pas https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/episode-4 Our third guest at Unsolicited Feedback is none other than Ravi Mehta - previously the CPO at Tinder, Product Director at Facebook, and VP of Product at Tripadvisor. Now, he's the co-founder and CEO of Outpace, and Ravi is not afraid to swipe left as they 🧳 Analyze the migration from Jira to Linear, including the conditions that triggered Ravi’s switch (starts at 1:32) 🔥 Discuss Airtable's move to conquer the up-market (starts at 27:43) 🔮 Offer some hindsight Unity probably would have appreciated heading into their pricing change this week(starts at 50:41) These discussions will uncover the secrets behind switching costs and the eternal question of whether to serve a niche or go for mass appeal. Jira Gets Bit by a Nasty Bug [Filing System] Linear has just announced their latest fundraising, and experts are discussing their momentum. The question arises: How has Linear managed to attract customers away from Jira, considering Jira's powerful capabilities? Ravi explains that there are two main reasons for his dramatic shift: 🤯 Jira has become too complex. It is powerful, but complicated, and perhaps has fallen into a power user trap 🤯 🐞 Jira has neglected to focus on making the bug filing process seamless, whereas Linear has successfully addressed this issue. 🐞 Fareed mentions that "the people who benefit the most from project management tools are project managers. However, for the engineers, designers, and bug filers—the ones doing the actual work—the end user experience is poor." 🤔 "If the planning process places all the responsibility on persona X, but the value goes to persona Y, failure is inevitable if the experience is bad for persona X." 💡 Then, the discussion turns to the significant topic at hand: 🔍🗣️ People Overestimate the Magnitude of Switching Costs. 💼 Conditions that enable someone to come into a market and disrupt the incumbent without significant innovation include: Low switching costs 🔄 Solving a very significant problem. ❗ Hatred for the incumbent. Simply being better than X is not enough if X is not that bad. 😕 Serving a sub-persona that is both high value and vocal. 🙌 Is it possible to avoid the power user trap? 🪄💥 Either you can focus on the power user, but risk alienating new customers (e.g., Salesforce). Or you choose to remain simple but accept that some customers will outgrow the product (e.g., HubSpot). The latter option is more challenging, and the trio express concerns that Airtable may be the next victim as they move up-market, away from their Product-Led Growth (PLG) roots. Who else is in danger? ❗⚠️ 🎨 Ravi believes Figma is at risk and for Figma Super-fans Fareed & Brian, jaws hit the floor. Ravi defends his stance saying, it seems to focus too much on new products and features for technical users, neglecting the non-technical users. 🎨 💬 In another surprising hot take, Fareed suggests Slack is also in danger due to communication overload. Although it is not entirely Slack's fault, the product has not effectively addressed this issue. 💬 🌐 Brian mentions Zoom. Why? They are adding a ton of new features and products. At the same time have not developed the strength of consumer grade design and user experience. The combo leads to the product feeling overly complex and frustration starting to take hold Can We Hit Control-Z on Unity’s Surprise Pricing Shift? 😮🎮 For those who are not aware, Unity announced a series of new pricing changes that will take effect in 3 months. The most significant change is that they will now charge per installation. It’s clear Unity is in a real pickle at the moment 🥒, but where did they go wrong and what can we learn from it? 1) 🤔 Didn’t think about their customers’ business models. 2) 😵 It’s COMPLICATED. 3) 🔒 They broke trust. 4) ❌ It’s not aligned to the value that Unity is helping them create. 5) 👎 No Win-Win or Give and Take here. Let's hope Unity can find a way to respawn ASAP! 🤞🕹️ Thu, 21 Sep 2023 10:02:00 -0000 Ravi Mehta (Outpace) Analyzes the Switching Costs from Jira to Linear, Plus Unity's Pricing Faux Pas full 1 4 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat Our third guest at Unsolicited Feedback is none other than Ravi Mehta - previously the CPO at Tinder, Product Director at Facebook, and VP of Product at Tripadvisor. Now, he's the co-founder and CEO of Outpace, and Ravi is not afraid to swipe left as they 🧳 Analyze the migration from Jira to Linear, including the conditions that triggered Ravi’s switch (starts at 1:32) 🔥 Discuss Airtable's move to conquer the up-market (starts at 27:43) 🔮 Offer some hindsight Unity probably would have appreciated heading into their pricing change this week(starts at 50:41) These discussions will uncover the secrets behind switching costs and the eternal question of whether to serve a niche or go for mass appeal. Jira Gets Bit by a Nasty Bug [Filing System] Linear has just announced their latest fundraising, and experts are discussing their momentum. The question arises: How has Linear managed to attract customers away from Jira, considering Jira's powerful capabilities? Ravi explains that there are two main reasons for his dramatic shift: 🤯 Jira has become too complex. It is powerful, but complicated, and perhaps has fallen into a power user trap 🤯 🐞 Jira has neglected to focus on making the bug filing process seamless, whereas Linear has successfully addressed this issue. 🐞 Fareed mentions that "the people who benefit the most from project management tools are project managers. However, for the engineers, designers, and bug filers—the ones doing the actual work—the end user experience is poor." 🤔 "If the planning process places all the responsibility on persona X, but the value goes to persona Y, failure is inevitable if the experience is bad for persona X." 💡 Then, the discussion turns to the significant topic at hand: 🔍🗣️ People Overestimate the Magnitude of Switching Costs. 💼 Conditions that enable someone to come into a market and disrupt the incumbent without significant innovation include: Low switching costs 🔄 Solving a very significant problem. ❗ Hatred for the incumbent. Simply being better than X is not enough if X is not that bad. 😕 Serving a sub-persona that is both high value and vocal. 🙌 Is it possible to avoid the power user trap? 🪄💥 Either you can focus on the power user, but risk alienating new customers (e.g., Salesforce). Or you choose to remain simple but accept that some customers will outgrow the product (e.g., HubSpot). The latter option is more challenging, and the trio express concerns that Airtable may be the next victim as they move up-market, away from their Product-Led Growth (PLG) roots. Who else is in danger? ❗⚠️ 🎨 Ravi believes Figma is at risk and for Figma Super-fans Fareed & Brian, jaws hit the floor. Ravi defends his stance saying, it seems to focus too much on new products and features for technical users, neglecting the non-technical users. 🎨 💬 In another surprising hot take, Fareed suggests Slack is also in danger due to communication overload. Although it is not entirely Slack's fault, the product has not effectively addressed this issue. 💬 🌐 Brian mentions Zoom. Why? They are adding a ton of new features and products. At the same time have not developed the strength of consumer grade design and user experience. The combo leads to the product feeling overly complex and frustration starting to take hold Can We Hit Control-Z on Unity’s Surprise Pricing Shift? 😮🎮 For those who are not aware, Unity announced a series of new pricing changes that will take effect in 3 months. The most significant change is that they will now charge per installation. It’s clear Unity is in a real pickle at the moment 🥒, but where did they go wrong and what can we learn from it? 1) 🤔 Didn’t think about their customers’ business models. 2) 😵 It’s COMPLICATED. 3) 🔒 They broke trust. 4) ❌ It’s not aligned to the value that Unity is helping them create. 5) 👎 No Win-Win or Give and Take here. Let's hope Unity can find a way to respawn ASAP! 🤞🕹️ Our third guest at Unsolicited Feedback is none other than Ravi Mehta - previously the CPO at Tinder, Product Director at Facebook, and VP of Product at Tripadvisor. Now, he's the co-founder and CEO of Outpace, and Ravi is not afraid to swipe left as they


🧳 Analyze the migration from Jira to Linear, including the conditions that triggered Ravi’s switch (starts at 1:32)

🔥 Discuss Airtable's move to conquer the up-market (starts at 27:43)

🔮 Offer some hindsight Unity probably would have appreciated heading into their pricing change this week(starts at 50:41)


These discussions will uncover the secrets behind switching costs and the eternal question of whether to serve a niche or go for mass appeal.


Jira Gets Bit by a Nasty Bug [Filing System]

Linear has just announced their latest fundraising, and experts are discussing their momentum. The question arises: How has Linear managed to attract customers away from Jira, considering Jira's powerful capabilities?


Ravi explains that there are two main reasons for his dramatic shift:

  1. 🤯 Jira has become too complex. It is powerful, but complicated, and perhaps has fallen into a power user trap 🤯
  2. 🐞 Jira has neglected to focus on making the bug filing process seamless, whereas Linear has successfully addressed this issue. 🐞


Fareed mentions that "the people who benefit the most from project management tools are project managers. However, for the engineers, designers, and bug filers—the ones doing the actual work—the end user experience is poor." 🤔


"If the planning process places all the responsibility on persona X, but the value goes to persona Y, failure is inevitable if the experience is bad for persona X." 💡

Then, the discussion turns to the significant topic at hand: 🔍🗣️


People Overestimate the Magnitude of Switching Costs. 💼

Conditions that enable someone to come into a market and disrupt the incumbent without significant innovation include:

  1. Low switching costs 🔄
  2. Solving a very significant problem. ❗
  3. Hatred for the incumbent. Simply being better than X is not enough if X is not that bad. 😕
  4. Serving a sub-persona that is both high value and vocal. 🙌


Is it possible to avoid the power user trap? 🪄💥

Either you can focus on the power user, but risk alienating new customers (e.g., Salesforce).

Or you choose to remain simple but accept that some customers will outgrow the product (e.g., HubSpot).

The latter option is more challenging, and the trio express concerns that Airtable may be the next victim as they move up-market, away from their Product-Led Growth (PLG) roots.


Who else is in danger? ❗⚠️

🎨 Ravi believes Figma is at risk and for Figma Super-fans Fareed & Brian, jaws hit the floor. Ravi defends his stance saying, it seems to focus too much on new products and features for technical users, neglecting the non-technical users. 🎨

💬 In another surprising hot take, Fareed suggests Slack is also in danger due to communication overload. Although it is not entirely Slack's fault, the product has not effectively addressed this issue. 💬

🌐 Brian mentions Zoom. Why?

  1. They are adding a ton of new features and products.
  2. At the same time have not developed the strength of consumer grade design and user experience.
  3. The combo leads to the product feeling overly complex and frustration starting to take hold



Can We Hit Control-Z on Unity’s Surprise Pricing Shift? 😮🎮


For those who are not aware, Unity announced a series of new pricing changes that will take effect in 3 months. The most significant change is that they will now charge per installation.


It’s clear Unity is in a real pickle at the moment 🥒, but where did they go wrong and what can we learn from it?

1) 🤔 Didn’t think about their customers’ business models.

2) 😵 It’s COMPLICATED.

3) 🔒 They broke trust.

4) ❌ It’s not aligned to the value that Unity is helping them create.

5) 👎 No Win-Win or Give and Take here.


Let's hope Unity can find a way to respawn ASAP! 🤞🕹️

]]> 5251 yes Casey Winters' (Growth Advisor) Take on HubSpot's Product Announcements, the Creator Economy & the Future of Marketplaces https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/episode-3 🚀 Check out the latest episode of Unsolicited Feedback! 🎧 In our third installment, we're joined by the legendary Casey Winters, Reforge program partner and prolific growth expert. 🌟 In this episode, we: 🔮 Revisit our predictions for where Twitter and Threads will be in 1 year (starts at 1:21) 🔍 Uncover a hidden gem in HubSpot’s latest product release (starts at 14:26) 💡 Discuss the viability of the creator economy (starts at 44:17) 🏬 Understand Casey’s perspective on the future of marketplaces (starts at 1:07:41) Tune in now to get the inside scoop on these topics and more! 🎙️🔥 HubSpot’s latest release HubSpot's annual inbound conference serves as a platform for announcing new product releases, with a particular focus on AI-driven solutions. However, Brian argues that the true standout is not the anticipated AI-driven solutions, but rather a hidden gem that seems to be overshadowed - the Commerce Hub. 👀 🛒 The Commerce Hub is HubSpot's latest product offering, which aims to integrate payments, billing, and subscriptions into their ecosystem. The experts believe that the Commerce Hub could be a game-changer for HubSpot for several reasons: 💰 It presents an opportunity for HubSpot to replicate the success of companies like Shopify, which generate a significant portion of their revenue from transaction fees and merchant solutions. 💼 HubSpot's SMB focus makes them uniquely equipped to release this offering. Unlike Salesforce's enterprise clients, SMB customers prefer simplicity and having everything under one roof. 🔝 HubSpot's focus on cross-selling and expanding their product suite within their mid-market customer base has been a key driver of their growth, following a successful B2B product expansion playbook. But, Casey shares a reservation that betting against Shopify is a dangerous game. Only time will tell. 🤔⏳ Viability of the Creator Economy Hunter Walk's recent article "The only thing which has failed about the creator economy thus far as venture capitalists attempt to get their piece, why there's never been a better time to be a creator," struck a chord with Fareed. 💰 In the article, Walk states that it has never been easier for creators to make $50,000 per year doing what they love. Casey highlights a few key caveats: 🎯 Different segments of creators have different needs, so a one-size-fits-all approach doesn't work 🎯 📦 Fulfillment alone is not enough to help creators monetize effectively, or is a venture back-able business 📦 📈 Creators need assistance in driving demand, which many creator economy companies fail to provide 📈 Brian points out the tension between creators' desire for demand and their desire to own their own audience. 🤝 📉 High take rates can lead to creators leaving once they become more successful 📉 Fareed suggests that there are two types of companies in the creator economy: low-margin businesses that prioritize efficiency and high-margin businesses that focus on craftsmanship. ⚖️ Most creator economy startups are low-margin plays, but can you imagine a high-margin creator economy play? ⚖️ Future of Marketplace Businesses We wrap up this episode by getting Casey's bullish perspective on the future of marketplaces: 📲🔄 Good businesses require platform shifts to enable growth opportunities. We haven't had one since the mobile phone era, and we are overdue for a new one. 📲🔄 🏠🍽️ Airbnb and DoorDash may have reached a size where they can serve as platforms for venture-scale businesses. 🏠🍽️ 🧩 All we need are the right ingredients: clear fragmentation of supply and a high frequency of need on the demand side. 🧩 Join us at https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback for more and subscribe to the podcast. We have another episode coming Thursday with Ravi Mehta!! Tue, 19 Sep 2023 10:57:00 -0000 Casey Winters' (Growth Advisor) Take on HubSpot's Product Announcements, the Creator Economy & the Future of Marketplaces full 1 3 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat 🚀 Check out the latest episode of Unsolicited Feedback! 🎧 In our third installment, we're joined by the legendary Casey Winters, Reforge program partner and prolific growth expert. 🌟 In this episode, we: 🔮 Revisit our predictions for where Twitter and Threads will be in 1 year (starts at 1:21) 🔍 Uncover a hidden gem in HubSpot’s latest product release (starts at 14:26) 💡 Discuss the viability of the creator economy (starts at 44:17) 🏬 Understand Casey’s perspective on the future of marketplaces (starts at 1:07:41) Tune in now to get the inside scoop on these topics and more! 🎙️🔥 HubSpot’s latest release HubSpot's annual inbound conference serves as a platform for announcing new product releases, with a particular focus on AI-driven solutions. However, Brian argues that the true standout is not the anticipated AI-driven solutions, but rather a hidden gem that seems to be overshadowed - the Commerce Hub. 👀 🛒 The Commerce Hub is HubSpot's latest product offering, which aims to integrate payments, billing, and subscriptions into their ecosystem. The experts believe that the Commerce Hub could be a game-changer for HubSpot for several reasons: 💰 It presents an opportunity for HubSpot to replicate the success of companies like Shopify, which generate a significant portion of their revenue from transaction fees and merchant solutions. 💼 HubSpot's SMB focus makes them uniquely equipped to release this offering. Unlike Salesforce's enterprise clients, SMB customers prefer simplicity and having everything under one roof. 🔝 HubSpot's focus on cross-selling and expanding their product suite within their mid-market customer base has been a key driver of their growth, following a successful B2B product expansion playbook. But, Casey shares a reservation that betting against Shopify is a dangerous game. Only time will tell. 🤔⏳ Viability of the Creator Economy Hunter Walk's recent article "The only thing which has failed about the creator economy thus far as venture capitalists attempt to get their piece, why there's never been a better time to be a creator," struck a chord with Fareed. 💰 In the article, Walk states that it has never been easier for creators to make $50,000 per year doing what they love. Casey highlights a few key caveats: 🎯 Different segments of creators have different needs, so a one-size-fits-all approach doesn't work 🎯 📦 Fulfillment alone is not enough to help creators monetize effectively, or is a venture back-able business 📦 📈 Creators need assistance in driving demand, which many creator economy companies fail to provide 📈 Brian points out the tension between creators' desire for demand and their desire to own their own audience. 🤝 📉 High take rates can lead to creators leaving once they become more successful 📉 Fareed suggests that there are two types of companies in the creator economy: low-margin businesses that prioritize efficiency and high-margin businesses that focus on craftsmanship. ⚖️ Most creator economy startups are low-margin plays, but can you imagine a high-margin creator economy play? ⚖️ Future of Marketplace Businesses We wrap up this episode by getting Casey's bullish perspective on the future of marketplaces: 📲🔄 Good businesses require platform shifts to enable growth opportunities. We haven't had one since the mobile phone era, and we are overdue for a new one. 📲🔄 🏠🍽️ Airbnb and DoorDash may have reached a size where they can serve as platforms for venture-scale businesses. 🏠🍽️ 🧩 All we need are the right ingredients: clear fragmentation of supply and a high frequency of need on the demand side. 🧩 Join us at https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback for more and subscribe to the podcast. We have another episode coming Thursday with Ravi Mehta!! 🚀 Check out the latest episode of Unsolicited Feedback! 🎧

In our third installment, we're joined by the legendary Casey Winters, Reforge program partner and prolific growth expert. 🌟 In this episode, we:


🔮 Revisit our predictions for where Twitter and Threads will be in 1 year (starts at 1:21)

🔍 Uncover a hidden gem in HubSpot’s latest product release (starts at 14:26)

💡 Discuss the viability of the creator economy (starts at 44:17)

🏬 Understand Casey’s perspective on the future of marketplaces (starts at 1:07:41)


Tune in now to get the inside scoop on these topics and more! 🎙️🔥


HubSpot’s latest release


HubSpot's annual inbound conference serves as a platform for announcing new product releases, with a particular focus on AI-driven solutions.


However, Brian argues that the true standout is not the anticipated AI-driven solutions, but rather a hidden gem that seems to be overshadowed - the Commerce Hub. 👀


🛒 The Commerce Hub is HubSpot's latest product offering, which aims to integrate payments, billing, and subscriptions into their ecosystem.


The experts believe that the Commerce Hub could be a game-changer for HubSpot for several reasons:


💰 It presents an opportunity for HubSpot to replicate the success of companies like Shopify, which generate a significant portion of their revenue from transaction fees and merchant solutions.

💼 HubSpot's SMB focus makes them uniquely equipped to release this offering. Unlike Salesforce's enterprise clients, SMB customers prefer simplicity and having everything under one roof.

🔝 HubSpot's focus on cross-selling and expanding their product suite within their mid-market customer base has been a key driver of their growth, following a successful B2B product expansion playbook.


But, Casey shares a reservation that betting against Shopify is a dangerous game. Only time will tell. 🤔⏳



Viability of the Creator Economy


Hunter Walk's recent article "The only thing which has failed about the creator economy thus far as venture capitalists attempt to get their piece, why there's never been a better time to be a creator," struck a chord with Fareed.

💰 In the article, Walk states that it has never been easier for creators to make $50,000 per year doing what they love.


Casey highlights a few key caveats:

🎯 Different segments of creators have different needs, so a one-size-fits-all approach doesn't work 🎯

📦 Fulfillment alone is not enough to help creators monetize effectively, or is a venture back-able business 📦

📈 Creators need assistance in driving demand, which many creator economy companies fail to provide 📈


Brian points out the tension between creators' desire for demand and their desire to own their own audience. 🤝

📉 High take rates can lead to creators leaving once they become more successful 📉


Fareed suggests that there are two types of companies in the creator economy: low-margin businesses that prioritize efficiency and high-margin businesses that focus on craftsmanship.

⚖️ Most creator economy startups are low-margin plays, but can you imagine a high-margin creator economy play? ⚖️


Future of Marketplace Businesses


We wrap up this episode by getting Casey's bullish perspective on the future of marketplaces:

  • 📲🔄 Good businesses require platform shifts to enable growth opportunities. We haven't had one since the mobile phone era, and we are overdue for a new one. 📲🔄
  • 🏠🍽️ Airbnb and DoorDash may have reached a size where they can serve as platforms for venture-scale businesses. 🏠🍽️
  • 🧩 All we need are the right ingredients: clear fragmentation of supply and a high frequency of need on the demand side. 🧩


Join us at https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback for more and subscribe to the podcast. We have another episode coming Thursday with Ravi Mehta!!

]]> 4760 yes Adam Fishman (Product Advisor) talks Figma for Devs, Zoom’s COVID product strategy, and Twitter's Creator Payouts https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/episode-2 This week, we have special guest Adam Fishman, original proclaimed Growth Daddy (defined as a father and a growth expert), a Reforge mainstay, and formerly of Lyft, Patreon, and Imperfect Foods. Today he and our hosts are discussing Figma for Dev, Zoom’s COVID strategy, and Twitter’s Creator Payouts. 🎨→ ⌨️ Figma for Dev from Unsolicited Feedback Figma for Dev offers deep lessons and the experts agree it’s a brilliant move. 💰 Figma unlocked unparalleled PLG through their unconventional pricing strategy: Most tools price per seat, but Figma realized that this creates unnecessary friction because when you pay per seat, there’s often approvals that need to happen to add someone. At Figma, anyone who is not editing does not incur any charges. 🚀 Now, they want to capture revenue from the audience that’s already in their funnel: In every project, there are 5-15x more engineers than designers, greatly increasing the TAM if companies now opt to pay for seats for their engineers who are already used to the platform. 🎯 Focus is the name of the game here as Figma takes a step into the Dev audience: Figma could have built a wide range of features for engineering. Figma chose to focus on the part of engineering that is closest to design. 📹 Zoom’s COVID Product Strategy: Zoom delivers a Growth Daddy Cage Match between Fishman and Balfour, with Mosavat as the mediator. Background: Zoom has recently launched several new products, including Zoom Apps, Zoom Events, and Zoom Video Engagement Center. Round 1: 🐟 Fishman asks, "Is this just a spaghetti at the wall strategy? Who are they building for?" 🔎 But, Balfour commends the Product Velocity of the engineering team. Very impressive! 🔑 Mosavat errs toward Fishman in round one, pulling in a Mike Spicer quote from Sutter Hill Ventures. Mike tweeted that the right strategy is to take a series of sequential bets, not a bunch of bets across a bunch of different things because you learn more each time. Fareed feels like none of these are sequential bets. Round 2: 🐟 Fishman zooms in on clips and basically makes the argument that it lacks all of the pizzazz and UGC magic that makes Loom successful. So combined spaghetti strategy + half-baked products, Fishman is not feeling much love for Zoom right now but challenges Balfour to prove him wrong. 🔎 Balfour decides to take the pro-zoom case! He feels this might just be the Microsoft strategy (which notably has been a successful company). Build 80% of the market and bundle it. Their strengths are tech and their sales machine. That is a winning bet. Bundle and sell when you have great tech and sales. 🐟 Fishman wonders if they are big enough to pull that off. 🔑 Mosavat sides with Fishman here. Microsoft has a billion people using 365, and by the way, is Zoom's biggest competitor with Teams. It's a bad strategy to fight Goliath with the same strategy Goliath is using. "If you don't have a navy, don't go to a sea battle." Final Round: 🔎 Balfour suggests that strategy and execution should be separated. 🐟 Fishman disagrees, arguing that execution cannot be separated from strategy. If Figma had attempted that strategy and produced subpar products, they would have been criticized as well. 🔑 Mosavat identifies Zoom's original sin as the lack of presence or identity outside of meetings. Fareed often quits Zoom between meetings. 🔑 Fareed's lesson is to lean into what Zoom does well. However, ultimately he agrees with Balfour that Zoom is still a great business. It has the following benefits: 📉 Low acquisition cost 💻 Low R&D cost 💰 Great margins 💸 Profitable at IPO 💰 Hadn't raised much money COVID may have created some challenges, but these five core elements remain strong. For more analysis, the opportunity to hear Brian Balfour rap, and to hear what the trio had to say about Twitter's Creator Payouts, listen to the full episode. Like what you're hearing? Please give us a review and a subscribe. Thu, 14 Sep 2023 12:30:00 -0000 Adam Fishman (Product Advisor) talks Figma for Devs, Zoom’s COVID product strategy, and Twitter's Creator Payouts full 1 2 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat This week, we have special guest Adam Fishman, original proclaimed Growth Daddy (defined as a father and a growth expert), a Reforge mainstay, and formerly of Lyft, Patreon, and Imperfect Foods. Today he and our hosts are discussing Figma for Dev, Zoom’s COVID strategy, and Twitter’s Creator Payouts. 🎨→ ⌨️ Figma for Dev from Unsolicited Feedback Figma for Dev offers deep lessons and the experts agree it’s a brilliant move. 💰 Figma unlocked unparalleled PLG through their unconventional pricing strategy: Most tools price per seat, but Figma realized that this creates unnecessary friction because when you pay per seat, there’s often approvals that need to happen to add someone. At Figma, anyone who is not editing does not incur any charges. 🚀 Now, they want to capture revenue from the audience that’s already in their funnel: In every project, there are 5-15x more engineers than designers, greatly increasing the TAM if companies now opt to pay for seats for their engineers who are already used to the platform. 🎯 Focus is the name of the game here as Figma takes a step into the Dev audience: Figma could have built a wide range of features for engineering. Figma chose to focus on the part of engineering that is closest to design. 📹 Zoom’s COVID Product Strategy: Zoom delivers a Growth Daddy Cage Match between Fishman and Balfour, with Mosavat as the mediator. Background: Zoom has recently launched several new products, including Zoom Apps, Zoom Events, and Zoom Video Engagement Center. Round 1: 🐟 Fishman asks, "Is this just a spaghetti at the wall strategy? Who are they building for?" 🔎 But, Balfour commends the Product Velocity of the engineering team. Very impressive! 🔑 Mosavat errs toward Fishman in round one, pulling in a Mike Spicer quote from Sutter Hill Ventures. Mike tweeted that the right strategy is to take a series of sequential bets, not a bunch of bets across a bunch of different things because you learn more each time. Fareed feels like none of these are sequential bets. Round 2: 🐟 Fishman zooms in on clips and basically makes the argument that it lacks all of the pizzazz and UGC magic that makes Loom successful. So combined spaghetti strategy + half-baked products, Fishman is not feeling much love for Zoom right now but challenges Balfour to prove him wrong. 🔎 Balfour decides to take the pro-zoom case! He feels this might just be the Microsoft strategy (which notably has been a successful company). Build 80% of the market and bundle it. Their strengths are tech and their sales machine. That is a winning bet. Bundle and sell when you have great tech and sales. 🐟 Fishman wonders if they are big enough to pull that off. 🔑 Mosavat sides with Fishman here. Microsoft has a billion people using 365, and by the way, is Zoom's biggest competitor with Teams. It's a bad strategy to fight Goliath with the same strategy Goliath is using. "If you don't have a navy, don't go to a sea battle." Final Round: 🔎 Balfour suggests that strategy and execution should be separated. 🐟 Fishman disagrees, arguing that execution cannot be separated from strategy. If Figma had attempted that strategy and produced subpar products, they would have been criticized as well. 🔑 Mosavat identifies Zoom's original sin as the lack of presence or identity outside of meetings. Fareed often quits Zoom between meetings. 🔑 Fareed's lesson is to lean into what Zoom does well. However, ultimately he agrees with Balfour that Zoom is still a great business. It has the following benefits: 📉 Low acquisition cost 💻 Low R&D cost 💰 Great margins 💸 Profitable at IPO 💰 Hadn't raised much money COVID may have created some challenges, but these five core elements remain strong. For more analysis, the opportunity to hear Brian Balfour rap, and to hear what the trio had to say about Twitter's Creator Payouts, listen to the full episode. Like what you're hearing? Please give us a review and a subscribe. This week, we have special guest Adam Fishman, original proclaimed Growth Daddy (defined as a father and a growth expert), a Reforge mainstay, and formerly of Lyft, Patreon, and Imperfect Foods.

Today he and our hosts are discussing Figma for Dev, Zoom’s COVID strategy, and Twitter’s Creator Payouts.


🎨→ ⌨️ Figma for Dev from Unsolicited Feedback

Figma for Dev offers deep lessons and the experts agree it’s a brilliant move.

💰 Figma unlocked unparalleled PLG through their unconventional pricing strategy: Most tools price per seat, but Figma realized that this creates unnecessary friction because when you pay per seat, there’s often approvals that need to happen to add someone. At Figma, anyone who is not editing does not incur any charges.

🚀 Now, they want to capture revenue from the audience that’s already in their funnel: In every project, there are 5-15x more engineers than designers, greatly increasing the TAM if companies now opt to pay for seats for their engineers who are already used to the platform.

🎯 Focus is the name of the game here as Figma takes a step into the Dev audience: Figma could have built a wide range of features for engineering. Figma chose to focus on the part of engineering that is closest to design.


📹 Zoom’s COVID Product Strategy:

Zoom delivers a Growth Daddy Cage Match between Fishman and Balfour, with Mosavat as the mediator.

Background: Zoom has recently launched several new products, including Zoom Apps, Zoom Events, and Zoom Video Engagement Center.

Round 1:

  • 🐟 Fishman asks, "Is this just a spaghetti at the wall strategy? Who are they building for?"
  • 🔎 But, Balfour commends the Product Velocity of the engineering team. Very impressive!
  • 🔑 Mosavat errs toward Fishman in round one, pulling in a Mike Spicer quote from Sutter Hill Ventures. Mike tweeted that the right strategy is to take a series of sequential bets, not a bunch of bets across a bunch of different things because you learn more each time. Fareed feels like none of these are sequential bets.

Round 2:

  • 🐟 Fishman zooms in on clips and basically makes the argument that it lacks all of the pizzazz and UGC magic that makes Loom successful. So combined spaghetti strategy + half-baked products, Fishman is not feeling much love for Zoom right now but challenges Balfour to prove him wrong.
  • 🔎 Balfour decides to take the pro-zoom case! He feels this might just be the Microsoft strategy (which notably has been a successful company). Build 80% of the market and bundle it. Their strengths are tech and their sales machine. That is a winning bet. Bundle and sell when you have great tech and sales.
  • 🐟 Fishman wonders if they are big enough to pull that off.
  • 🔑 Mosavat sides with Fishman here. Microsoft has a billion people using 365, and by the way, is Zoom's biggest competitor with Teams. It's a bad strategy to fight Goliath with the same strategy Goliath is using. "If you don't have a navy, don't go to a sea battle."

Final Round:

  • 🔎 Balfour suggests that strategy and execution should be separated.
  • 🐟 Fishman disagrees, arguing that execution cannot be separated from strategy. If Figma had attempted that strategy and produced subpar products, they would have been criticized as well.
  • 🔑 Mosavat identifies Zoom's original sin as the lack of presence or identity outside of meetings. Fareed often quits Zoom between meetings.
  • 🔑 Fareed's lesson is to lean into what Zoom does well. However, ultimately he agrees with Balfour that Zoom is still a great business. It has the following benefits:
  1. 📉 Low acquisition cost
  2. 💻 Low R&D cost
  3. 💰 Great margins
  4. 💸 Profitable at IPO
  5. 💰 Hadn't raised much money

COVID may have created some challenges, but these five core elements remain strong.


For more analysis, the opportunity to hear Brian Balfour rap, and to hear what the trio had to say about Twitter's Creator Payouts, listen to the full episode. Like what you're hearing? Please give us a review and a subscribe.

]]> 5598 yes Unsolicited Feedback on Twitter/X's Outpouring of Product Changes and the Impact of YouTube Shorts on Its Core Business. https://www.reforge.com/podcast/unsolicited-feedback/episode-1 📢 Hey everyone! Welcome to Unsolicited Feedback! In our debut episode, co-hosts Brian Balfour and Fareed Mosavat discuss Twitter's creator monetization and enterprise verification offerings, as well as internal fears at YouTube that their YouTube Shorts feature will cannibalize their core longer-form content. 🐤 Let's start with Twitter/X (we’re still getting used to the new name…): 🐤 🔍 Twitter's recent releases include the Creator Monetization Offering and Enterprise Verification Offering. 👍 You cannot think your way out of a revenue gap. You have to ship your way out of it. Twitter used to be stagnant from a product perspective. Now, they are taking swings at filling revenue gaps. It is okay if some of these swings inevitably fail.  👎 However, experts have reservations about these offerings: It seems that while Twitter was fighting Threads and its own inertia, LinkedIn ate Twitter's lunch - at least in the tech community. Why? Creator Monetization may have alienated creators who treat social as a business. Businesses need predictability, and Twitter's strategy has been anything but predictable. LinkedIn’s incentives are aligned with creator incentives and their product roadmaps remain predictable. As Fareed says, "Cheaper but worse rarely wins. Free, but worse can win." Enterprise Verification is a filler feature, not a leader, and may not offer enough value for users to justify paying for it. Fareed notes that a leader feature is something that people pay for. It is the thing that attracts them to the paid product. Fillers are usually other things that increase the value of that product for you. For example, for Slack, message history is the leader feature, and advanced search and huddles are fillers. For Twitter, the ability to list jobs for a company is a filler, not a leader, and filler features when the same concept is a leader feature at a competitor is hard to charge for. Brian notes that this is why Hubspot made their CRM free, knowing it was a filler feature that wouldn't compete with Salesforce's leader feature CRM. 🩳 Now on to YouTube Shorts: 🩳 🐌 Internal friction errs toward the status quo. 🐌 If user behavior is flowing in a different direction, your time and energy are best spent understanding the new direction and moving yourself toward it. 🤷‍♂️ The YouTube Shorts hasn't made clear the problem it solves. 🤷‍♂️ It's easy to draw surface-level parallels between YouTube Shorts and Instagram Stories, but it's unclear the real problem that Shorts solves for YouTube. Stories solved a real problem for Instagram. It created a way to post without needing to achieve perfection. ✨ New product lines breathe new life into growth strategy. ✨ Ravi Mehta introduced the framework of Creation, Consumption, and Conversations for content and social platforms. You can try to optimize this as much as possible for your existing product, but eventually, your progress will plateau. Brian thinks YouTube figured this out with their core product. Both their move to premium with YouTube TV and their introduction of Shorts create completely new sets of loops to play with. 🪛 It will take time for YouTube creators to understand how to use Shorts. But when it happens, it stands to be powerful. 🪛 Right now, Shorts seems to be like copycat content from TikTok & Reels, rather than things YouTube creators make themselves. However, over time, Fareed expects the legacy YouTube creators to adapt to the new incentives created by Shorts. Join the conversation on Slack & LinkedIn HERE and subscribe to the podcast to hear more Unsolicited Feedback from Brian Balfour, Fareed Mosavat, and upcoming guests like Casey Winters, Elena Verna, Joff Redfern, Andrew Chen, Ravi Mehta, Adam Fishman, and many more. Sun, 10 Sep 2023 03:54:00 -0000 Unsolicited Feedback on Twitter/X's Outpouring of Product Changes and the Impact of YouTube Shorts on Its Core Business. full 1 1 Brian Balfour & Fareed Mosavat 📢 Hey everyone! Welcome to Unsolicited Feedback! In our debut episode, co-hosts Brian Balfour and Fareed Mosavat discuss Twitter's creator monetization and enterprise verification offerings, as well as internal fears at YouTube that their YouTube Shorts feature will cannibalize their core longer-form content. 🐤 Let's start with Twitter/X (we’re still getting used to the new name…): 🐤 🔍 Twitter's recent releases include the Creator Monetization Offering and Enterprise Verification Offering. 👍 You cannot think your way out of a revenue gap. You have to ship your way out of it. Twitter used to be stagnant from a product perspective. Now, they are taking swings at filling revenue gaps. It is okay if some of these swings inevitably fail.  👎 However, experts have reservations about these offerings: It seems that while Twitter was fighting Threads and its own inertia, LinkedIn ate Twitter's lunch - at least in the tech community. Why? Creator Monetization may have alienated creators who treat social as a business. Businesses need predictability, and Twitter's strategy has been anything but predictable. LinkedIn’s incentives are aligned with creator incentives and their product roadmaps remain predictable. As Fareed says, "Cheaper but worse rarely wins. Free, but worse can win." Enterprise Verification is a filler feature, not a leader, and may not offer enough value for users to justify paying for it. Fareed notes that a leader feature is something that people pay for. It is the thing that attracts them to the paid product. Fillers are usually other things that increase the value of that product for you. For example, for Slack, message history is the leader feature, and advanced search and huddles are fillers. For Twitter, the ability to list jobs for a company is a filler, not a leader, and filler features when the same concept is a leader feature at a competitor is hard to charge for. Brian notes that this is why Hubspot made their CRM free, knowing it was a filler feature that wouldn't compete with Salesforce's leader feature CRM. 🩳 Now on to YouTube Shorts: 🩳 🐌 Internal friction errs toward the status quo. 🐌 If user behavior is flowing in a different direction, your time and energy are best spent understanding the new direction and moving yourself toward it. 🤷‍♂️ The YouTube Shorts hasn't made clear the problem it solves. 🤷‍♂️ It's easy to draw surface-level parallels between YouTube Shorts and Instagram Stories, but it's unclear the real problem that Shorts solves for YouTube. Stories solved a real problem for Instagram. It created a way to post without needing to achieve perfection. ✨ New product lines breathe new life into growth strategy. ✨ Ravi Mehta introduced the framework of Creation, Consumption, and Conversations for content and social platforms. You can try to optimize this as much as possible for your existing product, but eventually, your progress will plateau. Brian thinks YouTube figured this out with their core product. Both their move to premium with YouTube TV and their introduction of Shorts create completely new sets of loops to play with. 🪛 It will take time for YouTube creators to understand how to use Shorts. But when it happens, it stands to be powerful. 🪛 Right now, Shorts seems to be like copycat content from TikTok & Reels, rather than things YouTube creators make themselves. However, over time, Fareed expects the legacy YouTube creators to adapt to the new incentives created by Shorts. Join the conversation on Slack & LinkedIn HERE and subscribe to the podcast to hear more Unsolicited Feedback from Brian Balfour, Fareed Mosavat, and upcoming guests like Casey Winters, Elena Verna, Joff Redfern, Andrew Chen, Ravi Mehta, Adam Fishman, and many more. 📢 Hey everyone! Welcome to Unsolicited Feedback! In our debut episode, co-hosts Brian Balfour and Fareed Mosavat discuss Twitter's creator monetization and enterprise verification offerings, as well as internal fears at YouTube that their YouTube Shorts feature will cannibalize their core longer-form content.


🐤 Let's start with Twitter/X (we’re still getting used to the new name…): 🐤


🔍 Twitter's recent releases include the Creator Monetization Offering and Enterprise Verification Offering.


👍 You cannot think your way out of a revenue gap. You have to ship your way out of it. Twitter used to be stagnant from a product perspective. Now, they are taking swings at filling revenue gaps. It is okay if some of these swings inevitably fail. 


👎 However, experts have reservations about these offerings:

  1. It seems that while Twitter was fighting Threads and its own inertia, LinkedIn ate Twitter's lunch - at least in the tech community. Why? Creator Monetization may have alienated creators who treat social as a business. Businesses need predictability, and Twitter's strategy has been anything but predictable. LinkedIn’s incentives are aligned with creator incentives and their product roadmaps remain predictable.
  2. As Fareed says, "Cheaper but worse rarely wins. Free, but worse can win." Enterprise Verification is a filler feature, not a leader, and may not offer enough value for users to justify paying for it. Fareed notes that a leader feature is something that people pay for. It is the thing that attracts them to the paid product. Fillers are usually other things that increase the value of that product for you. For example, for Slack, message history is the leader feature, and advanced search and huddles are fillers. For Twitter, the ability to list jobs for a company is a filler, not a leader, and filler features when the same concept is a leader feature at a competitor is hard to charge for. Brian notes that this is why Hubspot made their CRM free, knowing it was a filler feature that wouldn't compete with Salesforce's leader feature CRM.


🩳 Now on to YouTube Shorts: 🩳

  1. 🐌 Internal friction errs toward the status quo. 🐌 If user behavior is flowing in a different direction, your time and energy are best spent understanding the new direction and moving yourself toward it.
  2. 🤷‍♂️ The YouTube Shorts hasn't made clear the problem it solves. 🤷‍♂️ It's easy to draw surface-level parallels between YouTube Shorts and Instagram Stories, but it's unclear the real problem that Shorts solves for YouTube. Stories solved a real problem for Instagram. It created a way to post without needing to achieve perfection.
  3. ✨ New product lines breathe new life into growth strategy. ✨ Ravi Mehta introduced the framework of Creation, Consumption, and Conversations for content and social platforms. You can try to optimize this as much as possible for your existing product, but eventually, your progress will plateau. Brian thinks YouTube figured this out with their core product. Both their move to premium with YouTube TV and their introduction of Shorts create completely new sets of loops to play with.
  4. 🪛 It will take time for YouTube creators to understand how to use Shorts. But when it happens, it stands to be powerful. 🪛 Right now, Shorts seems to be like copycat content from TikTok & Reels, rather than things YouTube creators make themselves. However, over time, Fareed expects the legacy YouTube creators to adapt to the new incentives created by Shorts.


Join the conversation on Slack & LinkedIn HERE and subscribe to the podcast to hear more Unsolicited Feedback from Brian Balfour, Fareed Mosavat, and upcoming guests like Casey Winters, Elena Verna, Joff Redfern, Andrew Chen, Ravi Mehta, Adam Fishman, and many more.

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