Maja Voje is a growth strategy expert who has worked with some of the largest tech companies in the world. Through her consulting, she realised that there was a problem holding companies back from product/market fit. Unable to find a playbook to guide companies to the promised land, she decided to research and write one herself. We chatted about the book and some of the themes within it.
Episode highlights: 1. 95% of startups will not survive, but you can work together to beat the oddsIt's not normally a bad product that's the problem. There are a zillion reasons for startup failure, but beating the odds is not a product management or a sales or marketing problem. We have to work cross-functionally, join forces and work together to align the company around success.
2. Product/market fit is more than just delivering value, but being able to build a sustainable businessTraditional definitions of product/market fit focus on whether you can deliver value to a specific market segment, but it's important to bring other dimensions into play, such as the most effective business model and people's willingness to pay. You have to capture enough value to build a sustainable business.
3. It's essential to pick a niche, define your ideal customers, and stick to the planIt's really easy for early startup founders to try to go wide and fix everyone's problems, but this is generally a mistake. It's important to maintain discipline, be strategic, and realise that not all opportunities are created equal. You don't have to make a sale at all costs.
4. You're probably not charging enough for your solution, but your customers aren't going to price it for youFounders sometimes fall prey to product imposter syndrome, where they fail to extract fair value from their customers because they're not sure the product is good enough, or feel bad asking for money. We need money! But, don't expect your customers to just tell you a fair price. It's important to do decent pricing research.
5. We can learn a lot from "special ops" thinkingBusiness science has matured over the last couple of hundred years, but there are timeless principles from military strategy that can help us succeed. Pitting small resources against larger competition, being nimble, responding to change and executing fast can help us succeed in a crowded marketplace.
Check out "Go-To-Market Strategist""In Growth and Marketing, we were taught how the “big tech” companies grew to their heights more than a decade ago. They had bigger budgets, teams, and global talent. Markets were less saturated. Customers were more excited about innovation. You need a different playbook for GTM. One that applies to bootstrap startups, clever leaders in innovative companies, and independent innovators. So I went on a journey. I devoted a year of my life to interviewing 54 experts from companies such as: Hubspot, Miro, Figma, Metabase, CXL, and many more to ask them to share their “go to market” advice that will most securely and successfully guide you to product-market fit."
Check out the book website.
Contact MajaYou can catch up with Maja on LinkedIn.
Build What Matters with Vision-Led Product Management (with Rajesh Nerlikar, CEO @ Prodify & author "Build What Matters")
Retail Product Management in a Global Pandemic (with Rhiana Matthew, Senior PM @ Publicis Sapient)
Reducing Waste by Only Spending Time on Really Good Ideas (with Julia Shalet, author "The Really Good Idea Test")
Maintaining Radical Focus and Staying on Strategy with OKRs (with Christina Wodtke, Author "Radical Focus" & "The Team That Managed Itself")
The Philosophy of Product Design (with Udhaya Kumar Padmanabhan, Global Strategic Design Director at Designit)
From Engineer to Product Leader & Getting Away from the "How" (with Rekha Venkatakrishnan, Senior Manager, Group PM @ Walmart)
Data-Driven Decisions & the Product Engagement Score (with Stephanie Tanzar, Director of PM @ Pendo)
Is this Seriously Game Over for Scrum? (with David Pereira, Head of PM @ Virtual Identity, Editor @ Serious Scrum)
From Physiotherapist to Product Manager (with Samuel Ogunkoya, Product Manager @ ProducteevTech)
Product-Led Growth - Game Over for the Sales Team? (with Wes Bush, author "Product-Led Growth" & founder @ ProductLed)
Purposeful Product Transformation & Setting Leaders Up For Success (with Stephanie Leue, CPO @ MindEx & Product Leadership Coach)
Defeating Bias, Prejudice and Bullying in the Workplace (with Kim Scott, author "Radical Candor" & "Just Work")
Sustainable Entrepreneurship & Escaping Hustle Culture (with Polina Marchenko, Founder @ SIDE PRJCT)
Plan your Product Journey via Strategy, Roadmaps and OKRs (with Nacho Bassino, CPO @ Best Day Travel & author "Product Direction")
Surviving a Lack of Product Thinking & Riding the Product Maturity Curve (with Nis Frome, Co-founder & VP Product @ Feedback Loop)
Treating your Career as a Product & Making a Wicked Impact as a Product Leader (with Gibson Biddle, former VP Product @ Netflix)
Growth Marketing & Reshaping the World of eCommerce (with Nichole DeMeré, CMO @ Reeview)
Cleaning Up After Professional Services & Becoming Truly Product Led (with Paul Ortchanian, Founder @ Bain Public)
Building Data Driven Products & Dodging Unsolicited Advice (with Emily Reid, Product Manager @ FCT)
Driving Digital Transformation & Products for Product Managers (with Moshe Mikanovsky, Senior PM @ Procom)
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