Great post. In my experience a key challenge is getting board level conviction that upstream investments drive downstream revenue. First thing boards want to see is the sales pipe and performance. Until you can shift the “first thing the board cares about” … it’s an uphill struggle
Yes! You have given name to something that runs deep in the fabric of tech culture. I met my cofounder at a Series B stage startup that hit the ceiling on what paid/performance/"growth"/whatever you prefer to call it could achieve but was too cautious to properly invest in brand and reputation, even when it was obvious that throwing another 20, 50, 100k at direct acquisition no longer worked. Brand and growth need big rebalancing inside the marketing function to stave off churn and build for long-term success. But there are so, so many disincentives preventing it from happening. Thanks for writing this.
I once asked a few companies what their pricing model is and how much they plan to charge. Their answer shocked me. These are their words: "I know we can save a number of people in terms of wages for the clients. We plan to charge them 50% of saving we give to them". It blew my mind on how they are going to sell their products especially they are just starting......🤯
Thank you, Elena! This post really resonates with me. The hardest part of this is the internal battle, defending long-term product bets when everyone is staring at a quarterly target. But I’ve found that when you prioritize the experience and focus on delivering real value, the monetization eventually becomes the easy part. If you have to trick or force people into paying, your product probably isn't as good as you think it is. Revenue should be the 'thank you' for a great experience, not a tax on the user.
Great post. In my experience a key challenge is getting board level conviction that upstream investments drive downstream revenue. First thing boards want to see is the sales pipe and performance. Until you can shift the “first thing the board cares about” … it’s an uphill struggle
Excellent article, it highlights a reality that is not accepted.
I recall a phrase I once heard on Wall Street about identifying and avoiding the stocks of companies that were "growing themselves broke".
That’s a killer phrase
Yes! You have given name to something that runs deep in the fabric of tech culture. I met my cofounder at a Series B stage startup that hit the ceiling on what paid/performance/"growth"/whatever you prefer to call it could achieve but was too cautious to properly invest in brand and reputation, even when it was obvious that throwing another 20, 50, 100k at direct acquisition no longer worked. Brand and growth need big rebalancing inside the marketing function to stave off churn and build for long-term success. But there are so, so many disincentives preventing it from happening. Thanks for writing this.
I once asked a few companies what their pricing model is and how much they plan to charge. Their answer shocked me. These are their words: "I know we can save a number of people in terms of wages for the clients. We plan to charge them 50% of saving we give to them". It blew my mind on how they are going to sell their products especially they are just starting......🤯
Thank you, Elena! This post really resonates with me. The hardest part of this is the internal battle, defending long-term product bets when everyone is staring at a quarterly target. But I’ve found that when you prioritize the experience and focus on delivering real value, the monetization eventually becomes the easy part. If you have to trick or force people into paying, your product probably isn't as good as you think it is. Revenue should be the 'thank you' for a great experience, not a tax on the user.