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A conversation with Markus Palm, co-founder of Featurebase, about building a successful bootstrapped SaaS company at age 21. Markus shares insights on product development, distribution strategies, and startup advice for young entrepreneurs.
Key Points:
Company Overview:
* Featurebase is a product feedback and management tool
* Founded by 3 co-founders, 21-22 year olds
* Currently at $50K MRR with 600 paying customers
* Bootstrapped with no external funding
* Negative churn rate (upgrades exceed churns)
Product Development:
* One release every 1-2 weeks *Disclaimer: In the discussion Markus mentioned shipping three or more times a week, but that was false wording.
* Focus on making features intuitive and self-explanatory
* Use their own product for feedback collection
* Prioritise features based on customer revenue impact
* Planning to expand into live chat and ticketing
Distribution Strategy:
* Started with Google Ads targeting competitor alternatives
* Created comparison landing pages for ad traffic
* Focus on 1-2 main marketing channels
* Building long-term SEO and content strategy
* Leveraging "Powered by Featurebase" links for organic growth
Key Advice for Young Founders:
* Start with the right team before quitting jobs
* Focus on core skills and capabilities
* Don't need an original idea - can improve on existing solutions
* Keep team small (3-4 people) initially
* Build relationships through work experience
Notable Quotes:
"You don't need many people. You need one person for each core activity that your startup does."
"If you're 20, get the right people around you and get the right skills."
"Don't start with an idea - start with a problem to solve."
Links:
* Featurebase website
* Markus Palm's social media
The episode provides valuable insights for early-stage founders, particularly those starting companies at a young age, with practical advice on product development, marketing, and team building.
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Janika Liiv is talking with Maria Saviste from Katana about why research should go beyond customer empathy to focus on driving business results.Maria Saviste is Principal Customer Experience and Market Researcher at Katana, where she plays a key role in guiding strategic decisions for both business and product teams. Prior to Katana, Maria worked as a researcher at Telia, Pipedrive, and Whereby. She’s worked across various levels of research, always ensuring that her insights are not only solving customer problems, but helping to reach business goals.
In this episode we discuss:
* Different levels of research
* How research is done in Katana
* How researchers keep focus on driving business goals
* Integrate research insights into product development
* How to be more effective in doing customer interviews
* How to ask questions
* Future of research
Connect with us
* Maria Saviste - https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-saviste/
* Janika Liiv - https://www.linkedin.com/in/janikaliiv/
* Katana - https://katanamrp.com/
References
* How much to pay research participants as an incentive - https://www.userinterviews.com/lp/ux-research-incentive-calculator
* Ultimate guide to user research incentives https://www.userinterviews.com/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-user-research-incentives
* Align - https://getalign.com/
* DataBricks AI/BI Genie - https://www.databricks.com/product/ai-bi/genie
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Welcome to the first episode of Product Rants, a new subset of the Tallinn Product Group where we, Anna-Liisa and Maria—two product people with some strong opinions and a lot of coffee—let loose on the things that drive us up the wall in product management. This isn’t your typical PM talk; here, we skip the polish and bring the raw and the real.
With no rules, no filters, and just a bit of editing (so you don’t spill your coffee), we’re here to tackle the quirks, frustrations, and head-scratchers that make this industry what it is. You know the stuff—overcomplicated frameworks, endless stakeholder meetings, and that never-ending chase for ‘alignment.’ It’s a lot to deal with, and we’re here to share our gripes, insights, and maybe a little sanity along the way.
So, grab a cup, hit play, and join us on Product Rants. We’re here to keep you company, keep it real, and maybe make you feel a little less alone in the wild world of product management.
Credits:
* Hosts: Anna-Liisa and Maria 🌺.
* Video editing: Clélia Borget.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.tpg.ee -
This episode is hosted by Urmo Keskel and the quest is Aive Uus. Aive has led a software outsourcing company, growing it from 30 to 130 employees. She is also the co-founder of the startup KoThinker and helps executives with no technical background to build tech companies with kood / Jõhvi. In today’s episode, we talk about mastermind groups for product managers, challenges within product teams, and various models of how product teams operate – such as project-based product management, the "feature factory," and, of course, the product operating model popularized by Marty Cagan.Related links: Aive Uus: linkedin.com/in/aive-uus/KoThinker: kothinker.com Kood Jõhvi Dev Sprints: https://kood.tech/et/devsprint/ Urmo Keskel: linkedin.com/in/urmokeskel/ Phishbite: phishbite.com
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.tpg.ee -
Guest: Lars Trunin from Wise - linkedin.com/in/lars-truninHost: Toomas Koost from Tallinn Product Group - linkedin.com/in/toomaskoost
SummaryLars Trunin from Wise shares his insights on product management, drawing from his ten years of experience. He discusses the evolution of the field, emphasizing the importance of mathematics in decision-making and continuous learning. Key points include building global money movement solutions, adapting to industry changes, and balancing generalist and specialist roles. Lars also highlights the significance of customer feedback, mentoring new product managers through initiatives like the Product Academy, and focusing on problem-solving rather than job titles.Lars’ Inktober drawing from the day we recorded the episode:
If you want to see more of his drawings check out https://www.reddit.com/user/mrtrunin/ and scroll down past 3 pinned posts.Keywords: Lars Trunin, Toomas Koost, Wise, product management, mathematics, global payments, self-reflection, learning, STEM, decision making, career growth, Product Management, Customer Insights, Continuous Learning, PM Development, Generalists vs Specialists, Wise, Product Academy, Onboarding, NPS, Skill Development
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.tpg.ee -
🔉Welcome to the Tallinn Product Group!We bring you insights from industry experts about Product Management.
👋Today's guest:Corporate Waters By Mikhail Shcheglov: corpwaters.substack.com Mikhail Shcheglov - https://www.linkedin.com/in/scheglovm1/
* Group Product Manager at Bolt for 3.5 years
* Previously Product Manager roles at OLX (Avito) and Yandex, PhD in Economics
* Experience in mobility, e-scooter rentals, car sharing, and buyer experience
In this episode:
* Mikhail's gives practical examples from experience at Bolt
* 6 essential criteria for Bolt Product Manager
* Business ownership: including financial metrics, influencing people, understanding business context
* Thinking strategically, not only tactically: global and local maxima, how to set up a roadmap for maximum impact
* Basic product mindset: user identification, focusing on problems instead of solutions, hard and soft value proposition
* Understanding the dynamics of marketplace: liquidity and solving cold start problems
* Thinking beyond features: how to drive business impact without features
* Cultural aspects, motivation, and coaching within Bolt
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro 1:10 About Mikhail 4:22 Business ownership at Bolt 9:11 How to influence people 11:11 Understanding business fundamentals 13:51 Key financial metrics for PMs 16:19 Access to financials at Bolt 21:26 Strategic thinking for long-term success 25:11 Global vs. local maxima in decision-making 29:05 Thinking beyond features 31:01 Bringing problems, not solutions 34:56 Why "your ideas can't go wrong" 37:57 Coaching practices at Bolt 41:41 Product mindset in large companies 46:26 Hard and soft value propositions 48:51 Understanding marketplace dynamics 55:36 Product Manager certifications 58:39 How to evaluate PMs during interviews
References in this episode:
📚Corporate Waters By Mikhail Shcheglov: corpwaters.substack.com
* 📖 JK post on hard and soft value: https://jinken.substack.com/p/value-led-growth-hard-and-soft-value
* 📖 JK post on strategy: https://jinken.substack.com/p/what-the-heck-is-strategy
* 📖 Corporate Waters on marketplace growth: https://corpwaters.substack.com/p/what-i-learned-about-marketplace
Stay tuned for more insights on Product Management! Follow Tallinn Product Group on Substack for updates on future episodes and articles.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.tpg.ee -
Krishna Panicker has a strong background in product management, with experience at various companies including Airbase, Pipedrive, Questback, Blink, Microsoft, and Skype. He is currently in the role of VP Product at Airbase. Krishna earned a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Systems Engineering from City, University of London.
Maria Lasprilla has over a decade of product management experience, a big bulk of which she spent at Pipedrive and, more recently, at Wolt. She is currently running Imblue, her own product consulting company offering her services to a variety of software companies training product teams and supporting leadership roles connect their strategic thinking with day-to-day teams execution challenges.
In this interview Maria Lasprilla picks the brain of Krishna Panicker to understand his thinking on the role product managers play in having an impact in the business. We discuss the nuances between business, finance specifics and customer empathy, and grapple with the difficulty of drawing clear lines of responsibility and accountability across the different functions of a company.
Topics and questions we covered:
* How to frame product as part of business?
* What to look for to understand how we can impact the business?
* B2B SaaS business levers and other business levers
* How a product leader is expected to think about business compared to an IC role
* Should the scale balance towards customer focus or towards business impact?
* Relative vs absolute impact
* The role of finance as a function in informing product decisions
* Should product managers have economy and finance knowledge?
* Risk appetite, and more
References:
* Estonia - https://visitestonia.com/en
* What is a Product Manager? by Martin Eriksson
* Key Metrics That Matter by Mikhail Shcheglov
* Pipedrive - https://www.pipedrive.com/en
* Airbase - https://www.airbase.com/
* Skype - https://www.skype.com/en/
In the video:
* Krishna Panicker - VP Product
* Maria Lasprilla - Product Consultant
Behind the scenes:
* Clélia Borget - Videographer
* Rolando Beaujon - assistant
* Luis Barragán - assistant
* Lumi - emotional support
About Tallinn Product Group
Tallinn Product Group is a place for product enthusiasts to share their knowledge. We are a mix of different types of product people(technical, design, analytics, business…) and many of us are product managers or we work daily with product managers. Why we have started this platform is to explore Estonia’s success in creating unicorns. Our content varies with each creator, offering something for everyone.
We have a objective to deliver you one piece of content per week! In order to make sure you do not miss it, make sure to subscribe!
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.tpg.ee -
Join us, as Johann and Marek have a conversation about common B2B2C challenges and how to overcome them. They cover topics like understanding stakeholders, leveraging data and more. There should be something in there for anyone in the B2B2C space, so tune in!
Timestamps:
* 00:00 - Intro and our background
* 02:49 - What's B2B2C and how is it different from other models
* 08:12 - Prioritizing with multiple stakeholders
* 11:38 - Using data for leverage in B2B2C decision making
* 17:47 - Why and how to get to know your end-users
Hosts: Johann Kuldmäe and Marek Gorski
* Johann's background: From Veriff's employee #37 in various client-facing roles to Customer Success & Product at Modash to PMing early stage EdTech
* Marek's background: Product in Gaming, AdTech, EdTech, Supply Chain and currently FinTech focusing on Payments and Investing.
Connect with us:
* Johann Kuldmäe: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johann-kuldm%C3%A4e/
* Marek Gorski: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marekgorski/
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.tpg.ee -
Some key topics that is discussed in this episode:
Cultural Shocks and Adaptation: Bruna shares her journey from Brazil to Estonia, detailing the cultural shocks she faced and her adaptation to Estonian life. She talks about her decision to study in Estonia and how she immersed herself in the culture, moving from law school to the tech industry.
Professional Growth and Market Expansion: The conversation delves into Bruna's role at Pipedrive, where she was involved in market analysis and expansion strategies. She emphasizes the importance of understanding user needs and adapting the product to different markets, sharing her challenges and learning experiences.
Common Struggles and Advice for Product Managers: Toomas and Bruna discuss the common struggles companies face when expanding into new markets, such as misalignment between teams and ignoring data. Bruna advises on the importance of communication, understanding the 'why' behind strategies, and the need for product managers to take ownership and be proactive in their roles.
I hope you like this episode! Feel free to comment, like and share as this will help tremendously us!If you want to contact Bruna, please do so through bebold.business or on LinkedIn via Bruna’s profile
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Today's Guest: Maksim Butsenko
Background: 6 years in Data Science at Bolt
Projects: Real-time pricing, user incentives, growth portfolio optimization
Current Focus: Customer service automation with LLM
In this episode:
* Maksim's journey and experience at Bolt
* The structure of the ML teams
* Cooperation between ML teams and Product teams
* Differences between Research based and Traditional PM
* Challenges and best practices in Research based PM
* ChatGPT for D&D, best ML model, and thoughts on AI automation
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
1:13 Welcoming the guest
3:16 Scaling Data Science Team at Bolt
5:29 Structure of Data Science Team at Bolt
9:40 Role of Product Manager
11:24 Where does Bolt use ML?
12:54 Does Bolt build in-house or use external tools for ML?
16:10 Progression of Data Science in Bolt
22:13 AI startups
24:28 Collaboration between Data Scientists and Product Managers
29:20 PM guiding the Team
33:33 3 data teams in Customer Support at Bolt
35:44 How Bolt started doing ML
36:06 LLMs at Bolt
37:01 Building Alfred
38:28 How to lead Research teams
43:51 How to plan DS / ML projects?
46:19 Estimating the Impact
50:10 How Bolt Estimated Impact of GPT-4
52:22 One metric at a time
53:44 LLM costs
55:48 Should your company use ML?
59:16 Complexity of doing Research
1:04:20 Research as a "secret sauce"
1:06:50 Expectations of Product Managers
1:09:08 Technical Expectations of Product Managers
1:10:53 Advice to PM in Research team
1:13:08 How Maksim devotes time for Research
1:16:16 Choosing the Right LLM / ML model
1:19:48 Maksim's Favorite ML model
1:20:56 D&D with chatGPT
1:27:14 Will AI automate everything?
Connect with us:
* Maksim Butsenko at LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maksim-butsenko-1b13194a/
* Nikolay Roll at LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikolay-roll/
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.tpg.ee -
In this episode Maria shares her most recent roadmap planning experience from Wolt, and Janika joins the discussion on what has been causing her stress around planning. Both share tips on how they have managed to reduce anxieties and share the load of decision making.
Questions that are discussed in this episode:
- What activities take place during quarterly planning?
- Who do we need to involve?
- Should planning be solely the product manager responsibility
-What can be some of the challenges PMs face during planning?
- Should you wait for company goals to be defined before planning?
Janika Liiv has 20 years of experience in the tech industry. She started off as a software engineer and currently works as a Product Manager at Katana. Janika has also been a founder of her own startup, a non-profit to get more women into tech, and an international product management conference called Refresh.
Maria Lasprilla has been a product leader over 10 years. She spent 7 years at Pipedrive and during that time managed to be both Head of Product and Head of Research. Most recently she worked at Wolt and now has started her own product consultancy Imblue. She is passionate about creating environments where product managers can thrive.
Referenced:
Janika Liiv at LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janikaliiv/
Maria Lasprilla at LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marialasprilla/
Refresh Conference: https://www.linkedin.com/company/refreshrocks/
Wolt: https://wolt.com/
Pipedrive: https://www.pipedrive.com/
Imblue: https://imblue.ee/
Katana MRP: https://katanamrp.com/
Teresa Torres: https://www.producttalk.org/
The Product Trio concept: https://www.producttalk.org/2021/05/product-trio/
Alan Watkins, 4D Leadership: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25855338-4d-leadership
Richard P. Rumelt, Good Strategy Bad Strategy: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11721966-good-strategy-bad-strategy
For more content follow us at tpg.ee
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.tpg.ee -
About the episode
I’m really excited to introduce the first episode of our podcast. Our guest is Maria Lasprilla. Maria is someone who is really good at making complicated thoughts easy to understand. This is a special skill that not many people have, and that’s why I thought she would be the perfect person to invite for our first episode.
I’ve known Maria for about a year now, and during this time, I’ve learned so much from her. She has a unique way of thinking that is different from most people. This has helped me to see things in a new way and to think about things differently.
I hope you’ll be as amazed by Maria as I am. Enjoy the podcast!
About Tallinn Product Group
Tallinn Product Group is a place for product enthusiasts to share their knowledge. We are a mix of different types of product people(technical, design, analytics, business…) and many of us are product managers or we work daily with product managers. Why we have started this platform is to explore Estonia’s success in creating unicorns. Our content varies with each creator, offering something for everyone.
We have a objective to deliver you one piece of content per week! In order to make sure you do not miss it, make sure to subscribe!
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.tpg.ee
