Article · 20 min read

Five steps to starting your product-led growth motion

Hila Qu · Lenny's Newsletter Free Beginner

Hila Qu built PLG at GitLab and scaled Acorns, and this is the rare free piece that maps the sales-led funnel against the product-led one side by side so you can see exactly which stage you are actually changing.

  • Splits activation into four aha moments: user, team, buyer, and paid customer.
  • GitLab defined team activation as 2 or more users using 2 or more features within 14 days.
  • GitLab's hand-raiser PQLs converted 3x better than typical marketing qualified leads.
  • Sequence growth talent: an advisor first, then internal talent, then an external growth leader.
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It answers 6 questions

  1. What does product-led growth actually mean, and how is it different from just having a free trial?
  2. Everyone says find your aha moment. What is it actually, and how do I find ours?
  3. How do I know whether my product can even work self-serve?
  4. I just joined a PLG company as my first GTM job. What do I actually do all day if the product sells itself?
  5. We are sales-led today and I want to add a self-serve motion. What order do I build it in?
  6. Who do I hire first for PLG, and what should the team look like once it is ten people?

Read with it

  1. Benchmarks from 500 plus products: 34 percent average, 36 percent for SaaS. If you have ever wondered whether your number is... Lenny's Newsletter Article · 12 min read What is a good activation rate Lenny Rachitsky and Yuriy Timen
  2. The MOAT framework here is a genuinely useful way to decide between freemium, free trial and demo, and it is written for Indian... SaaSBoomi Article · 18 min read The Why, What, and How of Product-Led Growth Strategy: A Cheat Sheet Vishant Batta
  3. Hila Qu added the self-serve motion at GitLab, a sales-led company, and this episode is the step by step order she would do it... Lenny's Podcast Podcast · 93 min The ultimate guide to adding a PLG motion | Hila Qu (Reforge, GitLab) Hila Qu with Lenny Rachitsky
  4. Podcast · Full episode 7 Myths About Selling B2B SaaS In India ft Unicommerce Founder Kapil Makhija Siddhartha Ahluwalia with Kapil Makhija
  5. Verna lists the seven things founders wrongly believe PLG means, including that it replaces sales. Reading it early saves you... Elena's Growth Scoop Newsletter · 8 min read Product-led growth is many things. But here is what it's NOT. Elena Verna
  6. The clearest breakdown of the three PQL types (hand-raiser, usage-based, needs-help) and the playbook each one deserves, which... OpenView Article · 15 min read Your Guide to Product Qualified Leads (PQLs) Kyle Poyar
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