2-min Technical Product Marketing: Plaid, Locker, Glassflow, and HashiCorp.
June 2025, Part 1 release
📈 4 MICRO [PRODUCT MARKETING] CASE STUDIES
[1] Verify if all 4 characteristics of the PULL framework are true to decide if buyers will immediately latch on to your product upon release.
Per the PULL framework, buyers will 'pull' the product out of your hands when there is a project (P) on their to-do list that is unavoidable (U) right now, and the options they look (L) into are lacking (L) for some critical reasons. Plaid's pivot from their initial focus on a consumer app to fintech occurred after they discovered Venmo's unavoidable need to avoid building bank integrations.
[2] For Hacker News Launches: Follow the 'agitating the pain' framework along with enough technical depth to gain traction with the developer audience.
Glassflow remained one of the top posts on Hacker News for a few days by designing their post to follow this framework: Problem -> Obvious Solution -> Why the obvious solution doesn't work -> Introduce the product -> Share how it works exactly -> Ask for feedback/trying/action.
[3] For consumer apps: Optimize your growth over time in a specific order - retention first, activation second, and lastly, acquisition.
Locker is a web extension wishlist tool that acts as Pinterest for your shopping experience and currently generates $1.2M in ARR with minimal funding. The company sees retention as a mandate forever, while acquisition may not matter highly over time if they have enough active users.
[4] For dev tools: Start with the developer's goals in their existing workflows and build tools to solve one workflow problem exceptionally well before broadening the scope.
HashiCorp's focus on developer goals like provisioning infrastructure and managing secrets led them to tools like Terraform and Vault, where existing solutions fell short.
📚 1 BOOK & TOP 3 INSIGHTS
“The Art of Winning: Lessons from My Life in Football” by Bill Belichick
[1] Advice for any time you take on a new role or join a new company - "Get an accurate read of the room: What's the environment you're entering? Who are you replacing? What mistakes did they make? Most critically: Who in the organization is untouchable? What influence do they have, why do they have it, and what did they do to earn it? And just as important: What do your colleagues want from you? Is that what you want?"
[2] Two big rules about mistakes - (i) Avoid the big ones. (ii) Avoid the ones that happen for the wrong reason, like ego, personal brand, etc.
[3] "If you have any kind of influence or leadership in your workplace, your blunt admission of error will make it so other people - at or below your level in the hierarchy - can admit as well."
🧠 5 CURATED MARKETING THINK PIECES
[1] The Most Valuable Commodity in the World is Friction
[2] Why Winners Keep Winning (and Losers Keep Losing)
[3] The Personalization of Software. Lovable, Helium, and How to Make Software...Not Terrible?
[4] The age of average
[5] 2025 PMM Hiring Trends Report: Why Hiring PMM Leaders Is Broken
BONUS: A Surprising Route to the Best Life Possible