airfocus: Revolutionizing Product Management: The Journey of Founders in Transforming Tools for Success.
Company profile
Company business details
Motivation to build the product
The founders were motivated by their own experiences with poor product management tools and the need for a more effective way to manage product development. They aimed to create a solution that not only improves decision-making processes but also fosters better alignment among teams and market needs.Problem that their product solves
Airfocus addresses the problem of ineffective product management and poor tooling that many companies face. The end users are product managers and cross-functional teams, and solving this problem is crucial for them to enhance decision-making and product alignment with market demands.Their unfair advantage
Airfocus offers a unique modular approach that aligns product development with market needs using innovative methods like content-based networking, which distinguishes it from traditional product management tools.Strategies
Idea Validation Stage
SEO Optimization for Brand Visibility
To improve online visibility, MTA's team humorously optimized an SEO strategy by targeting the term 'handsome man', which led to strong visibility and traffic for their site. They leveraged a light-hearted approach, using self-deprecating humor in a podcast to engage listeners while subtly promoting their brand. This playful tactic resulted in improved search rankings and brand recognition, which was essential in the early stages when their product was still being refined.
Pre-Launch (Product Development & MVP)
Customer Feedback Loop
The strategy involved actively collecting feedback from customers, viewing this feedback as valuable input rather than mere requests. The founder emphasized the importance of understanding customer needs and using their insights to guide product development. Rather than strictly adhering to requests, the product team interpreted feedback as a source of inspiration to refine and improve the product. This approach positioned the team to develop a customer-centric product by merging feedback from various sources, ultimately ensuring a more aligned product offering upon launch.
Building an Agency as a Funding Strategy
Instead of seeking immediate funding or investors, MTA founded an agency with a friend to develop software for enterprises and startups. This allowed them to generate revenue and reinvest profits into air Focus during its initial development. This strategic move served as a bootstrap method to support the early stages of their product and pay for necessary salaries, highlighting MTA's commitment to self-sustainability in the project's early days.
Growth Stage
Empowered Product Teams
In the growth stage, the founder focused on creating empowered product teams capable of making autonomous decisions. This strategy included granting product managers the freedom to interpret customer feedback and strategic goals without over-reliance on requests. By fostering an environment where team members could leverage their insights and creativity to adapt the product as needed, the organization could react more swiftly to market changes, driving growth through innovative product iterations that aligned closely with customer expectations.
Adopting Product-Led Growth with Sales Integration
As air Focus moved into the growth stage, MTA adopted a hybrid approach combining Product-Led Growth (PLG) with a sales team. They emphasized offering a free, valuable product to users while also integrating a more sales-driven approach to handle complex enterprise needs. The company hired around 15 sales personnel and optimized their CRM systems for better efficiency, balancing PLG values while addressing the demands of enterprise customers.
Learn more about airfocus
The Complicated Combination of Good Product Strategy: Insights from Airfocus CEO & CPO Malte Scholz
Solving core problems for your SaaS ICP and moving up market with Malte Scholz @airfocus
