ProductLed Podcast

Wes Bush
  • 4.6 (21)
  • MARKETING
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

The ProductLed Podcast is a weekly interview series with both product-led growth leaders and practitioners who have real knowledge to share on what it takes to use their product to grow a business.

  1. Signing Up Isn’t Enough: The Missing Piece to Scaling eWebinar Beyond $2M

    4D AGO

    Signing Up Isn’t Enough: The Missing Piece to Scaling eWebinar Beyond $2M

    Getting users to sign up is the easy part. Keeping them is where most product-led companies fail. Melissa Kwan built eWebinar to $2M ARR without a single full-time employee, but not without learning this lesson the hard way. In this episode, Wes Bush, with Esben Friis-Jensen joining, sits down with Melissa Kwan, cofounder and CEO of eWebinar, to break down what product-led growth actually looks like behind the scenes. They explore why more signups don't solve churn, why customer success is the real growth engine most founders overlook, and how Melissa structured eWebinar around contractors instead of employees to preserve flexibility and focus. Melissa also opens up about founder burnout that did not look like exhaustion, but like a slow loss of inspiration, and the internal work that helped her reset and regain confidence. Along the way, she shares her playbook for building a high-trust founder community through credibility, generosity, and thoughtful curation. Key Highlights: 02:09 - Just Under $2M ARR and a Contractor First Team Model 05:35 - What Changed in the Last 4 to 6 Months, AI Impact and Trials Cut in Half 07:01 - The Biggest Lesson: Customer Success and Onboarding Are the Growth Engine09:22 - Why Product-Led Feels Harder Than Sales-Led, Debugging Without Logs 16:13 - Lifestyle Design as Strategy, Building for Travel and Freedom 26:43 - Burnout Symptoms Founders Miss and Why It Is Not Just Exhaustion 29:30 - The Hoffman Process and Unpacking Self-Doubt 34:11 - “Progress Is Quiet. Winning Is Loud.” and the Mindset Shift to Sustain Momentum41:16 - Building a Founder Community by Giving First and Curating Quality 48:02 - Closing Advice: Retention First, Do Not Neglect Customer Success Resources: 🎯 eWebinar: Automated webinar platform - https://ewebinar.com💼 Connect with Melissa Kwan on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissakwan/💼 Connect with Wes Bush on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wesbush/💼 Connect with Esben Friis-Jensen on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/esbenfriisjensen/🧠 Sign up for the ProductLed Newsletter - https://www.productled.com/newsletter

    50 min
  2. How Chatbase Hit $8M ARR with 18 People

    FEB 5

    How Chatbase Hit $8M ARR with 18 People

    🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2wPyCFprChAmuXoFx2MCD6?si=-xGHpTjvTRqRthcNkN3aZw 📺 Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/OfnYVZAFjSA Most SaaS founders obsess over raising capital and building large teams. Yasser Elsaid took a different approach. In this episode of the ProductLed 100 series, Wes Bush and Esben Friis-Jensen sit down with Yasser Elsaid, the first-time founder who built Chatbase from zero to $8 million ARR in just 2.5 years with only 18 people (11 of them engineers). Yasser reveals how he caught the AI wave at exactly the right moment, why he's moving his entire team to New York to be closer to customers (98 of his top 100 target accounts are there), and why product quality is the only moat that matters when features are easy to copy. They also explore the "minimum viable first strike" philosophy for onboarding, why bootstrapped founders need to stop thinking small, and how Chatbase is now transitioning from pure product-led growth to an enterprise sales motion. Key Highlights: 01:25 – How Yasser Seized the ChatGPT Moment03:04 – Timeline: From DaVinci Model to ChatGPT API Launch05:34 – The Viral Demo Tweet and Initial Launch Reaction07:36 – Solo Founder Pros and Cons12:00 – Hiring Strategy and Team Composition16:08 – Current Bottlenecks: Hiring for Growth21:08 – Success Metrics and the Path to $100M ARR25:00 – Activation Strategy: 60 Seconds to Value30:00 – Two-Stage Onboarding for Complex Products34:00 – Team Breakdown at $8M ARR36:00 – Marketing Strategy: LinkedIn Content and Brand Building38:11 – Advice for Product-Led Founders Resources: 💬 Chatbase: AI-powered customer support - https://chatbase.co💼 Connect with Yasser Elsaid on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/yasserelsaid💼 Connect with Wes Bush on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wesbush/💼 Connect with Esben Friis-Jensen on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/esbenfriisjensen/🧠 Sign up for the ProductLed Newsletter - https://www.productled.com/newsletter

    43 min
  3. Taste is the New Moat: Building in the Age of AI with Typeform’s Founder

    FEB 4

    Taste is the New Moat: Building in the Age of AI with Typeform’s Founder

    For decades, the biggest barrier to building a SaaS company was technical talent. You needed a team of engineers to ship a world-class product. David Okuniev, Co-Founder of Typeform, believes that era is over. In this episode of the ProductLed 100 series, Wes Bush sits down with David Okuniev (Founder of Float) and Esben Friis-Jensen (Co-Founder of Userflow) to discuss why "Taste" is the only defensible moat left in the age of AI. David reveals how he is building his new venture, Supercut, by literally talking to Claude Code through a microphone - building full iOS apps in days without knowing Swift. He argues that since AI has commoditized the "How" of building software, the "What" and "Why" (Design and Taste) matter more than ever. They also explore why this shift allows for a "Minimum Viable Team" of just three people, why David regrets scaling Typeform into a large organization, and how to survive as a "Pioneer" founder without getting bogged down by professional management. Key Highlights: 01:21: The "Accidental" Origin: How a client project for a toilet showroom in Barcelona turned into Typeform.03:51: The Viral Launch: Generating 8,000 pre-signups and achieving immediate viral growth without traditional validation.09:53: The Taste Differentiator: Why design is the only way to distinguish yourself 13:00: The "Impulsive" Archetype: David’s approach to building products based on intuition rather than validation.21:41: The "Professional CEO" Trap: Why David regrets stepping down and why founders should stay in the driver's seat.37:42: The Float Labs Model: How David runs a product lab to spin out new companies (like Supercut).42:09: The Minimum Viable Team: Why the modern startup only needs a Designer, a Tech Lead, and a Marketer.44:53: The "Tastemaker" Advice: You don't need to be a designer; you just need to be opinionated. Resources: 🎥 Supercut: The AI-powered screen recorder - https://float.build💼 Connect with David Okuniev on Twitter/X - @DavidOkuniev💼 Connect with Wes Bush on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wesbush/💼 Connect with Esben Friis-Jensen on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/esbenfriisjensen/🧠 Sign up for the ProductLed Newsletter - https://www.productled.com/newsletter

    48 min
  4. The Solo-Founder Playbook: How to Run a $1M ARR SaaS with 1 person

    JAN 14

    The Solo-Founder Playbook: How to Run a $1M ARR SaaS with 1 person

    ProductLed 100 - The Solo-Founder Playbook: How to Run a $1M ARR SaaS with 1 person Most founders believe scaling requires a massive headcount, co-founders, and VC funding. They think success is measured by the size of the team, not the efficiency of the revenue. In this episode of the ProductLed 100 series, Wes Bush sits down with Vincent Jong (Founder of Poolside Ventures) and Esben Friis-Jensen (Co-Founder of Userflow) to discuss the emerging era of the "One-Person Company" - businesses designed to generate millions in revenue with just a single operator. Vincent reveals his strategy for building a portfolio of lean, highly profitable SaaS companies like MeetBot. Together with Esben, they break down how AI tools like Lovable and Cursor have removed the technical barrier to entry, why "speed" is the new competitive moat against incumbents like Calendly, and the exact skill sets required to thrive as a solo builder. Whether you are a developer looking to launch your own venture or a founder trying to maximize efficiency, this episode offers a blueprint for building high-revenue, low-headcount businesses that are built to last forever. Key Highlights: 01:36: Why Vincent stopped looking for co-founders and started building alone03:09: The AI Tech Stack: How tools like Lovable and Cursor replace engineering teams06:07: Why building the product is the easy part (and selling is the hard part)13:17: Disrupting a Red Ocean: Why MeetBot entered the crowded scheduling market16:53: The Economics of Infinite Runway: Operating a SaaS for a few hundred dollars a month20:31: Speed vs. Scale: How one-person teams outmaneuver incumbents27:21: The "Launch Early" myth vs. the new bar for MVP quality37:44: Vincent’s advice: Don’t quit your job. Build on weekends Resources: 📅 MeetBot: The API-first scheduling solution 💼 Connect with Vincent Jong on LinkedIn 💼 Connect with Wes Bush on LinkedIn 💼 Connect with Esben Friis-Jensen on LinkedIn 🧠 Sign up for the ProductLed Newsletter

    42 min
  5. Disrupting a Red Ocean: Clarify.ai’s Strategy to Beat Salesforce and HubSpot

    JAN 6

    Disrupting a Red Ocean: Clarify.ai’s Strategy to Beat Salesforce and HubSpot

    Most founders are terrified of "Red Oceans" or markets saturated with massive competitors. They think the only way to win is to find a completely untapped "Blue Ocean." In this episode of the ProductLed 100 series, Wes Bush sits down with Patrick Thompson (CEO of Clarify.ai) and Esben Friis-Jensen (Co-Founder of Userflow) to discuss why entering a crowded market is actually the smartest move a founder can make if you have the right strategy. Patrick reveals how he spent six months interviewing potential customers before writing a single line of code for Clarify, an autonomous CRM designed to disrupt the industry giants. Together with Esben, they break down the exact framework for validating problems, the power of business model disruption through pricing wars, and why "feature parity" is not the goal. Whether you are building a new startup or trying to carve out space in a competitive category, this episode offers a masterclass in customer discovery, positioning, and Go-To-Market execution. Key Highlights: 02:15 : Why Patrick spent 6 months on discovery before writing a line of code 06:53 : The "Red Ocean" Advantage: Why crowded markets are easier than Blue Oceans 10:10 : How to differentiate when features are commoditized 12:34 : Using price and ease of use as a wedge against incumbents 18:31 : The 3-Step Framework for building what people want: ICP, Channels, and Business Model 23:12 : Which acquisition channels actually work (Product Hunt vs. Founder-led Marketing) 30:04 : Why complex products still need human onboarding, even in PLG 36:49 : How to operationalize customer feedback for engineering teams Resources: 📧 Clarify.ai : The Autonomous CRM 💼 Connect with Patrick Thompson on LinkedIn 💼 Connect with Wes Bush on LinkedIn  📝 Founder Therapy : Patrick's Substack 💼 Connect with Esben Friis-Jensen on LinkedIn 🧠 Sign up for the ProductLed Newsletter

    39 min
  6. Become a 10x PLG Practitioner Using AI (7 Real Workflow Examples)

    10/31/2025

    Become a 10x PLG Practitioner Using AI (7 Real Workflow Examples)

    AI and PLG are two of the most transformative forces in SaaS today and when combined, they can multiply growth faster than any traditional go-to-market model. In this episode, Wes Bush sits down with Aakash Gupta, one of the leading voices in product and growth (and the creator of the largest newsletter in the space with 200,000+ subscribers), to explore how AI is revolutionizing every layer of product-led growth - from activation and onboarding to pricing and expansion. They break down exactly how top SaaS companies are using AI to reduce time-to-value by 10x, build smarter pricing models, and even automate their internal processes using agents like Claude, NotebookLM, and Relay. Whether you’re a founder, product manager, or growth operator, this episode is packed with real use cases, tools, and frameworks that will help you stay ahead of the curve in the AI + PLG era. Key Highlights 02:15 – Top LLMs for product and growth teams 05:07 – Why every PLG practitioner should create a “copilot” inside Claude 07:29 – How AI projects can act as your chief of staff or people ops assistant 11:46 – Building AI executive assistants that replace (or supercharge) your EA 14:26 – Why marketers need to rethink their jobs in the age of AI automation 26:47 – The 10x practitioner mindset: how to become exponentially more effective 27:35 – AI-driven activation: how to reduce time-to-value by 90% 28:56 – Using AI evals and profiling questions to personalize onboarding 31:22 – Rethinking SaaS pricing for AI products 36:01 – How to design sustainable AI free tiers and reverse trials 41:08 – AI-assisted expansion and PQLs Resources 🚀 Follow Aakash on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/aagupta/ 📘 Get the ProductLed Playbook for free 🧠 Sign up for the ProductLed Newsletter

    1h 9m
  7. How One Image Change Increased Signups by 8% (The Promised Land Effect)

    10/16/2025

    How One Image Change Increased Signups by 8% (The Promised Land Effect)

    Most signup pages try to convince users with emotional imagery and persuasive copy. But what if the secret to higher conversions is actually showing people less—not more? In this episode clip, Will Royal, founder and CEO of Promo Tix, reveals how one counterintuitive design change led to an 8% increase in signups. He shares the psychology behind "The Promised Land Effect" and explains why a blurred screenshot of your dashboard can outperform your best marketing copy. This is just one tactic from the full conversation where Will shares three low-effort, high-impact strategies that helped grow Promo Tix to $25,000 in monthly recurring revenue. Key Highlights: 01:19: What is the Promised Land Effect - showing a blurred dashboard beats emotional imagery02:17: Testing 29,000 users led to an 8% conversion increase with just an image swap02:53: Why conversion math matters (4% to 6% = 50% more revenue, not just 2%)03:42: The psychology behind it - creating a curiosity gap that makes users feel "almost there"06:27: Bonus win: Changing "Next" to "Finished" added another 1-2% conversion07:17: Why micro-copy and small details often get overlooked but drive results Resources 🎙️ Full Episode: Episode 266 - 3 Low-Effort, High-Impact Tactics That Took PromoTix to $25K MRR 📖 Read The Product-Led Playbook for free! 🧠 Sign up for the ProductLed Newsletter

    8 min
  8. Why We're Giving Away Our $150K Playbook for Free

    10/10/2025

    Why We're Giving Away Our $150K Playbook for Free

    Most businesses guard their intellectual property like it's Fort Knox. They lock their frameworks behind paywalls, gate their methodologies, and keep their best insights for paying clients only. We're doing the exact opposite - and it's actually better for business. In this episode, Wes reveals why ProductLed invested $150,000 to create The Product-Led Playbook and then decided to give it away completely free. He breaks down the counterintuitive business strategy behind democratizing product-led growth knowledge and why sharing your best IP actually attracts better clients. Key Highlights: 01:04: Why all ProductLed books are free (and always have been)02:09: Turning down publishers 02:50: The $150,000 investment and 16 iterations it took03:10: Why guarding knowledge is actually stupid for business03:53: Democratizing PLG - it's a skill anyone can learn04:39: How free content attracts doers who've already made hundreds of thousands05:28: Using free books to align entire teams on PLG strategy06:37: Why sharing makes onboarding company-wide adoption effortless06:56: The long-term mission - making ProductLed the de facto SaaS scaling system07:40: Why product-led companies can out-give anyone in their market08:29: What's inside - the same frameworks clients pay $30K+/month for08:51: The three core outcomes you'll unlock with the system09:19: Testimonials from Nathan Barry, Esben (Userflow), and G (Empire) Resources: 📖 Free ProductLed Playbook - https://productled.com/playbook?utm_source=podcast 🎯 Free Gameplan Session - productLed.com  📚 Other Free Books  Product-Led Growth - https://productled.com/book/product-led-growth?utm_source=podcast Product-Led Onboarding - https://productled.com/book/onboarding?utm_source=podcast

    12 min
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4.6
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About

The ProductLed Podcast is a weekly interview series with both product-led growth leaders and practitioners who have real knowledge to share on what it takes to use their product to grow a business.

Information

  • Creator
    Wes Bush
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    299
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2023 ProductLed Inc
  • Show Website
    ProductLed Podcast

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